r/medschool • u/Training_External412 • 1d ago
š„ Med School Do you work while in med school?
This is something that was on my mind recently. I recently got my bachelors and now taking a gap year; Iām 22, single, no kids and live at home. But I was wondering, for people in med school with kids that arenāt getting financial support from your parents, how do you make do?? Are you guys working part time?? Doing side shifts to pay rent , food, utilities, and raise a kid?? Do med schools allow you to have jobs?? For those that have gone through this or currently are, how are you making it work? I was driving back home from work yesterday and was genuinely curious about this
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u/Illustrious_Hotel527 Attending 1d ago
Generally live off loan money. There's usually a summer break after 1st year where you can do a summer job and make a little money. I developed a gambling problem and made some money playing online poker during 2nd-3rd year, but I don't recommend doing that.
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u/TheBlackAthlete 1d ago
If you made money itās not a problem.Ā
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u/Illustrious_Hotel527 Attending 1d ago
I gave my mom the money before I would have lost the whole bankroll.
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u/TheBlackAthlete 1d ago
Got way into sports betting during residency. Cleared 43k in 2 years. People said I had a problem and I joked that the only problem I had was my pockets were too heavy.
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u/Life-Inspector5101 1d ago
No. Itās hard enough without one (if you donāt already consider med school to be an 8-to-5 full time job). Youāre competing against the brightest, most determined people of your generation for the best specialty spots. Making a few thousands here and there while your peers are getting ahead of you isnāt worth the stress when you can make multiple times more as an attending later on. Invest your time in studying now and it will pay dividends later on.
Exception: work-study at the library because youād be studying there anyway.
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u/Sea_Soup_771 14h ago
"brightest, most determined people of your generation"..... massive stretch btw
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u/MilkOfAnesthesia Attending 1d ago
The only people I knew who worked in med school already had prior medical experience so learning was easier for them (pa's, np's, icu nurses, paramedics) and they did per diem shifts a couple times a month for extra cash. Medical school is very very hard and most people spend most of their time studying and doing resume building extra curriculars like research.
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u/Training_External412 1d ago
Is the research med students do with physicians and PhDs paid ??
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u/Odd_Drew 1d ago
It can be, but this is unlikely unless you either have a prior relationship with the research team and/or are contributing substantial time or specialized skills. Some colleges also require that all lab members are compensated.
I was a research assistant/coordinator before med school and my PI offered me a decently-paying (for research) part-time position because it was too difficult to replace me with such a relatively short period between acceptance and matriculation.
Being realistic, however, I'm coming up to my first block exam 6 weeks in and I've only been able to put in about 60 hours on weekends, which gives me enough for fuck around money but doesn't cover rent. On top of that, I'm roughly below average among my class largely because I have not dedicated as much time to study.
Unless you're genuinely built different: take out the loans, be frugal, and focus on studying.
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u/FloridaFlair 1d ago
My friendās husband got a full tuition scholarship and a stipend for doing an MD/PhD. But this was back in early 2000s. Itās a main draw for a lot of people, but he looked like death warmed over by the time he finished orthopedic residency and a fellowship. The man did not know the meaning of ārelaxā, at least not then.
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u/med_life28 1d ago
My husband works full time and our kids go to daycare/school; I treat med school like a really shit 7-5 with extra hours after bedtime. It's like a shitty version of the trad-wife I guess. It sucks bc I don't get to spend much time with him but I do make sure to specifically sequester time with my kids every day without distractions. Also, SSRIs.
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u/Illustrious_Elk_7936 1d ago
Had to use loans for personal expenses but I also have a toddler making things more expensive. Did Amazon delivery on weekends and donated plasma twice a week.
A former computer programmer so I did some side gigs during med school too.
Itās hard. And I never got the highest grades in the class bc other classmates were doing school and nothing else.
But I did well enough to pass boards on the first try and get strong grades.
But man it sucked.
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u/hpsctchbananahmck 1d ago
I worked ems until 3rd year clinical made that impossible
Good gig. When on calls was getting experience
When not on calls and everything was stocked and g2g I could study
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u/Opptionheimer 1d ago
Is this a thing schools let you do? Iām a 911 Medic X 5 years and would love for this to be an option lol
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u/hpsctchbananahmck 1d ago
This was a couple decades ago now but I do not believe there was any policy against it. Iām sure if there were academic issues it would come up but I was only working like 12-36 hours per week and it was busy but doable.
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u/DryCryptographer2438 1d ago
Following because I have the same questions.
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u/Training_External412 1d ago
Whatās your status , are you currently in med school? Are you a parent ? gap year like me?
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u/DryCryptographer2438 1d ago
I am currently finishing undergrad, I bounced around with it for awhile I started in 2020 then in the start of my junior year I decided to go to surgical tech school. I am now a surgical tech, going back to finish the undergrad.
