Working while in vet school? Advice needed.

[Ottergirl]

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I’m going to be a first year at Virginia-Maryland this year, and I’m wondering what to do about my current job.

Right now I’m working full-time in an office in DC. It’s not particularly intellectually straining work (I’ve been doing it for two years and pretty much have it down), and it’s relatively well-paid.…by Blacksburg standards, anyway. J I could either quit entirely and concentrate just on school, or I could keep working a few hours a week (from Blacksburg, of course). I could just about pay my tuition on my income if I averaged ten hours a week. The idea of minimizing student loans is kind of irresistible, but am I a fool for even considering it? I know some students take part-time jobs, but is that common? Is it sustainable? If I make my own hours, is this a good idea?

 

[GellaBella]

I think that if your job is flexible and you can make your own hours, then on average, 10hrs/week is probably do-able. However, there will probably/most likely be weeks (finals etc) when you just won't have an extra 10hrs a week. You will find that coming into exams, no matter how far ahead you've prepared and kept on things, there's just still so much to learn, and even if you stay up later to get things done, you'll wish you had that time for studying (in my experience).

So I would say if you can manage it (both personally and if your job is okay with it) so that you work a little more in the weeks leading up to exams so that you can just focus on school work when exams roll around, I think you would be able to do it...just make sure you also have time for yourself as well.

 

[Mizzou2014]

I'm going to be a first year at Virginia-Maryland this year, and I'm wondering what to do about my current job.

Right now I'm working full-time in an office in DC. It's not particularly intellectually straining work (I've been doing it for two years and pretty much have it down), and it's relatively well-paid.…by Blacksburg standards, anyway. J I could either quit entirely and concentrate just on school, or I could keep working a few hours a week (from Blacksburg, of course). I could just about pay my tuition on my income if I averaged ten hours a week. The idea of minimizing student loans is kind of irresistible, but am I a fool for even considering it? I know some students take part-time jobs, but is that common? Is it sustainable? If I make my own hours, is this a good idea?

Definitely possible/doable but it probably depends on the person. I work 3 part time jobs and my grades are very good. I still have time to go out with friends, go home to see my family, be an officer in two clubs and all that fun stuff. I think the most important thing is making sure the job is flexible so if you HAVE to have a night off to concentrate on an exam it won't be a problem. I more than cover my living expenses plus some of tuition with my jobs and I actually think I'm less stressed than a lot of classmates b/c I have other things to focus on besides school 100% of the time. Granted this block is very easy compared to 1st-4th block simply because we aren't in class nearly as much (we don't get out for summer until July here) but it was still fine even during blocks with class from 8-6, I just had to scale back a bit on the number of hours I worked.

That being said school comes first of course but I don't see why it would hurt to give it a shot. If you feel overwhelmed or like you aren't performing as well as you like you can always drop the job. Good luck!

ETA: Also, for others thinking about working during school I highly recommend searching for jobs within the vet school. Two of my jobs involve working for clinicians who more than understand the necessity for some time off now and then before exams. As long as you don't take advantage (true of any job) they've all been extremely flexible around my exam schedules.

 

[Ottergirl]

Thanks everyone! I'll give it a try. 🙂

 

[GreennWhite]

I don't usually work as many as 10 hours a week, but it's possible as my job is on-call. I'm one of the types that does better when I'm busy. Fall semester I didn't have a job. Spring semester I did (I was training for a majority of the semester), I was an officer in two clubs, had more credit hours, and I actually brought up my GPA.

It all depends on how you can manage the workload!

 

[alliecat44]

I agree with what everyone else said....I worked 8-10 hours per week from October of first year until clinics started senior year. I think I had to take maybe one or two shifts off for studying during that entire time--but having that safety net of job flexibility is invaluable. 🙂

Plus, since it's unrelated, it would probably actually be a good stress-reliever--not to mention knowing that you're making massive dents in your debt! Good for you!

Best of luck.

 

[frozen_canadian]

You can pull in $20,000/yr working 10 hrs/wk??! Thats awesome. Definately keep that job! Thats significantly more per hour than I make as a vet! Sigh...

