Making Extra Cash

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goldy490

goldy490

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I was just curious if anyone has any ideas for novel ways to make some money on the side to help pay for living expenses during a gap year.

I've already been accepted to med school, so I just need to support myself for the next 8 months. I blew all my savings and graduation money on secondaries, interviews, etc. My current job as a research tech pays minimum wage and so any way to supplement that income and maybe put away a little money for school would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!
 
MCAT, SAT/ACT, and other standardized test tutoring pays best by far.

Don't work for the big companies, they pay decently but you could easily make 2-3x as much on your own/in a small company
 
Uber during heavy drinking time (friday, saturday, sunday) + sport games
 
I didnt do a gap year, but I did spend the summer between graduation and med school bartending. A new restaurant was opening by my home and was willing to train (I had been a server before). It was a great way to spend the summer. I learned how to make some awesome drinks, plus the tips were great. I was able to save a lot of money.
 
I second the Uber option if you have a car...
Just made decent money driving a couple hours on Halloween.
And thankfully there was no vomit in my backseat.
And drunk people like to give tips.
 
Service industry is always good. I did pizza delivery early in college, and it paid well for a few hours of work. Like others have said, Uber or Lyft would be a good option. If I were you though, I would try to enjoy your last bits of freedom before school starts. Congrats on the acceptance!
 
If you are a male, I am being dead serious about this: sperm donor. Being a future medical student is one of the plusses they look for in donors (high intelligence).

Uber driver?
Newspaper delivery?



goldy490 said:
I was just curious if anyone has any ideas for novel ways to make some money on the side to help pay for living expenses during a gap year.

I've already been accepted to med school, so I just need to support myself for the next 8 months. I blew all my savings and graduation money on secondaries, interviews, etc. My current job as a research tech pays minimum wage and so any way to supplement that income and maybe put away a little money for school would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!
Click to expand...
 
I was a DJ on the side during undergrad and grad school. I had a pretty bare-bones setup and would just rent any other equipment that I needed (bigger systems, lighting, etc.). I could pocket over $2000 for doing one wedding.
 
Do you live near an academic hospital? Or even a university with lots of research? It's not necessarily a good steady source of income but I like to volunteer as a participant in research studies/clinical trials when I'm low on cash. You'd be surprised how much money you can make doing relatively innocuous things. I've been paid to play computer games, walk on a treadmill, take surveys about my eating habits/alcohol consumption, try out non-hormonal contraceptives, receive vaccines that I probably would have gotten anyway (like the HPV vaccine), etc etc. Always good to think about the risks and benefits but there are many studies out there that are very low risk! And you'd be doing your part to further academic medicine and scientific inquiry. 😉
 
thatwouldbeanarchy said:
Do you live near an academic hospital? Or even a university with lots of research? It's not necessarily a good steady source of income but I like to volunteer as a participant in research studies/clinical trials when I'm low on cash. You'd be surprised how much money you can make doing relatively innocuous things. I've been paid to play computer games, walk on a treadmill, take surveys about my eating habits/alcohol consumption, try out non-hormonal contraceptives, receive vaccines that I probably would have gotten anyway (like the HPV vaccine), etc etc. Always good to think about the risks and benefits but there are many studies out there that are very low risk! And you'd be doing your part to further academic medicine and scientific inquiry. 😉
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the responses, I actually do work at an academic hospital so have been trying to find studies to participate in. How do you find them?

Also as for sperm donor, Im kind of terrified of the idea that I could have children running around out there somewhere 😕...what if I meet one of them one day!
 
md-2020 said:
MCAT, SAT/ACT, and other standardized test tutoring pays best by far.

Don't work for the big companies, they pay decently but you could easily make 2-3x as much on your own/in a small company
Click to expand...
+1, though I started tutoring for a local business because it was convenient. It makes $20/hr and you could certainly make more working for yourself. The best part about tutoring is the flexible schedule, which allows me to work around a full-time research position.
 
Find a part time gig as a server/food runner/event staff at a fine dining restaurant and hotel. That's what I'm doing now in addition to working on my thesis, and for working 24 hrs a week I make almost double what I made working 60 hours at the lab (40 hrs paid)
 
Do you guys know of any ways to make extra money in cash? Completely legal ways, of course
 
goldy490 said:
Thanks for all the responses, I actually do work at an academic hospital so have been trying to find studies to participate in. How do you find them?

Also as for sperm donor, Im kind of terrified of the idea that I could have children running around out there somewhere 😕...what if I meet one of them one day!
Click to expand...

My hospital/university has a website where they list active studies. (You might check with your hospital's IRB or Research Administration Office?) I've also found that many studies advertise in the "ETC" section on Craigslist. I would look for postings that specify the hospital/university that's sponsoring the study to make sure you're not getting some weird scammy thing but I've generally found that many legit IRB-approved university and hospital studies advertise there (including studies I've worked on as a research assistant) because it's free and relatively broad sample of people use the site.

I've also seen fliers in places where college students congregate on campus and at my doctor's office.
 
i met a student who paid for the entire COA playing the stock markets....oh the joys of the non-trads
 
The best is being a cuddle buddy. You can get paid around $200/hour
 
Sell your old clothes. Just look in your closet/dresser for clothes that you haven't worn in over a couple of months and start selling them on ebay. Also sell any possessions (toasters, iron, TV, old computers, etc) that you can spare.
 
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