This article is written by Hu Qingshan
Starting from June 10, 2020, for 8 consecutive days, Li Fei (pseudonym) did a total of 8 live guitar performances on an e-commerce platform, starting at 8 o'clock every night, each lasting about an hour. After selling 25 online courses, Li Fei returned to his job as a doctor.
On an e-commerce platform, the single price of Li Fei's course is 999 yuan, and the price during the 618 period is 829 yuan. Li Fei introduced that "the transaction income is divided into 55% of the platform", roughly estimated that during the 618 period, he earned more than 10,000 yuan by selling guitar courses.
Behind the identity of the guitar teacher, Li Fei is a doctor at a medical university in Beijing and a doctor in the department of otorhinolaryngology in a third-class hospital in Beijing.
In fact, in the hospital, there are not a few doctors like Li Fei who work part-time as a side job. According to Lilac Garden's 2021 China Medical Talent Development Report, 62.2% of healthcare practitioners are still considering or already engaging in side business, and 45.8% said they are considering or engaging in multiple side business types.
The survey found that due to the small amount of rest time, a large number of side businesses rely on the Internet and multi-point practice, of which micro-business sales and other Internet hospitals have the highest proportion of part-time jobs, followed by writing or reviewing manuscripts to other institutions and serving as lecturers in training institutions. Behind the various side jobs of medical staff is the harsh reality of their low work income and high pressure in life.
Source: 2021 China Medical Talent Development Report
Raising a family with a side hustle, the income is 3 times that of the hospital
In 2007, Li Fei was exposed to the guitar for the first time. A year later, he began teaching guitar part-time, and since then guitar teaching has become an indispensable part of his life. Li Fei said frankly, "I have been teaching guitar for a long time, and I have been studying medicine for about a decade."
In 2012, Li Fei obtained a master's degree in scientific research from a medical university in Beijing, and three years later, Li Fei graduated. Since there was no scientific research doctoral quota that year, Li Fei entered the training work of a third-class hospital in Beijing.
During his time in the hospital, Li Fei worked while teaching guitar. At that time, Li Fei's monthly salary was not much, "only the state subsidy was 2,000 to 3,000 yuan, and after a year and a half, it was reformed, and the basic equal pay for equal work was complete." However, it is about ten thousand a month, and sometimes there may be no ten thousand, only a few thousand."
For Li Fei, many times, the income in the hospital is even higher than his own guitar teaching income. Due to Li Fei's high level of guitar playing and his previous judgeship in national competitions, his courses tend to have relatively good sales and revenue.
Li Fei instructed students to play guitar in his free time
Image source: Courtesy of Li Fei
"The income from guitar teaching mainly depends on the degree of individual effort. For example, I have not done this for more than a year before, but recently because of the epidemic, we have not yet started school, and there is a lot of time, so we can have an income of 10,000 or 20,000 a month. If you are busy in medicine, you will have less time to invest in side business, and you may earn thousands of dollars a month."
In fact, many medical staff's side business income is even higher than their own income from working in the hospital, and for them, they rely on the side business to support their main business.
"If my salary was higher, I probably wouldn't have come out and done a side hustle." Zhou Xiaoxiao (pseudonym), a doctor in the clinical department of a third-class hospital in Hengyang City, began to work as a domestic counter cosmetics purchaser in December last year because of her maternity leave.
"Because we have handed in our passports and can't go abroad, then we will buy at the domestic counter, go to a little order when there is an activity, and then sell it every day." Zhou Xiaoxiao described his side business.
After graduating from college in 2013, Zhou Xiaoxiao entered the hospital, and after working for 7 years, her monthly salary was only about 6,000 yuan. After engaging in purchasing work, Zhou Xiaoxiao can earn about 10,000 to 20,000 yuan per month. "Nor has it been specifically calculated, each month is different, the first few months are more affected by the epidemic, April may be a little worse, about 10,000 or so, may have about 20,000, June should be fine."
On the day of 618 in 2020, Zhou Xiaoxiao and three agents traveled between the major counters in Hangzhou, purchasing nearly 300,000 cosmetics and skin care products at one time. "During the 618 period, it may have sold 150,000 to 160,000 looks, but I have not yet calculated it, and sent more than 100 couriers out." Zhou Xiaoxiao said that the remaining products will be hoarded and slowly sold later.
