Max work hours / week in undergrad?

[jjeangi]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So I'm going to be a freshman, and I'm taking 15 credit hours (classes on Mon-Thurs).

I'd like to know how many hours/week I could work before things start to get unreasonable.

Half of my classes sound like they will be relatively easy (knocking out BS gen ed prerequisites).

I was thinking of working 20-5 hours.

 

[BadgerBadger]

First semester I had 17 hard(ish) credits, and worked 15 hours/week. That seemed pretty reasonable, so I don't think you should have a problem with 15 credits and 20 hours of work.

Second semester I had 15 medium difficulty credits, but worked 35 hours/week. Needless to say, if I tried to keep my social life, I wouldn't sleep at all. I still only pulled an average of 4 hours of sleep a night during the week, and only 6-7 on the weekend.

Take it easy your first semester to ease into college. I wouldn't take any more than 20 hours a week, unless you don't want to hang out with people.

 

[Jojokarade]

Honestly, each person is different. Start low in your work hours (10-15), and if you are capable slowly bring the hours up without dropping your grades.

 

[lobo.solo]

It's manageable, but if you haven't done it, it could be difficult the first time around. I would suggest start up slow and the slowly increase the number of activities, so that way you can gauge your limits without going insane. Good luck.

 

[nicolemsm]

It's manageable, but if you haven't done it, it could be difficult the first time around. I would suggest start up slow and the slowly increase the number of activities, so that way you can gauge your limits without going insane. Good luck.

since it's only your freshman year... begin taking classes and start building your activities to see what you can handle.

personally i work 40 hrs/week (ta + lab research), taking full credit loads and volunteering- but everyone is different and you have to gauge that for yourself.