Working while in a program

[mae40]

Hi,

Does anyone work full-time and go to school. If so what shift works best for you. I am currently on 12/hr shifts....Midnights and I need to figure out how I will manage my study time.

Thanks

[deemarys]

Hello,

I have two small children at home, and I work 24 hours a week as an aide in a nursing home/assisted living facility (12 hours on 3rd shift Friday and Saturday) while working toward my LPN. Some people will tell you not to work during the program, but for some of us it is not an option! In my class, most of us work. You gotta do what you gotta do. I plan to go right on for my RN after getting my LPN, and I will be working FULL-TIME as a LPN while doing that.

I actually disagree with people that say you should work AT ALL during a program. I think it's a good idea to work at least a little. I don't care what anyone says; it DOES improve your chances of getting a nursing job after graduation when you've worked as an aide or tech during your program. Everyone has their opinion but that is just mine.

I agree that it is usually not an option to not work when in a program. But if you do work and are in a program full-time you are more likely to experience high levels of stress, and you may fail out of the program. In our LPN class about 50% of the students worked part-time, 5 students worked full-time. 4 of these full-time workers got dropped for not passing. They all had jobs, and kids at home. The one who did well was very young, childless, lived with her parents and didn't really need to work but did anyhow. I was lucky to do the program and not worry about work. Kudos to those who can do it and handle both the stress of school and work.