Working 32 hours/wk + school fulltime?

[UMSTUDENT]

Being a student myself at a fairly large university I can personally say that if it is at all possible, limit your work hours to a minimum. I go to school with many other students who are all attempting fairly high course loads (18-21 credits), many of them trying to go the pre-professional/pre-med route. Simply put, if you're trying to go for a 3.7 GPA I would say working is a dream. Most of the students I go to school with don't work at all, or very little, and only at jobs that allow them to make their own schedule. Depending on the type of school you're going to this will probably be assumed. Most professors could care less if you need to work to put food on the table, and will in turn assign work loads to accommodate the mass amounts of free time they expect of a professional student. I would say, depending on the rigor of the institution, up to 25-30 hours a week of studying may be expected per class. Not all classes are like this and it depends entirely on your aptitudes

Depending on where you go to school, I think you'll also be surprised by the number of students who simply assume large amounts of debt. I know out-of-state students who, in order to succeed, will eventually be in $80,000 of debt and they accept this because...well it's kind of expected. Outside of this you either have kids on a full-ride or have their entire education paid for by their parents (more common than one might think). This is just for undergraduate.

University, from what I've seen, has become more and more of a type of "experience" and right of passage that is expected by employers. The life skills learned in an institution of higher learning are really indispensable and the money is absolutely worth it. If you must work, I suggest finding a job that will let you work perdiem as some have suggested. Some people I know work for local private transports and make decent money working 20-25 hours a week. They don't call them poor college kids for nothing. A lot of the experience is how to live and entertain yourself on next to no money.

[vivibonita]

I just have a question... did you mention at any point during the interview that you are attending school?

[Pose]

Of course. I brought a copy of my schedule. They would arrange my 32 hours on my days off (including weekends). They kept saying that they understand school can be difficult, especially while working, but they must have a commitment before training me.

Anyone have any tips on pitching the idea of 24 hours instead of 32, without ruining my chances of the job altogether? And should I call the Human Resources guy (that set up the interview), or try to track down one of the nurses?

Thanks again.

[Nate]

Anything less then 32 and you are no longer "full time" which means they won't owe you any benefits.

[paramedicmike]

You haven't said why you're so intent on working. So why are you so intent on working while in school?

I can gaurantee you that as a freshman you are going to be quite surprised by how much work you're going to have to do as classes continue. And don't expect to be able to do homework while working. Not only will you not have time but the bosses tend to look down on that kind of thing.

If you need to maintain a 3.7 GPA then you should probably hold off until everything else falls into place school wise. Then, once you have an idea of how much work school is going to require and what kind of down time you'll have you can better budget for some sort of part time only job.

You need to decide which is more important. School or work. If work is more important then by all means, drop out and concentrate on a dead end job.

And yes, I have been to college. I have faced the same decision you are right now. I learned the hard way that school needs to come first. Once I learned my lesson, the rest of school became much more easy with which to deal.

Good luck.

-be safe.

[lexx_1997]

hey...fellow overachiever!

im doing the exact same thing plus trying to be a mom.

what i had to eventually do was take my school work to work with me. if your in school for emergency services...then it will be easier to correlate the information...if your not in school for anything medical it could be a hardship. but pretty much study on your breaks or when it is slow. try your best to have the night off before a major test..

good luck

[jenniemt]

I must be really lucky that my part time job (20-25 hours a week) offers full benefits. It's expensive compared to what full time employees pay but better than nothing. If you don't HAVE to work to pay bills, don't. Concentrate on school and work later.

[Pose]

Unfortunately I have to have an income to continue receiving my tuition on a monthly basis, and the same holds true for my apartment. I can't live on campus, and I have no family in the state. I know I could probably find a job more willing to work around my school schedule (Subway, Barnes & Noble), but this seems like an opportunity to do something I both enjoy, and pays well. I don't know. Had I found this before classes started, I probably would've waited until next semester to start, but by now I'll only receive 4 W's on my transcript, and $300 in books and supplies that are useless.

It's a tough situation...I guess I can only wait to see how flexible they will be with the hours, and how the interview with the ambulance service goes.

[Ridryder 911]

Anything can be done if you set your mind to it... I am > 40 work an everage of 96 -120 a week & go to grad school full time.. so it is what is important to you at the time..

Be safe,

R/R 911

[Nate]

Anything can be done if you set your mind to it... I am > 40 work an everage of 96 -120 a week & go to grad school full time.. so it is what is important to you at the time..

Be safe,

R/R 911

I have to agree...it isn't hard...it is just that it requires you to manage your time and be on top of things.