Can you handle weekend jobs and pharm school?

[RNtoPharmD]

I am offered a weekend option job(only sat and sun)., which be nice if I get accepted into local pharmacy schools? I am attracted mainly to the schedule and the pay.

There is 1 year agreement (I am not concerned legal aspect of it because ,after carefully reading the contract, I won't own them anything financially in case I resign before one year. But they might be pissed. so I probably have to work with them for a while after school starts)

Can you guys handle two 12-hr shift per week of hard work plus 18-19 credits/semester in pharmacy school? I still want to make good grades though....

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[Old Timer]

I am offered a weekend option job(only sat and sun). (nursing again), which be nice if I get accepted into local pharmacy schools? I am attracted mainly to the schedule and the pay.

There is 1 year agreement (I am not concerned legal aspect of it because ,after carefully reading the contract, I won't own them anything financially in case I resign before one year. But they might be pissed. so I probably have to work with them for a while after school starts)

Can you guys, nurses/pharm tech, handle two 12-hr shift per week of hard work plus 18-19 credits/semester in pharmacy school? I still want to make good grades though....

If you need to work every single weekend, it will be difficult. If you can't work while in school, you'll never be a good pharmacist....

 

[Allure]

A classmate of mine works on the weekends, but not every weekend. She's PRN. So that's something that you might want to negotiate with them or every other weekend. Every weekend is going to take a toll on you.

 

[bananaface]

My feeling is that you never know how many hours you can spare until you're there. I would be wary of overcommitting and then not having as much time as you'd like for classes, supporting professional activities, and yourself. You might consider a pharmacy internship, because of the more flexible schedule and opportunity to learn things that you don't already know through the experience.

 

[ChargerSRT]

Priorities in Pharmacy School:

1. School
2. Study
3. Party
4. Student Organizations
5. Work

If you want to have any kind of social life, I wouldn't recommend working more than 10-12 hours a week.

 

[bananaface]

Priorities in Pharmacy School:

1. School
2. Study
3. Party
4. Student Organizations
5. Work

If you want to have any kind of social life, I wouldn't recommend working more than 10-12 hours a week.

I would replace "Party" with "Sleep" b/c I'm "old" now.

 

[rxlynn]

I am offered a weekend option job(only sat and sun). (nursing again), which be nice if I get accepted into local pharmacy schools? I am attracted mainly to the schedule and the pay.

There is 1 year agreement (I am not concerned legal aspect of it because ,after carefully reading the contract, I won't own them anything financially in case I resign before one year. But they might be pissed. so I probably have to work with them for a while after school starts)

Can you guys, nurses/pharm tech, handle two 12-hr shift per week of hard work plus 18-19 credits/semester in pharmacy school? I still want to make good grades though....

Hi - I seem to remember that you had applied or interviewed at Mercer?? Anyway, if you come to Mercer I would strongly advise against anything that would tie you up every single weekend. The reason is that at Mercer the majority of your major tests in your block class for your 1st and 3rd years will be on Monday morning at 8 AM. So, for most of us, the weekend before is the best, most productive time to study.

 

[think]

if i was in your position i will probably let it go for the first year, since i woud not know wat kinda work and how much study is required in pharm school..maybe the second year i will start to think of working part time...

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Hi - I seem to remember that you had applied or interviewed at Mercer?? Anyway, if you come to Mercer I would strongly advise against anything that would tie you up every single weekend. The reason is that at Mercer the majority of your major tests in your block class for your 1st and 3rd years will be on Monday morning at 8 AM. So, for most of us, the weekend before is the best, most productive time to study.

Thanks you guys for helpful advice.
Yeah... I'm interviewing there on April 23th at Mercer.. I don't know if the class is filled by that time. Yeah, I think here is my plan:

I gonna get the job and work until the 3-4th week of school or until the point I can't handle anymore, then ask them if I can work PRN or quit and find pharm/intern job that pay less. Big weekend differential and full-time benefit (PTO etc) is too enticing to let it go by and I need make money to pay for schools.

But here are the drawbacks:
1. They may be pissed that I don't complete 1 year contract. If I want to do pharm tech/intern/pharmacist job later at this health system, I may hesitate to give me the job..

