Anyone working full time and going to school?

Pilot76 · Sep 17, 2004

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jschut, BSN, RN · Sep 18, 2004

I work full time and go to school full time also. There are no days to myself, no days to fully study and no days to be with my family.

If I cut down my hours at work, I will lose my insurance on the kids. I am exhausted and literally can't stand the thought of going to work, but it's something I have to do, and I KNOW I have to do in order to succeed.

Making shortcuts for my family has been a lifesaver for me and hubby does help, IF I can keep him happy too.

Most days I am too tired to cry, but every day I muddle though to yet another day.

I survive semester by semester, looking forward to the changes I can make in my work schedule :chuckle to throw them into another tizzy cause they have to re-arrange.

Seriously, I don't know anyone who likes working while in school, but ya know something? There are sacrifices that had to be made in order for me to complete my dream, and I'm still sacrificing, but someday I'll make it to where I want to be. And you will too. Hang in there. Things will look brighter tomorrow, give it a chance. {{{HUGS}}} to all of us who have put living on hold to make our lives more complete...

arial143 · Sep 18, 2004

if you have the guts to do it you can. i wouldn't recommend it. if your job allows it you might want to cut back. the hours we are at school and clinicals is overwhelming (35+/wk and homework 6-10+hr/wk. my job is part time about 20-25 hours (fri, sat, sun) and i can also do homework/study/write papers. etc. if you are able to do these things at your job now, you can do it. if you can't i would suggest part-time. school expects a lot from you plus you have projects and papers to write. you will get stressed out, sleep-deprived, get sick, do poorly with grades-tests etc. i know this sounds harsh but if nursing school is your priority thats where most of your time needs to be spent.

i would also recommend a night for you. a night to relax hang out with friends, read a book other than nursing etc. i really like this for me but it may not work for your schedule.

there are also a number of loans that you don't have to pay until you graduate and are low interest. there are also hospital tech positions that sometimes pay a certain amount of tuition but you have to have i think 1 semester of nursing school/clinicals)

don't be afraid to get loans- with our jobs we can pay them back fast when we graduate.

good luck with it all

arial143 · Sep 18, 2004

Oh.....I'd LOVE it if I could just elimate my periods all together. I'm the same way. I seem to lose a week each month to pain, discomfort and emotions. It always seemed I had a big exam the day of my period too.

you can with depo-prevera. if you don't know what it is, its a birthcontrol shot that you get every 3 months and it gets rid of your period and is still healthy. it prevents the endometrium from lining with blood. and therefore also prevents the the embryo from implanting. side effects are the first shot you get moody (some people call it the b**** shot) but its worth it. save tons of money and agony. :) the only thing is you have to be off the shot for several months (up to a year) if and when you want to get pregnant, but if thats in the long run...

don't know if thats the answer you want. but its free (if you qualify) through planned parenthood

sabRN2b05, BSN, RN · Sep 20, 2004

I worked 32 hours a week during my 1st and 2nd semester of nursing school which was very hard - I was SOOO exhausted. I never had time for my family, much less myself. Unfortunately, my husband and I could not survive just on his income (he's a police officer - works nights! UGH ) We've lived off scholarship money, finanical aid, and student loans as well. I've also put our children on MS CHIPS (Children's Health Insurance Program). When I dropped to PRN status, I lost my benefits at my job. CHIPS is for those families who make too much money for Medicaid, but don't make enough to afford health insurance thru their employers or don't have insurance thru their employers (coverage thru my husband's job would be $400/mo for family coverage ) CHIPS is Blue Cross/Blue Shield and you'd be surprised the things that it covers (dr's visits, rx's, vision exams, glasses, dental cleaning, fillings, even root canals!). It is income based (like Medicaid) - some plans require a small copay for dr. visits, rx's, etc. - ours doesn't (thank goodness) If anyone reading this lives in MS, check it out through your local health department if you're interested. There's so much assistance out there - you just have to know where to look. If any females out there need health insurance for our "yearly exams" - that's available, too. In MS, there is a "Family Planning Medicaid"- pays for pap smears, follow-ups, and birth control (only certain ones are covered, but hey, if it's free!) I got on that for myself since I have a hx of cervical cancer and can't wait to get a pap smear. I'm not ashamed to use governmental assistance temporarily - there are so many people who abuse it and I don't feel that I am one of them.

