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Working more than one job with full time school

post #1 of 28
4/14/09 at 10:01pm
Thread Starter 
How do you guys manage to fit your hobbies into your lives? Everyone I've met who worked at least two jobs with full time school had pretty boring lives, and they were depressed too. TyCooN: so what do you do for fun? Person: Uhmmmm...nothing
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post #2 of 28
4/14/09 at 10:10pm
You don't. You will have no life if you're working 40+hrs a week and going to school. Even when you have time off you will be tired.
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post #3 of 28
4/14/09 at 10:46pm
I've been doing this for seven of the last nine years (BS, MBA, JD). I've managed to have a lot of hobbies and a good social life by doing two things - getting rid of my tv and settling for mediocre grades. For most people GPA doesn't mean jack and tv is a huge time waster (and you can get most things on-line anyway).

Worked for me
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post #4 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GQgeek View Post
You don't. You will have no life if you're working 40+hrs a week and going to school. Even when you have time off you will be tired.

So true, so true. I get up really early every weekday to fit job, gym, school, etc. into the day, and then on weekends I sleep until about noon before starting into my mound of reading/papers.
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post #5 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FLMountainMan View Post
I've been doing this for seven of the last nine years (BS, MBA, JD). I've managed to have a lot of hobbies and a good social life by doing two things - getting rid of my tv and settling for mediocre grades. For most people GPA doesn't mean jack and tv is a huge time waster (and you can get most things on-line anyway).

Worked for me

I agree with this. I did a lot of the same. During my final years of undergrad, I was working a normal job, working in a research lab, and doing full time classes.

Then, during my MBA, I went full time and continued to work.

I too ditched my TV (although that really bothers a lot of people when they comment about some popular show and I have no idea and can't really get in the conversation and either walk away or stand there bored if I have to).

Similarly, I settled for the fact that straight As aren't a necessity.

I've been able to have girlfriends, find and meet girls, climb, stay in shape, etc.
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post #6 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FLMountainMan View Post
I've been doing this for seven of the last nine years (BS, MBA, JD). I've managed to have a lot of hobbies and a good social life by doing two things - getting rid of my tv and settling for mediocre grades. For most people GPA doesn't mean jack and tv is a huge time waster (and you can get most things on-line anyway).

Worked for me

I like this. However why would you need to work so much while in school (especially undergrad)? Take out a federal college loan or two. They accrue no interest while in school and there is a 6 month grace period when you graduate. With a decent interest rate (which federal student loans have) the monthly payments are perfectly manageable. Some may say they don't want to get saddled with thousands of dollars of debt, but seriously working full time while in school? Are you high? Unless you have a family and a mortgage to take care of, I have no sympathy for anyone that would put themselves through more tha 20 hours a week of work while in full time school.
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post #7 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:44pm
I think that the nature of your job makes a big difference. If it is stressful and creates conflict with school, it can be hell. I've been totally miserable at times. I have people under me, but ultimately, when systems go down, I am responsible, and it really really blows when this happens 20 minutes before an exam and its beyond someone else to fix. If you can leave work and not have to worry about it when you're gone, I imagine that it's a lot easier to manage.
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post #8 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jodum5 View Post
I like this. However why would you need to work so much while in school (especially undergrad)? Take out a federal college loan or two. They accrue no interest while in school and there is a 6 month grace period when you graduate. With a decent interest rate (which federal student loans have) the monthly payments are perfectly manageable. Some may say they don't want to get saddled with thousands of dollars of debt, but seriously working full time while in school? Are you high? Unless you have a family and a mortgage to take care of, I have no sympathy for anyone that would put themselves through more tha 20 hours a week of work while in full time school.

LOL.....
Yeah FLMM, you dumbass!! Why work through school and be responsible when you could just borrow borrow borrow!!!!

I think a better question is: if you have the ability to be a responsible adult at 18, 19, 20 and can maintain having a job and getting decent grades at the same time, why wouldn't you?
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post #9 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jodum5 View Post
I like this. However why would you need to work so much while in school (especially undergrad)? Take out a federal college loan or two. They accrue no interest while in school and there is a 6 month grace period when you graduate. With a decent interest rate (which federal student loans have) the monthly payments are perfectly manageable. Some may say they don't want to get saddled with thousands of dollars of debt, but seriously working full time while in school? Are you high? Unless you have a family and a mortgage to take care of, I have no sympathy for anyone that would put themselves through more tha 20 hours a week of work while in full time school.