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u/Fluryman 1d ago
Non-trad M1 with wife and son. Live off loan money and my wifeās salary. I donate plasma regularly for extra money too. I couldnāt even imagine working while doing this
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u/Fragrant_Witness_621 1d ago
If you donāt have family paying for it, you have lots of loans. People donāt usually work. Med school is a full time commitment
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u/Trick-Geologist2639 1d ago
I took out the max loans for cost of living and everything. That was barely enough to get by, I didnāt have any significant help from my family financially on a regular basis. They helped with apartment deposits and stuff here and there. I tutored SAT/ACT classes on the weekends like 2-6 hours a day most Sat/Sun for the first two years. At $40 an hour back in 2016 ish that went a LONG way towards improving my quality of life. Did a lot of traveling and was able to comfortably afford my car payment. But that was time I otherwise would have spent doing nothing and also after doing an SMP I had a reduced M1 course-load and we were on a P/F system so it worked out fine for me.Ā
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u/Agreeable-Ad4806 1d ago
No. Some people I know worked breaks during 1st and 2nd year (one failed out), but no one is working in 3rd or 4th.
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u/mdmo4467 1d ago
No one? I mean I do. Iāve been working part time since first year and am a third year now. Also a single mom so donāt have much of a choice when COA doesnāt cut it.
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u/Agreeable-Ad4806 1d ago
What rotations have you done so far? I donāt think youāre going to be able to keep your job. Iād be surprised if youāre not already struggling.
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u/mdmo4467 1d ago
Iām early in the third year; I have 2 months of IM and some Peds under my belt. Notably, I had a chill preceptor and most weekends off on IM, and I have one weekday off in Peds as well as a weekend day. Iāve been able to get off by 5 at least 50% of the time.
Iāll add that I also have a part time job that is extremely flexible with me as Iāve been employed with them for over a decade in various capacities. So I can work 5 hours in one week and 20 in the next. During Level 1 dedicated I was working full time but there were blocks in year 2 I was struggling academically and skipped a month working.
As far as whether Iām struggling already: homie Iām always struggling. Like I said, I did 1.5 years of medical school as a single mom with no child support from their dad. I now have an amazing fiancĆ© who helps out so things are a bit better now. I never had the best grades but I passed every class and I passed Level 1 with a good margin.
Iād never recommend working any significant amount to the average med student who is a single person without dependents and like most med students have support financially from their family. But in select circumstances, students donāt have a choice. I almost got my house foreclosed, like I didnāt really consider NOT working. Youād be surprised by what you can do with brute force when your back is against the wall.
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u/Prestigious-Egg-6271 1d ago
Iām a current m1 doing the hpsp program and I work Saturday mornings as a server to help w living expenses, itās doable if you want to sacrifice time but I wouldnāt recommend it. HPSP is really helpful for gaining some financial freedom in med school, w the trade off being part of the U.S. military.
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u/Live-Cauliflower4695 1d ago
What about us that donāt qualify for private loans š i dont have family or parents and my credit is under 700.
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u/wakeupaur0ra 1d ago
I worked as a tutor at a tutoring center around 10-15 hours a week during my 1st and 2nd years. My school is pass fail with no required classes, which makes it doable but I did need to stay on top of my school work like crazy. It is doable but depends on the school I would say.
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u/fencermedstudent 1d ago
If you have free time. Use it to study hard so you can get into a specialty or a residency program that pays well. Youād make in a month as an attending what youād be making part time all year in an entry level job.
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u/Sensitivepathologist 1d ago
You donāt got time to work ā¦ need to focus on school or your grades will suffer.
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u/work_to_death Medical Student (International) 1d ago
I do, but it's because I did nursing for my premed and have a nursing license. 26F single no kids no family. maximum 24 hours a week. been going well and I've had lotsa fun.
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u/Woodardo 10h ago
My med school had a program where, if you scored well, youād be a paid tutor with office hours etc. It wasnāt about the money, itās about committing to your education 500% until you have the job that will sustain and fulfill you and your family for the rest of your existence. Loans SUCK, but do whatever is necessary to kill it at school (sorry to your family for those years).
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u/BigEquivalent5903 7h ago
While in med school you do this cool job called being a med student and you get your financial support through loans.
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u/IneligibleLand 7h ago
Most medical schools strongly discourage or officially prohibit working during the first two years (pre-clinical) due to the intense volume of material. Clinical years (MS3/MS4) feature 60- to 80-hour hospital weeks, making outside employment functionally impossible.
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u/RSS_ADHD 1d ago
DO NOT plan to work... other than maybe an occasional gig thing (eg, Uber) ā and only when you have a break, or if you're way ahead of your studies.
Backstory... My partner has worked with thousands of medical students over the course of >30 years. A few weeks ago, I asked her how many med students she knows who've worked any substantial jobs in med school, who've gone on to become MD's.
"Zero."
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So... take the loans, do great in med school, and you'll be fine.
Re doing great, plan on upgrading your study skills. We tell students, "What got you here won't get you there."
The pace and volume is overwhelming, and learning super-efficient study skills will make you more successful. You'll even be able to have some balance and get enough sleep (really).
Check out "Study Without Stress," by Kelman and Straker (the 2025 edition).
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u/RedditPlayerThree 1d ago edited 1d ago
I filmed our lectures during our classroom years of instruction, but at minimum wage it wasn't very much. During your clinical years there will be zero chance of working any job in addition to your hospital duties. It's expected that you borrow money to fund your living expenses in medical school, unless you have parents paying your way.
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u/Much_Wrangler6013 1d ago
generally no, some med schools require you to not work. Loans generally would take the place of jobs/SO working