What are some ways to up income while in Grad school?

[propsych]

More specifically, if I get into a fully funded clinical psych. program with a TA position or something similar to that, that pays a stipend of around 20K what would be some ways of earning more money (hopefully through the program/school) without having to get a part time job on the side and diverting too much attention from the program?

I ask because, when I begin my studies (hopefully- ha), my husband may want to go back to college as well, and due to many reasons, I think he would not be working during this time or doing some very* minimal part-time work, so I am hoping to find a way that we could both be students and manage to pay rent and all. In this scenario our income would be very minimal, so I am guessing he would likely get a decent amount of fafsa help for undergrad, so we would likely not be paying much tuition for his schooling, if at all.

Thanks!

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[WisNeuro]

I did testing for a large Alzheimer's research project, paid a very good hourly rate and time and a half on weekends. Also something I could talk about both in terms of clinical and research experience. Other than that, I was also an independent evaluator on two RCTs. Didn't pay as well, but also good research/clinical experience. Also led to authorship opportunities. It's largely dependent on what is available in your program and in the immediate area. Additionally, be prepared to be pretty busy, I was averaging long weeks. But, that allowed me to live pretty comfortable, have 0 debt, and fund my IRA throughout grad school.

 

[PsyDr]

Things I did that were not jobs or something I initiated:

1) Wrote copy.
2) Market research participant.
3) Secret shopper.

 

[Justanothergrad]

As others said, I did outside research work. It made for some long weeks at times as I typically worked 6 full, long days a week. Others I know also did market research, mTurk, qualtrics, etc. Mturk/Qualtrics were great during any free time where they were bound to a desk at an RA and didn't have anything they needed done. I knew one friend who drove uber in the summers. Mix that with an expense minimization plan if you want to maximize your economic advantage (this is really the critical part and you should ask yourself "Do I really need a $4 starbucks every morning")

 

[propsych]

I did testing for a large Alzheimer's research project, paid a very good hourly rate and time and a half on weekends. Also something I could talk about both in terms of clinical and research experience. Other than that, I was also an independent evaluator on two RCTs. Didn't pay as well, but also good research/clinical experience. Also led to authorship opportunities. It's largely dependent on what is available in your program and in the immediate area. Additionally, be prepared to be pretty busy, I was averaging long weeks. But, that allowed me to live pretty comfortable, have 0 debt, and fund my IRA throughout grad school.

I see, sounds like you were busy! I didn't realize that as students we might qualify for jobs like that. I suppose I could always look for part-time RA work and keep it in the field at least.

Do you know if it's possible to get a fellowship, TA, and RA position as a PhD student?

 

[WisNeuro]

Do you know if it's possible to get a fellowship, TA, and RA position as a PhD student?

As far as the TA and RA work, that was how our stipends were funded. Almost all of us had that. The rest, a much smaller number, had fully funded fellowships. Depends on your program's funding mechanisms.

 

[propsych]

As others said, I did outside research work. It made for some long weeks at times as I typically worked 6 full, long days a week. Others I know also did market research, mTurk, qualtrics, etc. Mturk/Qualtrics were great during any free time where they were bound to a desk at an RA and didn't have anything they needed done. I knew one friend who drove uber in the summers. Mix that with an expense minimization plan if you want to maximize your economic advantage (this is really the critical part and you should ask yourself "Do I really need a $4 starbucks every morning")

Good point, my husband and I certainly like all of our little "extra" splurges that are daily. I didn't think the online surveys would actually pay much, but definitely something I will check out!

I guess freeze dried coffee will have to do...

Was is actually feasible to do the outside research work and phd work though? I understand you managed it, but how realistic is it? I suppose I'm hoping for a way to live comfortably while going to school and not working 6/7 days, but perhaps this is just a dream and I need to sacrifice to not be in debt.

Thanks!

