Should I just leave my job???

[Monaco]

Don't quit, you're probably just going to use the time you would've spent on working to hang out, drink, party, and be stupid anyways. Being busy is better than wasting time, and don't tell me you will really hunker down and study or at least make great use of those extra 20 hours a week. You said your job is relaxing? this is probably the best job you'll have while studying and it gives you experience.

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by Magician

My closest friend is pre-med at Yale and I visit him so I actually do have an idea of what (true) top-tier programs are like.
Yeah, those F***ers basically never leave their rooms. We had a girl in my circle of friends who literally left her room for 30 to 45 minutes a day, just to grab food or go to the bathroom. And even when she ate at the dining hall, she was buried in some textbook or another. I have never seen someone study so much. It was fucked up. The point is, though, that there really are no good excuses other than work ethic. If you have the dedication and the work ethic, you should put in the work. And there is always more work to put in. If your folks are footing the bill, all the more reason to focus on your studying. You will not enjoy your college experience, and you will be the resident "weenie" of your circle. But you'll be laughing your way to the bank when you're a badass neurosurgeon and your friends are burned out corporate stooges.

 

[v.freeman]

Most of the people I know that bragged about working full time during school either went to a ****** school, majored in a joke major, had a terrible grade point average, or all of the above.

 

[celery]

If your parents have the money, don't feel bad about asking for spending change. They sound like they're supportive, so I doubt they mind.

And if you plan on being a doctor, then forget having a job now, no need. Any other major and yeah, experience plays a major role. Your job experience will come in the form of your residency, which is something like 29384723786 hours per week. So **** the job, study and get as much sleep as possible while you still can.

 

[deadly7]

Kids like you make me laugh. "Oh noez i can't handle work waah waah waah"

 

[Warren G.]

Originally Posted by v.freeman

Most of the people I know that bragged about working full time during school either went to a ****** school, majored in a joke major, had a terrible grade point average, or all of the above.
This. Quit your job, go volunteer/work during your winter/summer break.

 

[Brosef]

Originally Posted by Magician

My closest friend is pre-med at Yale and I visit him so I actually do have an idea of what (true) top-tier programs are like. Myself, I've been working mostly full time while taking a full course load and supporting myself since I was 18. I hope your parents are proud of your 20 hour a week work week! Bottle service at a club with two x's in it's name and Ralph Lauren half zips aren't cheap.
Yeah...everybody has a friend in med . BTW, you are way off in your description. Also, claiming you worked while going to school isn't saying much. I don't want to get into a pissing contest, but it'd be better to know your major, the university you went to as well as your GPA...Not that I care, I'm just pointing out that your experience isn't necessarily similar to mine.

Originally Posted by Huntsman

Hm. If your priorities are your grades, then that is what you should focus on. Since you don't have to work to go to school, working is supplying you with money for non-essentials, thus, non-essential activities are taking away from your priority goal, which is your grades. If your parents are willing to front, say, half of what you would have made to vouchsafe your grades, and allow you the best possible experience of college, that does not seem like such a poor option -- you sacrifice some money but gain freedom and the opportunity to do even better in school. Just use it wisely. Grades and time are two of the most important things to find in college. Money and toys follow. If it makes you feel any better, I'm in a professional program right now, and my schedule looks like: Work 40hrs/wk; Classes, 16hrs/wk; Commute, 20hrs/wk; study 16-24hrs/wk. Adds up to about 96hrs/wk, and the week (assuming sleeping 8hrs a night, though I try for seven) only has 112hrs in it. Sadly, most of that 'extra' time is lost in inefficiencies that even I cannot overcome. My undergrad was mechanical engineering, which is my job now (not exactly low-stress), and my program is one of the most time-consuming imaginable as well. I'm way closer to thirty than you are, and yeah, the fatigue is real. Goes to show you that humans have a lot of capacity. Choose what is important to you. You can do it. ~ H
Good post. You are absolutely right and you helped me in my decision...Thanks.

Originally Posted by KPO89

I'm in college too and my parents are footing the bill. I get a meager "allowance" every week and my aparment rent is taken care of. Often I feel really cheap and think I should be working. However, when you look at things from a financial perspective, your parents are making an investment in you. Give them the best return by making good grades. All other activities are ancillary. Learn to hold off and manage your money. Instead of buying those $300 dollar sweaters and boots[not saying you do, just an example] make yourself save and scavenge for the a second hand pair. There is no shame in being a college student and doing that. In the long run your credit will thank you once you are on your own. So I've been told.
The worst thing is, that's what I do. I even spent one whole pay on a pair of sneakers and a bag. I'm stupid as ****. And you're absolutely right too. That's why I don't see anything wrong in the fact that my tuition is paid by my parents. It really is an investment for them.

Originally Posted by MasterOfReality

Sort of a similar situation to what I went though. I did mining engineering for my bachelors - damn some it it was intense. One of the course requirements was that you were required to accumulate x amount of months experience in the 4 year degree, otherwise no graduation. So what we did was not work during the semesters, but pretty much worked fulltime on our holidays. We got a 3 month block at the end/start of the new year and we used that. Some guys even went back during mid semester breaks for a couple of weeks. The way I look at it, if you need to obtain a high grade point average and your part time work is hindering that, then common sense would tell you that the job would be the first to go, especially if you can fall back on your parents.
Yeah, I already planned to volunteer like crazy this summer in Montreal and the Fiji Islands and pass the MCAT (although it's not mandatory for Quebec residents applying for Quebec universities).

