Other OT-Related Information working during school

[kgprospot]

Hello. I am wondering if some current OT students could chime in about working during school. I will have to, so I can avoid taking loans for living expenses. Any thoughts on this? How many hours per week is manageable?

Right now, I am thinking I would like to try to work 16 hrs per week, but I wonder how realistic that is. Any advice would be appreciated.

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[beestrng]

You should look into what classes your first couple of semester are like. Class schedule may restrict when you could work.

My school is somewhat shorter (more accelerated program) than others so we have more classes per semester. Anatomy and bio-mechanics were difficult classes and it took whatever hours I had to spare after class to study.

Schools vary on curriculum and difficulty probably so you need to factor that in.

Only know 2 people who actually worked during school. Think bartender/waiter jobs.

 

[kgprospot]

Thanks!

I'm not looking into any accelerated programs, so that works in my favor. Plus, I've been working f/t and attending school and shadowing p/t so I know I can handle an extra busy schedule.

I currently have an office job, and my hope is to continue some combo of work on-site and through telecommuting. Guess I will have to see how it works with school, depending on where I get in, if I even get in, and talk to my employer.

 

[FloridaOT23]

Thanks!

I'm not looking into any accelerated programs, so that works in my favor. Plus, I've been working f/t and attending school and shadowing p/t so I know I can handle an extra busy schedule.

I currently have an office job, and my hope is to continue some combo of work on-site and through telecommuting. Guess I will have to see how it works with school, depending on where I get in, if I even get in, and talk to my employer.

I think it is definitely manageable! I am currently in my first year of OT school and I have had a job working 15-16 hours per week (sometimes more or less). I work in an office on campus as a student assistant which is great because they are extremely understanding of my schedule and allow me to change my hours as needed. Sometimes our classes get cancelled or moved around, so a more traditional job might be a bit trickier to navigate. However, I have classmates that still manage it! Some of my classmates think I am crazy for working, but, like you, I had been working full time and taking prerequisite classes part time leading into OT school, so it wasn't too difficult of an adjustment for me. I still get home every day around 6 and have weekends off, so I have plenty of time to keep up with school work.

The times where it is more difficult are when we have group projects or volunteer opportunities (or fieldwork in the future) that interfere with my work times. You will definitely be most successful if you can find a job that will allow you to flex your hours from week to week depending on what comes up. On campus jobs are great for that, so be sure to check the box for "work study" when you complete your FAFSA! Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[kgprospot]

Thank you so much for the input!

 

[kate_ot]

I'm bumping this post. Can anyone else speak to their experiences?

 

[Psych2OT]

I'm finishing my second year and I worked part time the entire program. I started at 25 hours a week (class Mon-Thurs, work Thurs-Mon) and have slowly moved down to 17ish hours a week (weekends only). My job is 6-8 hour shifts on my feet and I worked almost every weekend for 2 years.

I'll be honest, it was tough during exam times and I did not have much free time. Getting closer to classmates was difficult because I could not attend social events on the weekends. The school work was not that stressful, but you will have lots of group projects. You will have group mates who live at home and have no job tell you they are "too busy" to contribute, so brace yourself! There were days when I would have class 8-4 and work 6-midnight.

In the end I think it comes down to your priorities. If you are okay having less of a social life but really value saving money then I say it's worth it. Keep in mind your schedule will change every semester so your employer will have to allow you to change shifts around. Lastly keep in mind you will not be able to work during L2 fieldwork because that is a 40 hr/week placement. I mean you COULD work during L2 (and it was very tempting to) but you want to put your best behind your L2 placements for the experience and also because you should try for strong letters of recommendation from L2 CIs.

You could always try working for a semester and see how it goes. Some schools allow you to reopen FAFSA loans in the middle of the year (if you only took out for tuition for the fall but decided you wanted to take tuition+expenses for the spring).

 

[kgprospot]

I'm bumping this post. Can anyone else speak to their experiences?

I'm the orignal poster and I don't start school til June, but after much thought, I decided to work 12 hrs per week. I'll be working Mondays and Wednesdays from home (after class) for a total of 7 hrs. The rest of my hours will be done Friday afternoons from the office. I have a unique work situation (flexible hrs and good pay), so I am hoping it works out. I think it will because 1. I need to work and 2. My schedule will allow for plenty of study time as long as I am disciplined. Good luck!!

 

[TexasMOT]

I'm the orignal poster and I don't start school til June, but after much thought, I decided to work 12 hrs per week. I'll be working Mondays and Wednesdays from home (after class) for a total of 7 hrs. The rest of my hours will be done Friday afternoons from the office. I have a unique work situation (flexible hrs and good pay), so I am hoping it works out. I think it will because 1. I need to work and 2. My schedule will allow for plenty of study time as long as I am disciplined. Good luck!!

What kind of part time job do you have that will allow you to work from home?

 

[kgprospot]

I am someone's assistant; everything I do is on the computer, and since I usually don't work out of the same location as my boss, she is fine with me working from home two out of three days.

 

[2016OTHopeful]

I'm relieved to see others have made it work, and others who are planning to! My current boss offered me to stay on part-time and work remotely (Shout out to my amazing boss!). I'm tentatively planning on working 15 hours a week, but my program begins in the summer and I'm a little nervous about the fast pace of the summer courses.

 

[kgprospot]

@2016OTHopeful I was worried about balancing everything, but once I calendared my work and school schedule, it made it easy to see all of the study time I would have. Ill just have to be disciplined and stick to the schedule! Good luck!