After 5 years at university accruing several tens of thousand pounds of debt I suppose it should come as no surprise that the final few weeks are full of costly expenses. I suppose I should get used to it, things are only going to get worse, I should really count my lucky stars that I didn't have to pay to sit my final exams.
Among the expenses, GMC provisional registration (£135), MDU (£20 approx), graduation robes (£37) was a colourful leaflet from the BMA listing all the potential benefits of being a BMA member as an F1. I am a student BMA member and enjoy my regular sBMJ so I figured I'd probably keep my membership up as an F1. I looked all the way through this colourful leaflet and couldn't find anywhere how much its going to cost me, something tells me it won't be cheap.
Becoming a doctor has always been an expensive process but it really doesn't come at the best of times towards the end of student life.
Perhaps, rather than medical school I should taken up a life renting graduation robes. Lets do some maths. So my graduation robes are going to cost me (well, hopefully my parents) £37 to rent for a couple of hours. There will be over 400 people graduating from the medical school alone, that is the best part of £15,000. Multiply that up for all the students graduating throughout the country and I'm fairly sure it will come to a very substantial amount.
Whilst I've got my chequebook out, who's next?
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Everyone Wants My Money
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Well, as you know, it's my birthday next week...
I guess against the debt you have to set the fact that the FY1 basic salary is close to (or over) the national mean salary ( 2007: £23 764), and thus we start to clear our student debt earlier than many other graduates. You pay it off even faster if you get a higher banding or do additional shifts.
I'm not saying it is right, but considering my student loan account (after 4yrs BSc and 4yrs Medicine) would buy 25% of my flat or a very nice brand new car..... However, buy paying additional payments on my student loan, I envisage clearing it fairly rapidly, after all with FY1 hours up in the 60+ range, when do you find time to spend the salary....
The student loan system is far from perfect, but with the UK government aim of 50% of people at University, grants would be unsustainable, without an increase in taxes.
Just look forward to August 31st and that nice payslip.......
Can I join you in the grad robe business? The closer finals get, the more I keep reading about uncertain career paths in medicine and am starting to wish we'd done something a little more secure! Congrats on it all being over exam-wise for now tho.
But soon you will have an income!!
In Australia, as an intern (in 18 months) I will earn more than my mother, a teacher with >30 years experience. Though I am pretty broke at the moment and really looking forward to having an income, that does seem pretty wrong (though she doesn't mind, because apparently I am going to buy her a nice bottle of wine every week).
Who would pay off their student loan faster than they need to?
I know I'm hugely debt averse, but even I realise it's the cheapest money you'll ever have and putting any excess payments you would like to make into a high interest savings account - or even towards pension - is a better route.
My friend has her own money, but she got a student loan just to put it into a higher paying bond.
I totally sympathise with the feeling that everyone is wanting money from us just now. According to the talk the BMA man gave our class last week FY1 membership is £8.25/month, starting in October.
I'm also wondering how to pay for everything associated with finishing med school. Needing to find a deposit for renting a new flat in a different city and paying a small fortune to get the car through it's service and MOT are not helping. I'm very jealous of all my colleagues who can afford to go on an actual holiday after graduation.
Right, now to go spend more money and book my graduation photos...
fjilskit
Our graduation robes were included in the £30 for two tickets when I graduated. The biggest con going though is the graduation photos... I look like a have a beach ball for a head in mine - the result of too much Pred and that stupid wee hat thing... gah! We got a small package and still have enough pics for every room in the house!!
Plus ca change, LM. When I graduated in the, er, 80s, the Univs were already charging for gown rental, posh photos, tickets to the strawberry and cheap fizz bash afterwards etc. etc.
'Twas ever thus.
The main surprise is that in these market-oriented business-imitating days they haven't thought of more things to dun you for.
And everything I hear of the NHS suggests to me that the Univs are rank amateurs when it comes to finding mysterious "extras" to charge you for.
this is for dragonfly as well as lm: what are these people doing charging you as an FY1? my AMA membership is free (for this year only), my MDU is free (for 18 months), my union membership is free (great when medical admin shafts me on my pay)...
but dragonfly: remember that as a junior doctor, those nurses with their breaks, short shifts, and inability to actually think outside the box, earn more than you do.
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