"I stock a lot of goods at home, because of the particularity of the domestic counter, it is different from overseas purchasing, overseas purchasing a thing is a real discount, but the domestic counter needs to buy a lot at a time, there will be points and shopping mall benefits." You have to count seven, seven, eight or eight together to calculate the discount, so the amount of one purchase is relatively large."
618 On the same day, Zhou Xiaoxiao queued up at the counter to shop
Image source: Courtesy of Zhou Xiaoxiao
Li Fei and Zhou Xiaoxiao's side business income has exceeded the income in the hospital, but this kind of medical staff who support their main business with side business is after all a minority, and most of the side business income of medical care is not high. At this time, they may be engaged in multiple side jobs at the same time in the hope of earning more income. In them, multiple identities are intertwined with multiple identities.
Multiple identities behind multiple side hustles
Li Li (pseudonym) is a nurse in the infectious disease department of a third-class hospital in Guangzhou, in order to make money, she has engaged in many side jobs, and has worked as a direct sales agent, micro-business and blood collection staff of pharmaceutical companies.
Since 2017, Li Li began to sell bird's nest part-time, "My sister is in Malaysia, she will sell bird's nest directly from the manufacturer, I occasionally help her bring a little, I advertise in the circle of friends like this, but not every day, occasionally think of me to send a hair." 」
In November 2018, Li Li started a micro-business under the persuasion of her neighbors, selling clothes and backpacks in WeChat groups. However, after selling a few backpacks, Li Li found that there was a problem with the quality of these products, so she quit the micro-business group and ended her short-term micro-business side business.
In May 2019, under the introduction of colleagues in the hospital, Li Li began another side business - helping pharmaceutical companies do research and blood collection. "At that time, a large group of colleagues in our unit asked if any nurses were willing to go part-time to collect blood, and it was just when I was free, so I went."
The part-time job of blood collection is charged on a per-time basis, and pharmaceutical companies need professionals to draw blood when they have volunteers to donate blood, in general, "one person at a time is 50 yuan, if two people are drawn at the same time, it is 80 yuan, and three people are 100 yuan."
However, due to the epidemic situation, Li Li has not received a blood collection order for a long time.
Similar to Li Li, Zhao Jing (pseudonym) also engaged in several side jobs at the same time. Zhao Jing is a nurse in the department of urology of a second-class hospital in Hunan, in addition to the hospital's work, she also works part-time selling goods on an e-commerce platform, and is also an agent for a counseling training institution.
In September 2019, Zhao Jing joined an e-commerce platform, mainly responsible for publicity and promotion. "This side business is a store and retail way, customers can place their own orders in the store, because I was thinking that the medical staff was busy, I could not reply to every customer's message all the time like a micro-business." Now this platform has its own customer service, you can place your own orders to ship your own, I thought it was more worry-free, so I chose to do this."
In addition to part-time retailing, Zhao Jing also works as an agent in a counseling training institution. She had considered taking the civil service examination, so she bought courses at a tutoring training institution and later became an agency agent, mainly working to "promote institutions and courses through these apps such as Xiaohongshu Douyin".
At present, this side business can bring Zhao Jing an additional income of 2,000 to 3,000 yuan per month.
In fact, no matter how many side jobs they do, the identity of the medical staff is always the identity that they cannot get rid of and do not want to get rid of.
A healthcare identity that is not willing to be lost
Although since 2017, Li Li has engaged in 3 side jobs, but she has not completely adhered to each side job, because in her heart, she has always been a medical worker, which is a job that requires professionalism, trust and reputation.
"I just don't want to trade other people's trust for our deception." This is what Li Li said in the micro-business group when she left a micro-business team. After only one month of officially doing micro-business, Li Li decided not to do it. "I found that the quality of the things I sold was not good, and I questioned them. They are indeed fake, but there are a lot of trusts in the group, and those trusts will say that the product is good every time they sell."
Li Li questioned a micro-business team selling fakes
Image source: Courtesy of Li Li
Because she could not accept deceiving customers, Li Li gave up this side business. "I basically have relatives, friends and colleagues I know in WeChat, and I am afraid that the things I sell are not good, which will affect this person's perception of me and affect my reputation."
