Free Money

"Free Money", May 2008

I think we all know the saying “money doesn’t grow on trees”. It’s the really annoying one that parents say to you when you ask for

money (or maybe that’s just mine?). Money isn’t exactly easy to come by for some people. Actually, it isn’t easy for most people to come by. Unless we’re lucky enough to have been born into obscene amounts of it, we need to work in order to make some. For various reasons, sometimes finding work is difficult.

Earlier, I wrote an article that talked about looking for employment during the summer. Not being able to work in the summer due to classes, or being unable to find work can be incredibly stressful for students. For some tips on finding work in the summer (or the lack thereof), check out The Summer Job Hunt: What to do If You Are Unsuccessful.

Aside from turning tricks in the corner somewhere downtown, there are very few options, especially if you do not wish to have something consistent or regular, due to school or vacations (lucky jerks! I wish I was going for a prolonged (i.e. more than 3 days) vacation this summer...).

But there is a way to earn some quick, easy cash if you’re in Hamilton. Be a lab rat! I don’t mean pump yourself full of random drugs to help a pharmaceutical company. Although I suppose if you were REALLY desperate for money you could do that...it does pay well after all. Anyways, getting back on track here...various departments and faculties within McMaster pay participants for participating in studies.

Most often the studies are from the Psychology and Kinesiology departments, but occasionally economics, marketing, and others have studies you can participate in. Some take only a few minutes while some occur over the course of days or even weeks. Payment can be $5 to upwards of $100 or more. Again, it all depends on the length of the study and how much money the researchers have available to pay their participants.

By now you may have gathered that the studies are put on by people doing research in these areas. Mostly they are for Master and PhD students, but occasionally you will end up interacting with professors or undergraduate students as well. It too depends on the study.

So how do you find out about these studies? Read the McMaster Daily News. It seems like there are new studies cropping up every few days, and are often mentioned several times over the course of a month. You will need to email whomever is running the study to see if you are eligible, but that is a small price to pay for what is essentially free money.

I’ve done a few studies myself over the years, and for what they expected from me the money was good...so I recommend you try and find some too!