2. Doesn't look good on my resume because I work for 4-5 months then quit. But I can make an excuse about going to pharm school.

I hope the nurse recruiter is not reading this post.. otherwise, I will be Any opinions on this?

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Priorities in Pharmacy School:
1. School 2. Study 3. Party 4. Student Organizations 5. Work
If you want to have any kind of social life, I wouldn't recommend working more than 10-12 hours a week.

Aren't school and study the same thing?

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Priorities in Pharmacy School:
1. School
2. Study
3. Party
4. Student Organizations
5. Work

But work is $$$. And you need $$$ to party/vacation, unless you want to take $$$ from loan/scholarship to party.. I don't want to be poor for the next four year. I think just finding the balance is the key.. I will probably resort to pharm Tech job when I start school.

 

[RxWildcat]

I work 14 hours a week and its no problem, I wouldn't want to work EVERY weekend, but I see no problem in working 2 weekends / month

 

[RNtoPharmD]

I work 14 hours a week and its no problem, I wouldn't want to work EVERY weekend, but I see no problem in working 2 weekends / month

But you don't get the benefit and them same pay.That would have to be PRN job. I think I'll take the job for now and see how I can negotiate with them later..

 

[Allure]

You've already listed the pros and cons and you've already decided, so no point in really asking other people. My philosophy about working is that I have another 40+ years to work. This is the time for me to enjoy. Money is great, but without it, I'm still ok. You don't want to over-stress yourself as pharmacy school is already stressful. I can't go back working every weekend. I enjoy my weekends too much to give them up.

 

[pancreas]

Thanks you guys for helpful advice.
Yeah... I'm interviewing there on April 23th at Mercer.. I don't know if the class is filled by that time. Yeah, I think here is my plan:

I gonna get the job and work until the 3-4th week of school or until the point I can't handle anymore, then ask them if I can work PRN or quit and find pharm/intern job that pay less. Big weekend differential and full-time benefit (PTO etc) is too enticing to let it go by and I need make money to pay for schools.

But here are the drawbacks:
1. They may be pissed that I don't complete 1 year contract. If I want to do pharm tech/intern/pharmacist job later at this health system, I may hesitate to give me the job..

2. Doesn't look good on my resume because I work for 4-5 months then quit. But I can make an excuse about going to pharm school.

I hope the nurse recruiter is not reading this post.. otherwise, I will be Any opinions on this?

I wouldn't worry about your resume. You'll be able to get a job in pharmacy after graduation no matter what.

I worked every weekend throughout pharmacy school--even while on rotations. It was kind of tiring at times, but it's doable. But it really depends on how much studying you (meaning, you personally) will need to do.

 

[njac]

I used to work every sat and sunday, but it was lame never getting a day off.

so I work mon and weds and sat 1500-2330 and get my 24 hours a week that way.

my mom is a nurse and has a sweet prn job at an ER where they use her to fill gaps in the schedule so she gets 4 or6 hour shifts. 12s are difficult during school.

 

[confettiflyer]

If I were you, I'd just work one day a week (12hr shift). As a nurse, you'll be making something on the order of $30-$40/hr vs. your pharm. intern rate of about $15/hr (depending on location).

 

[RNtoPharmD]

I posted this thread a while back ago and I am still keeping my weekend job. (two 12-hour shift). Although feeling exhausted and having to pull an all nighter every sunday night, I am surviving with borderline B/A in Biochem and B/A in pharmaceutical science and A average in other classes. However, I have no life at all and missed every weekend event. It really sucks....

Yeah.. I am making ~$32 (shift differential included) as RN. I thought I could quit my job after pharmacy school and be happy partying but I am concerned about the amount of loan ($110,000/4 years tuition alone) --I am in a private school.. guys. I won't be fun having to pay >$1000/month of your salary to for student loan.

As a nurse working only every weekend, I should earn $40,000 year and might be some extra thousands during the break, which will be a big help. I think it is possible to maintain a decent grades while working if I choose not to have fun at all.

Hard decision. I don't want to six figure debt and at the same time I want to have a life.

