[Elles]

My reply last time I posted on this topic: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show...b#post10802500

It's a bit 'how long is a piece of string'. Variables being:

- Which medical school = what is the policy, term dates & contact hours

- How much academic work do you personally need to keep afloat / are you super keen or gunning for 1st quartile

- How many other commitments will you have outside of academia - do you want to play sport to a high level or do lots of volunteering etc / do you need lots of sleep!


E.g. for me (at Oxford) I've never been employed during term time (well, other than book tokens/expenses/odd £20 for university related stuff) because our university policy is anti the idea & the terms are quite intense.

During preclinical we had massive holidays (terms were 3 x 9 weeks long!) so i tended to get a fulltime job over those summers (e.g. ~37 hours a week 2.5-3 months) or temp & earnt quite a bit.

During clinical so far holidays are less massive - so I've done a little temping, but no where near as much.


Another way to look at it might be considering the outgoing part of the budget rather than just income & was one of the reasons why I chose Oxford over my insurance choice (which was a London).
Or income in terms of which universities have good scholarships/book grants/travel grants/student support funds (a big Oxbridge trumpet to blow here!). These sorts of things are likely to be non means tested or allocated based on your actual budget & income, not your parents.

& something else that might be quite relevant is how flexible is the job? The work you need to do might vary with exam/deadline proximity...

[ash_moo]

Just wondering how feasible that is really...

Does anyone doing a medical course at the moment work, and if so, how much does it affect your studies. Would you recommend it?

[Mush]

It affects different people differently. Medicine is obviously an insanely difficult course but I do know folks who manage to get lots of great grades aswell as maintaining a weekend/part-time job.

You can also work out exchanges with your workplace, tell them you'll work extra hours during the summer/holidays and in return ask if they'll give you much less hours as exam time approaches. That way you'll minimise any adverse affects that working has on your uni performence.

If not, then you can just work full time during the summers to fund the rest of your year! And remember, a lot of medical courses do paid work placements as part of the course...

[rottcodd]

My friend studying medicine worked during the holidays, but said she would have found it absolutely impossible to retain the job during term time.

[*tink*]

"a lot of medical courses do paid work placements as part of the course..."

No..........

Working during the holidays is generally fine during the preclinical phase (lots of people work full time with no probs)

Working during term time depends on your circumstances (see elles post above)



Personally, I worked during the first 2 1/2 years with no problems, about 10 hrs during term time, 40-50hrs/week holidays so its not necessarily impossible

[Annaconda]

could you not do a job like handing leaflets out in the street where you only work a couple of hours a week and they are really flexible.

and do you not have to to EMS in the holidays?

[Fluffy]

(Original post by Mush)
And remember, a lot of medical courses do paid work placements as part of the course...

*******s! I wish they did, but they do not!!!

[No Future]

(Original post by Fluffy)
*******s! I wish they did, but they do not!!!

Yeah, as far as I am aware you have to pay tuition fees for the clinical placement years, yet in the placements you do do work. Okay sure you gain teaching and some experience but it seems crazy that you have to pay to work there.

Nursing students receive payment, certainly when they are on placements!

[Renal]

(Original post by ash_moo)
Does anyone doing a medical course at the moment work, and if so, how much does it affect your studies. Would you recommend it?

I work a bit, I had to cut down to around 4 hours a week in my fourth year because I couldn't fit that much in with hockey, mixed hockey, fashion show, drama and the rest of it.

[Renal]

(Original post by Mush)
Medicine is obviously an insanely difficult course but I do know folks who manage to get lots of great grades aswell as maintaining a weekend/part-time job.

It is?

[Renal]

(Original post by No Future)
Nursing students receive payment, certainly when they are on placements!

Yer, loath as I am to defend them, student nurses actually nurse while on placement wheras we just stand there looking pretty.

[Renal]

(Original post by Annaconda)
and do you not have to to EMS in the holidays?

No, for a start; who'd have us?

[Mush]

(Original post by Renal)
It is?

Let me rephrase.

Medicine is obviously a relatively demanding course.

[ash_moo]

(Original post by Renal)
I work a bit, I had to cut down to around 4 hours a week in my fourth year because I couldn't fit that much in with hockey, mixed hockey, fashion show, drama and the rest of it.

My...a busy little elf aren't you?

I was just wondering in terms of, would you be able to entirely support yourself through the money that you earn working?
(Bearing in mind that I will have some money saved up for the first year, plus 75% of the maintenance loan...)

[bright star]

(Original post by ash_moo)
My...a busy little elf aren't you?

I was just wondering in terms of, would you be able to entirely support yourself through the money that you earn working?
(Bearing in mind that I will have some money saved up for the first year, plus 75% of the maintenance loan...)

no, not really! i can't anyways and liverpool is cheap to live. will your parents not support you?

i work term time and fulltime most holidays (i had this christmas off due to not having a suitable job more than anything though....)

i can manage at the moment but as said, you need to cut down on hours in clinical years so you need to be saving for that earlier on in the course which is the bit i haven't been able to do.

[ash_moo]

(Original post by bright star)
no, not really! i can't anyways and liverpool is cheap to live. will your parents not support you?

i work term time and fulltime most holidays (i had this christmas off due to not having a suitable job more than anything though....)

i can manage at the moment but as said, you need to cut down on hours in clinical years so you need to be saving for that earlier on in the course which is the bit i haven't been able to do.

They are more than willing to support me. In fact, I reckon they want to pay for all of my expenses.

But I have got this silly thing in my head that I am going to try and do it all by myself.
'Try' being the operative word here

[person 34]

I plan to work at M and S to get money off posh food. Or just work in a club as a pole dancer.

[bright star]

(Original post by ash_moo)
They are more than willing to support me. In fact, I reckon they want to pay for all of my expenses.

But I have got this silly thing in my head that I am going to try and do it all by myself.
'Try' being the operative word here

well that's just stupid to be quite honest! to be independent financially is going to take a lot of sacrifices and i don't see the motivation behind doing that to yourself holding up long-term if there's no real reason for it.... why not just take their help if you need it, even if it's just as a loan?

[ash_moo]

(Original post by bright star)
well that's just stupid to be quite honest!

so i have been told many times...

but it's not like i will refuse to ask for help at all, ever. if i need it, trust me, i will go straight to my parents lol.
i just want to see if that's possible, and if so, do it to the extent that i actually can manage.

[Helenia]

I managed the first three years without much in the way of parental support apart from paying my fees just by working in the Christmas/summer holidays, but I've needed it since NHS bursaries screwed me over. Plus we're not allowed to have term-time jobs and my holidays are so short it'd be pointless.