work during medschool

[TweetiePie]

just wondering, is anybody planning to work during their first year? do you know anyone who does?

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[Future_Doc]

I've heard that some people can get away with it. I plan on doing a little contract work during down times (i.e., long weekends, holidays, etc) but I don't think I will be able to make a committment to an employer for x# of hours per week. Who knows - maybe during second year I will have a different perspective. I've worked so long, I really want to be just a student for a little while.

 

[Hero]

In oregon they won't count you as a state resident even after one year if you are only there for school. So I hope to work as well to become an oregonian. Hopefully that will save at least 30k.

 

[sorrento]

I had Kaplan instructors who were med students. That seems like a good job to have - decent pay, not too many hours, teaching practice, plus you're already knowledgeable about the material.

 

[SicVic]

Bartending anyone! I think that will be a nice job during the first year or two.

 

[PunkRockDoc]

I will hopefully be working as a Kaplan instructor, if time permits.

 

[Original]

Heck NO!

 

[DrMom]

I'll keep teaching Kaplan, but only so that I will have been there long enough to qualify for a free course in time for boards.

 

[Coalboy]

•••quote:•••Heck NO!••••Oh come on, Original!
We'll have plenty of time for outside jobs.

 

[Original]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Coalboy:
• •••quote:•••Heck NO!••••Oh come on, Original!
We'll have plenty of time for outside jobs. •••••<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> true.

 

[The Fly]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by sorrento:
•I had Kaplan instructors who were med students. That seems like a good job to have - decent pay, not too many hours, teaching practice, plus you're already knowledgeable about the material.•••••Except for that pesky physics and orgo (of which 90% is completely irrelevant for med school), and oh wait, those oh so simple verbal passages . . .
:wink:

I taught Kaplan and let me tell ya: it's a lot of work the first time no matter what you're concurrently learning. After the first time, you have all your notes and stuff handy and it's easier but I wouldn't recommend teaching Kaplan during med school unless you've already taught it once before.

 

[LBJeffries]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by sicvic:
•Bartending anyone! I think that will be a nice job during the first year or two. •••••I was a bartender for two years and would love to keep doing that, but if I end up in Valhalla, there probably aren't many bars around where I can do that. If I get accepted to Cornell on the other hand...

 

[Darth Vader]

I have one classmate who used to work as a bar tender every friday during first year until he was fired for something. Bar tending is a good deal, limited time and lot's of money.

 

[deva]

How could you afford not to work? I mean, sure, you will have the money from loans and grants, etc. but I get really nervous about money when I don't have a job.

 

[NineSixteen]

What's with all the Kaplan people? Princeton Review, baby! I'll continue teaching MCAT classes in school, hopefully. I do agree with a previous poster, though, that it would be really hard to START teaching these classes as a med student -- TONS of prep the first time around, probably more work for the teachers than the students. Once you're a veteran teacher, though the amount of work is small for such a great hourly wage.

 

[STi555]

A friend of mine said the best job during medical school is to work at an adult bookstore. The people there don't want to talk to you; they just want to get in and out quickly so most of the time you can sit at the counter and study.

 

[c33]

just curious, how do you get a job as a bartender? do you need experience first? do they teach you everything you need to know? or what?

 

[Street Philosopher]

That is a good question... something I've wondered about too. People seem to have a lot of free time... like the UCSF students who finish each day at noon! It'd be cool to earn a little cash during school in order to pay off debts.

 

[lilycat]

My best advice (given to me last year by older and wiser med students, and now verified by own experience) is to wait to start working until at least the first semester is over. That should give you a good idea of how much time you have available, and how much stress you are experiencing.

Actually having time to work varies significantly between medical schools. What's true for your friend at one school, may not be true for you at a different school. Also, some of those schools that have classes that end at noon can be somewhat misleading -- sure, you're not in lecture, but less lecture time may translate into more time spent learning stuff outside of class -- not just reviewing material, but actually learning new material.

If you discover that you have time to work, great. But if you don't think you can, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Trust me -- I was incredibly stressed about money before I started med school -- I had been working and earning a steady income for 10 years prior to entering med school -- I couldn't imagine how I would get by without a steady paycheck. But then I realized that the money I could earn with most of the part-time jobs out there wouldn't really make any kind of dent in my debt level, I had enough money in loans to live comfortably, and I'd rather be using that time in other ways rather than working.

Anyways, take the first semester off from work -- see how things go, and then make your decision.

 

[PTjay]

the plan is to work as a Physical Therapist per diem either at a University Hospital or somewhere nearby (I know therapists who work 2 weekend days a month at the hospital I work at and somewhere else during the week).

gotta finish the PT degree and get into med school first though.

 

[m2006]

This is the difficult question for me. I've always worked, even in high school. But now, I can't seem to figure out how it would be worth it. Even earning $20 an hour, you bring home $12, half of which the financial aid people will take when they calculate your aid package. So, that's $6 an hour. At 10 hours a week, that's not quite $3000 for a substantial time investment. If I had most of my education paid for in scholarships, it might be worth it. But working just appears to decrease the aid for which I am eligible...so no working for me, at least not until I get it figured out...

 

[Future_Doc]

It will definitely be strange not getting a paycheck after so many years working. Oh, well. At least I'll be making the "big bucks" in 4 years once I start residency, right?? <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />