OP, what is your undergrad degree in?

Not sure where you live but I know that in Montgomery County you can substitute teach for $100+/day. I did it for awhile. I only worked at my DD's school and one other very close school. I could have worked a lot more if I was willing work at other schools. It only requires a BS degree. You would not believe the people that were in my orientation class. I swear some of them looked like convicts! I'm only saying this because it seemed like they took anyone who applied.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I was an unemployed physician for years, no real jobs in sight. I was lucky since I had no loans, but some of my friends had loans and ended up filing and losing everything, but still in debt for the loans.
Here is what I suggest.
1. Beg family for money.
2. Look into teaching school in DC, MD, VA. Private or public, social studies, US government, history.
3. Look at baby sitting, yes, child care. Many employers will understand and you might be able to bring your child along. You may even be able to skip some taxes.
4. Beg your law school for help. They might want to shut you up, since your complaints might reduce future enrollment. Ask for tuition forgiveness or a job. Any job that will help, perhaps one you can do from home here.
5. Nursing school will take too long. No more loans.
6. See if DH can find one better paying job OUTSIDE of the DC area. If he can get 15 K more, it would be worth it to move. Then continue with the above strategies.

how can a physician be unemployed?

Oversupply of one specialty.

OP, have you thought of nannying? I would think for a highly educated nanny, you would be able to find someone who would let you bring your kids to work. If we were in the market for a nanny, I would hire you.
Or what about telemarketing in the evening? I did that for a while as a second job - my hours were 5-9 I think.
I would also seriously consider trying to file bankruptcy and getting your student loans discharged for extreme hardship based on your child's special needs. I'm not sure if it would work - I don't know what the standard is, but there are certain circumstances where you can discharge student loans.
I would also consider just defaulting on your (not your husband's) private loans - check this out obviously, but it may not matter if your credit is crap, assuming your husband's is still ok. Presumably the loans are just in your name only?
Dogwalking is another job you could do with your kids - I would just advertise on Craig's list. If you walk 4 dogs a day you will probably make $150-200 a week. Not a lot, but it might pay the grocery bill while you look for another job.
You could also try getting on the court appointed list wherever you are barred. You would start off getting reckless drivings, trespassing, etc. These generally require a morning in court, and a phone call to get the client's story. If there is legal research, it can probably be done for free at a local law library. See if your alumni network will put you in touch with someone whose brain you could pick on how to do these sorts of cases, and spend a week hanging out in the courtroom to get to know the judges and see how attys handle these cases. It would not pay a lot, but would get you stand up courtroom experience and would help avoid a resume gap. For child care on mornings you needed to be in court, you could see if you could swap with another SAHM.
Sorry you are in this situation, it really sucks.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I was an unemployed physician for years, no real jobs in sight. I was lucky since I had no loans, but some of my friends had loans and ended up filing and losing everything, but still in debt for the loans.
Here is what I suggest.
1. Beg family for money.
2. Look into teaching school in DC, MD, VA. Private or public, social studies, US government, history.
3. Look at baby sitting, yes, child care. Many employers will understand and you might be able to bring your child along. You may even be able to skip some taxes.
4. Beg your law school for help. They might want to shut you up, since your complaints might reduce future enrollment. Ask for tuition forgiveness or a job. Any job that will help, perhaps one you can do from home here.
5. Nursing school will take too long. No more loans.
6. See if DH can find one better paying job OUTSIDE of the DC area. If he can get 15 K more, it would be worth it to move. Then continue with the above strategies.

how can a physician be unemployed?

Holy crap. I am so sorry for what you are going through, and I believe, truly, the government should protect people from this type of hell.

These are my concrete suggestions/thoughts:

-Use a food bank. Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) has times when people can just go in and pick up bags of healthy food. If I were you, I'd be using this option and wouldn't pay money for food.

-Metrobus. It is really, really cheap. A weekly unlimited pass is just $15. I'd get rid of the car, even if you come out $1000 negative on it. We basically use one car now- and it saves SO much money in gas, car taxes, maintenance, etc. You don't have to live somewhere on a Metro line- that costs a premium- just somewhere convenient to bus.

-Housing. There are places advertised in Washington Post Express for under $1000 a month. I'd get a 1 bedroom.

-Egg donation. I've done IVF meds for myself, and it is really no big deal at all, and not a big time intrusion either- I just went in to monitoring early in the morning. I may well end up using eggs from an egg donor, and will be quite thankful to have the option if that ends up coming to pass. Please consider egg donation; it can pay $8-9k.

-Religion. It may help quite a bit, spiritually. Also, some of the big churches/religions are quite supportive to all- McLean Bible Church comes to mind, as does the Mormon Church. I don't know anyone who is Mormon who has been out of a ob too long.

Anonymous wrote:hah. 64% of recent law grads have jobs requiring passing the bar, and the average starting salary is $63K (which is so skewed by the few still getting the $160K in BigLaw). What a depressing statistic for these poor F--cks, and so many are loaded with debt like OP. I know there have been tons of articles recently, but we need to educate people BEFORE they go to law school and waste three years of their lives and $150K in loans!

People keep lining up to get in despite this. Everyone plays the lottery thinking they will win. Statistically, most lose but they think it won't be them.

OP, I was an unemployed physician for years, no real jobs in sight. I was lucky since I had no loans, but some of my friends had loans and ended up filing and losing everything, but still in debt for the loans.
Here is what I suggest.
1. Beg family for money.
2. Look into teaching school in DC, MD, VA. Private or public, social studies, US government, history.
3. Look at baby sitting, yes, child care. Many employers will understand and you might be able to bring your child along. You may even be able to skip some taxes.
4. Beg your law school for help. They might want to shut you up, since your complaints might reduce future enrollment. Ask for tuition forgiveness or a job. Any job that will help, perhaps one you can do from home here.
5. Nursing school will take too long. No more loans.
6. See if DH can find one better paying job OUTSIDE of the DC area. If he can get 15 K more, it would be worth it to move. Then continue with the above strategies.

Tutoring in your home?
Check out independent schools, as well as public schools, for sub opportunities? Babysitting? Dog walking? House sitting? Good luck. Wishing you the best.

hah. 64% of recent law grads have jobs requiring passing the bar, and the average starting salary is $63K (which is so skewed by the few still getting the $160K in BigLaw). What a depressing statistic for these poor F--cks, and so many are loaded with debt like OP. I know there have been tons of articles recently, but we need to educate people BEFORE they go to law school and waste three years of their lives and $150K in loans!

OP try looking for a job with a charter school. You do not have to be certified to teach at many of them. Also, you should apply for emergency food stamps and medicaid You would be surprised you may qualify for something. You may find a job at a day care where you could bring your kids and get paid too.

$75k? Maine? HEAVEN!!!! GL OP.

OP, I would seriously consider moving as well. Our family has been debating this for months now. Our kid is in the third grade and doesn't want to leave, but we owe over $300,000 in student loans and staying is no longer an option. I am also an attorney who is out of work. I'm temping at a large firm with no benefits right now. We'll make less at our new jobs in Colorado, but that is not a bad thing since we're on IBR.

The job market does not appear to be picking up for new lawyers:

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/07/06/salaries-sliding-for-recent-law-school-grads/

OP, are you deferring on your loans now? If not, you should absolutely be signed up for the Income Based Repayment program (IBR). Hopefully you know about stuff like this since you were a former financial aid counselor...but this program just came online a couple of years ago.

OP, the Corcoran College of Art and Design is looking for a financial aid counselor:

http://www.corcoran.org/jobs/index.php#financialaid