On reflection, I would have to choose one of these three of time:
1. Keep the job but don't give a damn about the grade. Just get B & Cs and graduate.
2. Give up the jobs and work as needed and accumulate six figure debt.
3. Keep the job and study hard for decent grades. Minimize social life.
Have fun again in the next 4 years.


hard to decide..

 

[RNtoPharmD]

If I were you, I'd just work one day a week (12hr shift). As a nurse, you'll be making something on the order of $30-$40/hr vs. your pharm. intern rate of about $15/hr (depending on location).

$15 is still good. They pay like $11-12 here for retail.. sucks. Hospital pharmacy pays $17-18/hr though.

 

[bacillus1]

If you can, work on the weekdays you don't have class too late. This semester I am working M and F 2-8 (though my hours were just cut a little bit) and this works really well. I'd hate to work weekends because then I wouldn't really be able to relax.

Oh and you said 2 12-hour shifts? you're gonna kill yourseld. 2 8-hour shifts maybe, but not more.

EDIT: Sorry didn't realize this is an old topic.

 

[inquirer89]

I am not in pharm school yet... but I work as a PRN pharmacy tech at my nearby hospital. It's an 8 hour shift on both Saturday and Sunday and only 2 weekends out of the month. Pretty sweet deal, great pay, and have enough time to study, play, relax, etc. Highly recommend it if you can find anything like it.

 

[McZyprexalynn]

Well, I work 26 hours a week as a P2. I'm single and paying my way alone, so unless I want to live in a cardboard box, I have to work some. The main reason I work so much right now is to keep my health insurance through the end of the year. We are done with classes at noon 4 out of 5 days a week, so I work two evenings during the week and 10 hours on the weekend. Most of the time, it's workable, but I'm not much of a party person, nor am I too concerned about having a high GPA (my grades are fine, but I'm not going to get all stressed about getting all As). Last year, I only did 18 hours a week (8hr on Friday, 5hr on Sat & Sun) and that was never a problem. The biggest issue with working is that it doesn't allow you to procrastinate as much. Do things when you have the time, because you might not have time later.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Well, I work 26 hours a week as a P2. I'm single and paying my way alone, so unless I want to live in a cardboard box, I have to work some. The main reason I work so much right now is to keep my health insurance through the end of the year. We are done with classes at noon 4 out of 5 days a week, so I work two evenings during the week and 10 hours on the weekend. Most of the time, it's workable, but I'm not much of a party person, nor am I too concerned about having a high GPA (my grades are fine, but I'm not going to get all stressed about getting all As). Last year, I only did 18 hours a week (8hr on Friday, 5hr on Sat & Sun) and that was never a problem. The biggest issue with working is that it doesn't allow you to procrastinate as much. Do things when you have the time, because you might not have time later.

wow! 26 hr/week.. but it also depends on the types of job too. Nursing is back-breaking and sometimes involves physical labor. One of my classmate is working 40-60/hr a week but she has an easy office job.

I admire your time management ability.

Me too. Single and pay my way alone. I can't help caring about grade though.. paying >$10,000/ semester for school.. I should get a decent grade.
I guess my decision is to continue working for now.. At least, december/ Thanksgiving break is coming.. but I probably end up working more during the break to save more money... Without working, how can I have money for vacation during break, right?

Too bad, they don't have 2 8-hour shift in my unit. I have to find a new job at some point.

 

[AngelaCL]

I work 20 hours a week and it's not bad, but I only work every other weekend. Can you work shorter shifts, get one weekend off a month, or at least be able to take one of the days off right before your hardest exams? 24 hours every weekend is doable but it won't be fun.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

I work 20 hours a week and it's not bad, but I only work every other weekend. Can you work shorter shifts, get one weekend off a month, or at least be able to take one of the days off right before your hardest exams? 24 hours every weekend is doable but it won't be fun.

Then I have to work for agency nursing or PRN and lose regular-full-time benefits (health insurance/PTO/401K etc) and lose $3,500/year tuition reimbursement (not much anyway). I could work as pharm intern but it would have to take pay cut... It's hard to get a day off when you are regular-weekend (weekend options) employee.

