by Tricia
I caught this article on Yahoo about college students participating in studies to get some cash:
“Yochim, a self-described “lab rat,” says she has made more than $3,000 by participating in more than 30 medical studies at Boston’s world-class research hospitals.” [via Yahoo.com]
That’s some serious cash. They don’t say how many hours total the woman interviewed spent participating in these studies, but from the ones that I have seen they pay fairly well for your time.
I did a bit of research and found that for healthy individuals who want to participate in drug research, they can make a decent amount of money. It’s also possible to participate in other non drug studies that still pay well, but not as much as the drug research studies.
I have been tempted to participate in medical research before for the University of Michigan. They were looking for adults who smoke and their parents who smoke/used to smoke. All they needed was some blood from everyone and a few questions answered and I believe everyone involved received $100/each. We never pursued it any further than discussing it.
When I’m bored, sometimes I check their research page to see if there is anything I would be interested in doing. I don’t think I could ever do something that involved taking new medications or having them cut me open. But they can draw blood or ask questions. I’m fine with that.