mjd2012 Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Hi everyone, Just wondering if there are many medical students who keep their part-time jobs for a shift or two per week even while completing school? I know it's a rigorous program and it would certainly be tough, but I'm just wondering if it's doable without burnout, jeopardizing grades, etc. I have the opportunity to keep one shift a week in September so I am contemplating. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feversugar Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 I did this for the first two years (pre-clinical)! One day a week on sundays. I didn't think it was particularly difficult got replaced a few times before exams, but that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugacity Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 I know people who do this, but it's usually for a very high reward job. It should be manageable if you love the part time job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Hi everyone, Just wondering if there are many medical students who keep their part-time jobs for a shift or two per week even while completing school? I know it's a rigorous program and it would certainly be tough, but I'm just wondering if it's doable without burnout, jeopardizing grades, etc. I have the opportunity to keep one shift a week in September so I am contemplating. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Only do it if you love the job and are doing it as a hobby. Or if the money is extremely good ($100 am hour or something). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmitty Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I worked during first year between 10-20 hrs week and will be working during second year (TAing, teaching, research, etc). It's doable if you have good cramming skills :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralk Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Quite a few people do it, but yeah, there needs to be a good reason to do that work. If you enjoy it, feel it develops a useful skill, or pays exceedingly well (and I mean exceedingly well, then go for it. If it's just for a bit of extra cash, don't bother - your LOC and government loans will provide funding and career development is more important. I didn't find school itself to be that much of a time-sink, but all the other parts of med school, namely extra-curriculars and CV building, do take quite a bit of time and energy. These have much more value long-term than the money made at most jobs available for pre-clerks. It's also time that could be used for exercise, spending time with friends or family, and just general relaxation. To cut my ramble short, in med school, time is more valuable than money, so if the job you're thinking of is a valuable use of your time relative to the other opportunities in med school, by all means, continue it - otherwise, quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD2015 Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I wouldn't do it. Your time is too valuable. And any earnings will only diminish what you get from the province, so, in effect, you are working for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooty Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I don't understand why people do this unless it's for something like $100/hr, as someone said. You're jeopardizing your chances down the line even if you plan to do nothing with your weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmatt1122 Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 I don't understand why people do this unless it's for something like $100/hr, as someone said. You're jeopardizing your chances down the line even if you plan to do nothing with your weekends. How though? If it's between spending your Saturday mornings doing zilch vs. working and making $20/hr for 4h doing something you enjoy, what's the harm? I don't see how that's jeopardizing anything... although you would surely have more insight/experience so I'd be interested to know your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Stark Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Unless it's extremely interesting work, I wouldn't bother. I knew a guy in my class who worked nights at a bar and a late night poutine place. Neither job could possibly paid well, but he did. There will be plenty of weekends in clerkship, residency, and independent practice where you'll be working. Don't sacrifice your time off in pre-clerkship to make a small amount of money. I don't think you're really "jeopardizing" anything but your work-life balance. (I don't understand tooty's comment about "jeopardizing" chances by doing nothing on weekends.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 How though? If it's between spending your Saturday mornings doing zilch vs. working and making $20/hr for 4h doing something you enjoy, what's the harm? I don't see how that's jeopardizing anything... although you would surely have more insight/experience so I'd be interested to know your thoughts. well if you compare it to doing zilch then sure why not - but just to go through it why is the alternative zilch? You could be spending that Saturday doing research, doing observerships, studying so you know your stuff with networking, developing more recognized ECs, studying and writing the USMLE to expand future opportunities, staying fit etc, etc, etc....... The point is the money is the least important long term thing you spend your time obtaining at this particular point in time (saving's etc time will come) . If you do it to relax, destress or it has networking opportunities then it starts to have more meaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 well if you compare it to doing zilch then sure why not - but just to go through it why is the alternative zilch? You could be spending that Saturday doing research, doing observerships, studying so you know your stuff with networking, developing more recognized ECs, studying and writing the USMLE to expand future opportunities, staying fit etc, etc, etc....... The point is the money is the least important long term thing you spend your time obtaining at this particular point in time (saving's etc time will come) . If you do it to relax, destress or it has networking opportunities then it starts to have more meaning. Frig, you'll be so tired some weeks that a morning of sleeping in will be worth $$$$$$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Frig, you'll be so tired some weeks that a morning of sleeping in will be worth $$$$$$$. ha - it is hard to convince most premeds of the value of sleep. Clerks and residents on the other hand.