By Megan

Not another boring summer job!

So you’re looking to make money, but don’t want to do it the same old minimum-wage way as your friends. If you’ve ever been interested in scientific “stuff” or medical research, you might want to think about finding a clinical trial to participate in. Healthy volunteers ages 18 and older can be paid anywhere from $100 – $300 a day for taking part in these trials, which can focus on anything from drug studies to to cognitive and sensory studies.

Experimental Test Subject? Sounds too Sci-Fi for me

I know what you’re thinking – signing up to be a “lab rat” doesn’t sound like the most appealing job out there. But along with the decent pay, there can be a lot of other perks to being a study subject. Almost all of the trials out there will involve some sort of physical examination, so instead of having to pay to go see your own doctor, you can have easy access to one in the study. Also, there’s typically very little effort required on your part. With many studies, you can get paid just to sit in a comfortable atmosphere and read, watch TV, or even play video games!

What Kind of Study Should I Look For?

There are generally two types of studies that you can volunteer for:  In-house studies or outpatient studies. In-house studies require subjects to stay for at least one overnight, while outpatient studies only have a time commitment of a few hours, but may require the participant to come back more than once. When looking for studies to volunteer for, you will want to look for Phase 1 trials, which most often use healthy people to act as control subjects for the study.

While there are a variety of trials out there, the drug studies tend to be the most common and the most profitable. In these trials, healthy subjects are given very low doses of the drug and then its effects on things like heart rate, absorption rate, etc. are monitored. You have to go through a very thorough screening procedure before you can even be selected for a trial like this. If you’re not comfortable with a drug trial, there are other less invasive trials that conduct studies on other things, such as the effects of exercise and diet, or studies on cognitive processes such as memory and concentration.

Participating in clinical trials does not come without risks. Though typically low, the possibility of serious side effects from any medication can exist. The question of ethics can also come into play when it comes to clinical trials. Though there are many regulations in place to prevent unethical studies, some sketchy ones are still able to continue under the radar. The best way to avoid potential problems with this is to read and understand everything that is given to you about the trial, and as ask many questions as you can before deciding whether or not to go through with the study. Remember that you can back out of the trial at any time. Author Alex O’meara has written a very informative book called Chasing Medical Miracles: The Promise and Perils of Clinical Trials, in which he uses his own experience with a clinical trial to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how these studies work. After reading it you will have a better idea of what to look for and what to avoid if you are looking to become a participant.

Ok, I’m interested. How do I sign up for a study?

The best way to go about finding a trial to sign up for is to find a well-regarded directory of studies. The National Institutes of Health http://clinicalresearch.nih.gov/index.html provides a very comprehensive directory of available clinical trials which you search by state or by study topic. Contact information is usually provided by these directories, and you can then go about setting up a screening appointment to get the whole process started.

While it is possible to a make a living by participating in clinical studies full-time, this can also be a great way to simply earn some money to put towards anything you like – school, a car, a trip somewhere, etc. There are several websites out there that offer great advice on what to expect in a study and tips on finding and signing up for clinical trials. So go ahead and put yourself out there in the name of science, and make some cash while you’re doing it!

Photo Credit: wazuluwazu

Does your family own a party boat? Are you old enough to operate one (or know somebody who is)? Any popular lakes nearby? If your answer to these questions is yes, you should put some serious consideration into a party boat snack bar. Throw a grill and a couple of coolers on the boat and you’re set.

Keep it simple – start off by purchasing basic snack bar food (hotdogs, burgers, buns, chips, soda and water) from any wholesale store. This should be all you need to start with.

Make some large, homemade signs advertising your new floating snack bar. This is very important, so make them easy to read and attractive to the eye.

Make your rounds around lunchtime on a hot sunny day. Drive close to shore and look for people from land to wave you down. Also drive near areas where there are lots of boats, even if that means out in the open water. Limit your time out on the water so that you don’t use up too much gas, as that will most likely be your biggest expense.

Before you start a business venture such as this, be sure to check out the local peddling, vending, and soliciting laws to see if a permit is necessary. You don’t want to have any encounters with the law!

Photo credit: Rob W.

  By Staff

If you’ve got an adventurous spirit and love being outdoors, maybe you should give treasure hunting a try. We’re not talking treasure maps marked with an “X” and fending off pirates here, but a more high-tech method that involves a metal detector. You might be thinking that metal detectors are only for old retired guys, but the beauty about this money-making idea is that anyone with a little bit of determination can have success with it.

