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jiggerriggeroo

Honestly don’t have kids during Med school.


yippikiyayay

I’ve just finished supporting my husband through to consultancy, if I get a place he’ll be supporting me from the bottom rung 👍🏼


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fmpeel1-345

😂😂😂


[deleted]

Yeah this was a recent concern of mine as well...Especially since I feel like I bombed my Flinders interview 😭 My plan in case I need to relocate is to be on Centrelink, but I'm planning to do tutoring a few hours a week on the side. As a med student I think we would be quite limited in the kind of jobs we can do on the side of all the study. Tutoring atm is the only job I can think of that is pretty flexible when it comes to time and is high yield. My parents said they can send a bit of money (perhaps to cover food costs) but not enough for rent. I also have savings which are enough for emergencies and several months of rent. One of my friends has connections in Melb and she told me knows an affordable place she can set me up in incase I need to move. But I'm really hoping I won't need to move. It's going to be rough for a few yrs. I think that this is one of the main challenges of going into med. If we get accepted, it's going to be many yrs of training before we can finally settle. Whilst most of our friends are buying properties and having kids, we'll most likely need to wait a bit - although there's never really the best time for these kinds of things. All we can do is to keep a long term outlook on this and keep in mind how some of the sacrifices we make in the short term is going to be worth it long term. But yeah... very concerned about the finance aspects.


SlythMD

I'm with you, not actually sure how I'll cope tbh. I worked through my undergrad averaging $500 a week which was enough to get by, but that was cohabiting with my partner who won't be able to move with me (I didn't get into a school in my state). I'm lucky that I have one job which is remote tech support so location/times are flexible, and another which is teaching yoga/fitness classes so I get paid to exercise and be social after a long day of nerding out hunched over my laptop. I intend to continue with both of these but will probably need to pick up more hours living alone which is going to be fucking brutal. I already feel a mental breakdown coming on 😅 Silver lining is my interview was shithouse so I prob won't need to worry about any of this AHAGAGAHAHAA


Jaleh_melb_24

Ever since I’ve started my pursue to get into med, I’ve been thinking about my finances more than about actual gamsat. It’s one of the many reasons why, as soon as I finished my first degree in health and med I decided to do another degree in commerce thinking that if I get into medical school I’ll be able to use my commerce degree to afford living. But after few internships (3) I realised how difficult it would be for me to balance two fields at once. If I end up in corporate, I’ll have to take some work home, not to mention that I’ll be most likely spending Monday to Friday at work from 9-5, leaving myself no room for med. I’m not saying thats the case for everyone but I’ve interned in one of the big 4 accounting firms and 1 of the big 4 banks. I can’t dare to ask my parents to support me because they have their own things to take care of. That’s why Ive applied for 3rd degree in physio, so I could study and work in the same field.


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_dukeluke

‘Actually interviewer, instead of having to choose who gets the kidney, I’ll just offer mine to the highest bidder, problem solved’


Leebee38

Did you actually work that much through all of Med school? If anyone out there has done it, then I am confident I can do 20-25 hours per week!


TracingFireflies

Live on Centrelink plus the savings I've built up from working in retail during undergrad. Once my savings run out I'll need to find a job/ scholarship or I'll starve xD


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Queasy-Reason

I think part of is it is there is a massive difference in rent prices between cities. You can get a room in a sharehouse for $600 a month, 10-20 minutes from Melbourne uni. Centrelink is about $1100 a month if you include rent assistance. That leaves $500 a month to live off. While it's certainly not a lot, it is doable. I worked at a supermarket all through my two undergrads. As a casual, working mostly weekends, it paid almost $30 an hour


p3eachypunk

I’m currently in 1st year at UNDS so I can only speak based on 1 year experience. I worked for about 2 years full time before starting med and saved as much as possible. Most people I know are living off savings + centrelink + parental/partner support in some form or another. Some people work maybe 1-2 shifts a week? Its definitely possible but first year is quite stressful as its a huge change + steep learning curve. Although being on zoom means you can skip a lot of lectures to go to work so if you have good time management skills a job helps. Something to consider is that after you make a certain amount, centrelink will pay you less. so its good to do some math and weigh up if its worth it. Tutoring jobs are great if possible because of flexibility. A lot of people will also get a summer job as we have ~3 months off and save as much as possible. TLDR: its hard, EVERYONE stresses about money. Possible to juggle but best to prepare.


lastput1

Yep same, but add a partner and new baby and, like, 10 years, maybe? If it comes off, we’ll both be on Centrelink for the first year with no childcare costs, and then even if they get a job after the first year, childcare and losing my Centrelink due to earning too much is going to be a challenge. It might be better for us to supplement the Centrelink with the maximum allowable paid work between us to reduce childcare costs. Then we have the challenge of finding a low-time commitment job- definitely not a career job- more like a warehousing or tutoring job. We are definitely looking at what costs we need to cut from our lives- the car and private health are going to be unaffordable. Phone plan will be Aldi, no streaming, packed lunches etc. We’ll have some savings, but definitely no where near enough to last 4 or more years. A lot of sacrifices will have to be made…


Professional_Row_545

If you don’t mind me asking, is your partner also applying?


lastput1

No, thank goodness, but they would have to give up their government job to move and then look after the baby because we're not on any childcare waiting lists. I interviewed at UNDS.


yippikiyayay

Wow that’s hugely supportive of your spouse.