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Stark Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 well if you compare it to doing zilch then sure why not - but just to go through it why is the alternative zilch? You could be spending that Saturday doing research, doing observerships, studying so you know your stuff with networking, developing more recognized ECs, studying and writing the USMLE to expand future opportunities, staying fit etc, etc, etc....... The point is the money is the least important long term thing you spend your time obtaining at this particular point in time (saving's etc time will come) . If you do it to relax, destress or it has networking opportunities then it starts to have more meaning. Yeesh. Doing observerships and research on weekends? It's one thing to study, but medicine can be a sufficiently all consuming career that it is absolutely essential to take time for yourself (and your friends, family, even hobbies and outside interests!) whenever you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Yeesh. Doing observerships and research on weekends? It's one thing to study, but medicine can be a sufficiently all consuming career that it is absolutely essential to take time for yourself (and your friends, family, even hobbies and outside interests!) whenever you can. blasphemy - you should be working all the time. All the time in mild seriousness I actually did all my research on the weekends. It was the weekdays that I was hoping to avoid become so squashed with stuff that there was no room to breath - didn't enjoy those days. Ha - personal choice. Hopefully no one took that as in you should be all consumingly spending every moment focused on advancing your career. It is just that you do become much more aware of the finite nature of time along the way - there isn't enough time to do everything, so I would suggest being somewhat active in what you want to focus on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Beef Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 Worked as a dietitian 35+ hrs a month at 60$/hr ... Not 100$/hr as many of you suggest makes it worth it but for me it was worth it as I am a spender and didn't want to spend line of credit money on video games, body building supplements and other junk I buy :-) also have a mortgage to pay :-) Going into third year and I will cease to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Beef Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 As an addition to my last post, I did find it very stressful at times ... Such that when classmates were studying .... Getting ahead ... I had to work and found I didn't have quite as deep of understanding as others throughout the modules and only caught up prior to exams when I would cram. Glad I don't have do it again but I feel like it was worth it in retrospect though not easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lokiki Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 Thanks for all the perspectives in this thread. I plan on working mainly because I teach first aid and it's pretty easy. Like realBeef, I hope to use it as my "mad money" for spending on fun stuff rather than using the LOC. I worked all through undergrad and know I can. I think I make around 25$/hr working. I can also recertify all my classmates in CPR every year if I stay current. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinemed Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 I worked during my MS2 at a waitressing job for 8-20 hours/week, usually Saturday night and Sunday day shifts with an occasional evening during the week. I had worked 40-70 hours a week at the same job during the summer between MS1 and MS2. I went to a school where we had most afternoons off, so it made it easier to balance my time during the school year as my days were flexible to accommodating study, gym, social, etc. time. I loved my job and my co-workers, and still sometimes miss working in that environment. Having a social circle and employment outside of medicine was really healthy for me, and the service industry can be a blast to work in. I was making about $11/hour base, but taking in anywhere from $100-$400 cash per shift. I continued to work during the summer between MS2 and MS3 while doing research as well. I quit before MS3 started, though honestly there were some blocks when I could have worked a couple shifts a week and stayed sane. I made a lot of money in the 16 months I worked there, and wish I had been working during MS1 as well. As some PP have mentioned, it either needs to be good $$ or something you like to do or both. Some people seem to think it'll inhibit your career prospects - I disagree. You have to have good time management skills, but you can do a lot of things with the time you have in MS1 and MS2, including work part-time. I agree MS3 and MS4 should be more dedicated to figuring out what you want to do and matching well. I ended up at my 1st choice in a desirable location in a competitive specialty, so I guess it turned out well for me TLDR; I worked 8-20 hours/week in MS2, loved it, 10/10 would again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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