<p>Like many of you, I will be heading off to college in a few weeks. Right now, I am employed part-time and work 23-30 hours per week. But since the college I will attend in is in the same town as the one in which I currently reside, I have been thinking about keeping my job though college. (I will be living on-campus though). Of course, I'd be working more like 16 hours per week, and only on Saturdays and Sundays. Is this a good idea or taking on too much? Should I quit my job? Is the extra $400 or so per month (after taxes) really woth it?</p>
<p>I would appreciate it if anyone has any advice on this matter.</p>
<p>$50 a day post taxes seems like a pretty good deal to me. Do you enjoy your job?? If you enjoy it, I'd say try it out for the first few months and see how it works. If you just can't handel it then at least you know what it was like, and if you can, then $400 is a big chunk of money every month. I don't know what the rest of your financial situation is, but if you'd use it for spending money, if you saved $4000 a year all 4 years, that's a very decent new car you could get for yourself as a graduation present (especially if you invest it in some CD's or something, to try to keep up a bit with inflation), and if your in the student loan position as I am, putting $4000 a year towards tuition instead of borrowing it, saves you a lot of $$ in interest in the long run.</p>
<p>i’d say go to your School’s Job Fair…most of these jobs on Campus will work around your school schedule…after your 1st Semester, if you can handle this and still get the grades you want, then i’m sure your old job would gladly take you back</p>
<p>last thing you want to do is screw up your Freshman Year and spend the next Four Years raising your GPA for what will not be a lot of Money when you graduate </p>
<p>your paying for a College Education that is almost guaranteed to put you in a position where you will make Million (yes, i said Million dollars), in your lifetime or more. Forget where I got this figure but basically those who attend and Graduate from an institution of Higher Education as we all know, will make twice, if not more than those who only graduated from High School, excluding those highly special cases of superb entrepreneurship or what have you</p>
<p>look at the big picture and make wise choices as a Freshman and it should pay dividends later on</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice so far. I do plan to go to law school, so keeping a high GPA is a top priority. As for money, I really don't know how much I will need a month for college. $150 a month is what I have heard, but I am really not sure. I think I'm going to contact an advisor at the school and ask him/her for advice.</p>
<p>yeah im in a similar situation...........i know all my fees are being covered by loans,grants and scholarships so whatever money i get from a job is pocket-money......thats the only thing that will actuate me to work.......</p>
<p>like you, my GPA is a top priority so once i notice theres a significant drop in my grades during the semester, "FU CK THE JOB!"....you know?..........</p>
<p>actually I have a different take on it than 2skyslimit3. While I agree with the comments about the value of a college education and the importance of not screwing that up, also important is the college experience itself. College is not just the courses you take or they could put the best profs in the country on DVD, send you the disks & books, and after 4 years of study you'd have your degree. No, college is as much about learning with/from others as it is the classes you take.</p>
<p>The OP says the job is 16 hrs/wk, but only on the weekends. This soaks up the weekends and diminishes your chance to hang out with new friends, take road trips, play sports, and so on. Its a tough call. $400 is quite nice in anyone's pocket in college. But giving up the interaction with fellow students is a big minus. Is there any way to work alternate weekends, or only 1 day a week instead of 2?</p>
<p>Also, 16 hours is pretty much full-time employment for a college student. If you do the 2-3 hours outside class for every hour in class you can hit 30-40 hours of class & studying a week. Top that off with a job and it can get tough ...</p>
<p>I have been told that working less than 16 hours is "not good" by my manager. But 16 hours (17 if you add two 30-min breaks) is a LOT of time. I could quit and get an on-campus job (it would pay less but has other advantages). I have developed a friendship with people at my current job. I am going to confront my manager again about this... maybe ask for the first couple weeks of college off so I can analyze the situation better.</p>
<p>Do you have a particular goal for the money - law school tuition, a car if you don't own one now, help with college expenses - or is this extra spending money?
What type of school do you go to? My college was semi-commuter, busy and active dorm and apartment life during the week, much more subdued on weekends - you could have easily worked all day on Sat and Sun and still had an active social life.
As Mikemac said, though, the most important consideration is can you do the work and keep your grades up.</p>
<p>I think your idea of asking the manager for a couple of weeks off is a good idea. I'm recommending to my daughter that she not start looking for a job until at least halfway through her first term, but it would be different of she already had a job in the town where she was going to school.</p>
<p>You can still socialize and work at the same time. It's not like you have to give up one or the other unless you worked more than 30 hours week and went to school maybe. Not like there's ever anything to do on the weekends at my campus anyway. Everyone just goes home or something.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice. I have decided to leave my job before I start college, since I want to make academics my top priority from Day 1. I am on a scholarship, so keeping grades up is a top priority. My manger is totally fine with it, and says I am welcome back anytime to apply again. Maybe I will... but only after I settle down a bit. Thanks again guys, you are still welcome to post comments/thoughts/advice about getting a job while in school for the larger College Confidential community.</p>
<p>Now that I remember ... one semester I took 16 hours and worked for 22 hours or so a week. Got straight A's in school and did just fine at work.</p>
<p>I don't see why working 16 hours on the weekends is a big deal. that's 8 hours saturday and 8 hours sunday. that leaves you with the rest of the hours on those days to do your school work or hang out with friends... which should be plenty enough time. i worked about 40 hours a week this past fall semester as a senior with 18 credits, and i got a 3.75 for the semester... it's called learning to manage your time. if you can't do it in college, what makes you think you can do it after college. just my take on the subject.</p>
<p>The average work-study job is about 8-10 hours per week, but that leaves you a lot of time for ECs, studying and socializing. I'm sure it' manageable to work 16 hours, but you'll have no weekend :(
Btw, I didn't know part-time was 25-30 hours. I work full time and I only clock in 35 hours per week.</p>
<p>since studying and keeping up your grades is your top priority, let me add another suggestion. </p>
<p>There's a book I recommend EVERY college student should own. Its called What Smart Students Know by Adam Robinson, written by one of the founders of the test prep service Princeton Review. I have never seen a better explanation of the steps you need to follow to really <em>learn</em> the material, and if you've learned it well you will have no trouble with grades. If you get it now you'll have time to read thru it before school begins.</p>
I'm sure it' manageable to work 16 hours, but you'll have no weekend
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Of course you will. If you work 8 hours each day, then you'll have the rest of the day to do whatever you want to do or catch up on school work. Not to mention all of that extra time you will have during the week to hang out, whatever.</p>
<p>Hmm, it's turning out to be quite the discussion. I really have never had any trouble keeping grades up. I don't expect to encounter it in college, with or without a job. I just prefer not having a job for the first half of first semester, especially since my job requires that I learn new skills constantly (which can be a challenge for someone who doesn't work that much, as he/she is expected to keep up just like full-time employees). Once I get the hang of things, I will gladly work 16 (or even 20) hours per week.</p>