Thoughts on school and work?

[gds.]

I was wondering if any of you work part-time (20 hours/week) while going to school? Would you recommend it?

I'm currently working full time and will be applying for pharmacy school for 2006. I'd like to keep my job but go part time, but can it be done without suffering (ha-ha)?

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[Lexian]

I was wondering if any of you work part-time (20 hours/week) while going to school? Would you recommend it?

I'm currently working full time and will be applying for pharmacy school for 2006. I'd like to keep my job but go part time, but can it be done without suffering (ha-ha)?

I think it would be hard. Most of my classmates that are working right now are working as interns, and I don't anyone that works more than once a week (at max an 8-9 hr shift). I'm going to start working as an intern during the quarter as well next week, and I think it will be difficult to juggle especially if you plan on being involved with professional organizations, fraternities, volunteer work, etc. 20 hrs/week sounds like a lot, you'd probably want to pare down the hours a bit to 10/week?

 

[Rfour]

^That sounds about right.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Back in the undergrad days, I was able to take a 24-32 hr/week schedule as a technician at the local hospital with roughy 17-18 hours of prepharmacy coursework pretty easily. The girl I worked with (who is a year behind me, a P-1 at WVU) worked full time taking about 12-15 credit hours.

If you try to do that while in pharmacy school you will get killed. I struggle to the point where my grades strart to decline with anything over 10 hours/week.

 

[Jmassey]

Last semester I worked ~36 hrs/week, and still maintained excellent grades. Most of my friends do the same also, I even knew one guy that worked ~30 hours a week retail and another 20 hrs/week at a local hospital and he still maintained his grades. So I guess it all depends on how well you assimilate knowledge and balance your time.

 

[Lexian]

Last semester I worked ~36 hrs/week, and still maintained excellent grades. Most of my friends do the same also, I even knew one guy that worked ~30 hours a week retail and another 20 hrs/week at a local hospital and he still maintained his grades. So I guess it all depends on how well you assimilate knowledge and balance your time.

Wait, so he worked 30 hrs one week at a retail pharmacy and the next week 20 hrs a week at a hospital pharmacy? And just sort of flip flopped between the two sites?

 

[dontworry]

I think its possible to work part time. I do and so do many people i know. I work 12 hours one week and 18 the other. Though i am not that involved in school and dont have a family to worry about. But i imagine that its all about personal preference, there are plenty of times that i would rather not be working so i could study, but i need money and working forces me to manage my time a bit better. I also try to avoid working on weeknights, if i do work on a weeknight its the night before a lighter day at school, so i dont have to worry so much about work taking away from study time.

 

[cognito]

Its possible, I work between 8-16 hours a week after classes and on the weekends. You can make it work as long as the pharmacy you work for is willing to be flexible with hours.

 

[crossurfingers]

I work around 10-14 hrs a week and I'm a P-1. It's been a bit stressful for me, trying to schedule work in between school, studying and seeing family and friends. I've been able to keep up my grades (I'm on the Dean's list ), but I've put myself through a lot of stress to do it, sometimes giving up a night of sleep or two before an exam. It seems like I'm always behind. If only I wasn't such a gunner, I think I'd be fine.

I'm getting worried about next semester though. On top of the regular course load I have an elective and rotations. I'm seriously contemplating quitting and just finding a pharm tech job in the summer.

 

[dgroulx]

I thought that I'd be able to work during my second year, but I couldn't manage it. There is too much to do once the year gets underway. There is about 3x as much material to learn, a rotation and projects to do. Yesterday (Saturday) was spend on school work and I'll be doing the same today. Working on weekends is out because you have weekend assignments. There are lectures in the day, case study classes and exams at night.

Some of my classmates are working, but I'm not sure how they manage it. None of the people who made the deans list (there were 10 students) are working.

 

[Lexian]

I thought that I'd be able to work during my second year, but I couldn't manage it. There is too much to do once the year gets underway. There is about 3x as much material to learn, a rotation and projects to do. Yesterday (Saturday) was spend on school work and I'll be doing the same today. Working on weekends is out because you have weekend assignments. There are lectures in the day, case study classes and exams at night.

Some of my classmates are working, but I'm not sure how they manage it. None of the people who made the deans list (there were 10 students) are working.

I really think the safest way to approach this is to just start off with a light work load with your regular school work. Work about 8 hours a week and see how that is for you. If it feels like too much strain with your school work, dial it down even more if possible or just drop it until the next quarter/semester. If it feels like you can manage it and it's not much of a strain at all, then start adding more hours as you feel comfortable.

 

[gds.]

One of the reasons why I would like to work at least 20 hours/week is extra cash flow.

Another reason is because I've been working full time at the hospital since 1993 and I'm kinda afraid to just let go. Does that make sense? I'm the buyer right now and I have a lot of responsibility and I kinda don't want to let go

But I guess I'll just have to wait until I have to cross that bridge...

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[AngryRPh]

I worked 30+ hours every week through my three years of pharmacy school in AZ. Two friends of mine in the same class worked the same or more...and we all graduated with 3.0 GPA's minimum.

The schools push you to get involved with ASHP and NCPA and to work on events in the school and the community...I figured if there is time for that, there is time to work. Also, AZ started me as a PS-1 at $13/hr and I was at $20/hr in my last year so the money was quite good. It was so good, in fact, that I was able to buy a house while in school.

If you are good at managing your time and are motivated, you can work and do well in school. There is also the advantage of getting practical experience. You'd be surprised to learn how little some of your classmates know about the "real world" of pharmacy when rotations start.