Many students from developing countries throughout the world must finance their education abroad by working part-time at a cafe or restaurant and/or similar businesses. While this image of an international student working late at night to afford their education is becoming somewhat normal, the reality is that students in foreign countries who pursue medical degrees (MBBS) might face even more issues with balancing their studies and a part-time job.
Understanding the Landscape: Legal and Practical Realities
Each country has its own individual rules for international students who wish to work, and violations of these regulations may lead to serious consequences, including your visa being revoked and deportation.
- Country-specific work regulations
International students on a Tier 4 visa in the United Kingdom may generally work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during holiday periods. This gives students a great opportunity to combine their education with part-time jobs; however, due to the demanding nature of medical courses, it may be difficult for medical students to take optimum advantage of this privilege.
International students in Australia may generally work 40 hours in two weeks during semester time and full-time in holiday periods; this provides flexibility to international students, but due to the workload of medical courses, there may still be difficulty fulfilling this option.
The European Union countries vary greatly in their policies for international students. Germany has an annual allowance of 120 full days or 240 half days for international students, whereas Ireland has a limit of 20 hours per week during term-time, with a maximum of 40 hours per week in holiday periods. Therefore, international students must conduct thorough research on the specific regulations for each country.
There are several countries, including Russia, Ukraine, China, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, where there are a large number of international students enrolled in MBBS programs; however, they may have more restrictive/unclear policies with regard to employment opportunities for international students. In these countries, formal part-time employment is unlikely or limited; however, there may be informal opportunities available.
Medical School-Specific Restrictions
Medical schools also have restrictions on outside employment, and many specifically prohibit or discourage employment during pre-clinical years. The reason is simple: because of the rigorous nature of medical education, students must focus solely on their studies while enrolled in medical school. If students fail academically because they were distracted by outside employment, the medical schools hold no responsibility.
Some programs have developed such demanding curricula, with lectures from morning until night, attendance policies that are mandatory, multiple examinations, and clinical rotations for students, so that students would be unable to work, regardless of whether or not outside employment is legally permitted.
If you are considering working while enrolled at a particular medical school, you need to know the policies of that medical school regarding student employment. Some programs are accommodating and understanding of students’ financial situations, whereas others will consider outside employment a reason for academic probation or dismissal if students’ grades are adversely affected.
Job Selection
As students weigh the need and potential opportunity of working while studying abroad, selecting jobs that support the balance of academic and job responsibilities will be key to their success. Flexibility over all else is most important.
Flexibility is the most important factor when selecting a job as a student. The best jobs are those that offer flexibility and allow for planning, as opposed to being tied to higher salaries or being considered more prestigious.
The best employment options for medical students who desire a flexible schedule include:
- On-campus jobs: Library assistant, research assistant, departmental assistant, etc.
- Freelance/Gig jobs: Tutoring, writing, translation, and online teaching are all examples of freelance/gig work that can accommodate the hours that medical students have available, rather than requiring them to adhere to a predetermined schedule.
- Weekend-only jobs: Restaurants, retail stores, and service-sector jobs that are looking specifically for staff to work on weekends can be a good match for medical students who need to keep their weekdays open for schooling.
- Remote jobs: Online customer support, virtual assistant positions, and digital content production can provide maximum scheduling flexibility.
- Night shift jobs: Medical students who have good sleep management skills may find it possible to work in overnight positions (hospitals, security guards, and call centers), leaving adjourned class time available during the day for studying.
- Students should avoid employment that
- Requires workers to be available during traditional 9 AM-5 PM class schedules
- Requires a commitment to shifts when you cannot commit to them with certainty
- Requires workers to do physical labor to the point that it interferes with their ability to study.
- Requires extensive commutes that consume valuable time.
Medically-Relevant Employment
For aspiring medical professionals, working within the healthcare sector provides two key benefits: creating revenue through employment and gaining value-added work experience related to your chosen field (medicine). Positions such as hospital orderlies, nursing assistants, medical scribes, or clinical research assistants provide you with firsthand knowledge of what it is like to work in the hospital environment, as you are getting paid while doing so.
