How to Work Part-Time and still be a Full-Time Student.

Unfortunately, even with my scholarships and loans, my tuition is still not fully covered. I generally have around $1000-2000 in out of pocket payments that I make to the school per semester. Plus, I own a motorcycle and I pay for my own insurance on it. My family has blessed me with covering a lot of other outside costs, and this has really helped me financially. However, I still work part-time year round. Working even just part-time while being a full-time college student is the biggest challenge I have ever faced in my life. Here is a list of great tips on working 20-40 hour weeks on top of class, studying, and social time to help you get through it. Enjoy!

Make Sure Your Employer Will Work With You!

Take it from me, working with an employer who believes work is your number one priority is the worst. It will negatively impact your grades, social life, and stress levels! If you are starting a new semester, let your current employer know as soon as you know what your schedule is. Then work with them on creating a schedule that you can work with. They will greatly appreciate the heads up and the help. Your manager cannot read your mind! Do not make your manager guess what days are good for you, and then get upset when it is not what you wanted.
If you are currently applying for jobs, ask before accepting the job what shifts are available and explain that you are a full time student. You should not be worried about this information impacting the job offering. If they choose not to hire you because of your limited availability, do not get disheartened.  It is in your best interest too! You do not want to be in a situation where you cannot afford school because they do not give you any hours. Getting a good work-school schedule requires being proactive and working with your employer.

Organize Your Day!

I am not a scheduling type of person. However, it is extremely important working part-time and going to school that you create a detailed schedule of your life. This could include making a "To-Do" list, using a scheduling app like Cozi, or just making a schedule in your head. Do not be simple with it. Make it as detailed as possible! For example, instead of saying "go to work, study, eat, sleep", write "Go to work 9AM to 2PM, study Pathophysiology with notecards, complete Microbiology study guide, eat within 30 minute break, look over Anatomy notes, sleep at least nine hours like every college student." This will organize your life and create goals for your day. A study done on productivity tools found that planners and schedules increased productivity and helped provide a feeling of self-fulfillment and pride (Leshed & Sengers, 2011). Scheduling will allow you to increase the productivity and fulfillment of your day. 

Stay Within Your Limits!

Remember, when accepting a job or scheduling with your manager, that you are a human being with human needs. Do not put yourself up to mental and/or physical exhaustion, lack of a social life/fun, or lack of hygiene. This could lead to serious problems like physical and/or mental illness, or losing friendships. In other words, do not accept a 40 hour per week night shift job, get four hours of sleep per night, go to school, and repeat. Remember that life is not all about work! Let yourself have a social life, and do things you want to do. Studying can wait a few hours. That does not mean attend social events every day instead of studying. It just means that you have to do YOU too! Make sure to set limits for studying, work, and social life so that you get the most out of your time.

Enjoy What You Do!

When you are a full time student and a part time employee, life can get stressful. You may not want to go to work some days and you may want to quit school on others. That is completely normal! However, when this happens every single day, there is a problem. You really need to enjoy what you are learning and what you are doing for a living, because this is what the majority of your time is going towards. Suicide is the leading cause of death in college students. Between 2004 and 2009, around 700,000 undergraduate and graduate students committed suicide and died. This study shows that stress and depression are the major factors that caused this to occur. It also states that a major protective factor for suicide is enjoying school and work (SRPC, 2014). Do not allow your lack of enjoyment ruin your mental health. Find your passion in school and in work! If you do not like your major, change it! If you do not like your job, change it! Do not worry about how it will look on your resume, because it does not matter if you are not enjoying your time on this planet. Enjoy what you do with your life!

Working part time and being a full time student is hard. Yet, it is not impossible! You can do this!

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Do you have any tips for surviving work and school? Suggestions on how I can better help you? Let me know in the comments! I would be happy to help! Also, I will be posting bi-weekly from now on, as school and work is getting busy! (I am staying within my limits and organizing my days! ;D) Have a wonderful day! 💜

References

Leshed, G & Sengers, P. (2011). "I lie to myself that I have freedom in my own schedule": Productivity tools and experiences of busyness. ACM. pg. 905-914. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1979077

SRPC. (2014). Suicide among college and university student in the United States. Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Retrieved from http://www.sprc.org/sites/default/files/migrate/library/SuicideAmongCollegeStudentsInUS.pdf