I am looking for an office RN job but couldn't find one that would fit my schedule.

I guess.. I'll continue to do this for at least the first year.. and keep looking for jobs at the same times. maybe home health.. I don't know. I don't feel that I like anything in nursing.

 

[mustang sally]

I posted this thread a while back ago and I am still keeping my weekend job. (two 12-hour shift). Although feeling exhausted and having to pull an all nighter every sunday night, I am surviving with borderline B/A in Biochem and B/A in pharmaceutical science and A average in other classes. However, I have no life at all and missed every weekend event. It really sucks....

Yeah.. I am making ~$32 (shift differential included) as RN. I thought I could quit my job after pharmacy school and be happy partying but I am concerned about the amount of loan ($110,000/4 years tuition alone) --I am in a private school.. guys. I won't be fun having to pay >$1000/month of your salary to for student loan.

As a nurse working only every weekend, I should earn $40,000 year and might be some extra thousands during the break, which will be a big help. I think it is possible to maintain a decent grades while working if I choose not to have fun at all.

Hard decision. I don't want to six figure debt and at the same time I want to have a life.

On reflection, I would have to choose one of these three of time:
1. Keep the job but don't give a damn about the grade. Just get B & Cs and graduate.
2. Give up the jobs and work as needed and accumulate six figure debt.
3. Keep the job and study hard for decent grades. Minimize social life.
Have fun again in the next 4 years.


hard to decide..

I admire you that you have been able to work every weekend so far this semester! I really don't think I could do it (especially the overnights).

 

[JerryPharmD]

I've worked 24 hours per week every week the entire length of school; I'm about to start rotations (40 hours per week) and still work 24 hours per week. I manage to fill in fun time (EtOH) and be a decent father/husband even with the schedule (on separate occasions=). I actually like my job so it doesn't seem like "work." The time passes much quicker. Good luck!

 

[crossurfingers]

What about a job as a med-pass nurse in a nursing home? I hung around with some during my rotations and their job seemed pretty sweet. No back-breaking labor. Just pushing around the med cart and giving people their meds. I'm probably over simplifying it, but it but either way it seemed a lot less stressful than the nurses who were on the floors at the hospitals I've been to.

 

[rxlynn]

Then I have to work for agency nursing or PRN and lose regular-full-time benefits (health insurance/PTO/401K etc) and lose $3,500/year tuition reimbursement (not much anyway). I could work as pharm intern but it would have to take pay cut... It's hard to get a day off when you are regular-weekend (weekend options) employee.

I am looking for an office RN job but couldn't find one that would fit my schedule.

I guess.. I'll continue to do this for at least the first year.. and keep looking for jobs at the same times. maybe home health.. I don't know. I don't feel that I like anything in nursing.

Keep in mind also that most people here at Mercer say that P2 year is significantly harder than P1, and I can tell you after having lived through it myself that your school schedule (i.e. the amount of time you are actually physically on campus for classes) is MUCH worse than P1. So, my advice would be to try to keep your job through P1 year and the summer (when you can presumably make a lot of money), and just accept that you will have to take out more loans next year to balance not working so much. Good luck!

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Keep in mind also that most people here at Mercer say that P2 year is significantly harder than P1, and I can tell you after having lived through it myself that your school schedule (i.e. the amount of time you are actually physically on campus for classes) is MUCH worse than P1. So, my advice would be to try to keep your job through P1 year and the summer (when you can presumably make a lot of money), and just accept that you will have to take out more loans next year to balance not working so much. Good luck!

rxlynn, Thanks so much for the advice. I heard that the class ends like 5 pm. It's crazy. I just wonder how can I have time to study if I choose to work..
Is Biochem the hardest class for P1? What class I have to look out for next semester? Thanks..!!

 

[ItsOverZyvox]

RN,

I worked every weekend, both Sat and Sun for 3.5 years while in RX school. My last semester during 4th year, I cut back to 3 weekends a month.

If I was an RN, I would probably do 1 shift of nursing and 1 day of pharm intern.. make more money that way.

I noticed a post up above who put work as #5 priority. That's BS. School and work kinda parallel each other because both provide learning experience.

