<p>I work 16-18 hours/week and get paid about $20/hr for an easy babysitting job that is within 3 blocks of my dorm. The thing is, i'm taking a hard courseload right now with lots of long labs and I'd also like more free time for other stuff. I don't really need to be working this semester because I have plenty of money saved up and I always get a summer job anyway. The job is easy but it's annoying, because i have to cram in my classes early in the morning so I can work afternoons and i'm too busy. Plus it's boring and I don't like the kid anymore. I feel like I should stick with it because if I save up enough, I won't have to work at all next year and it's easy money for an easy job - I know i probably won't find another job that pays this much next year. </p>
<p>ideally, I would work 8-10 hours which would be perfect but they really need me 4 days a week...I can't decide if I should quit or not :/</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How much do you need the money, not just for this year, but next year, too? If you found a lower paying job and worked less hours a week at that lower paying job, would you still be able to get by? What kinds of things would you sacrifice? If you can afford less hours at a lower wage next year, by all means quit now. You’ll have your whole life to work - live like a poor college student for a bit.</p></li>
<li><p>Assuming you do keep the job, do you really have the ability to save up enough and then BUDGET your money well enough to not work at all next year? Think realistically here. If you realistically don’t think you can do that/have never budgeted money like that, quit now, because “saving up” isn’t going to do you much good next yr and you already said you were good on money now.</p></li>
<li><p>Can you do hw at this job? I’d say keep the job and use the hours to do reading or hw. If the kid is boring, does that give you liscense to be boring too? Can’t you put them in front of a movie while you do reading, or is more high maintenance than that? If you can think of ways to use the time baby sitting effectively, rather than wasting it and then having to log hw hours on top of baby sitting hours, then keep the job.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>20 an hour for a babysitting gig is a pretty sweet deal. Make sure you realize you could be unemployed or making half that for something more obnoxious next time you decide you want to work. I understand your reasons for wanting to quit and would probably be considering it myself, just be aware of what you are walking away from.</p>
<p>yeah, I definitely can budget well for next year - I have like $4k saved up from previous jobs and if I continue working this semester and over the summer (I work as a lifeguard over the summer in my hometown) I’ll have enough that I won’t have to work next year at all - which would be awesome because then I can maybe get a research internship. Although technically I could just quit and still live off of my savings + summer money next year - I don’t need much spending money. My tuition is covered thanks to a sweet scholarship and my parents chipping in, so no loans. :)</p>
<p>The kid is not allowed to watch TV, movies, has very few toys. He had to repeat kindergarten and his mom’s a little neurotic about him being “slow” so I have to constantly read to him, go over his vocab cards, etc. he’s high maintenance for sure - throws tantrums if I don’t draw for him because he likes to watch me color but won’t do it himself :p</p>
<p>I feel bad about quitting because I love the kid’s mom and she vaguely knows my family, and I would hate to bail on them in the middle of the year…i’d give 3 weeks notice though.</p>
<p>I am acutely aware of the fact that I am not going to have enough money in my savings to buy a car/move when I graduate and go off to take a job, which is a serious problem. Are you sure you will be okay if you exhaust your savings while you’re still in school?</p>
<p>I’m a soph so even if I don’t work junior year, I’ll still work senior year and over summers. I make about $2800/summer as a lifeguard and have 2 summers before graduation. I have $4k saved up and will probably make $3k senior year. I should still have a couple thousand saved up before I graduate. I don’t have too many expenses: parents pay room/board and scholarship + parents cover tuition. I live in NYC so no need for a car, and my college has a free bus service I use, and the subway’s cheap. I only pay for food, going out, shopping, that kind of thing - right now I make like $1300 a month and only spend $300 or so anyway. By junior year I’ll have saved up at least $7k with my summer gig and let’s say I spend $400/month for an 8 month academic year - I’ll still have some savings left…after I graduate I will probably head to grad school of some sort, or work for a year and then go to grad school.</p>
<p>sorry to share boring details - i’m going to ask if I can work 3 days/week (her mother in law might be available) and if she says no, I think i’ll give 3 weeks notice. Good grades and a research internship are important if I want to go to Grad school with a generous stipend.</p>
<p>if you have all the details just break out a calculator and see if you need the job financially. if you don’t need it and you don’t like it then quit.</p>
<p>Stay with the job. These people pay you $20 an hour just to watch one kid? I get paid only $8.30 an hour to bag people’s groceries and pick up trash off the floor.</p>
<p>16-18 hrs a week for 20/hr is a pretty good deal. I think, unless you’re taking like 16-18 credits, then you should be fine. They say you should expect to devote 3 hours for every credit you take a week in order to do homework and things like that. So if you do the calculations and have enough estimated time for school work, I would say keep it.
