Jobs during grad school

[dcc777]

Out of curiosity, and I understand it varies between programs, do any graduate students in a phd/psyd program find that they have time to work a job outside of their program (serving, retail etc), if only for a few hours a week?

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[Marissa4usa]

Out of curiosity, and I understand it varies between programs, do any graduate students in a phd/psyd program find that they have time to work a job outside of their program (serving, retail etc), if only for a few hours a week?

I know a couple of people who made a little extra money babysitting, tutoring or walking dogs but I don't think I've heard of anybody holding an actual job (not even waiting tables or working in retail - even if it was just one day a week)

Most people will agree that anything beyond the responsibilities that come with the above mentioned activities will just interfere with your schoolwork and ultimately delay things.

 

[wigflip]

Most people will agree that anything beyond the responsibilities that come with the above mentioned activities will just interfere with your schoolwork and ultimately delay things.

If working in addition to your schoolwork is a must for financial reasons, you'd be wise to conceal it from your advisor or anyone else at school. It can be considered "disloyal" and/or be interpreted as you not taking your graduate work seriously enough.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

If working in addition to your schoolwork is a must for financial reasons, you'd be wise to conceal it from your advisor or anyone else at school. It can be considered "disloyal" and/or be interpreted as you not taking your graduate work seriously enough.

Before doing so, I'd definitely check to be sure it's actually allowed, as some funding sources (such as assistantships in my program) actually prohibit outside employment.

 

[wigflip]

Before doing so, I'd definitely check to be sure it's actually allowed, as some funding sources (such as assistantships in my program) actually prohibit outside employment.

Ack! I actually meant to make that point as well, but got distracted. Good catch. I know a person whose fellowship dictated no additional waged work--it kinda crippled him/her financially for the year because it didn't provide enough money to live on.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Ack! I actually meant to make that point as well, but got distracted. Good catch. I know a person whose fellowship dictated no additional waged work--it kinda crippled him/her financially for the year because it didn't provide enough money to live on.

Yepper, same thing happens with us a lot of the time, unfortunately. I don't know that anyone's actually been crippled by it, but they've definitely had to take out loans if they had anything beyond minimal expenses.

 

[Ya Ya]

I don't know of anyone who has a concrete gig outside of grad school. However, we get plenty of opportunities to make some cash with assessments in various campus departments and community organizations (e.g. Athletics and Rehab facility).

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Psychometricians can make pretty decent $, though the better paying jobs tend to favor 3rd & 4th yrs because they have more experience. Friends got $20/hr, which I thought was decent for relatively flexible work hours.

 

[Pragma]

If you aren't funded during the summer, it would be hard for them not to allow you to work during that time. But I knew some people who did some (minimal) work outside of school during the first few years. It was usually consulting or a job that they could do on weekends only. They typically kept this quiet, and my program wasn't about to go inquiring unless someone was not meeting their academic obligations.

You have more options in later years. You can tech, you can teach, you can consult (e.g., stats). I found a way to do more work within my institution teaching and doing research for $, and it improved my QOL a bit before heading off to internship. But I also put in more hours than others and it required a lot of proactive time management.

 

[psyman]

I taught one or two classes per semester at a local college for a couple of years (years 2 and 3 of my program). The first semester is the toughest, after that you will then have all the lectures ready. It seems tough to get adjunct spots these days though.

 

[EmotRegulation]

I took a retail job at a department store the summer after my first year of graduate school and kept it for close to two years, which meant I worked during my 2nd and third years. It was supposed to be 20 hours a week, which was a heavy time commitment, and I got it knocked down to 12 hours a week during the school year, one weekend day and a few evenings. Most of my friends knew I was there (and took advantage of my discount), but I tried not to talk about it around faculty for fear of getting dinged on time management/productivity/etc. Not sure I would recommend it; I was spending more money than I was making at said department store by the end of my run, but it was worth it at the start.

 

[paramour]

I was asked to continue working at a previous externship site after the end of my contract a few years ago, and I've been there ever since... I also started teaching at a community college last semester.

Most students in our dept don't work (unless they're summer gigs and they don't have funding or something else going on already), although there have been a few who taught, consulted (for stats), or served as bartenders on the weekends. However, most folks simply don't have the time.

 

[DUintern]

I worked fulltime as a counselor in an outpatient setting during my master's degree and between 20-60 hours during my doctoral program in an emergency department as a crisis therapist (this was definitely not supported by my program)! I switched to the emergency department because of the flexibility in hours. Working was helpful in developing clinical and administrative skills.

 

[dumbledoresgirl]

I worked fulltime as a counselor in an outpatient setting during my master’s degree and between 20-60 hours during my doctoral program in an emergency department as a crisis therapist (this was definitely not supported by my program)! I switched to the emergency department because of the flexibility in hours. Working was helpful in developing clinical and administrative skills.

How did you have time to work 20-60 hours (I'm assuming you mean per week) during your doctoral program?

 

[G Costanza]

I worked at a carwash.

 

[futureapppsy2]

How did you have time to work 20-60 hours (I'm assuming you mean per week) during your doctoral program?

I'm wondering the same thing, especially with regard to practicum hours (and possibly RA/TA time requirements).

I took a retail job at a department store the summer after my first year of graduate school and kept it for close to two years, which meant I worked during my 2nd and third years. It was supposed to be 20 hours a week, which was a heavy time commitment, and I got it knocked down to 12 hours a week during the school year, one weekend day and a few evenings. Most of my friends knew I was there (and took advantage of my discount), but I tried not to talk about it around faculty for fear of getting dinged on time management/productivity/etc. Not sure I would recommend it; I was spending more money than I was making at said department store by the end of my run, but it was worth it at the start.

I have a friend (not in grad school) who took a second job for extra money, but quit when I got to the point that the second job was taking so much time and energy that she couldn't actually use the extra income for anything.

In my program, very few people work outside of the university, though it is allowed. The one person in my cohort with a masters-level license has done some freelance assessments for money. AFAIK, we have no formal work limits in terms of prac, GAships or hourly work.