 

[McZyprexalynn]

wow! 26 hr/week.. but it also depends on the types of job too. Nursing is back-breaking and sometimes involves physical labor. One of my classmate is working 40-60/hr a week but she has an easy office job.

I admire your time management ability.

Me too. Single and pay my way alone. I can't help caring about grade though.. paying >$10,000/ semester for school.. I should get a decent grade.
I guess my decision is to continue working for now.. At least, december/ Thanksgiving break is coming.. but I probably end up working more during the break to save more money... Without working, how can I have money for vacation during break, right?

Too bad, they don't have 2 8-hour shift in my unit. I have to find a new job at some point.

Actually, I think my time management abilities kind of suck, but somehow it's all managed to work out.

One of my classmates actually has time to study sometimes while he is at work. I wish! My pharmacy is quite busy, and I surely wouldn't get anywhere trying to study.

As for the grades, I think it's important to keep in in perspective. I show up for every class (unless I'm sick or the weather is bad - I do commute) and get decent grades (As & Bs), but I refuse to get too stressed out about grades. It maybe be different if you plan on a residency, but I've been told by many retail pharmacists that no one ever asked for a copy of their transcript before hiring them.

I actually think that working helps out a lot. I can actually more easily remember stuff on exams if I can relate it to a situation at work. It also allows you to apply all the stuff you learn in school.

If you're working to pay the bills, working has to be higher than #5 on the list. If I go hungry and run out of gas money, I'm not going to be making it to class often.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Actually, I think my time management abilities kind of suck, but somehow it's all managed to work out.

One of my classmates actually has time to study sometimes while he is at work. I wish! My pharmacy is quite busy, and I surely wouldn't get anywhere trying to study.

As for the grades, I think it's important to keep in in perspective. I show up for every class (unless I'm sick or the weather is bad - I do commute) and get decent grades (As & Bs), but I refuse to get too stressed out about grades. It maybe be different if you plan on a residency, but I've been told by many retail pharmacists that no one ever asked for a copy of their transcript before hiring them.

I actually think that working helps out a lot. I can actually more easily remember stuff on exams if I can relate it to a situation at work. It also allows you to apply all the stuff you learn in school.

If you're working to pay the bills, working has to be higher than #5 on the list. If I go hungry and run out of gas money, I'm not going to be making it to class often.

My time management abilities sucks too.
I didn't show up for every class though. I sometimes skip one class to study the others. Last week, I slept two hours on sunday for biochem test. I probably will do the same today for pharmaceutical science..

Nursing really sucks.. no time to study at my work either.. I can walk around and glance at my clipboard once in a while though..

It seems like when I stay up, I usually make better grade than when I have enough sleep...

Yeah.. I agree that you can learn something from working.. Even in nursing, I still think I can apply what I learn from school because I am administering it... I need to work as a pharm intern at some point but it is impractical now with 2-day of nursing/ week.

 

[Jammerdez1]

Even though this is an old thread, I'm still throwing in my 2 cents.

It depends a LOT on your time management skills. Not to brag, but if I wanted to do something like the OP is suggested, I could get away with it. Right now, as an applicant to pharm school, I am getting away with:
University Research Associate (40 hours per week), Store Manager at a local non-pharm retail chain (45 hours per week), school (3 classes/quarter), and raising a family. At one point, I also had volunteering at a hospital pharmacy, but had to drop it due to a scheduling conflicts that couldn't be worked around for a quarter. I'm thinking about picking it back up, but the wife's starting to wonder if I'm really just secretly a CIA agent who claims to do all this other stuff as a cover up, since I only see her when we're sleeping.

Now that I've derailed and gone off on a tangent, the main point is that if you've been able to pull off crazy time management feats before, then you should be able to continue to do so. However, if you've always been a one focus act, don't force it. The debt will resolve itself after graduation, so long as you don't start living like a king the moment you get your first paycheck.

 

[rxlynn]

rxlynn, Thanks so much for the advice. I heard that the class ends like 5 pm. It's crazy. I just wonder how can I have time to study if I choose to work..
Is Biochem the hardest class for P1? What class I have to look out for next semester? Thanks..!!