We do it because we get used to making better than student wages and living in student conditions and it is very difficult to go back to that. I don't necessarily recommend it, but I chose inreased stress over making less money. Besides, I couldn't stand being an errand boy in an office, or working as a waiter, etc. It also allowed me to pursue a degree that I actually enjoy
vs. one I had to do to get my foot in the door somewhere when I graduated.
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post #10 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:52pm
3 jobs, 35-42 hours a week, full time school, 4.0.

Hobbies include: sleep.

My girlfriend complains that I schedule our free time too completely/aggressively, aka when I have free time I try not to just spend it at home staring at the ceiling, but apparently she enjoys that

other than that its fun. I would recommend it! I get barely any sleep at all, and I am constantly tired, but I still have an ok social life at night when work is over. Exam/paper means all-nighter, almost 90% of the time.

I should invest in some adderall
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post #11 of 28
4/14/09 at 11:59pm
If true, that is impressive. I get a lot of As but I also get really behind at times since my weeks are often considerably more than 40 hours. My grades this term will probably be b+,A+,A,C. I find that no matter what time I get home from the office at night (1am isn't uncommon), I need to watch a movie or something. Don't know why. It's idiotic when I do it sometimes, but otherwise i'd go insane. I had a gf, but haven't for a while. This year has been really brutal and I've frankly been too tired to even try and get a new one.
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post #12 of 28
4/15/09 at 12:01am
Thanks. I am probably going to lose my 4.0 this sem. I like to mention it while it still exists. However, I am transferring next semester, so Im alright! I am the same way, when I get home I idle on SF and do random fun/time killing things for about 2 hours before I get to coursework.
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post #13 of 28
4/15/09 at 12:04am
I worked 3 p/t jobs during grad school (amounting to about 30 hours a week) while at times taking up to three courses per term, and maintaing a 4.0 average. It was not pleasant. Pretty much my only hobbies were watching movies, watching sports and going to the gym. Once a month or so I'd go to the bar with my friends. On the plus side, I am totally debt free and managed to amass enough discretionary income at the time to fund a few vacations and luxury purchases. It also looks good on the CV. On the whole, I'm not sure I'd recommend it, or do it again. But it's definitely feasible.
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post #14 of 28
4/15/09 at 12:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by holymadness View Post
I worked 3 p/t jobs during grad school (amounting to about 30 hours a week) while at times taking up to three courses per term, and maintaing a 4.0 average. It was not pleasant. Pretty much my only hobbies were watching movies, watching sports and going to the gym. Once a month or so I'd go to the bar with my friends.

On the plus side, I am totally debt free and managed to amass enough discretionary income at the time to fund a few vacations and luxury purchases. It also looks good on the CV.

On the whole, I'm not sure I'd recommend it, or do it again. But it's definitely feasible.

Feasibiliy depends on the degree too. I couldn't hack doing molecular biology and a full-time job. Part of it was just the scheduling. In classics I can run to class in the middle of the day and be back at the office an hour and a bit later, or a couple hours at worst when classes are back to back. In science I'd have whole afternoons scheduled for a biochem or organic labs. My bosses hated that shit and I actually failed biochem because I failed the lab section due to absences. I just found it impossible to balance and reconcile my schedules. If I miss a history or literature lecture on the other hand (which happens relatively frequently because i don't do shift work), I don't lose any grades.
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post #15 of 28
4/15/09 at 12:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GQgeek View Post
Feasibiliy depends on the degree too. I couldn't hack doing molecular biology and a full-time job. Part of it was just the scheduling. In classics I can run to class in the middle of the day and be back at the office an hour and a bit later, or a couple hours at worst when classes are back to back. In science I'd have whole afternoons scheduled for a biochem or organic labs. My bosses hated that shit and I actually failed biochem because I failed the lab section due to absences. I just found it impossible to balance and reconcile my schedules. If I miss a history or literature lecture on the other hand (which happens relatively frequently because i don't do shift work), I don't lose any grades.

I could easily argue the other way and say feasibility depends on the job. The reality is feasibility depends on you. I got a degree in science. I spent lots of time in lab courses. One of my jobs was in a research lab. Another job (that turned into a career) had a lab heavy component. Since it all fit together, I had no conflicts. My employers wanted me to do well with both work and school. By talking with my professors, they understood the requirements I was under with jobs, and they wanted me to be successful too. Yes, I missed classes too because of work at times.
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