Working 32 hours/wk + school fulltime?

[Pose]

Well Ladies and Gents...I just got back from a stressful as all hell interview.

The interview is for an ER Tech position at a local hospital/trauma center. I was placed in a conference room and surrounded by 8 people--including the director of nursing, human resources director, and charge nurse for the department. All went okay (surprisingly), although they were very strict about my schedule, and the amount of hours I could work.

I REALLY want to get the skills they're offering (EKG, Phlebotomy/IV, ACLS, suturing, HAZMAT...), but they're asking for a minimum of 32 hours a week for the first month. My dilemma? I just started school a week ago (freshmen) full time. After the initial 32 hours, they're asking for a minimum of 24 hours, with a 32 hour week once a month, and every other weekend and holiday. Oh, and medical/dental insurance. Unfortunately, I need to maintain at least a 3.7GPA this semester...So I'm very insecure about all of this.

Anyone have some advice while I'm waiting to hear back? And how many of you have done or exceeded the above?

Thank you...

[paramedicmike]

School first. School second. School third. Taking care of you comes in fourth, fifth and sixth. Then school for eight, ninth and tenth spots. Work comes in somewhere down around 412 or something.

An ER tech job is a short term thing. An education will last you a lifetime and will get you further than this job ever will.

If you absolutely must work, find something that's easy on your schedule and will not take time from school, homework or the down time that you'll need to decompress (just as important!). If that means something other than working as an ER tech, well, then do something else.

That's great you want to learn all this stuff the job can teach you. But that's not going to get you anywhere for the long haul. Concentrate on school first and foremost. Worry about the other stuff later.

Did I happen to mention that school should be your first priority?

-be safe.

[Wackie]

How many hours of school are you taking, what days and times, and what days and times do they want you for the tech job?

Being that I am a full time student maintaining a 3.77 while working 40-45 hrs a week and volunteering 4 hrs a week, I can offer some advice.

With such a rigorous schedule, you must know thyself. You need to know the best method for you as far as study skills. Not just an alright method...the best.

You have to be ready to study at the drop of a hat, to use any idle time, even if it's five minutes, to study.

You need to be able to figure out what the professor wants of you and concentrate on that. Efficiency is key. This is where I hate the schedule I have to keep because I don't like having to narrow down what I need to learn. So, holidays and spring breaks I use to broaden what I've learned in class. I paid for those damned books so I sure as hell am going to get all I can from them.

You need to be able to spot when you start drifting off into la-la land because you're so tired your eyes are crossing and know what to do about it. Me, I jump on a stationary bike. Or, if I am just flat tired, I go to bed. To your brain, there is no substitute for rest.

You need to be in top physical condition. This means a balanced diet and some exercise with a multivitamin. You would not believe how much more information you can learn and retain with a good diet and exercise. Even if it's only a minimal change for you, you need any advantages you can get.

Caffeine is a no no. With such a schedule, the most important thing is to be able to know what your body and mind need (IE: rest, food, movement, etc). Caffeine, my experience anyway, only keeps me from sleeping and it seems to also hinder my studying (probably from lack of a good night's rest) as well as my determining what I need.

Social life? Ha ha! Get used to being called "anti-social".

You have to have some intelligence to pull this off because you will need to learn and retain the same amount of information others need (and have) twice or three times the amount of time to do. I'm not going to blow sunshine up your butt and say you can do it, go for it. It sucks. If you don't have to do it, don't. Learn all you can while in school. Look around for a more part time tech job. Because really, this work load sucks.

[Pose]

14 credit hours, day classes Tuesdays & Thursdays, evening classes (4:30-8:10pm) Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays. The Tech job wants me Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday...

Thank you for the comments.

[Wackie]

I edited my post above so have fun reading that :roll:

How long would you work the 32hrs a week before they switched you to 24 hrs?

What I'm getting at is, how long will you work or go to school 7 days a week before you can have at least one day to yourself?

[Dustdevil]

What are you going to school for? That could make all the difference in my advice.

[jenniemt]

I would say yes it can be done IF you had at least one day off per week. Sundays are my critical day off where I am guaranteed to have neither work nor school. I am so fortunate that my job recognizes school comes first for me and they are willing to bend their mandatory saturday rule for me. If your job is not willing to work with your school schedule at all, I wouldn't recommend working there. Find another job and make sure they know from day 1 (interview or sooner) that you have school and what your schedule is.

If you can do it, more power to you. But I would never accept a job that required me to give up all chances for a day off. Some people are workaholics and can do it, but not me. Only you know yourself. Have you ever worked while in school before? It's quite the shock to your body the first time you try. It took me most of last semester to figure out how to do it (sometimes that meant I was studying while at work. I had and still have a desk job that allows me to do that though. ER tech is not conducive to that, obviously).

Good luck,

Jenn

[Pose]

Thanks for all of the replies!

I have not worked while going to school before, and they're not really wanting to give me any days off, but rather the possibility of two days off a month. I am studying Economics with a few minors (chemistry, photography, music/production), and the typical pre-med prerequisites. I'm only currently taking an Art, Honors English (Comp 1 & 2), Economic/Business mathematics (discrete, finite?), and a Health Science course. Unfortunately, I've only been to the first class of each, and I haven't been able to judge exactly how demanding they are going to be.

I have an interview scheduled with an ambulance company in a few days, and there's a possibility they'll give me more flexible hours (per diem?), but I'm not in the best position with a driver's license -- so I'm doubting I'll land that job.

The hospital job seems so promising. If I could get it down to 24 hours, I would probably give it a shot. Perhaps I'll call them up and see if there's any chance. They did make it very clear they wanted commitment due to the cost of the training they must put me through (6-7 classes), though.

Thanks for the advice thus far...

[akflightmedic]

When are these 6-7 classes going to occur? Will they be scheduled around your school schedule? Sounds unlikely they would only have class days on your assigned shift which is predominately the weekend.

This schedule sounds very demanding...I would give it a lot of thought before jumping in...but only you know the answer.

[Nate]

I work two jobs, averaging 60 hours a week, with an 84 hour week every third week. I also take 15 hours a week where I'm in class from 1000 until 2100 Tuesday/Thursday. I do it with a GPA of 3.83.