The Problem I text my friend and ask him if he'd like to go out for a drink and then maybe a movie. I get a response back saying, "Sorry man but I'm broke." This response has occurred not only once but on multiple occasions to the point where I stopped asking altogether. I haven't been to the movies with my grad student friends in over a year.
My family calls and says, "When are you coming home?" My response is usually, "I'm sorry but I don't have the money to pay for gas to come home." They say, "Well don't worry we'll put money in your account." The bottom line is: I'm sick of asking my parents for money to help get me through graduate school.
I get a call from my friend who lives in another state, "When are you going to take a vacation and come visit me?" My response: "I'm sorry but I don't really get a spring break. And even if I did I couldn't afford it." "Oh" she says. "I'm going to tour Europe for two weeks. Have fun. Oh and when do you graduate?"
I haven't bought a single item of clothing in over 6 months. I haven't been on a real vacation in over 4 years. I rarely ever go out for dinner. I was ready to stop my internet and cable bill for 3 months just so I could catch up. Air conditioning in the summer? Forget it. If my car breaks down, I have to put the repair bill on my credit card. My student loan company keeps mailing me statement letters with "optional" interest payments. Seems like a joke with what little money I have. I try to apply for a better interest rate on a credit card and the company asks me if I have a Savings Account. I laugh. "Sure I do." In the back of my mind I know it only shows 3 numbers: 0.00. After running into old friends several years later, they look at me and say, "Wow you shrunk!" I usually look down and say, "Yeah I haven't been eating as much as I should." I found out if I made 200 dollars less a month each month that I would qualify for food stamps!
So you feel powerless. You feel like you're stuck. You know you are going to be in your graduate program for the long haul. Maybe you get out in 5 years. Maybe it takes you 7 years. Either way time is going to go by. And a key concern is that maybe the financial stress prolongs your graduation time! Maybe you would be more motivated if it wasn't so hard along the way. Maybe things would just be a whole lot easier than what they are now.. You are going to make the same amount of money during your entire time in graduate school. If you live off a stipend, it maybe only goes up 500 dollars every year if you're lucky. If you are living off student loans, that number that you borrow each year will only rise because of tuition inflation and higher cost of living. That is unless you make a change. Now.
Then it hit me. It doesn't have to be this way. Even if I had an extra 100 dollars a month that would go a LONG way. Why is that so much to ask for? That 100 may just get me an extra meal, allow me to enjoy more time with my friends, or even help me pay off my debts (particularly student loans and credit cards). And it would allow me to not have to ask my parents for money each month or even have the thought of working a second job on the weekends.
The Solution As broke as graduate or professional students are, why aren't there any options? How come if this is such a huge problem that there isn't more useful and legit information on how to overcome it? Is a second job really the only solution? Or is there a better alternative?
From a fellow grad student to another, I only hope that I can help to ensure your success and get you through graduate school by providing the best advice. I am in my 5th year in a Cellular and Molecular Pathology PhD program. Without support from my parents (at first) and a second or passive income I have no doubt in my mind that I would not have made it this far. I know there are thousands of graduate students that suffer each year. In the United States alone in 2008, 488,000 Master's degrees and 56,000 doctorates were awarded. What this tells me is that thousands of Americans are enrolled in graduate school each year. And I know during that time they struggle. They accrue student loan debt and interest. They have high hopes of landing a better job. Maybe they are in for a bitter disappointment (see education inflation-Master's degrees are becoming the standard).
The bottom line is that most people figure they will just get a good job after going to graduate school and this will allow them to dedicate their time 100% to their day job and not have to worry about a second or residual income. I cannot stress enough: It never hurts to have a second or recurring income no matter what situation you are in. If you are a working professional or are in graduate school, it still applies. However, I would argue that graduate students have more of a dire need. The problem with grad students is that they don't seek out answers. They just "tough it out." They don't want to put in the extra time or effort into anything but their graduate studies. If you remain complacent, you will live complacent. It doesn't have to be that way. There is a solution that I'd like to share.
What if I told you part of the solution lies in using social media (Facebook), blogging, sending out emails, or simply surfing the web? You're busy with school. Time and money are scarce. You need a quick and reliable method that could potentially yield the best results within a reasonable amount of time. So let's dig a little deeper if this still seems vague.
A Powerful Option Is to Sell an Informational Product Online That Relates To Your Particular Situation and Helps Others Overcome A Problem In my opinion, this is the best "bang for the buck." It's a slow crawl at first and takes a lot of patience and persistence. It takes hard work. But with anything, hard work is a given.
