Full Time student Part Time worker - Needs advice

gertog

Hi guys, so lately i've become irrationally miserable on days where I have to go to work.

After leaving secondary school, I knew I wasn't ready for college and decided to take a few years out to work. When I was working I never had a problem with it, I only had a retail job, but I never felt the way I do now about going to work. After being out of school for three years I decided to go back to college this September to study Business, and I have to say I love it so much. However my timetable and week schedule is just all over the place. I'm in college every weekday, finishing most days at 4 or 5, from a 9am start, and the lowest contract I can get in work is a 16 hour one, meaning I have to work at least four days a week. This means I work every weekend, bar one in a month, and work two days after college. I usually finish college at 4 and have to start work at 5, but work is an 40 minute journey from college so the time to get there is always unbelievably tight. So I basically get no time to myself. I feel like I should leave my work and find a new job that's more flexible to my schedule, but if I go anywhere else I'll be losing a lot of money. I won't be able to live on much less because I need to pay back a substantial amount of money every month to pay back the loan that I had to take out for college. At the minute I feel like i'm trapped.

Any advice from anyone who maybe went through the same thing?

Loveinapril

The only advice I have is to power on through, sorry. Your timetable in college may reduce the further you progress but you will also graduate at some point too. You get midterms and holidays from college so use them for yourself. Try to plan something nice for those breaks. That kind of schedule was typical for me and my friends when we went to college pre recession. I worked 4-5 shifts a week on top of a full timetable through necessity as I lived in another county and had rent and bills to pay. I rarely got to travel home because of work and I was so jealous of other students who had mammy and daddy's pocket money. Be proud of yourself though, it is not easy but you will look back and realise how hard you worked to get through it.

GalwayGrrrrrl

Do you accrue any annual leave from your job? Could you use that to give yourself the odd break? You get an hour off for lunch I presume- that would be a luxury for me so use that to do something you like (a walk, run, listen to music etc). If your current employer won't reduce your hours I think it's probably a case of just getting on with it, and look forward to Christmas break.

Pelvis

You can't be doing that many hours over the weekend if you're on a 16 hour contract spread over 4 days?

Leave the lecture 15 minutes earlier if it means a stress free commute to work. In the mean time keep an eye out for jobs closer to college, but don't quit your current job if you've nothing else lined up.

gertog

See I'm on overtime constantly because we are always underataffed, so mainly I'm working 6 or 9 hours on the weekend. I've said it to my managers so many times but they're very unforgiving and make you feel guilty yourself for asking to stay on your contracted hours.
The management is only new aswell and dreadful with the roster.

GalwayGrrrrrl

gertog wrote: »

See I'm on overtime constantly because we are always underataffed, so mainly I'm working 6 or 9 hours on the weekend. I've said it to my managers so many times but they're very unforgiving and make you feel guilty yourself for asking to stay on your contracted hours.
The management is only new aswell and dreadful with the roster.

Not your problems. Do your contracted hours and leave. If the worst happens and they sack you (which they almost definitely won't) well, you were thinking of leaving anyway.
Prioritise your study, work 16 hours as per contract and bobs your uncle!