Medical school is expensive. (At least) 5 years of university in most instances is a lot of time, and a lot of money to give for medical education. As such, it is quite common that medical students want to get jobs to provide an income whilst at university, which is normally fine. But, if you go to medical school, the story is a bit different. Medicine is a tough subject for us all, and at Oxbridge, you have intense 8-week terms, essays upon essays, and long contact hours meaning it is difficult to find the time to work during the term. In fact, for Cambridge, it is actually a rule that students cannot have a contract job during term time.
Cambridge does allow you to have jobs outside of term time ie. during the holidays (but not during the term time!), whereas at Oxford, you can work during term time. Whilst it means that, in most cases, you can’t do a shift at a coffee shop or pub, there are other ways to receive an income whilst at university. There are so many different types of jobs you can get I cannot fit them all into one article, but I will give you some ideas. For the suggestions, remember the rules surrounding having a job at your university – if you go to Cambridge, for example, only the online/freelance options would apply to you if you want to work during term time.
This is a very common and often very flexible way to earn some money during medical school and gives you plenty of teaching experience as an added bonus. Often the pay is very good, and since a lot of tutoring takes place online, you can fit it around your schedule. You can also take on as many or as few students as you wish. The content you would teach depends but can be anything from GCSEs to A-Levels, to UCAT and BMAT, to personal statements and interviews. With the huge range of subjects available, and the huge demand for tutors teaching entrance exams and interviews, this is a great opportunity. Oxbridge tutors are very much in demand, due to the style of Oxbridge interviews too. All in all, this is one option I highly recommend. Some good sites to consider looking for tutoring jobs include Medic Mind, Tutorful and MyTutor. Please note these sites do take a commission from the lessons you do. Alternatively, freelancing is a possibility, with sites such as Nextdoor and social media offering you a platform to make an account for tutees to find you. If you do this, definitely consider how you sell yourself – be clear about why students/parents should pick you. This can include mentioning you’re A-Level results, mentioning you are a medical student so are qualified to teach medical school application material, other qualifications e.g. first aid, previous experience etc.
This one is a very broad category, but it is worth mentioning as medical students are often more than capable of taking on student jobs relating to medicine. This includes jobs in hospitals like healthcare assistants and technicians or working at a GP doing administrative roles. Alternatively, if you are keen to get some research experience too, getting a job as a laboratory assistant or intern is a great option! You can earn money whilst getting to work in a cool lab setting and possibly work on a research project. Another option is getting an internship. A lot of internships are unpaid, but some do offer salaries. Whether it be for MedTech companies/startups, doing social media marketing for organisations, working on podcasts, organising events or working over the holidays on summer schools, there are so many options here for students to earn some money.
This requires very little input from you most of the time – things like selling notes online and investing in stocks don’t require you to put in many hours, but can still provide passive income streams for students whilst at university. This way you don’t have to worry about working and studying, and still get some money. There are so many ways to do this, but I would recommend looking into passive income streams.
Oxbridge medical students are often popular topics for people to watch on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Providing an insight into life as a medical student can be a very lucrative way to earn some money and make a difference by helping students who watch your videos. Alternatively, you can start a YouTube/TikTok channel on any topic of your choosing and earn money through advert revenues and brand deals. A very fun way to put yourself out there and earn some money, this one is a cool option! Beware though, if you do choose this option, it will often take a while for your platform to increase in size enough for you to receive brand deals and to start earning money from it. That means putting in hours and hours to set up, edit and record videos and promote your content. It may also have steep starting costs as you may wish to purchase a camera and microphone etc. So proceed with caution.
Finally, one income stream I think is definitely worth mentioning is starting a business. This can be in anything, but students do consider starting businesses and ventures to earn some money. Who knows, your business could also gain a lot of traction and do very well. So many examples exist, and there are so many types of business. Tutoring, dropshipping, providing a service for students, hair and beauty, advising, marketing, the list goes on. There are so many skills you can gain too, and there is the possibility for investors to pitch in and help scale up your business. MedTech businesses and startups are known to receive funding and investment from Angel investors and startup funds, and the reach this can have is monumental. However, proceed with caution (similar to the previous warning). High start-up costs and a huge time commitment are possibilities with this route, but the rewards could be great.
There are so many avenues for medical students to take when it comes to finding a job. If you go to Oxbridge, there are still many options available to you. It just requires you to be smart about how much time you have and wish to commit to earning money, and what additional benefits you want. Do you want research experience? Do you want to lead a team for a period of time? Do you want to be your own boss? The possibilities are endless!
Author: Chhandan Sekhon
Editor: Allegra Wisking