I have yet to read one or find a method that is geared towards specifically towards graduate, professional, or college students. How does one create a product to help another OVERCOME A PROBLEM? And keep the originality? And not produce some cookie cutter website or product? The answer is you create your own informational product. The easiest one is an E-book. And you don't have to be a writer for this to work. You can pay someone on Textbroker to write it for you (this is optional). Then you can add to it, change it, or make it your own. You own the rights to the article. However, if it's your problem and you are passionate enough about the topic, you should be able to write about it and create an informational product mostly on your own. But you have the option of using Textbroker. Why have this option?
You're busy with school. Time and money are scarce. So you can outsource your article. You can invest your money in someone else. Or if you have the time as stated previously, write the article yourself. Then it comes down to online Marketing Principles. It's a no-brainer. The hard part is getting the Traffic to your sales page/product and promoting your product. Once you get past this, there is a potential for profits. There really is no secret to it. It takes time and hard work as with anything.
Why is this original? Because you pick the product or idea. You pick the problem that you want others to overcome that is UNIQUE to your situation. Graduate or professional students are constantly faced with problems that they must overcome. Find something you are passionate about. Maybe you'll title it, "How I Found Ways in Grad School to Make Money on the Side." Or "How A Science Blog Saved My PhD." Or "Using A Science/College/Graduate School Blog for Online Advertisement/Promotion." Or "How I Effectively Wrote My Thesis in 4 weeks." Or "How to Effectively Network While in Grad School to Land Your Dream Job." Lastly, "Top 10 Things I Learned in Grad School: For The New and Prospective Students."
You need to tell people your story. And yes if it is informative people might just pay you for it. Share your hardships. Your targeted audience will relate and listen. And you can help others learn from your experience. Maybe it's something you struggled with and now you look back at all you have learned and you can't wait to share that information. But not only are you creating a product to potentially earn income, you are telling your story and helping others along the way. From this, they can learn from your struggles or hardships. It's a win-win.
Social Media And Blogging Advantage So let's go another step further here and put another spin on it. Maybe you want an online or social media angle. The first thing you can do to build your credibility with your audience is to start a blog. A blog is a great way to vent some steam, show off your personality, and help others learn about your situation. A blog also has a great potential for earning a second or passive income. Your blog itself can even become a product. Yes, you can compile and potentially sell your entire blog as an E-book. Then all you have to do is utilize online marketing principles.
Either way, you cannot go wrong with a blog. It is full of creative writing and original content, and gives you the freedom to promote your product and help others overcome your problem. The other advantage to a blog is once you build an audience and your credibility (maybe it starts with your friends first), they are more likely to buy. What this means is if they bought your first product and they found it useful and informative, they are more likely to buy a second product as well. The hard part is the starting point. But if your idea or blog is good enough, you will hit the ground running.
You may even find by accident what your idea or problem is later on down the road based on your feedback from your audience. If they like the idea of say for example, "How I Effectively Wrote My Thesis in 4 weeks," then write about it! I've also seen a lot of PhD's who are out of work. Or they are misinformed about having to do a post-doc and not knowing their career options outside of academia. Or maybe you know the best way to help someone land an internship. Or network. Or effectively write a scientific journal/manuscript. Or maintain a healthy lifestyle/balance or deal with depression/anxiety. Or be successful in graduate school (maybe geared towards students at the beginning of a program or at the end when it becomes tough to finish).
If there weren't hardships then the drop-out rate (for PhD programs) wouldn't be nearly 50%! So how did the other 50% make it through? How did they effectively overcome the problem? That answer and idea is ultimately up to you. The possibilities are endless, and with a blog it gives you the ability to sample all flavors, write about all the topics, and get a feel for what people would like to read about.
Social media has also opened a whole new world which will support your Blog, Website, or Informational Product. You want to use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook to get your story across? It will only amplify your audience. For example, Facebook has Fan Pages that you can create. This gives you the option to Interlink your blog with your Facebook Fan Page and your website/sales page. You can build an audience on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Show them your live RSS Feed from your blog. Your blog posts will be visible to audiences across the board. What happens is over time your friends will tell their friends and it spreads like wildfire.
Keep in mind that you must have useful and interesting information. This will all come from your blog and is probably the best starting point. Either way, you add information and learn as you go. Once you have a product to sell you throw this in the mix, and tell others via your blog and social media sites. The market is endless because if you come out with a second product all you have to do is repeat the process. The advantage is that the second time around it should be easier to sell because you already have an established audience, reputation, and credibility that you built over time.
If you use Social Media or a Blog and play it to your strengths, you may just see additional profits. In the end, you'll never know unless you try. We are all full of information and problems that we have overcome or are currently faced with, and just need to know how to effectively portray and market it to others.
The idea is ultimately up to you The only thing right now holding you back is yourself. If you want to go and work the traditional 'second' job to earn income, then that is up to you. However, you need to be aware of easier and more feasible options while you are enrolled in graduate or professional school. Dig deeper and you will not be disappointed. Only you can guarantee your success. So take charge now and never look back.
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