If you worked while in school, what did you do?

[lizmatt]

Hello

I should be starting school in the Fall (fingers crossed, mailbox on constant surveillance). Any way I am interested in what kind of jobs people have/ had to pay the bills in the mean time. I notice a lot of people do the CNA/ TECH thing - but I think I would be spread too thin emotionally. So I am just curious, interested and also looking for some new ideas.

Thanks

Amanda

[AAHZ]

I flew as a med tech in the air force (had to take a short break from school to go to war), framed houses, built furniture and helped on the family farm. I was real busy for that time. If it was'nt for the war (and my wife leaving me), it would have been the most enjoyable time i ever had!!!!!

[shudokan-RN]

waited tables at Red Lobster, and worked call in as a CNA both were flexible:D

[mario_ragucci]

If you can go to school and not work, do it. I thought having the experience in an actual hospital as a cna would help. Those 24 hours per week turned into hell during super hardcore clinicals and long commutes on freeways while fitness dwindled. Just go to school and then pass the big tests. There is so much to learn. My best of luck to you.

[ella1]

I had a few jobs while I was at Uni. I worked as an Assistant in Nursing (AIN) in nursing homes through a nursing agency for most of the time. Gave me an idea of the work load that I could expect as an RN and an appreciation of the many varied forms of bodily fluids

During harvest I worked as a grain sampler which entailed getting a sample of grain (wheat, barley, lupins etc) out of the back of a semi trailer, and grading it - VERY good money for cruisey work AND you got a suntan (the downside being the hellish sockmark which is very fetching in a strappy summer dress!). I also worked for a short period of time cleaning Homeswest houses that had been vacated by questionable tenants. It was disgusting - used tampons, nappies, sanitary pads left on floors, faeces smeared on walls, used syringes left everywhere... oh, wait a minute and the difference now being????

[RNforLongTime]

My first three years in nursing school, I was working as a short order cook at a truck stop not even 2 miles away from my parents house. The pay was decent. They were pretty good about working around my school and clinical schedule. The summer preceding my final year of nursing school, I had to quit that job as I needed full time hours for the summer and they had always worked me full time during summer break. Manager said no way as business hadn't picked up yet. He was giving the hours to a slacker cook who happened to have 3 kids. I rarely called off. Was always on time, etc. Didn't get rewarded for being a good employee. So, I got a job as a CNA in a local nursing home. It sucked! But it got me through that last year of school. I will NEVER work LTC again after that experience!

I made a lot of friends at that truck stop. And the sad part was that I was a GOOD short order cook! Oh well, I'm an even better RN now!:)

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Medical transcriptionist fulltime while in LPN school and LPN fulltime while in RN part. Now, I'm in ADN to MSN and I still work fulltime.

[jayne109, RN]

I worked as a Radiology clerk full time for a while and about killed myself. But I got to study when I did not have charts to work up. When I couldn't do that anymore, physically, I went to the hospital day care. That was great. I got good child experience that is helpful to me now and it was very flixible. I could work 3 hours, go to school and coe back for 4 more hours. It was great. I also had as tint working as an ER tech but that didn't work out because there were weeks I did not work at all because it was a PRN position. Not very helpful for the pocketbook but it was excellent experience. I got to do things there that I didn't get to do in Nursing school, like place Foley caths and draw blood. It was great.

[kimmicoobug]

I did work study in the vo-tech building for a quarter. I also worked Arby's and KMart after birth of my son. Did this for nearly two quarters, but quit because it wasn't worth not ever seeing my two kids and trying to do school.

[LauraF, RN, ASN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I was a pharmacy tech. Actually I did all the scheduling for the pharmacy tech and was responsable for third party billing and all silly problems that came up. It was good knowledge for meds and dosage calculation, great managerial skills and I could make my own hours. As long as the pharmacy had the staff it needed. And there were girls their with families so they wanted days, so I did holidays evenings and a couple of hours during the day. That was for my LPN. Now that I'm going back for my RN I have a full time job of being mom to two kids 7 months apart, one is a preemie.