 

[katryn]

Definitely give it a try. I started out only working 3-4 hours a week during first semester, and ended up totally bored with the amount of time I had. Mid-last semester I found a job that bumped me up to 16-20 hours a week, and did well even with exams. Mostly for me it boils down to the fact that even if I need to study more, there are only so many hours I can make myself look at school materials before looking at it more just doesn't help. I found that when I stopped trying to force my study time my grades actually went up!

 

[ChasingYouOlds]

Hi all, I am new here to this site, and have been reading through some of the topics that are interesting to me.

Working while in school is definitely on my list of concerns. I am a non-trad student from a very low income family. I am curious as to whether or not I can make it!

I am JUST starting my pre-reqs and doing them over a span of four years due to the fact that I HAVE to work to help support my family.

I see a lot of people who are in college who are younger than me (I'm 27), and have their parents monitary support. I dont/wont have that during my pre-req time or during Vet School.

My question to you guys is this - what kind of expenses did you incur on a daily/weekly basis that you needed your own kind of cash for?

I have four years to save up while I am working full time for this college experience, and I want to make sure that I am overly prepared! I know there will be enough on my shoulders without having to worry about money issues.

Did you guys get decent Financial Aid / Loans to help cover these things?

Anything you can add in, would be great!!!

Glad this thread exists! Soooo excited about healing/working with/ caring for animals!!!

 

[TJenks89]

I was also wondering about working during vet school.... Also, what kinds of jobs are you guys working where you can work shift that BEGIN after classes are over (around 4-5 PM)? I thought about trying to apply to a few clinics nearby, but couldn't see how they would hire me if I was only available after 5 on weekdays.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I was also wondering about working during vet school.... Also, what kinds of jobs are you guys working where you can work shift that BEGIN after classes are over (around 4-5 PM)? I thought about trying to apply to a few clinics nearby, but couldn't see how they would hire me if I was only available after 5 on weekdays.

I know some people pick up emergency shifts like once a week or so, which is after 5 pm on weekdays.

I personally work in a research lab, which works out great for my schedule since I can work whenever I feel like it. Usually that means I head over to the lab at 6-7pm and then stay there until 2-3 am a couple of days a week, or I work on the weekends. I can go like a whole week of not working at all during finals week or something, and no one really cares. On the other hand, when I feel really broke, I can work up to 40 hrs a week to make up for that. Pretty sweet deal.

 

[Breezyte]

From those of youalready in school, is it pretty easy to find a job within the vet school?

 

[GreennWhite]

From those of youalready in school, is it pretty easy to find a job within the vet school?

From what I've seen there aren't that many jobs. Considering there are around 300 students competing for them, it can be difficult. But I'm not sure what proportion of students are actually wanting a job on top of school. I count myself very lucky to have gotten a job (In fact I'm still shocked, and I've been working for 6 months!).

Also, what kinds of jobs are you guys working where you can work shift that BEGIN after classes are over (around 4-5 PM)?

I work in the Clinical Pathology Lab at the vet school (running chemistries, CBCs, urinalyses, etc.). There are 4 of us students that cover all of the hours that aren't M-F 8-5. We are on-call, as well as alternating working 5-6pm M-F and 8-10am SaSu. Yes, that means someone can get called in at 2am the morning of a final exam, but that's the risk we take.
Other jobs I can think of: A/V students and working in the library.

There are also various student representative jobs up for grabs that pay. These are only a few hours here and there and on your own time. The pay is small over the course of a semester but if you break it down by how many hours you worked it's actually pretty good! I've got a paying rep position as well. Every little bit helps IMO, especially since my rent is $$.

 

[Tobysgirl81]

I’m going to be a first year at Virginia-Maryland this year, and I’m wondering what to do about my current job.

