Working year 1 and 2?

[sciencenerd94]

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Is it possible work your first 2 years of med school or would it be way too much?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Is it possible work your first 2 years of med school or would it be way too much?

There are a lot of factors involved such as whether or not you go to school with mandatory lectures, how many hours a week you're talking about, and how much money you would be making. I think most people would suggest that you not work for the first semester as you get used to study load etc.

 

[allojay]

Is it possible work your first 2 years of med school or would it be way too much?

I was actually thinking the same thing as M1 was about to start. I currently work in a CCU and was seriously contemplating if I could work part time/ per diem and juggle M1&M2. I'd like to get the input of upperclassmen that have been through the pre-clinical years.

 

[operaman]

I've worked all the way through so far, but most don't. I only work a couple of times per week and the hours coincide with times I don't usually have school responsibilities.

 

[Fluffy Pomeranian]

It's certainly doable if you go to a school without mandatory attendance, like WS mentioned. If you're going to be working 10-20 hours a week just to make an extra $200 bucks a week or something, I personally wouldn't find the time or energy sacrifice worth it. You need your free time in med school to stay sane and recuperate so that your study time is more productive. If on the other hand, you come from previous career where you could make some legit money part-time, it may be worth it. But see how the first few months of school go first without working on the side.

 

[SBR249]

I worked during MS1/MS2 but it was oddjobs here and there. I was an AV tech for my med school so I made money while helping to record lectures (get paid to go to lecture?? why thank you!) and that was 3-4hrs a week. I also tutored both privately and for my med school and that was about 10hrs a week. But the key thing was all of those jobs were flexible. The tutoring was self-scheduled and the AV tech was a responsibility shared with several students so we picked which lectures we wanted to do. I could take more hours on easy weeks and cut back during exam weeks. That seems to be the trend among the classmates that I know who worked during med school, they tended to do either free lance work or stuff that was self-scheduled.

 

[Ismet]

Can it be done? Yeah it's possible. A classmate of mine worked during 1st year, as far as I know she didn't work in 2nd year when the workload got more intense. I'd echo WS's advice and say you shouldn't work for the first couple months so you can adjust to med school.

 

[001100010010011]

You can work during breaks, on weekends, etc. but you've got to be flexible because you'll need to put in more work during one block vs. another. Personally, I don't think I could've worked at all during M1 and M2, especially not during my anatomy course and after December in M2 year.

The people I know who worked during school did things on the side, like hobbies that allowed them to sell things through etsy or ebay.

 

[boe]

It can be done. But it's also depending on what type of work you're planning to do. Here's my opinion: Working in undergrad is different from working in med school. In the latter, you work for mastery and skill because the rest of your life is going to depend on it, in the former you work for grades. On top of the heavy work load, there's also the hidden curriculum of med school that you really should pay attention to. Do you really think that it's worth sacrificing this and everything that you've worked hard for prior to med school for part-time wage? Sure med school tuition is formidable, but is what you're making even accounting for at least 10% of your total expenses?

Again this is dependent on the type of work. If it keeps you sane and if it can potentially help you later on, then it might be worth it. If you're just doing it for the money then my advice is to not do it.

 

[WillburCobb]

Also, there are some schools that prohibit you from working during the school year.

 

[dr.sartorius]

Working during school is not worth the added stress and the time it takes away from studying. I would say if you must work, be a tutor for the school.

 

[syma]

I work every Sunday in my previous gig as an optometrist. I am honest with myself in that the time I spend working 7 hours on a Sunday probably not likely to be spent studying. I will continue with it as long as I can manage, but will likely stop when we start our rotations.

 

[pDeluxe]

Any thoughts on musician work? Both playing small gigs (club/weddings/special events) and being a freelance musician for recording artists? Something I'm considering, but not sure if 1) its easy to just find such opportunities on the side and 2) its worth

 

[DrEnderW]

It depends on what kind of commitment you're talking about.

I tutored MCAT and HS/college sciences during M1 and now work for a board review company. Both commitments are/were manageable and brought in some extra spending money. However, neither would put a major dent in my overall student loans. I wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize your target class rank, board scores, sanity, etc.

 

[xffan624]

Any thoughts on musician work? Both playing small gigs (club/weddings/special events) and being a freelance musician for recording artists? Something I'm considering, but not sure if 1) its easy to just find such opportunities on the side and 2) its worth

I know several medical students who are in bands. How many actually get paid I'm not as sure on.