Yeah - I personally thought biochem was the hardest in P1 - as far as spring semester goes for you, A/P should be fine - I'm assuming you've already taken some in your nursing training. I thought pharmaceutics was very straight-forward, so I guess I'd have to say that Micro/Immuno is the hardest in the spring. He actually spends a lot more time on the Immuno than the Micro portion, and I had never taken any Immuno so it was harder for me. But, I still thought it was much easier than biochem.

I'm not sure how your intro to pharmacy course or POP will be, because you don't have the same teachers I had.

 

[nafcillin]

unless you can't find any other job I wouldn't take it. Every weekend would really not be fun.

 

[acetyl]

Worked about 20 hours/week first year, and doing about 15/week this year.

I work because: 1) I need/want the money 2) I get bored studying all the time and it's not productive for me to study all the time-learning hits saturation doing the read/memorize notes 3) working helps potentiate and see your knowledge in action

If you work under a pharmacist who trusts you because you know what you're talking about, then it's cool because you can make recommendations, but if you feel like you're a tech/cashier walking on egg shells and telling someone with a cold to buy diphenhydramine would piss off the RPh, then I say don't work until you graduate. It's all relative. Like the amount of money I'll make this year will be about 1.5 months as RPh

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Yeah - I personally thought biochem was the hardest in P1 - as far as spring semester goes for you, A/P should be fine - I'm assuming you've already taken some in your nursing training. I thought pharmaceutics was very straight-forward, so I guess I'd have to say that Micro/Immuno is the hardest in the spring. He actually spends a lot more time on the Immuno than the Micro portion, and I had never taken any Immuno so it was harder for me. But, I still thought it was much easier than biochem.

I'm not sure how your intro to pharmacy course or POP will be, because you don't have the same teachers I had.

Pharmaceutics is not straightforward.. Lots of tricky answers. To me, Pharmaceutic sci, not biochem, is the hardest this semester though.. I feel after the test today. I regret for not sleeping.. Will the grade be curved at the end of the course? worried

 

[rxlynn]

Pharmaceutics is not straightforward.. Lots of tricky answers. To me, Pharmaceutic sci, not biochem, is the hardest this semester though.. I feel after the test today. I regret for not sleeping.. Will the grade be curved at the end of the course? worried

No - I was referring to the pharmaceutics course you will take in spring semester, NOT what you are taking right now. I have no idea if they will curve it or not, but I don't think anybody in my class actually failed it.

 

[scavok]

You can do it, but only if you really want to. I put more priority in to practicing what I learn than in to getting straight A's. I get A's B's and the occasional C but work 30+ hours per week. I don't have the best grades, but as only a P1 I am relied upon and trusted more so than a lot of the P2's at my workplace.

 

[tommyle]

man that'd be hard

 

[tommyle]

I am offered a weekend option job(only sat and sun)., which be nice if I get accepted into local pharmacy schools? I am attracted mainly to the schedule and the pay.

There is 1 year agreement (I am not concerned legal aspect of it because ,after carefully reading the contract, I won't own them anything financially in case I resign before one year. But they might be pissed. so I probably have to work with them for a while after school starts)

Can you guys handle two 12-hr shift per week of hard work plus 18-19 credits/semester in pharmacy school? I still want to make good grades though....

only if you're not christian ..

cause you gotta go to church on sunday dont you

 

[Omegadramon]

I'm scheduled to work 20hrs every other weekend, but so far I've been working almost every weekend. It's tough if I have an exam Monday morning, but I'm managing.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

I'm scheduled to work 20hrs every other weekend, but so far I've been working almost every weekend. It's tough if I have an exam Monday morning, but I'm managing.

yeah... especially, you guys are at UGA with classmates who are high acheiver... Wish I were there... but I don't want to restart the whole admission process over again. Good luck for you this semester!!
I am doing ok so far.. but I miss my weekend friends & ETOH etc..

 

[nikkai]

Priorities in Pharmacy School:

1. Learn and teach what you learn
2. Party
3. Party
4. Party
5. Work to support partying

Adjusted for truth and real-life application.