- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 290
- Reaction score
- 82
Do any of you work part or full time? Is it possible to go to school, participate in ec's, and still bring in a decent amount of money?
Work as a premed
- Thread starter WestCoastNative
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2013
- Messages
- 2,371
- Reaction score
- 621
It depends on how you ration your time. I had to take a reduced unit load to help my family out. Other times I could handle an intensive unit load just by studying in my down time at diff job. in short, it depends where you work, what else you're doing and the responsibilities you have.
Be careful loading on responsibilities because you'll get burnt if you pile them on too much or end up missing how enjoyable college is. at least have fun in college, it goes by too quickly and as soon as i started having fun (the last quarter), I ended up graduating
.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2013
- Messages
- 4,864
- Reaction score
- 6,304
I cannot imagine being able to work full-time. My friend, who is a nurse, works part-time and earns a decent paycheck. Tutoring and waiting tables will also pay decently. Working in retail won't.
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
- Messages
- 145
- Reaction score
- 91
I worked full time all of my undergraduate years, it was miserable but I didn't have any other choice. If you have the option of not working so much it's worth it to spend more time studying.
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2012
- Messages
- 1,147
- Reaction score
- 748
I work full time.
I have to in order to pay tuition. As a results my grades aren't perfect and my MCAT probably won't be excellent, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
I have to in order to pay tuition. As a results my grades aren't perfect and my MCAT probably won't be excellent, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 2,992
- Reaction score
- 1,897
Any EMT-B's, EMT-I's, or Paramedics who made enough to pay for their rent here and had time for school?
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2012
- Messages
- 1,147
- Reaction score
- 748
I'm an EMT-B and I pay tuition, car payment, insurance, groceries, gas, phone, yadda yadda and $200 a month to my friend for rent.
Nothing left over but I have enough to pay the necessities.
BUT I must add, I am very blessed to make the money that I do. I know some EMTs who struggle making 8/hr. in smaller counties.
I work part-time on campus. It's nice in that I always have weekends free (which I use for hospital volunteering) and I never have to work after 5 PM because the office is closed. But, because I have multiple labs each quarter, I've been slowly cutting back my work hours (planning 10-15 next quarter). It's not currently too difficult to handle everything, but I can't imagine having to work full time. I really have a lot of respect for those who do school and work to support a family.
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 2,992
- Reaction score
- 1,897
This is my fear. When I move out the area I plan on moving to it is in a rural area. Go check out my thread on here on the EMS forum section for my current life decision lol.
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2012
- Messages
- 1,147
- Reaction score
- 748
Will do.
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2013
- Messages
- 1,390
- Reaction score
- 926
I worked full time for the first two years and part time for the last two years of college. I also had enough fun in college to rack up a few great stories.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the individual person. No one knows for sure except you. Some people consider going out once a month "enough", others don't. Some people don't need to spend hours and hours studying for classes, while others struggle to get the same grades without a ton of effort. Some people take their other commitments - relationships, sports, clubs, etc - very seriously and find the overall load very challenging. Still others can do it all and get a few hours of CoD into most evenings. You're the only one who knows your abilities and limits and if you aren't sure, there is only one way to test yourself and find out.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the individual person. No one knows for sure except you. Some people consider going out once a month "enough", others don't. Some people don't need to spend hours and hours studying for classes, while others struggle to get the same grades without a ton of effort. Some people take their other commitments - relationships, sports, clubs, etc - very seriously and find the overall load very challenging. Still others can do it all and get a few hours of CoD into most evenings. You're the only one who knows your abilities and limits and if you aren't sure, there is only one way to test yourself and find out.
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2012
- Messages
- 320
- Reaction score
- 289
Yes!! I worked part time on weekends. Yes, it sucked giving up my Friday/Saturday nights sometimes, but you do what you have to. I survived by making sure I didn't sleep in too late so I was able to do school work in the mornings.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2008
- Messages
- 246
- Reaction score
- 368
Like many responders here, I, too, worked full time (40+ hrs/week).
It's very possible, and not bad at all as long as you accept it as your reality and recognize you've made the decision to do this. It's an opportunity to do everything you want, I sometimes wish there were more hours in the day to fit more things in.
As long as you don't live comparatively and don't look enviously at others with boatloads of free time, you should be good. I just wasted time on Netflix when I had free time, anyways.
Also, develop a strong love for coffee, I find that helps keep the energy up.
It's very possible, and not bad at all as long as you accept it as your reality and recognize you've made the decision to do this. It's an opportunity to do everything you want, I sometimes wish there were more hours in the day to fit more things in.