 

[deleted343839]

Working as a psychometrist, doing scientific writing or editing, or teaching community college courses are some ways that grad students can generate side income and use some of their skills. However, I would try to avoid having a side gig for the first two or three years of grad school. After that, it tends to get a little easier to make room for other things. I don’t think there’s a way around having to downscale your lifestyle, however.

 

[Justanothergrad]

Good point, my husband and I certainly like all of our little "extra" splurges that are daily. I didn't think the online surveys would actually pay much, but definitely something I will check out!

I guess freeze dried coffee will have to do...

Was is actually feasible to do the outside research work and phd work though? I understand you managed it, but how realistic is it? I suppose I'm hoping for a way to live comfortably while going to school and not working 6/7 days, but perhaps this is just a dream and I need to sacrifice to not be in debt.

Thanks!

Frankly, this is about hustle. And by "this" I mean graduate school. Is it realistic? Sure. Everyone does it. No matter if you are hustling for hours, research, or outside cash, graduate school is a non-stop grind of finding a way to make the best use of your time. You WILL be working 6 days a week - but how you opt to work will vary. It depends on what you want out of graduate school, but hustle will open doors for whatever you are looking for (cash, publications, clinical opportunities, etc.)

Many will spend a lot of their time 'working' just sitting around browsing facebook and then complain because their work drags on for hours/days. I decided to spend my time working. The result of this was clear. My research gig paid me to complete my dissertation and I took a sizable paycut when I went off to internship. I got a fair research background and was competitive at top tier internships then took a R1 job out of internship. This is not unrelated to the time I spent hustling for everything. Think about the online surveys as paying an additional amount - so if you make a casual 2-3 an hour when you are otherwise just going to browse facebook and text and it will translate into a better use of time/higher hourly salary. Do that a mere 3 hours a week, each of the 32 weeks of the two traditional semesters and it's an extra 300 bucks and that covers a fair amount of Christmas shopping. It doesn't sound like much, but it's an easy way to increase revenue.It's really just maximization of time and have the hustle to always look for it. I also encourage you to examine how you spend your money and really account for what you do/use/spend and how to save. You dont have to ditch the fancy coffee, but examine it and consider how much work you are doing for each one. Same with all the foods. Increase revenue and decrease expenses.

Heck, if I did surveys equal to the time I did SDN I bet I could make a fair amount of cash...

 

[jdawg2017]

My question on this as someone already in grad school is if you take on a job (even a research or psychometrist one) that is related to your area of training how do you "hide" it from mentors? Some schools (mine) that give you TAships or RAships and remit tuition explicitly prohibit outside work or income because it "distracts you from your training." Any thoughts?

With regard to the question at hand, I have been a pretty good photographer since high school and take occasional portraits for friends and make some under-the-table gift cash (less than 2k annually). This is a really fun way to use one of my hobbies to make some spare cash. I love doing this, but I cannot make an actual business out of it for obvious educational and tax-based legal reasons.

 

[deleted343839]

My question on this as someone already in grad school is if you take on a job (even a research or psychometrist one) that is related to your area of training how do you "hide" it from mentors? Some schools (mine) that give you TAships or RAships and remit tuition explicitly prohibit outside work or income because it "distracts you from your training." Any thoughts?

With regard to the question at hand, I have been a pretty good photographer since high school and take occasional portraits for friends and make some under-the-table gift cash (less than 2k annually). This is a really fun way to use one of my hobbies to make some spare cash. I love doing this, but I cannot make an actual business out of it for obvious educational and tax-based legal reasons.

I wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardize your funding. However, I would not assume that this is absolute or nonnegotiable. Being in an employment relationship where you have to show up on specific days for X hours is very different from taking a side contract to work during your free time. Your standing in your program, the nature of the outside work you would be doing, and other factors will probably influence how your advisor and training director view the situation.

 

[Justanothergrad]

My question on this as someone already in grad school is if you take on a job (even a research or psychometrist one) that is related to your area of training how do you "hide" it from mentors? Some schools (mine) that give you TAships or RAships and remit tuition explicitly prohibit outside work or income because it "distracts you from your training." Any thoughts?