If you live near a beach you have the perfect landscape to work with, but you can also try this out in a park or a field that has a historical background. Beaches are good because people will drop all kinds of things during walks on the beach or while swimming. There’s also always the possibility for rare trinkets to come in with the surf and be buried in the sand. Just look at the treasures one hunter has found! Fields or other open spaces are good for finding more historical items of value, such as old coins or even antique jewelry.

Your main investment for this venture will be the purchase of a metal detector. These vary in price range, depending on how high tech you want to get. You’ll have to do some looking around before buying one, but there are tons of blogs out there dedicated completely to treasure hunting and finding the right metal detector. If you’re not ready to buy a metal detector right away, you could try renting one. Rental services like zilok.com list metal detector rentals for low as $30.00 a day. 

After you’ve gotten your metal detector and learned how to use it, you’ll need to find a place to use it! You can try out a random area and hope for the best, but most metal detector hobby sites out there suggest doing some research first – history of the area, what kinds of artifacts have previously been found there, etc. It can greatly improve your chances of finding something of value.

You could get lucky and have some great finds on your first trip out, but more likely it will take some time. Once you’ve got some “treasure”, you’ll need to clean it up, and again do some research to find out about your artifacts. Many of the treasure hunting websites out there have forums that you can visit to find out more about what you’ve found and what to do with it. If you think you’ve got something good, you can list it on ebay.com and try to sell it, or hold on to it, start up a collection,  and see what value it brings in the years to come!

Metal detecting isn’t exactly quickest and easiest way out there to make money, but over time it can become a very fun and rewarding hobby! There are many good lists of tips and guides out there, so use them to help get you started. Good luck!

Photo credit:

 
After writing the TerraCycle article the other day, I came across a great local business that also uses worms to create revenue. 

The business, Worm Power, is based out of Avon, New York. They currently house over 8 million worms which makes Worm Power the largest vermicomposting facility in the Eastern United States. Vermicomposting is the process of literally feeding worms decomposing food and manure, and then out comes vermicast, otherwise known as worm castings. Worm castings are an excellent organic fertilizer that serves as “the best long-term, natural soil fertility enhancing product available”. 

For all you gardeners out there, you can purchase their products online.

By Staff

Who says you can’t make money just lazing around the living room? Well guess what, experienced slackers, the federal government recognizes your special skills and is offering companies a bundle of money to hire you. Yes, that’s right, you may now be more valuable having done nothing the last six months than if you’d been working away at another job or attending school.

Of course, it’s been damn hard for anyone to find a job these days, much less those in certain “targeted” groups, and the government wants to provide an extra bonus to employers for adding targeted individuals to their workforces. But the law doesn’t distinguish between those who have been trying hard to secure employment and those who have just been goofing off.

A company that hires a “disconnected youth” in 2009 or 2010 can claim a tax benefit of as much as $2,400. To be eligible for disconnected youth status, you must meet the following requirements:

-       You are at least 16 years old but not older than 24.

-       Over the last 3 months you earned less than 390 times the minimum wage.

-       Over the 3 months prior to that, you earned less than 390 times the minimum wage.

-       Over the last 6 months, you did not attend school for more than 10 hours per week on average during the periods school was in session. School means a secondary, vocational, or postsecondary school, but not a GED program.

-       You don’t have a graduation certificate from a secondary school or GED program, or if you do have one, you received it more than six months ago and you haven’t held a job or enrolled in postsecondary school since then.

Does that sound like you? Are you ready to exit the couch and enter the workforce? If your answer to both questions is “yes,” get yourself to your local jobs agency and become properly certified as a disconnected youth. Proudly add your new designation to your resume and let potential employers know that you are worth MONEY to them. Perhaps they’ll even increase your starting salary.

Photo credit: oddsock

By Staff

Wield your pooper-scoopers, people.  The poop-scooping market is steamier than ever, and anyone can do it. Nobody likes to pick up their pet’s droppings, so people are very willing to hire outside services to do this dirty work. The thing is, poop-scooping really isn’t that bad if you have the right tools for the job. Start-up costs are low, which makes this a great small business idea for young adults. Advertise your services around wealthy neighborhoods, and you will be sure to see success.