As long as you don't live comparatively and don't look enviously at others with boatloads of free time, you should be good. I just wasted time on Netflix when I had free time, anyways.
Also, develop a strong love for coffee, I find that helps keep the energy up.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 5, 2014
- Messages
- 470
- Reaction score
- 329
I didn't work full time but certainly racked up more than 30 hrs some weeks between my part time and my on-call job which was brutal but I managed to keep my GPA in a good range. It became more difficult when I tried squeezing my ECs into that equation, but I managed to get some good ones without sacrificing my grades.
Like someone else said if going out once a month with friends is enough, let it be enough. Don't look at others around you who get to go out more, it just makes you bitter. Be happy if you get to go out at all cuz some ppl can't. I also knew ppl who had to work full time with family obligations and still did pretty great. So, it's not impossible, just takes good prioritizing, scheduling, and commitment.
Like someone else said if going out once a month with friends is enough, let it be enough. Don't look at others around you who get to go out more, it just makes you bitter. Be happy if you get to go out at all cuz some ppl can't. I also knew ppl who had to work full time with family obligations and still did pretty great. So, it's not impossible, just takes good prioritizing, scheduling, and commitment.
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2013
- Messages
- 208
- Reaction score
- 51
I couldn't imagine doing full-time work. One of my EC's is practically a paid job at 10hrs/week, and I participate in anywhere from 12-25 extra hours of EC's per week... so if all those hours were dedicated to work, I would say a 22-35 hour work weak is feasible. Yeah, that's practically full-time, but EC's tend to be all around the calendar and especially nights, not during the day when class and other things can interfere.
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2011
- Messages
- 3,391
- Reaction score
- 3,829
I have worked basically full-time at an assortment of jobs (typically 2-5 different jobs at a time) through most of undergrad. Halfway through last semester, I cut way back on my hours due to my courseload being overwhelming. Definitely approach work + school with caution, as your GPA is more precious than racking up hours. It's harder to repair your GPA than it is to spend a gap year engaging in ECs that you didn't have time for in undergrad. But for me, it was definitely doable throughout most of undergrad to work 40+ hours per week and still get great grades.
Then again (HUGE caveat): I don't party or drink or anything, and I'm in a longterm relationship so dating or hooking up have never been factors for me while in college. A lot of people aren't this way; they need to socialize and consume alcohol and all that. You have to know yourself. I filled up the time that my friends spent partying and being hungover with work, and we were both happy with that arrangement. Do what makes you happy I don't feel like I missed out or sacrificed anything by working, but I imagine that spending so much time being employed would take a toll if I desperately wanted to be out with friends instead.
Then again (HUGE caveat): I don't party or drink or anything, and I'm in a longterm relationship so dating or hooking up have never been factors for me while in college. A lot of people aren't this way; they need to socialize and consume alcohol and all that. You have to know yourself. I filled up the time that my friends spent partying and being hungover with work, and we were both happy with that arrangement. Do what makes you happy
I don't feel like I missed out or sacrificed anything by working, but I imagine that spending so much time being employed would take a toll if I desperately wanted to be out with friends instead.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2014
- Messages
- 155
- Reaction score
- 93
I have worked every semester of undergrad about 25-30 hrs a week and anywhere from 40-80 hrs a week during the breaks. I'm also in a fraternity and it sucks having to go to work or do biochem while all your friends are having a party on the weekend, but you gotta do what you gotta do. If you manage your time well you'd be surprised what all you can get done. I was still able to play college rugby, do research, hold leadership positions, and volunteer. If you really want to do EC's and make good grades while working in undergrad you just have to motivate yourself to do it.
I worked 2 part time jobs during my undergrad. Fopr in my first 2 years- I taught middle school for half a day, and tutored at night. During my spring semester in my junior year, I taught, tutored, took a mcat prep course and did clinical volunteering. I would not recommend it- my grades suffered a bit- but I was ambitious and it was necessary at the time. I did cut down to just tutoring for the rest of my degree.
You can definitely work ~20 hours a week if you are organized, motivated and are ok with little to no social life...
If you do need to work, try to get something that will help you too. General Chem/Biology tutoring really is great for pre-MCAT content strengthening. Or if you can get paid to do something that can be counted as an e/c- like medical scribe, medical assistant..
Good Luck
You can definitely work ~20 hours a week if you are organized, motivated and are ok with little to no social life...
If you do need to work, try to get something that will help you too. General Chem/Biology tutoring really is great for pre-MCAT content strengthening. Or if you can get paid to do something that can be counted as an e/c- like medical scribe, medical assistant..
Good Luck
