6 Weekend Cash Earners for the Student in Medical Assisting School

If you’re about to start medical assisting school (or thinking about it), having a weekend job may not be so much a choice as a necessity. After all, school books aren’t cheap and, depending on your situation, there could very well be a few bills to pay as well.

Since you’ve gone to the trouble of finding the right medical assisting school for you, it’s only sensible you’re going to want to find the right weekend job to give you a happy school and work balance in your life.

Look online (or even in your local paper) and you’ll find numerous weekend job opportunities available. However, wouldn’t it be better if your weekend job could in some way benefit your health care career in the future? Or, alternatively, if your medical assistant training aided your chances of getting the weekend job you need?

To give you that kind of relevant-to-you job search boost, here are six possible weekend jobs for when you’ve closed your textbooks and the weekend beckons as a cash-earning possibility.

Dog Walker

Do you love animals? Especially dogs? Feel your best when you’re outdoors?  If that’s the case, being a weekend dog walker might just be your ideal slice of job heaven. Check out sites like Wag! and Rover, which allow you to quickly and easily offer your dog walking services locally, at weekend times that suit you. While you’re training to be a medical assistant and not a veterinarian, you of course know that the welfare of animals and humans is equally important. It’s just part of who you are. You can’t help demonstrating your compassionate side. What does this mean for you? Well, any human is immediately going to feel comfortable knowing their canine friend is in safe hands while out on walk through the park with you.  And if a dog’s bark is really as bad as its bite for you, you could always visit Care.com, which gives individuals the opportunity to still be weekend pet care provider for all manner of furry and feathered friends.

Babysitter

As you’re training to be a medical assistant, it goes without saying you’re blessed with a wonderful, caring nature. So how about earning the extra bucks you need working as a weekend babysitter? The fact you’re training for a health care career will be an attractive selling point to any parent looking to leave their child in capable hands.  If this sounds like the perfect engagement to you, a site like Sittercity bring parents and sitters together with the sole goal of taking care of baby. And if you’re hoping to work in pediatrics after you graduate, a history of providing exceptional child care is going to look great on your resume. Also, don’t forget the possibility of offering your babysitting services to family and friends, for a mutually agreeable (and beneficial to you) price of course.

Freelance Blogger

Are you the creative type? Got a way with words? Then head over to  Upwork or Freelancer where you can quickly hang up your shingle as a freelance blogger. While you may have to start out with lower-paying blogging gigs, before long you’ll be able to charge more for your talents as your reputation grows. Usually, your clients will be a person or business, requiring a blog to be written on a topic that could be about anything under the sun. There’s also the opportunity to set yourself up as a blogger specializing in a niche area. Do have a hobby you’re passionate about? Could your specialized subject of choice even be health care? The fact you’re attending medical assisting school will surely add weight to your bid on a health care blogging project. As a freelance blogger, there’s also the bonus you’ll be working remotely. You can open up your laptop and write anywhere over the weekend, whether it’s at the coffee shop or lounging on your sofa.

Barista

Did you know that health care employers love to hire medical assistants with a customer service background? These employers know the ability to provide exceptional customer service equates to the ability to provide the same quality of patient care. And where can you pick up some customer service work experience that’s got big health care employer appeal?  How about working as a weekend barista at Starbucks, Peet’s, or your favorite indie coffee shop?  Employment sites like Indeed and Craigslist regularly list barista opportunities. However, if you’d like to be super pro-active, why not take your resume along to your coffee shop of choice and introduce yourself to the manager? Then let that person know what providing stellar customer service means to you.

Driver

What has your car done for you lately? Other than perhaps get you to school on time? If you like to drive and the idea of earning some money while you’re driving sounds even better to you, then how about signing up to be a driver for Lyft or Uber?  You’ll be in total charge of your own schedule, which means you won’t have a boss looking over your shoulder; just your passengers, as you take them wherever they want to go. You may be thinking how would working as a weekend driver benefit my future health care career? In a number of ways. You’d be developing and demonstrating effective communication skills with your customers, driving these people to their destinations without error. You’d be showing reliability, picking up your customers on time. And you’d be improving those all-important customer service skills, ensuring each person you rides with you is greeted with a smile and a helpful attitude.

Caregiver

Is there a more ideal weekend job for a medical assisting school student training to work in health care than an actual health care job? Working as a weekend caregiver can give you that golden opportunity. While some home health care employers require their employees to be a certified nursing assistant, this isn’t always the case. Once again, the fact you’re training to be a medical assistant is going to greatly improve your chances of landing this kind of job. As a caregiver, you may be providing companionship and conversation, performing light housekeeping tasks and meal preparation, giving medication and appointment reminders, and providing assistance with grooming and bathing. And if there is more of clinical side to the job, your employer will often provide the training required. To land yourself a care-giving job, visit employment sites like Indeed or Craigslist for weekend caregiver jobs, or email your resume and a letter of introduction to some local home health care employers or agencies.

In Conclusion…

Remember, there are numerous weekend job opportunities available that can quickly relieve your financial worries. However, don’t be so quick to hit the send button on your resume. Ask yourself, do you really just want any old weekend job? Or would you rather have a weekend job that could benefit your future health care career? Or, just as beneficial, a weekend job where your medical assistant student status is going to be a major selling point for you with the employer? If you do, those jobs may not be as difficult to find as you may have first thought.