Juggling school and work

[SaintSamson]

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How do you take a full course load and balance it with work??

I was going for a biology degree at my first university and then I transferred and took about 2-3 courses during each term in business. Last fall I got offered a job at a top notch veterinary hospital and I have been working there since. After about two weeks there, I realized that I love helping animals and that it's what I want to do, there is never a day where I don't want to go to work!

Now that I've figured out what I want to do and I have my sights set on veterinary school, I need to finish my biology degree which will take about two years with a full course load.
My question: How can I balance work and school? I need to take a lot of courses with labs, but I work three days a week starting at 2pm. I need to work 3 days a week to help pay for my bills, and the only shifts I can do are during the week. Any suggestions for trying to take a full course load and keep my job??

 

[lazyjayn]

I do overnights, and pick up a couple of hours of sleep after work/ school. I also full time both. I slack, though. Rather than study at lunch I listen to music and read smutty fun books. Have you tried a crazy schedule? Two of the other people in my o/n area also do full time school. You just have to play with the schedule, and find a way to make sleep and study and food all happen. Which reminds me- I have two projects due really soon, and need to work on them. First, though- sleep.

-j.

 

[bunnity]

Definitely find a university that either is friendly to working adults or somewhere that is big enough that each class is offered at different times. For example, at my university I have been able to set up semesters where all my classes were Tues/Thurs, or semesters with a lot of night classes (6:00-8:30, once a week) so that I can work. Having a boss willing to work with me and give me the hours I needed really helped as well.

Working three days a week and doing school full-time is hard, but doable. That's about the level I've done for the last three years, and while it's hard to have a social life and can be very stressful, it's definitely been worth it. I think since you're working at a vet office, getting to be around animals will help you remember why you're doing this and why it will be worth it in the end.

If you're not able to make your school and work schedules fit together with this particular job, you could also consider working at an emergency practice because they tend to be open 24 hours so you could work nights or 3-11's or weekends. Often there is a shift differential for those shifts too (which means you get paid a slightly higher rate).

 

[sumstorm]

I went to a small lib arts school where the profs were work friendly, but classes were small and limited to 8am-4pm. I worked FT+ while attending FT. My primary job was in the evenings, after classes till midnight. My secondary job was on weekends (12 hours shifts) as a welder. I also delivered newspapers before classes started, and tutored/TA'd in between classes. I was also an RA (which provided housing and mandatory meal plan.)

Obviously, none of these jobs were animal related. I did research on animals, completed internships with vets, and used vacations/summers to gain more animal/vet experience. I honestly think I learned more working in the non-animals positions in terms of management, inventory management, project management, etc.

It was very important that I use all my time wisely. I did the majority of my studying and homework on the weekends (and in some cases that meant talking to profs and making sure any thing that would be due during the week would be available to start before the weekend, which wasn't a big problem, since the profs respected my need to work.) It DID affect my GPA, I graduated with a 3.4 in pre-reqs and overall, with a 3.7 in my major (biology) and a 3.9 in my minor (enviro sci.)

I also had to be superorganized because I needed to take every opportunity to study. I also tried to make my studies 'work friendly' by condencing material onto 'theme cards' that I could glance at while at work, then rehearse in my mind as I did whatever task I needed to (luckily, welding and newspaper delivery are pretty repetitive and become automatic, and CNA work involves a lot of hurry up and wait.)

 

[incendium04]

Currently I work 30+ hours a week and am a full-time student (graduating in June though!) -- it's hard and sucks, no doubt about it. But I do work at an emergency hospital and do overnights like lazyjayn does. In the beginning, when I needed to have a heavy course load but still work I ended up with Fri, Sat and Sunday evening shifts (not overnights) since my classes would interfere just about any other day of the week. I understand that's not feasible for you but working the weekend isn't that bad! You see lots of emergencies 😉

Would your work be willing to keep your schedule flexible? Maybe do half shifts if you classes don't end until late? I'm in a quarter system so my work has to change my schedule (and several other technicians who are students) every 3 months or so. I've worked 5-6 hr shifts in the evening after class to fit in enough hours. It also helps to be willing to pick up shifts, or even parts of shifts, when the hospital needs it (they will appreciate it and may be more willing to work with your schedule). Something else to think about is whether you are use to the demands of working and going to school. Have you ever worked while being a full-time student? I didn't have to work until I reached college, but even then it was not out of necessity so I worked 10-15 hrs a week in the beginning and built up from there. It may be really difficult to work 24 hrs a week (3 shifts of 8 hours?) while going to school if you haven't done anything like it prior.

At any rate 🙂 I think if you really want to do it, you'll be successful and tough it out to stay in the profession you love. Good luck!

 

[littlehooves]

Hm thats a tough situation...why can you only work during the week? I've pretty much always taken full course loads, and I've had a part time job all throughout university. I only worked fridays and on weekends though, and this semester I worked Thursday-Saturday. There was no way I could have worked during the week, especially last semester becuase our labs only ran from 1-5, and I had class every morning.

I would suggest to either try working on weekends, or just wait until you get your schedule made up, and work around your school hours.

 

[SaintSamson]

Thanks for all the feedback, guys!
The job I have is a fairly new position and so they only need us on days they do surgery, which is M-F, and there's 2 of us each day, and only 3 of us total as one is leaving for vet school, and then the other person aside from me, is being trained for a different position. lol, so a half shift won't work with the hospital schedule. I think they'll be flexible about what days I work, though.
I'm just waiting for the fall schedule to come out so I can try and make it all work. O_O'