Working Full Time and a Student Full Time

MatrixRn · Jun 9, 2013

Full time 75 hours per week?

I worked 30 hours per week, went to school full time and had 3 kids under the age of 6. So, I know that can be done. Just prepared to have no life outside of work and school.

duskyjewel · Jun 9, 2013

Is that 75 hours per pay period? Because 75 hours a week would be more than six 12 hour shifts per week. How would anyone do that?

mvm2 · Jun 9, 2013

75 hours a week, every week working is crazy in itself. Then there is 4 hours of class room time, and don't forget to add the hours you will need for homework and study. Oh and there is that thing called sleep that you will need. Yeah I as a relaive would be worried for you as well. Do you have to work that many hours? Cut back if you can. Many people can go to school and work full time. But I am thinking they are at closer to 40 hours a week not 75!

funtimes · Jun 9, 2013

This last semester I worked "part time" as a PCT, worked contingent as an EMT for a company that has us doing pretty much non stop ambulance runs for 12 plus hours, and went to school full time. It was arguably the worst 5 months of my life and I will NEVER ever do it again, although I did pass all my classes.

Oh and if you did mean work 75 hours a WEEK and not every 2 weeks, my answer is no, you wont be able to do it.

green34 · Jun 10, 2013

In my experience, I do not advise it if you want to do well in school. It is possible but I do not recommend it at all. My grades dropped when I started working full-time and it is a pain in trying to schedule both school and work. Most schools do not have enough options for you and you may find yourself changing your availability every semester. Being part-time, my work is more flexible but I've had jobs where they expect the full-timers to be completely open. I ended up doing two clinical classes at the same time and it was a nightmare to work 36 to 48 hours.

NurseBre94, ASN · Jun 10, 2013

75 per pay period (2 weeks).

NurseBre94, ASN · Jun 10, 2013

I am just doing pre reqs also

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jun 10, 2013

Hello fellow users! I have another inquiry for you all. I will be working full time (75 hours) at a long term health facility as a CNA. I was wondering if it possible to do this while going to college full time. I have always taken college courses during high school while working part time. This time, I have 4 class that are 1 hour, twice a week. Any advise for me on this wonderful new experience? My family is really concerned so I decided to ask on here. Thanks

I will say that depending upon your actual schedule, at work and at school, it could be very doable. It will not be very easy. In fact, I expect that it would be rather difficult. Given what I know of what CNA's do, I think that you will have time to study while at work. That is something that my particular job allows me to do. Without that, I would probably be very much buried in school work.

The most important thing for you to do is to make sure that you have enough time to study, attend classes, get sleep, eat well, and have some "me time" so that you can maintain some semblance of sanity while doing this.

What I would suggest that you do is to essentially build yourself a two-week calendar of what you intend to do. List all of your activities and their times on that calendar so that you can see what you have time for when you have time for it. Don't forget to include your transit time (think commute time) between those activities because that can be a major source of a headache if you schedule things too close together. As far as studying goes, figure between one and two hours of studying time per classroom hour. You may end up requiring less study time than that, but at least to start, figure that as your baseline for studying for classes.

Just to give you some idea of how much I work and study and go to school and attend clinicals, I work 40 hours per week. I attend 6 hours of classroom time (minimum) per week every semester, and I and in clinicals 12 hours every week. Studying time is approximately 8 hours per week, with approximately an additional 8 hours per week (some done at work) doing care plans. With all of that, I get probably between 4 and 6 hours of sleep per night, if I'm lucky.

I also have the additional stressors of having a family and dealing with all of the typical household issues on top of everything else.

The point is, I'm essentially on a 2 year high intensity training crash course in time management, and managing to do okay. With proper planning, what you propose is doable but it's going to take a lot of prior planning and some flexibility to make everything happen without too much unnecessary stress.

I wish you all the best!

Meme_RN18, BSN · Jun 10, 2013

I did that for 18 months straight.

I worked my way into full time as a cna and went to class part time

It is very much possible. You will be burnt out soon. Each week I would head straight to class after work. Imagine waking up at 6 am and not getting home until 10 pm for two days in a row out the week. I have a sigh of relief as I am in my last two weeks of school. My last worry at the moment is my comprehensive predictor exit exam. Can't wait till its over!

berk15 · Jun 10, 2013

It's definitely doable if you want it to be! I worked full time (36-54) hours a week during nursing school and finished with great grades. I honestly didn't have much of a life outside of work and school but it was only temporary and I wouldn't have done it any other way now that I'm done.

Career2_BSN, BSN · Jun 10, 2013

I've seen on here that some CNAs work 3 12s over the weekend or 2 doubles on Saturday and Sunday (I can't imagine 16-hour work days, but if only 2 and off the rest of the week, it might be doable). This gives them most of the week to dedicate to school.

During pre-reqs, I worked full time days at a desk job, went to school part time, and have a family at home (hubby and 3 kids). I was limited to part time school because I could only take evening courses due to my job. I have now finished the pre-reqs and am taking a weekend CNA course while still working my Mon-Fri job. My plan during NS is to work those 3 12s (preferable) or even 2 16s so I can have the rest of the week off for school.

If you don't have kids to worry about and you don't mind ditching the social life for a brief period in your life, you can certainly handle full time work and full time school. But you will need dedication and organization --- and support from family who can do the cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.