Working 32 hours/wk + school fulltime?

[Pose]

Some pretty good news. I took an exemption exam for my Health class last night and passed. Only 5-7% have passed the exam in the past 10 years, which is pretty cool. I got my credit and I'm done with the class. This of course means, given I'm hired by the hospital, I will have a day off during the week.

[Nate]

Congrats, and nice job on having a day off...study time. :wink:

[Shansist]

First off, you have to do what you can handle safely w/o getting burned out. I work full time 40-50 hrs. / wk with a paramedic level xport company, I attend school full-time for Paramedic, I volunteer with my local rescue squad for 3-4 12 hr. shifts a month and am currently going through a divorce with four children. I handle it quite well, but that is me. Not everyone is the same. Granted, it is HARD AS HELL to do though. School is my main priority right now though because once I am through I can work with this same xport company 3 days a week and have time at home with my kids while making a decent living and I will no longer be in school. That is my main goal.

[Pose]

I got a call from them this morning! They said they were very interested in hiring me (I'm in this for the experience, and opportunity to learn--), and have decided to hire me for 24 hours a week, and hire another tech to cover the rest of my shifts. The pay is $11.50-12, and the medical insurance has no preexisting conditions clause (I have a bulging disc which I'm currently being treated for).

I now have much less than a full course load, and they're allowing me to work part-time.

Thank you all for the advice, and ideas. I'll try to keep my sanity, especially when I start taking 18 credits next semester.

[Phoenix_Pixie697]

I am not sure if you'd call it equal,but I have school 8hrs a week and work 72hrs a week, plus clinicals. Thank goodness I don't have kids, I'd die.

PP

[cosgrojo]

Pose, Congrats on it all working out! But I will caution you... right now it's working, next semester you may have a problem. When I was in school, I had the same situation as you. Paying for myself, living off campus, no family around... What I did, was focus on working, doing just enough to keep the grades where they needed to be for my financial aid, and try to get the bills paid. As a Economics guy, you will understand what I mean when I say this. Be careful of what you are giving up. There is an opportunity cost to everything you do. Try not and sacrifice too much school for work. That's what I did. In trying to keep myself out of debt, I didn't do an internship, or get any experience in the field I was studying for. So when all the work was done, and I got my diploma, I wasn't marketable. No internship= no experience= no job prospects in the field of choice. If I had it all over to do again, I would have taken out more loans, ratcheted back on the work hours, and focused on the future, and not the larger than life present. Good luck! Hope everything keeps falling into place for you.