So I am 26 and in my sophomore year at college. I am in a civil engineering program and I am working toward a minor in geology. I have a part-time serving job here (like 2-3 days a week, 10-15 hours a week) where I honestly make pretty crap money. I have 2 jobs back home, so when I go home for the summer I usually save a few thousand dollars of my earnings and just this last winter break I made about $2000. I’m really thinking that with my financial aid and my summer/winter break earnings, I can probably just skate by without having a job while I’m actually taking classes. So far my job hasn’t really interfered with school, but sometimes I get scheduled 3 days in a row, which really sets me back in my homework an my classes are only getting harder and harder. Plus, I would like to go home more on weekends (home is 2.5 hours away where my boyfriend and my house is) and I pretty much always work on the weekend. The other aspect of this is that I really hate the job. I’ve been working for ten years and I have liked most of my jobs but for some reason, I can’t stand this one and I dread going in. Finally, it’s mostly just kind of a nuisance. I really want to focus on school and networking while I’m here.
The reasons I haven’t quit already are that my boyfriend’s brother-in-law, who is higher up in the company, got me the job and vouched for me. The company gave me 3 weeks off for winter break and I just got back, so I feel like sort of a douche quitting now. I don’t want to make him look bad. Also, a part of me just feels like not having a job would be irresponsible and lazy.
I’ve been working hard for a long time and I kind of just want to focus now so that I don’t have to have crappy jobs like this forever. What’s the most graceful way to go about this? Any naysayers (and why)?
If you think you’re financially stable without working termtime, quit the job- but make sure. Give two weeks notices, but I would use your engineering coursework (which is known to be pretty rigorous) as a reason. By giving yourself that time, youu might also open yourself up to jobs you like or will helpful in your career (internships, research, etc.)
How long have you worked at the part-time serving job? If you have worked there for a couple of years, it seems that you have probably proven yourself and can use the rigor of your coursework in upper level classes as a reason for needing to quit. If you have only recently started working there, you are right to wonder if the family relationship that got you the job might be tarnished a bit.
Would it be possible to ask for less hours due to your intense schoolwork?
I have been there for 3 months. I’m not sure that this matters, but the family members offered-- rather insisted-- to help me get the job and I accepted because I thought I might need one. I sort of think that asking for less hours might look worse than quitting altogether, since the company places a lot of emphasis on the “team”. However, a lot of my coworkers have been asking to cover people’s shifts since they aren’t getting the hours they need, which makes me think we may be overstaffed.
It might also be worth mentioning that the money I make when I am there is so negligible that it pays none of my bills to speak of. Most nights when I’m there it’s either really slow, or the tips are very poor because this particular restaurant attracts a LOT of big groups of high schoolers. I usually end up tipping out a good chunk of my earnings to the bussers, kitchen, food runners, and bar and then spend whatever’s left on dinner that night.
Think long term; You will be a Civil Engineer. There is no need to have restaurant experience. You don’t need the money.
What you do want to do is: Tell the BIL of the BF that you are so grateful that helped you get that job, but that you are finding you need to concentrate on your studies now. Talk to your boss and say the same thing…and if you have some flexibility in your end date let them know that. The thing you want to do is to be able to possibly get a good recommendation from them if you need another minimum wage type job.
If you get any pushback from BF or BIL, just remember this is your life, not theirs.
Since you didn’t ASK for this job, and it seems you feel it was forced on you, I think you should go ahead and quit. Do it nicely, let them know you appreciate the opportunity and have enjoyed your time there, but your schoolwork and your grades need to be given top priority.