Those in these key roles often develop an even greater appreciation for their academic workload due to supervisors’ ability to understand how this will hopefully benefit future doctors and health care professionals. Developing the skills and contacts established by working in the medical field will also bolster any future career endeavors that may be pursued.
In addition to the previous employment options above, language tutors constitute another viable option that has some relevance within medicine for international students, wherein you would provide instruction on your native language to both locals and other international students. Language-tutoring opportunities are often flexible and well compensated, and will assist you with developing strong communication skills, which are essential for providing optimal patient care.
Instead of expending additional effort in pursuit of new skills that would be required to support studies in medicine, it is better to leverage skills already possessed. For example, if you are a talented graphic designer, consider pursuing freelance graphic design projects. Musical aspirations can promote your talents in lessons. Coding and programming expertise can produce programming jobs. Utilizing your existing competencies generates income without the need to worry about the learning curve associated with acquiring new skill sets.
The key to managing successfully as an international student pursuing a career in the medical profession and holding one or more part-time jobs is mastering time management—strategically using all available time and minimizing excess use of it.
Weekly schedule
Weekly schedules allow you to plan so that you know what your commitments are—lectures, clinical rotations, study time, work hours, sleep, meals, and necessary personal care—and create visualizations of how these commitments will fit into 168 hours of a week. These visualizations help you determine whether or not you’ll be able to fit in all the things that you need or want to do.
Use a digital calendar (such as Google Calendar or Outlook) to create a color code for the type of commitment that you’re making. Like employment, you will want to schedule your study time in the same manner—as if you have an appointment with yourself for a specific amount of time, rather than hoping to study “when I have time to.” Again, without structured times for studying, you’ll not do well in your academics.
You should allow yourself buffer time between activities for transition, unexpected delays, and short breaks. If you schedule activities back-to-back, with no breaks in between, you are guaranteed to burn out and will ultimately become less productive with all of your activities, both those that were productive and those that were not.
Because you’re managing both studies and part-time employment while studying abroad, you must be prepared to prioritize ruthlessly. This means that social activities, hobbies, and entertainment are going to have to be sacrificed, and that’s the reality. You’ll still take care of your health, get enough sleep, and perform well in school.
An excellent way to prioritize is by using the Eisenhower matrix, which divides your activities and responsibilities into four categories based on the urgency and importance of each task:
- Urgent & Important: Deadlines for your academic assignments, work schedules, and essential self-care.
- Important but not urgent: Careful and strategic studying, maintaining your relationships, and caring for your health.
Prioritization
While studying and/or working abroad, you cannot give yourself the ability to do everything (in terms of balancing your studies and job). This means that your social activities will decrease, that your hobbies will become luxuries, and that you will really limit your entertainment options.
While this is harsh, it is true: when you do not have time for everything, something is going to suffer, and it should never be your health, sleep or academic performance.
Use the Eisenhower Matrix (organizing and labeling tasks according to how important they are for you now and how urgent they are) to help you prioritize:
- Tasks that are Urgent and Important
Academic deadlines, work shifts, and some self-care
- Tasks that are Important and Not Urgent
Strategic studying, developing relationships with others, and taking care of your health
- Tasks that are Urgent and Not Important
Many Social invitations and minor administrative tasks exist in abundance
- Tasks that are Neither Urgent nor Important
Scrolling through social media, a lot of time spent on recreational activities, and many wasted hours
Be dedicated to the first two categorized tasks and minimize or eliminate the last two categorized tasks. When you spend time on low-value activities, it is time you have where studying/work/recovery will not occur.
- Focus on:
- Topics emphasized again and again by professors
- Content that comes up frequently on practice tests
- Material that is identified by you as “must know” or needed”
- Subjects that apply to clinical practice
This process does not mean ignoring everything else; it does mean you will need to plan your time effectively to obtain maximum benefits from your studies.
Education Orbit Counselling and Link
Education Orbit Counselling and Link provides A-Z information on selecting universities and colleges with reasonable price points, understanding work regulations in each country, and budgeting for an affordable, sustainable medical education abroad.
They are very experienced in helping students and families develop realistic financial plans, including all expenses; explore scholarships and loan options; and make informed decisions about what university to attend based on the combination of quality education and affordable tuition fees.
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