I have a question about my work schedule

[miked123]

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Hey guys, I am trying to decide what to do in terms of money while going to school. I would love to hear your opinions about my situation.

I work in sales right now and make about 45k salary. I also work in a retail pharmacy pt for an extra $100 a wk. I have been taking 2-3 classes per semester and getting straight A's. After taxes my take home is only about $620 a wk. To make a long story short,

I am wondering if it would be better to quit my job and wait tables in the evenings where I could make at least $500 - $600 a wk cash and the ability to go to school full time during the day. Although it would be a bit of a demotion in status and actual salary, the take home cash would be the same or more and I would have more time to bang out all the rest of my pre-reqs.

I am really struggling with this decision and have gotten mixed imput from my parents and girlfriend.

Thanks in advance

 

[twester]

What are you going to do when pharmacy school starts? It'll be hard to wait tables every night or to work a $45K a year sales job. Do you need $45K to pay bills, etc? Your income during pharmacy school is going to take a serious hit (I made $9600 last year and the rest came from loans). I'd keep the full-time job with the regular salary and start scaling back by paying off any debt and making it possible for you to live on MUCH less.

 

[miked123]

once I get in I will prob only work 1 or 2 days at the pharmacy. but for now I do live on my own and support myself. My girlfriend is in school for sonography so once she gets out I will go in but why do you think I should keep the sales job.

Any reason? What should I scale back? Sorry I just wasn't too clear.

Thanks again.

 

[ageldred]

How many classes do you need to take to complete your prereqs? If you're pretty close to being done I don't think you need to change things. Also there's no guarantee that you'll make the 500-600 a week waiting tables. The economy is going bad and people aren't going out to eat as much. I know how much people on the forums say "take a full load" but if you take a full load and are worried about making ends meet you won't do well in school. Do what's best for you in your situation, and if you have a good system already I don't think you should change it.

As an aside, wow taxes really take a huge chunk out of your check!

 

[jmcfa002]

When(not if ) you get into pharmacy school, you will most likely have to take out a loan. Maybe you could take out a small loan now and focus solely on pharmacy ?

 

[twester]

How many classes do you need to take to complete your prereqs? If you're pretty close to being done I don't think you need to change things. Also there's no guarantee that you'll make the 500-600 a week waiting tables. The economy is going bad and people aren't going out to eat as much. I know how much people on the forums say "take a full load" but if you take a full load and are worried about making ends meet you won't do well in school. Do what's best for you in your situation, and if you have a good system already I don't think you should change it.

As an aside, wow taxes really take a huge chunk out of your check!

Yeah, the sales job seems more secure. Waiters only make really good money at really good restaurants and those gigs are hard to get. Besides that, it's really hard and crappy work serving people. In an economy like this, the best move is either no move or at most a subtle move.

It's hard to stay motivated while only whacking out a few classes at a time, but you need to do whatever it takes to get it done.