Work Study

[mma]

Hi All,

I am having a dilemma--Baylor has some great-sounding work study options, but I am concerned about whether I will have enough time to study, volunteer, spend time with my husband and friends, exercise, live, AND work.

Is it wise to sign up for work study during med school? If you sign up, are you required to go through with it? Are hours pretty flexible?

Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

mma

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[lilycat]

mma -- Baylor's work-study is very flexible -- if you sign up for your first year, they will allow you to defer the work study until second semester if necessary and allow you to make up the difference in loans for first semester. I also think you can change your package (ie, add work study into it) halfway through the year). I know some MS2's who were doing work study and most of their sites were pretty mellow, the hours were good, etc. You just have to find one that would work with your schedule.

As for having time, it just depends on who you talk to -- some people definitely think they have time for it and others feel like they don't even have time to sleep and eat, much less work. A good "rule" is to give yourself the first semester and see how things go. If you feel totally overwhelmed that may be a good sign that you should put off a work-study. On the other hand, if you are very organized and have some free time in your schedule, than you could probably manage working in your following semesters.

 

[squeek]

I agree with the above--definitely don't work your first semester. That way you can gauge your work load and how much you need to do.

I considered working during school, and my husband talked me out of it. He had a very good point: work study really does not pay that much, so it's not really worth the drain on your time. You'll probably be better off using that time to do really well in school and to maintain and nourish family/friend relationships, paying off the little bit of extra debt later. Remember--the average starting salary for a physician out of residency is ~80-90K (and residency is paid, albeit not very well). If you're frugal, you shouldn't have problems paying the debt off, and your med school years will be richer.

 

[Maran]

Actually, I think 80-90K is a fairly low estimate for first year earnings. We typically negotiate at least 30K more than that for primary care docs just out of residency. Of course, it does help to have a physician's agent/liaison negotiating for you.