About six months ago, my husband, kids, and I moved in with my mother-in-law. We bought a big enough house for all of us to fit in. I don't recommend it for everyone, but it's working for us (took some getting used to!). For this semester (3 of 4!!), I took out a student loan thru a private lender (http://www.teri.org.), paid off all our debt (car note, credit cards, etc.) and had a little bit for a nest egg left over. The loan is like other student loans - payment deferred until 6 mos after graduation. We share the house note, utilities, etc. with my mother-in-law, so financially it's helped A LOT!! I still work, but only about 20 hours a week to help bring in income. I'm not nearly as exhausted, and I have more time to study, spend with family, etc. Most important, I now work during the week and not on weekends, so I can put my son (7 yrs old) back in soccer, basketball, etc. With my husband working nights, I'm the primary one who can take him to practice, games, etc. and since my work schedule is a little easier now, that's not a problem anymore.

As far as paying back student loans, some hospitals now have student consolidation programs and student repayment programs - certain stipulations apply. I've even seen information at my school's financial aid office about student loans getting discharged for certain professions (i.e., nursing, law enforcement, active military, the list goes on) - Again, certain stipulations apply but you can't bet I'll be looking into that after I graduate!!

Tony35NYC · Oct 8, 2004

I've been doing both full-time during the past year and a half, and its do-able if you know how to budget your time AND as long as the job doesn't cut too much into your study time. Maybe you could work weekends, or even two or more part-time jobs that aren't too stressful and don't require as much involvement as some full-time jobs.

Things were going great for me on the job for a while, but lately the big boss has been acting real catty with the scheduling and she was trying to force me to come in to cover for other staff during times she knows I'm to be in lectures. At first they agreed to allow me to have the time off that I need for my classes, and the arrangement was that I would work evenings and weekends to make up the hours. But, they are very short-staffed so they changed the schedule so that I was required to work a minimum of 50 hours each week. As a manager, I don't get time and a half, and I'm sure I could make more money waiting tables anyway. Worse, I missed quite a few important lectures, bombed real bad on a mid term exam that I didn't have time to study for, and I was exhausted ALL the time.

Next thing I know the boss was asking me to skip a clinical day to accommodate another manager's request for a so-called emergency leave. And when I tried to explain that I could be dropped from the class for missing that clinical day, she has the nerve to say that I should decide what my priorities are. I have just two more semesters of nursing school to go, and it would be silly for me to flunk out or stress out at this point over a silly dead-end job so I handed in my notice today. Not even 10 minutes after I got home I received a phone call from them that they want me to come in to meet with the director and the HR manager at the corporate office tomorrow morning (so they can terminate me before the effective date of the resignation). Guess who won't be showing up for that appointment?

I know I'm being long-winded, but I'm writing this to encourage those of you who find yourselves in a similar situation not to let a two-bit job get in the way of your real career goals.

tiroka03, LPN · Oct 8, 2004

I'm not sure how it goes, but if they terminate you, - you get unemployment, and if you quit you don't. Am I right? I'm not sure.

nursecompassion · Oct 11, 2004

Okay lets see, our quarter was postponed a week so I rescheduled the induction of my third son. He was born 9-22, I started classes 9-27 and went back to work on 9-30. (I'm an STNA at LTC work 2-12's wk) I passed my math test (dosage calc, must pass one test by end of quarter) missed one problem, and got a 92 on my first nursing test!!! Yes, I am still alive! :chuckle

p.s. However, I have an awesome husband and support system to help me through it and backing me up all the way.

http://www.seormc.org/babies/seormc_online_nursery.asp?ID=1368

Julee

nursecompassion · Oct 11, 2004

Okay lets see, our quarter was postponed a week so I rescheduled the induction of my third son. He was born 9-22, I started classes 9-27 and went back to work on 9-30. (I'm an STNA at LTC work 2-12's wk) I passed my math test (dosage calc, must pass one test by end of quarter) missed one problem, and got a 92 on my first nursing test!!! Yes, I am still alive! :chuckle

p.s. However, I have an awesome husband and support system to help me through it and backing me up all the way.

http://www.seormc.org/babies/seormc_online_nursery.asp?ID=1368

Julee

martian · Oct 11, 2004

Hello everyone in the nursing world!!

I too am a working students, presently a Certified Public Accountant taking up nursing.

I am a profesor at a business administration school l am presently teaching accounting, math taxation and related subjects.

I love to care for people, this is my first love that is why I entered teaching.

I am studying nursing since i believe i can excel better in this course.

I hope your being ahead in the nursing ladder will guide others like me to

excel this nursing field.

It is working students like you that i look up to so i can continue my studies.

it is hard being a working student, that's how i feel at present.

sincerely everyone's

martian,cpa

martian · Oct 11, 2004