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

Yeah, those F***ers basically never leave their rooms. We had a girl in my circle of friends who literally left her room for 30 to 45 minutes a day, just to grab food or go to the bathroom. And even when she ate at the dining hall, she was buried in some textbook or another. I have never seen someone study so much. It was fucked up. The point is, though, that there really are no good excuses other than work ethic. If you have the dedication and the work ethic, you should put in the work. And there is always more work to put in. If your folks are footing the bill, all the more reason to focus on your studying. You will not enjoy your college experience, and you will be the resident "weenie" of your circle. But you'll be laughing your way to the bank when you're a badass neurosurgeon and your friends are burned out corporate stooges.
Yup. It's sad that I realized this a bit late. I didn't work last year but had basically no motivation due to personal factors and now I have to run to catch up. I'm definitely motivated though and would even be willing to do a M.Sc. in Microbio or whatever and apply for med after. Oh, and, neurosurgery wouldn't be my thing.

Way too nervous for that. I'd rather go into Psychiatry or Oncology...

Originally Posted by celery

If your parents have the money, don't feel bad about asking for spending change. They sound like they're supportive, so I doubt they mind. And if you plan on being a doctor, then forget having a job now, no need. Any other major and yeah, experience plays a major role. Your job experience will come in the form of your residency, which is something like 29384723786 hours per week. So **** the job, study and get as much sleep as possible while you still can.
They are very supportive and are pushing me to leave my job. All your posts made me think. While I do believe that I'm sort of a ***** for complaining when it's not that big of a deal for many people, I feel that it IS a big deal for me. I'm not used to this and my workplace has been stressing me out like crazy about my hours during my upcoming midterms and how I will compensate them. This lack of understanding from them (when they know my objectives and my dedication at school and at work) is disturbing me in my studies and is giving me extra problems to think about and I could definitely do without that. Just to compare, most of the employees in my division are university students in the life sciences field and they all have less than 15 hours a week. The 4 employees including myself that were hired the most recently (5 months ago) had to sign a contract which said that I would have to do 20 hours a week. We had still agreed with them that we didn't mind doing 40 hours a week during the summer. I made a concession for them and I hope they will make one for me. I will be going to talk to them today and tell them I was hoping to reduce my hours to 15 maximum. If not, I will be forced to leave due to my personal objectives and tell them that I appreciated my experience with them and that I am disappointed that it had to come to this. I don't think there is any better way to tell them...Would that be alright? I want to leave in good terms in order to later use them for a reference letter.....

 

[Nouveau Pauvre]

I'm teasing you buddy. It's just the internet.

And I am sure my experience is very different from yours, very different from most in fact. Many people wouldn't have liked or agreed with my experience but for me it's a source of personal pride.

 

[CouttsClient]

Quit the job. FOCUS on SCHOOL. If you were my child that is what I would suggest. I'd have no problem buying you a pair of shoes now and then.

 

[ramuman]

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

Yeah, those F***ers basically never leave their rooms. We had a girl in my circle of friends who literally left her room for 30 to 45 minutes a day, just to grab food or go to the bathroom. And even when she ate at the dining hall, she was buried in some textbook or another. I have never seen someone study so much. It was fucked up.

The point is, though, that there really are no good excuses other than work ethic. If you have the dedication and the work ethic, you should put in the work. And there is always more work to put in. If your folks are footing the bill, all the more reason to focus on your studying. You will not enjoy your college experience, and you will be the resident "weenie" of your circle. But you'll be laughing your way to the bank when you're a badass neurosurgeon and your friends are burned out corporate stooges.

A friend went to Johns Hopkins for his undergrad and was a bookworm. Now he's in Stanford med school and has more free time than he knows what to do with (relatively). He says it'll suck again once he finishes med school though.

He said the hardest part of med school is getting in and that's why he put in so much time as an undergrad. He also said that once you're in a top-tier med school, there is little you can do to screw up your career path.

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by Liam_680

The hard work will do serve as your training so its a good thing. I'd say dont quit and just make it work.

This. If you're not able to handle multiple commitments while keeping your grades up, then you're destined to a tough time in med school.

 

[Brosef]

So I just spoke to them and I think we have a pretty good arrangement here...
I will be working a few hours next week (around 8-9h) since I gave them the news without a notice for them to plan everything, and I understand that perfectly. They understand my current situation and my boss will be away for next week. She told me to think it over during next week and that we'll be discussing our options as of next monday.

She does not want me to leave and told me to consider whether I wanted to definitely leave or stay there and work for less hours. I think 10-12 hours a week are very reasonable, provide me with some money, enough to feel less dependent from my parents and keep me productive.

I think that definitely leaving would have been a good solution, but considering the fact that I am a big procrastinator, 10-12 hours can only do good.

I'll be discussing this with them soon and keep you guys updated.

Feel free to drop some advice if you want in the meantime and thank you very much once again

 

[Souper]

+1 to the people who say man up.

Finance/stat at a decent school, working 30-35 hours a week, paying my own rent(tuition funded through loans)

I go to school with so many kids who ***** and moan about 15 hours, i can't imagine how easy life would be if I only had 15 hours of work a week.

 

[Brosef]

Originally Posted by Souper

+1 to the people who say man up.

Finance/stat at a decent school, working 30-35 hours a week, paying my own rent(tuition funded through loans)

I go to school with so many kids who ***** and moan about 15 hours, i can't imagine how easy life would be if I only had 15 hours of work a week.

Like other people mentioned before, it's not the same thing at all. It's great if you manage to handle that, but life sciences require a lot of studying, memorizing, critical thinking and so on. I can't invest 20 hours a week and be in an optimal form/have enough time to do what I have to do.

 

[Souper]

I am not sure what you are implying, but the way I read it you're saying that that my course of study does not require critical thinking, studying, memorizing, etc.,

Life sciences probably require more study than (undergraduate)quantitative majors, so leaving out the comparison to myself, I am sure there are kids in your situation with better grades, working more hours, etc.,

Grades come first, obviously, but a lot can be accomplished by sheer force of will and a lot of caffeine.