Help! Student unsure what to do!

19lottie82

[quote=[Deleted User];54804315]Man up and get a job.

[/QUOTE]
Not a very fair statement. Medicine isn't like other degrees, they are very hard work, require total dedication and it's not a case of "manning up and getting a job". Many medical schools won't allow students to work on top of their course as it feels it will compromise their studies and any placements that they are undertaking.

I don't think I have ever met a medical student that has been able to work p/t alongside their degree.

Queen_of_the_Hive

Catpat, feel for you in your situation. I worked part time in my degree and think that this did have an effect on my final grade.

Have you had a good read through some of the 'wannabe mortgage free' diaries on the forums. The people on there have some really good tools and advice for managing money. It might not necessarily give you the thousands you need but might give you a bit of help re budgets and stuff and potential easy money producing schemes.

Michelle245

Hi

I am in a similar situation to you, I owe the university £3000 from this year and then my student finance leaves me with £2300 for the next year (starting September) after fees are paid. I dont know how I am supposed to pay rent, bills, etc. I also dont have parents or a trust fund to fall back on, and I am also struggling to find work around my studies. I am looking into a bank loan but I have bad credit so its not looking good for me either. If not as you say a year out is going to be my only option. It very exhausting when you get so close to finishing only to be met with these obstacles. I can appreciate that comments such as get a job or ask your parents aren't helpful as I hear them all the time too. Have you tried to see if you are entitled to any benefits? I did try but they told me my student loan was to cover my living costs, how im supposed to survive an entire year on £2300 is beyond me but might be worth a shot for you.

Good luck and I hope you manage to sort something!

Touche

19lottie82 wrote: »

Not a very fair statement. Medicine isn't like other degrees, they are very hard work, require total dedication and it's not a case of "manning up and getting a job". Many medical schools won't allow students to work on top of their course as it feels it will compromise their studies and any placements that they are undertaking.

I don't think I have ever met a medical student that has been able to work p/t alongside their degree.

My wife worked in Monsoon over weekends for the whole 5 years when she was in Medical School. I'm also a doctor worked on a supermarket checkout during my 1st 2 years at med school and then worked as a kitchen assistant for the last 3 years. I also worked 20-30 hours a week while I did a medical masters "full time" over a year. Man up I say...

dothebartman

Catpat, i really think you should give the professional and career loan a try as at the moment you are considering lots of other sub-optimal solutions (a year out to work should be the absolute last choice: the money you earn doing this will be peanuts compared to your post qualification study). I understand the lending criteria has changed but i really cant see who would be able to get this loan if not a med student with two years left to qualify. P.S. Dont listen to the man-up crew. I worked in holidays for my first few non-clinical years, but could count on one hand the number of ppl who worked in the final clinical years. In my opinion it is too much and WILL affect your studies. :-)

catpat

dothebartman wrote: »

Catpat, i really think you should give the professional and career loan a try as at the moment you are considering lots of other sub-optimal solutions (a year out to work should be the absolute last choice: the money you earn doing this will be peanuts compared to your post qualification study). I understand the lending criteria has changed but i really cant see who would be able to get this loan if not a med student with two years left to qualify. P.S. Dont listen to the man-up crew. I worked in holidays for my first few non-clinical years, but could count on one hand the number of ppl who worked in the final clinical years. In my opinion it is too much and WILL affect your studies. :-)

Thanks, I can see their point but the reason my grades are so high is because I spend all of my free time studying...if I took that time to work then my grades would just plummet, unfortunately I am not one of these students who can go to a lecture and it just sticks, I have to really work at it! I've worked during my summers and I did work weekends during my first term of first year, but had to quit as I was falling behind with work. I must admit I am always in awe of my fellow students who can work part time and go to placements (but I must admit I know no students in my year working part time and anyone who did it beforehand didn't turn up to placements and had much worse grades). And a few extra hours a week isn't going to cover all the costs I need to cover...will cover some, but still would be pointless if I couldn't afford my food bill as all my part time work costs went on my rent

But I think I may give the loan application a go; once I get application I will go to bank to talk about applying and what they think my chances of acceptance are.

catpat

Touche wrote: »

My wife worked in Monsoon over weekends for the whole 5 years when she was in Medical School. I'm also a doctor worked on a supermarket checkout during my 1st 2 years at med school and then worked as a kitchen assistant for the last 3 years. I also worked 20-30 hours a week while I did a medical masters "full time" over a year. Man up I say...

Did your wife make enough money working at Monsoon over weekends to pay all her rent, food and bills? I don't know about your University, but every single Doctor I have spoken to about my problem has said that working part time would be a very bad idea during my fourth and fifth years and will affect my performance. If I did that against their advice and I failed, they would not support me in appeal and I would be in a bigger financial mess. (I've been looking for weekend jobs just in case and can't find any, which is another problem).

I do intend on working weekends during intercalation though. Unfortunately though, it seems that even weekend jobs in shops are hard to come by in my area. I hope that the economy will begin to pick up by then and more will be available.

PasturesNew

catpat wrote: »

I'm afraid I have no childcare or babysitting experience, so doubt I would be chosen to look after children over someone qualified to do so! And, unfortunately, I live in a small area just outside of Truro in Cornwall and would need a taxi back in the evenings, which I imagine would take a big chunk of money earned. Possible though, of course, but not entirely practical.

Taking a year out to work is looking more likely.

Many aren't looking for somebody qualified ... and in desperation at getting a babysitter most would give you a lift home too.

And, as most parents' fear is that their kids will die while a babysitter's there, having medical knowledge makes you a safe bet... you ARE qualified!

catpat

PasturesNew wrote: »

Many aren't looking for somebody qualified ... and in desperation at getting a babysitter most would give you a lift home too.

And, as most parents' fear is that their kids will die while a babysitter's there, having medical knowledge makes you a safe bet... you ARE qualified!

I'm probably going to sound like a fool, but how would I go about advertising babysitting services (aside from putting a notice in local shop windows?)

Touche

catpat wrote: »

Did your wife make enough money working at Monsoon over weekends to pay all her rent, food and bills? I don't know about your University, but every single Doctor I have spoken to about my problem has said that working part time would be a very bad idea during my fourth and fifth years and will affect my performance. If I did that against their advice and I failed, they would not support me in appeal and I would be in a bigger financial mess. (I've been looking for weekend jobs just in case and can't find any, which is another problem).

I do intend on working weekends during intercalation though. Unfortunately though, it seems that even weekend jobs in shops are hard to come by in my area. I hope that the economy will begin to pick up by then and more will be available.

No, she lived with her parents... but she still wanted to work

I'm just saying if you're considering taking a whole year out of uni to work and get extra money then a part-time job is worth considering. It might not be ideal, of course having an extra 20 hours a week is preferable... but sometimes you just have to knuckle down.

I had a friend at uni who worked for his father's cleaning company (cleaning London buses at night to put food on their table) while attending med school during the day!

Another option you haven't considered here is letting the intercalated degree pass. Getting your medical degree. Doing FY1 and FY2. Then doing a masters full time over a year before going for specialty training. You could locum in that year and would need to work much less to earn the same money (typically £50 an hour as an SHO locum rather than £10 an hour (if you're lucky) with a part time job. You'd end up with a higher degree in the same total time, wouldn't have your funding problem in your final year and would earn more if you decided to work during your extra degree year. Worth considering IMO