Right now I’m working full-time in an office in DC. It’s not particularly intellectually straining work (I’ve been doing it for two years and pretty much have it down), and it’s relatively well-paid.…by Blacksburg standards, anyway. J I could either quit entirely and concentrate just on school, or I could keep working a few hours a week (from Blacksburg, of course). I could just about pay my tuition on my income if I averaged ten hours a week. The idea of minimizing student loans is kind of irresistible, but am I a fool for even considering it? I know some students take part-time jobs, but is that common? Is it sustainable? If I make my own hours, is this a good idea?

Here's my take on it from two different perspectives.

As a student at VMRCVM I was able to manage keeping my grades at a respectable level while holding down a small side job(I actually work in the clin path lab with Greenwhite!). Its not too difficult - we work at minimum 7 to 9 hours per month, but could be up to 10 hours per week because of the on call portion. However, some of our time is spent waiting for tests to finish up so we can study while we're waiting if necessary.

On the other hand, a friend of mine attempted to maintain her former full time job on the side and failed out of first semester first year. So I'm a little hesitant to suggest to anyone that they try and work multiple hours per week, especially when you're trying to get used to the work load. I personally found first semester more challenging than second semester, but it might be different for you if you've been in school and are used to balancing both work and job.

I don't know that I actually gave any advice, haha, but those are just two different experiences I've seen!

 

[bunnity]

I would not recommend working during first semester. Depending on where you go to school some schools throw you in the deep end and it is hard on people time wise and mental health wise. Personally I would go crazy if I had to work as well as going to school but I study a lot. I am working full time this summer while a lot of my classmates are doing more fun things though.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I would not recommend working during first semester. Depending on where you go to school some schools throw you in the deep end and it is hard on people time wise and mental health wise. Personally I would go crazy if I had to work as well as going to school but I study a lot. I am working full time this summer while a lot of my classmates are doing more fun things though.

Yeah, definitely don't be too gung ho about a job until you're at least a month into school so you know what your study schedule is like, what the exams are like, etc... Depending on what your background is, where your study skills are at, difficulty of first semester coursework and such, how you feel about the workload of vet school is going to differ quite a bit.

But by the time October was rolling around, I was personally itching to do something outside of school. I think having a job was good for my mental health, since it made me remember that I have a purpose in life other than to sit at a desk and study. It gave me an excuse to not study when I didn't really need to, since I'm the type of person who gets really antsy if I spend anymore than 2 consecutive days without keeping very busy. I wish I had a fulfilling hobby or something, but I don't. Instead, by November, I ended up with 2 jobs + volunteering. Sometimes it got a little overwhelming, but it worked out. There were weeks where it really seemed like my occupation was in research, and I was doing vet school on the side. I ended up dropping one of the jobs (stupid online tutoring job that pays more than on campus jobs, and has flexible hours, but sucks hardcore). I think if I hadn't found a job, I would have imploded from thinking about vet school waaaay too much. And it gave me a huge peace of mind, since I knew I needed a summer job, and it was really nice to have secured one early on.

 

[Allthingsequine]

But by the time October was rolling around, I was personally itching to do something outside of school. I think having a job was good for my mental health, since it made me remember that I have a purpose in life other than to sit at a desk and study. It gave me an excuse to not study when I didn't really need to, since I'm the type of person who gets really antsy if I spend anymore than 2 consecutive days without keeping very busy. I wish I had a fulfilling hobby or something, but I don't.

Same here! I made it until the end of September before I started going crazy without a job. I literally spent all my time studying or feeling guilty about not studying. Working allows me a few hours a week where I can not study and still feel like I'm accomplishing something. I work 10ish hours per week in the small animal ICU and also have officer positions in two clubs (one of which involves coordinating the care for our teaching herd of horses and is quite time consuming) and I haven't really had a problem balancing it with classes. I think it really depends on the person. My advice: give yourself a couple of weeks to get settled and decide whether working is something you can handle. If you can, try to get a job on campus as they tend to be more flexible and understanding of school commitments.

 

[vettobe2014]

Don't work in vet school. You will be busy full time with vet school. It's not worth the risk of taking away time to study to make a few extra bucks. You could never make a significant amount of money working through vet school to be worth taking away from your academics.