It is also out of this worry that even if Li Li helps her own sister sell bird's nest, she rarely sends circle of friends to publicize, and in three years, she only sold a single bird's nest.
Even if the side hustle is booming and the income is much higher than that of working in the hospital, medical staff are less willing to leave the hospital to do the side job full-time.
"Maybe we do daigou, and when the child grows up, someone asks the child what your mother does?" He said that "in the hospital" is definitely better than "dry purchasing."" Out of recognition of her medical status, even if Zhou Xiaoxiao can currently earn 20,000 yuan per month on behalf of the purchaser, she is not willing to leave the hospital.
In addition to this, stability is also a factor to consider. "Actually, my husband and I have thought about it, because what I am doing now is not bad, if I open another Taobao store, it may be even more expanded by then." 」 However, Zhou Xiaoxiao finally decided to stay in the hospital. "My husband is also in business, and we think it's unstable for both of us to do business, and it might be an iron job for me to work in the hospital."
If Zhou Xiaoxiao is unwilling to leave the hospital out of realistic and stable considerations, then Li Fei really loves the medical industry and is not willing to leave and abandon his identity as a doctor.
"Because I personally still like to be a doctor, I like to do surgery and go to the clinic, which is what I love to do, so let me give up being a doctor, I am still reluctant to do it." 」 I'm now raising my main business as a sideline business, which is pretty much what it means."
Although most medical staff are reluctant to give up their medical status, they have to take another job that is not related to the hospital, which may be the problem of low income of medical staff.
"After all, you still have to support your family, right?"
For Li Li, "no money, want to make extra money" is the main reason for her side business. At present, Li Li's monthly income is about 7,000 to 8,000 yuan, and it is not easy to live in Guangzhou, "The salary actually has a great impact on my life, because I have to pay off my mortgage every month for 6,000 to 7,000 yuan, and I still have children to raise."
For Zhou Xiaoxiao, the economic pressure is even more severe. She has two children, the second child was just born, she is on maternity leave, the hospital salary is about 6000 ~ 7000 yuan, if she does not engage in side business, the family's financial pressure is all on her lover.
"A lot of my colleagues around me are doing side jobs." Zhou Xiaoxiao said that it is actually very common for medical staff to do side business, "Our colleagues have made micro-business products, some have opened dessert shops, and some have opened swimming pools, and everyone will do a little side business, because if you rely on hospital income alone, it will definitely not be enough to support your family."
For medical staff to do side business, Zhou Xiaoxiao is actually very supportive. "Because our doctor group is indeed relatively low-paid, I also hope that everyone's side business can blossom more, so that everyone's pressure will not be so great." I have a colleague who has two children, her husband is in the CDC laboratory department, both of them are in this kind of work, their life pressure will be greater. I want everyone to earn a little bit more, at least in proportion to what they give."
In fact, the current salary level of medical staff is indeed not optimistic. According to Lilac Garden's "2021 China Hospital Salary Survey Report", the average salary of Chinese hospital employees in 2020 is about 197,000 yuan. For example, Handan, whose economic strength is not bad in third-tier cities, is 66% lower than the national average, only 67,500 yuan.
Average annual salary statistics for different cities
Source: 2021 China Hospital Salary Survey Report
In 2020, Lilac Garden and Lilac Talents launched the "Medical Industry Talent Development Report Compilation" for five consecutive years. The survey results show that the salary of medical staff needs to be improved urgently, and 40.4% of doctors have an annual income of less than 100,000 yuan after tax; the annual income after tax of nurses and pharmacists is mainly concentrated in 60,000 to 100,000 yuan.
After-tax income of healthcare workers in the past year
Source: 2020 Medical Industry Talent Development Report Compilation
At this salary level, medical staff have to work as a side hustle, even if they are repeatedly hit in the process of doing side hustles. Li Fei's current situation is to "maintain the main business with a side job", but he prefers to increase the income of medical staff and solve the problem from the source. "I don't think there's any need for a side hustle if the hospital's income is OKAY, because the doctors are already busy." If the hospital's income is very poor, it is still recommended to do some side business, after all, you still have to support your family, right?"
Planner: Scum Jun
Executive Producer: Gyouza
Title image source: Visual China