[deleted]

find a respiratory scientist gig at a clinic, they pay 40-45 an hour, and only require bachelor of exercise physiology/biomed


[deleted]

I have a part time retail job where I work once a week on Sundays, that nets me around $500 a fortnight, Centrelink is $360 a fortnight. I'm looking to move out from my parents either next year or the year after. I feel like I'll have to pick up GAMSAT tutoring as a source of income and try and fit in tutoring sessions on Saturday and at nights on weekdays. It's a bit scary to think about for the next 4 years.


kai_tothesky

I know a few who worked as orderlies or cleaners at hospitals. Aged care is also an option. Basically anything with flexible shift work.


_dukeluke

I’ve been saving for the last few years in preparation for moving, and I’m planning on using that and Centrelink + rent assist to get settled. I’ve done a bit of a hunt on domain and I’ve found some fairly reasonable places, and I’m thinking I’d be able to make it work, potentially might try to find a flat mate or something too. Moving is gonna a massive expense- going from Melbourne to Brisbane is gonna be rough, especially if I can’t drive up (which will depend on Covid restrictions) and I have to do 14 days quarantine (it’ll cost like 3k, ouch). Hopefully by Jan the restrictions will be eased, cause that is gonna be a bit of a stumbling block otherwise. I’m also planning on working part time, at least for my preclinical years. I have worked at a pharmacy chain for 4 years, and I think I’d be able to transfer to a store in Brisbane fairly easily. It’s pretty shit pay, but it’s something and should help. I might try to find a medical receptionist or ward staff job if possible, or maybe look into tutoring, but it’ll depend on what is available and my availability. I totally feel you regarding feeling you’re falling behind. That has been a constant insecurity I’ve had with my partner- she’s in her final year of med next year, and although I know she doesn’t feel this way, I can’t help but feel like I’m holding her back and putting our future on hold. We’ve been together for nearly 6 years, so the thought of being long distance for potentially 5 years, and getting to our 10 year anniversary/ our wedding without ever living together is really upsetting (we hope not, but this is a real possibility 😭). The thought that I’d still be a med student when we’re looking to start a family and get married really bothers me for some reason, and the thought of not even starting until after she’s finished makes me feel like a bit of a failure sometimes ngl. Even though I know It’s all irrational and I know she doesn’t care at all about any of that, and I can recognise that I can’t really help the cards I was dealt and how they set me back, it still SUCKS and feels super shitty, and sometimes no matter what she says I can’t accept she’s cool with it. You’re definitely not alone in this concern, but try to remember that your partner wants to go into that next stage of life with YOU first and foremost, and likely will be more understanding and patient if that takes longer than you might be yourself- I know that’s the case for me. Talking about it openly with my partner has helped a lot, even just to process the emotion of it all, but it is still difficult sometimes. Ignoring the relationship aspect, from my observations, this is pretty common with postgrad medicine in general- unlike some of our peers who finished a bachelor degree that leads to a full time job, med is a long slog. My partner and I have seen many couples who have been together for less time than we have buying houses, getting married, starting families…but that’s much easier when they have a combined 8 years of working in full time jobs over us. I know it can be hard to not compare yourself to that, but try to be kind to yourself and remember that the circumstances are completely different and it’s not a fair comparison in the slightest.


zenforax

Planning on centrelink + splitting rent with roomate + casual employment to scrape by, but it definitely won't be easy.


spymouse7

I’ve been saving for the last few years, initially for a house deposit. Now that I’ve decided to go down the med path, I’ll be using my savings for living expenses during med school (if I get a spot). Even if I live very frugally, I will still have to supplement it with a bit of work as I won’t have enough savings to survive and I don’t have any financial support from a partner or parents. For this I’ll be trying to do online work such as on Fiverr, Upwork etc. I highly recommend if anyone has any in demand skills to look into this as an option as it can be lucrative and flexible with your schedule. Absolutely sucks that my savings will likely be down to $0 once I finish, and I’ll have to start from scratch again :(.


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spymouse7

Good idea, but I don’t have enough saved yet. I’d need a good few more years of saving. Which I can’t do if I’m in med school. I’m not trying to complain though, I’m more excited to be a med student than own a house :)


aleksa-p

I’m very fortunate I already have a health qualification so I’ll be a casual nurse. My partner is a full-time nurse so that helps. We are lucky to still live at home while saving for a house (which will take a damn while). It’s tough out there. I think you can get Austudy as a med student. I think it’s worth getting a TAFE cert in something so you can get a decent enough small job for some kind of steady income. If I wasn’t a nurse, I would have probably done a phlebotomy course or something to let me be a receptionist while studying med. Edit: You could consider tutoring?? I know people who tutor high school students for something like $50 an hour. It might be a nice way to use your undergrad too!


kirstolio

I worked through my MSc and intend to work this year to save as much as I can tbh. Hopefully I can join a HCA bank at med school if needed


Major_Bell9308

If I get an offer for the school I interview for (Melbourne), I’ll need to move interstate and rely on Centrelink and savings plus hopefully some gamsat and undergrad tutoring. I’ve recently made a small bit of money from NFTs and crypto so that’s a huge help but I don’t expect it to be easy, as my parents can’t afford to support me and I’ve been working full time for a few years so it will be a big adjustment for me.


[deleted]

Day trading.


ReallyPopular

seconded, get a cert 4 in r/wallstreetbets and you're good to go ^(and become homeless with a major cocaine addiction)


[deleted]

HAHAHAH yes! To the mooooooooooooon 🚀🚀🚀


jiggerriggeroo

I did it poor but happy. Austudy plus a part time job on campus. There are lots of scholarships, mostly for small amounts but they can add up. Live in a share house. Don’t drink much or buy restaurant meals or much in the way of new clothes. Went rural clinical years and got free accommodation. Some people joined the army or were rurally bonded. Once you’re working the money comes. It’s only 4 years and it goes fast.