A law student at Oxford Brookes University volunteered to be infected with typhoid in a clinical trial so she could rake in £2,900.
Sian Rogers is one of about 80 people in Oxford taking part in the vaccine tests, and will be trialling one of three newvaccines over the next 12 months.
The 22-year-old said she still doesn't "really know" what the disease is.
Rogers had to drink a concoction with the disease in, whilst wearing protective goggles and gloves.
"I ended up spending a whole week in bed, catching up on Netflix and sleep with a cocktail of drugs to ease the symptoms," she wrote in a blog for her student newspaper. "And taking a taxi to hospital every morning so they could make sure I wasn’t dying."
The student was previously infected with a dead form of Ebola, so she could take part in a trial of the drug.
"Last year it was actually pretty fun," she said. "The guys at the clinic are all really nice and it was quite funny; it was a big joke among friends that I had Ebola."
She added: "The philanthropist in me tells everyone I’m doing it help medical science but really, the attraction of money is too great. I might even buy myself a car."
Prospective law students have recently been warned they may face spending up to £127,000 if they wish to qualify as a barrister.
Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, chair of the Bar Council, told the Guardian the figure was based on an undergraduate who initially takes a non-law degree from a London university, then progresses to a graduate diploma in law conversion course followed by a bar professional training course (BPTC) qualification, also in London. BPTC courses can cost up to £19,000.