But also you have to look at the mental side as well. You obviously don’t like this job, or the kid for that matter (awwww) so it may be in your best interest to quit simply so you aren’t stressed over a job you don’t even care for and so the parents can find someone who actually LIKES their child-lol. If you truly don’t need to work then I would say don’t. First priority is school. I would consider pretty darn cushy to not NEED to work during school. You’re lucky in my opinion.
On another note, I have a similar question for people on the board. I hope the OP doesn’t mind me asking my question here instead of starting another thread on pretty much the same topic.
I’m currently going on my second year at my college. Last semester I was working almost 40 hours a week and taking 12 credits (all night classes- brutal). SOMEHOW I managed to survive (and even achieve a 3.67 GPA so far-lol). This semester I, (regretfully so), lowered my credits to 9, but also lowered my work down to 32 hours a week. I was told by my employer that I couldn’t go below 32 hours if I wanted to keep my benefits (I get great medical, dental, sick leave, etc). So I’m currently trying to not go below 32 hours. I know I can NOT keep this going if I want to graduate in the next 2-3 years. I don’t get full financial coverage for school, BUT the direct government loans I get covers my tuition leaving me with an extra 2,000 a semester (to go towards rent/housing and other expenses). I figured that is enough to get a part time job with 20-25 hours a week at about $10/hr or up. I calculated that as long as I make 1000-1200 dollars a month to go along with my loan money, I should be fine. I guess mine isn’t really a question, but simply asking for reaffirmation that I’m doing the right thing here. I’m someone who took a break after high school and am now going back (I’m 23) and for so long I’ve been a worker and I have at many times put that first. Yet, I know in going to a four year college- full time- I, in a way, made a decision to now put college first. Yet, I have gotten used to having extra cash throughout the month- and the medical of course.
So the question (finally) is; is 32 hours still a ridiculous amount of hours to work or should I stick it out for the benefits?
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Keep the job. Right now, I am working a crummy $7.25/hr doing a menial dining service job 10 hours a week. I get no breaks, and the student managers are clueless jerks that I can’t stand.</p>
<p>You’ve got a great thing going. Stick with it!</p>
<p>I’m taking 18 credits/semester in a hard major which means I spend 25 hours/week in class and need to maintain a 3.5 GPA to keep my scholarship. And yeah, i really need that scholarship…
So I talked to the mom and she says she’s cool with me working fewer hours - so now I’m going to do like 10-12 hours/week which is nice because it frees up Fridays. And I’ll still get $600/month which is plenty. </p>
<p>No need to be a dbag Akhman24 - obviously students work because we have to, so i’m not going to do extra hours if i don’t need them. I worked hard for my scholarship and have had various jobs for years before i landed this sweet deal, so now i don’t need to work as much.</p>
<p>@Ryokostorm: problem is if you keep 9-12 credits/semester, you’re not going to graduate on time which means more time in college = more loans in the long run. But you obviously need the med/dental coverage too so I guess it’s worth the benefits unless you can find another job where you get those benefits with fewer hours (which will be really hard). Is there any way you could knock off some basic classes at a CC, maybe during summers? </p>
<p>Btw, if you or anyone here needs a summer job that pays well, I strongly reccommend becoming a lifeguard (you have to pass a test to get certified). It pays like $15/hr at my local public pool and like $18-$20/hr at country clubs or private pools, etc - any job where you can bring some kind of “skill” pays more than bagging groceries or swiping meal cards. For example, my boyfriend has a federal work-study job but he also tutors for $15/hr and it’s in cash…he literally just put flyers up around campus and got several clients right away - good option for anyone with a high GPA in a hard major.</p>
<p>@Princess - sorry about that. I did retail once. then I quickly became a lifeguard! lol.</p>
And I’ll still get $600/month which is plenty. </p>