With regard to the question at hand, I have been a pretty good photographer since high school and take occasional portraits for friends and make some under-the-table gift cash (less than 2k annually). This is a really fun way to use one of my hobbies to make some spare cash. I love doing this, but I cannot make an actual business out of it for obvious educational and tax-based legal reasons.

You don't hide it, first and foremost.

Then, as MamaPhD mentioned, contract work and stuff like that is viewed substantially different from taking a second 'job'. I knew folks who did the wedding photo thing during graduate school on the weekend. Just talk to your mentor about your thoughts and make sure you are prepared to demonstrate why you are extremely productive and a rockstar in your program.

 

[Jegg]

Flipping vintage watches and fine art prints.

 

[Sanman]

Yeah, I did odd jobs including working per diem for a friend with several businesses and being paid in chinese food. I also got into some small time day trading of stocks. I had a classmate teach spinning classes a few times a week in the morning, so free workouts and some cash. Another one picked up a shift at the local bar on some weekends. It was more of a what you can manage situation. None of us held down regular jobs due to out funding, but the extra cash was nice.

 

[TheStruggleIsReal77]

I'm not sure how feasible it will be once I'm in grad school, but I currently write/edit articles and do other part-time freelance work online. I find some of my writing/editing jobs on Upwork and ClearVoice. I also upload the articles for a newspaper to their website once a month for a nice bit of extra cash. I'm currently keeping my eye open for someone looking for a part-time VA / social media assistant since I have quite a bit of experience in that. As a grad student, I'm sure you have plenty of skills that are marketable online.

 

[deleted343839]

Flipping vintage watches and fine art prints.

Beats my days of selling stuff on eBay.

 

[AbnormalPsych]

Worked as a psychometrist for some neuropsychs, worked on weekends doing data analysis, grant writing, and super brief intake assessments for some community agencies, adjunct taught at a local community college after I got my masters and some teaching experience, and the odd dissertation/article editing or stats consulting jobs for students in other departments.

 

[mypointlesspov]

I did ABA for the first two years of my program and I also did testing for a research study.

 

[bcliff]

I remember reading something a while back commenting on the legal-foundation of programs "prohibiting" trainees from seeking outside employment. I don't remember what the take away was, but I wonder how enforceable some programs' policies are on this issue. Does anyone else have any experience addressing this question? In my program, we are technically "forbidden" from seeking outside employment, but essentially all students and faculty take a DADT approach -- Faculty understand the realities faced by students (despite our program offering "full funding") and students often aren't pressed on the subject unless there are legitimate concerns about timeliness, self-care, work performance, etc.

 

[espressobean11]

My fully funded PhD program definitely prohibited us from having other sources of income outside of the regular graduate assistantship. Some programs have competitive fellowships or TAships with extra responsibilities that pay a bit more — my husband worked as a TA coordinator in his doctoral program and made some extra money. He also got involved in the GSO and taught an extra class, both of which supplemented his income but he was in a non-clinical PhD program and had more time than I did. A lot of assistantships/stipends are August through May, so finding sources of summer funding can help. I taught, extended a practicum into the summer, and worked part-time seasonal jobs to help out during the summer. Good luck!


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[Chalupacabra]

Something I haven't seen mentioned is field testing. It's kind of a crapshoot if the people you'll have available to test will match what they need for the sample they're recruiting, but I was able to make a little extra collecting data for Pearson and you're able to more or less make your own schedule for when you do the testing, which makes it a pretty good fit for grad students' schedules.

 

[ToneTone]

I also worked as a psychometrist the last year of graduate school, though I saw flyers all the time from psychologists looking for the paid help. My main side gig 2x a week was teaching music though, it was great money and flexibility. I imagine if you have a car and enjoy driving, you could possibly do ride share driving if you're in a big city...

Oh and as someone addicted to shopping for deals, I sometimes would find great clothing to sell on ebay or consignment.