'Don't give up the day job'

NOT all medical students want to find part-time work in a healthcare-related field – in fact, some have gotten away from it altogether. We asked some medical students in London what their most interesting ways of raising some cash have been at university.

"I used to work in a sci-fi memorabilia shop – you may laugh, but how many people can say they’ve hung out with actors from Star Wars and Doctor Who?! Once I also worked as a rep at a business exhibition stand for a week, selling shares in diamond fields in South Africa. Working as a doctor might actually end up as the most boring job on my CV!"

"I’m a Grade 8 violinist and never pass up an opportunity to play – I’m in the university orchestra and several others. Some friends and I formed an informal string quartet a couple of years ago and through word of mouth started getting asked to play at weddings and so on – for good money! There’s nothing like getting paid for something you love."

"For one long summer during the preclinical years, I was a ride operator at Chessington World of Adventures. That sounds really cool, and to begin with it was – free rides galore and a killer suntan. But by the end I couldn’t wait to quit – it quickly became The Most Boring Job Ever as we always had to supervise the same ride. And after dealing with bratty kids for three months I can definitely say I’m not going into paediatrics!"

"I built a website whilst I was still at school and have been updating it ever since, with all sorts of medical school lecture notes and junk. On a whim I stared using Google Adsense, which displays ads relevant to the content of your site and pays you every time a visitor clicks on one. I actually manage to pay quite a chunk of my phone bill with the funds every month!"

"As a male ballroom dancer, I’m always in demand at university classes overrun by females. I recently discovered that you can actually turn this into a money-spinner and get paid to partner girls at private lessons! Dancing with attractive women and earning money at the same time – you could do a lot worse!"

Medical Student Newspaper/Money4MedStudent article October 2007