Question for those with jobs

[Y88]

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I'm curious what the course load is like for students who have part time jobs, say up to 20 hrs/week. I'm debating whether to go for a job requiring about 20 hours a week to help pay for things on top of taking classes and doing research, volunteering,, and other activities.

The problem is, when it's time to take lab courses which can take 5 hours a day, I don't have room to take other courses. That means with all the other stuff I'm doing I would only have time to take that one lab for that particular quarter. I'm not worried about graduating on time as much as I am worried that this will be looked down upon. Has anyone taken just one course a quarter/semester to do other things? Would this be disadvantageous even if I kept up my GPA and graduated on time? I think I would be perfectly content with this type of schedule, but I'm not sure how adcoms would see it. Thanks a lot.

 

[silverhorse84]

When I was in school, I worked about 16 hrs/week and usually took 12-16 units (keep in mind these are quarter units, not semester units). I did not graduate on time (I took five years) but it was more because I changed majors and added a minor late in the game not because of the job.

I never only took one course a semester - I usually kept it at 3-4 courses, but I know people who did only take one or two courses for a quarter. You can always take the time to explain things to the adcom on the secondary.

 

[HurricaneKatt]

I'm curious what the course load is like for students who have part time jobs, say up to 20 hrs/week. I'm debating whether to go for a job requiring about 20 hours a week to help pay for things on top of taking classes and doing research, volunteering,, and other activities.

The problem is, when it's time to take lab courses which can take 5 hours a day, I don't have room to take other courses. That means with all the other stuff I'm doing I would only have time to take that one lab for that particular quarter. I'm not worried about graduating on time as much as I am worried that this will be looked down upon. Has anyone taken just one course a quarter/semester to do other things? Would this be disadvantageous even if I kept up my GPA and graduated on time? I think I would be perfectly content with this type of schedule, but I'm not sure how adcoms would see it. Thanks a lot.

I worked 40 hours a week and took 14 credits no problem (only one lab because I was unable to get into my other lab b/c it filled up too quick). The next semester I worked 30 hours a week and took 18 credits (two labs) and almost died. BUT that is because one of my classes was Calc II AND I got mono. So really it depends on how much you can handle and What classes you are taking. If you take 18 credits of art and dance vs 15 credits of upper level math and science, you are going to have two very different experiences.

 

[SilentNight]

With great time management skills and financial efficiency you should be able to juggle all those items. So far I've done fairly well. Also I would recommend dispersing the activities throughout your college years. You don't have to stick to all of them for all 4+ years...

During my first 2 years in college I took 15-18 semester units along with a 25-30 hr job/week. During the less lab intensive semesters I added extra volunteer hours in the hospital and community. As my 3rd and now 4th year arrive my units remain relatively the same (15-18), I have focused more on volunteer work, research experience, and toned down my job hours (10-20 hrs/week). Except now my job pays really well so thats why I can work less....($30/hr 😀)

If you don't plan on taking summer classes you can ramp up your hours at work (full-time) along with volunteer/research work!

Good luck with your decisions and enjoy your college years...don't stress out too much, find balance in your life! 🙂

 

[CluelessAsian]

They say that for every 1 semester unit, you have to spend 2-3 hours a week outside class to study to get good grades. So for 15 units, you'd be spending 30-45 hours a week studying outside of class. Ofcourse, it varies for everyone and what classes you take. That's just what I heard in orientation; some don't even have to study and still get good grades. Some have to spend more time and get poor grades.

 

[daniellema13]

I'm confused why taking a lab course means you cant take any other courses that quarter...is your lab more than once a week? Even if you're working, you should definitely be able to find time to add some other courses in there. Maybe you just dont work the day you have lab? Maybe i didnt understand you correctly.

Silentnight...what do you do that pays $30/hr??? (if you dont mind saying, no biggie if you'd rather not).

 

[HurricaneKatt]

They say that for every 1 semester unit, you have to spend 2-3 hours a week outside class to study to get good grades. So for 15 units, you'd be spending 30-45 hours a week studying outside of class. Ofcourse, it varies for everyone and what classes you take. That's just what I heard in orientation; some don't even have to study and still get good grades. Some have to spend more time and get poor grades.

Don't trust everything you hear in orientation. Some classes you will spend 10 hours a week studying for others you will not have to study at all. It depends on how you learn and what classes you take. As well, I would say it is more like 3-5 hours per class, not per credit. But again, it depends on your study habits and what classes you take.

Originally posted by SilentNight: Except now my job pays really well so thats why I can work less....($30/hr 😀)

Where do you work?

 

[onslaught61]

I'd say it's definitely doable =)

 

[Y88]

The problem is the job is during the day which is when most of the classes are. it's pretty tough if not impossible to find core classes during the evening. i would take more classes; it's just not possible. For example, my job would require working 9-6 on tuesdays and thursdays; it's not a job that can revolve around my classes. That means I can't take any classes during those two days. That also means I have to do the bulk of my research on MWF. If I took a lab course, 8-9 am lecture MWF + lab 9-1pm MW + research in the afternoon + volunteering Friday afternoon, where would I have time to take additional courses? I can graduate almost in three years if I were to take normal credit hours (4 courses per quarter) but I thought since I don't NEED to, I can distribute my classes more and have time to work.

That's why I am especially curious about those who worked full time and had school full time. Did you guys have a flexible work schedule that was able to work around your classes? Did you work evenings instead or did your school have many evening classes?

I definitely would take more courses if I could, so I guess the question really isn't whether I can handle it or not, but rather it's frowned upon to lower one's course load like in my situation.

 

[DrYoda]

I worked 25-30 hours a week my first two years of college, but I primarily worked nights and weekends with the occasionally 5am-10am shift.

I now have taken a different approach where I work about 5-10 hrs/w as a tutor during the school year and then bank away as much money as I can during the summer to tide my finances over until the next summer.

How far into college are you? I don't know how adcoms see low credit hour semesters, but if you're not most of the way done it could take a long time for you to graduate with only one course a semester.

 

[SilentNight]

I'm confused why taking a lab course means you cant take any other courses that quarter...is your lab more than once a week? Even if you're working, you should definitely be able to find time to add some other courses in there. Maybe you just dont work the day you have lab? Maybe i didnt understand you correctly.

Silentnight...what do you do that pays $30/hr??? (if you dont mind saying, no biggie if you'd rather not).

I'm a certified ACSM personal trainer 😀