I just registered for school yesterday and right now I'm taking one prerequisite before I start nursing school in January. I'm also working full time nights. I know other people have done it and I know I can do it, but man I feel .



I'm taking Human Anatomy and Physiology and the lab. I'll go to class from 5:30 to 10:30pm.

Who has worked full time and gone to school too? Who has done it as a single parent? Advice? Tips?

Feel free to post a bunch of random crap cause ya'll do that....

bunch.

of.

random.

crap!



Good luck baby, be strong and think of the prize at the end

Supa, get your ass in M&M and check out that bullshit thread about so-called fans!

Imago said:

I know I said post random crap, but did you have to do it so soon?

Stay strong! It's hard but the rewards are boundless... and you'll never be able to say you didn't accomplish anything!

hokie said:

oh wait.


OK, anyways, I got my Master's degree doing night school.

Let's just say I didn't sleep too much, but it's well worth it.
A degree NEVER hurts on a resume or CV.

You just keep doing it, ignoring the fact that everybody else has free time, and one day you realize you're done. That's how it worked for me.

Now Supa, get your ass in that "So-called fans" thread in M&M!!!

I'm not a single parent, but I did work full-time and carry a full-time load of classes (four classes a semester) during the last year of getting my bachelor's degree.
I'm working full-time now as I'm persuing a double major, but taking only two classes a semester - my school schedule for the fall is Mon and Fri 7:30-10 p.m. and Tues and Thurs 5:30-7:30 p.m. I work 8:30-5 Mon-Fri.

It's tough, but worth it. I wish you the best!

I tried going back to school a few years ago. I had my family, was working full time at IBM plus 16 hours mandatory overtime every other weekend, and taking one class (in Java programming), and I couldn't handle all of it. The class required group work outside of class as well.

If you can do it, good for you!

Imago said:

Excellent point! Party later, get your degree first!

hokie said:

When I went back to school to finish my undergrad degree, I was working a full-time job and a part-time job - and taking six credits a semester.

My best tip: Don't think about how hard it is and how you'll do it all. If you think too much about it, you won't be able to keep going. Just keep your head down and put one foot in front of the other.

Oh - and don't think about what a racket higher education is. No good can come of that, at all.

Genesia said:

Good advice. You're right. It's never good to worry too much about the future. One day at a time has always been my mantra.

hokie said:

1st ~ Best wishes and congrats !!

This was one of my all time faves in college

I took HA&P 1 and 2 - 2 times

TMPletz said:

Well, unfortunately I don't really have a choice. I recently got divorced and I have my two kids with me most of the year. I have to do this in order to earn a good salary to be able to take care of them on my own. Right now I can't do that. It will be hard, but I'm determined to do it and those two boys are my biggest motivators!

Mach said:

Yeah I can't wait to hack some shit up!

hokie said:

~backs away quietly~

Genesia said:

That is SO damn true ...

I wasn't a single parent at the time, but I was a parent...and I took a full load of courses at California Institute of the Arts while working at night cleaning an office building by myself. Check this:

I'd leave my apartment at 6:30 am

Drop my ex-wife and daughter off at her job 30 minutes away (she taught at a private school, our daughter attended the preschool on the grounds)

Get to CalArts about 40 minutes later (20 minutes before class started).

Attend classes from 8:00-12:00

Work on previous day's homework assignments from 12:00-1:00 pm

Attend classes from 1:00-4:00 pm

Leave CalArts at 4:00 pm to go back and pick up my ex-wife and daughter

Take them home (usually would get there around 5:00 pm)

Immediately turn around and drive back to CalArts for my 6:00 pm class

Arrive at CalArts at 6:10 pm (damn traffic )

Attend class from 6:10-9:00 pm

Either work on assignments or attend computer lab from 9:30-10:30 pm

Drive to my night job, arrive around 11:15 pm

Start working my night job at 11:30 pm

Finish working my night job at 5:00 am

Drive home, arriving at 5:30 am

Sleep from 5:30-6:00 am

Wake up at 6:00 am, and start the whole shibang all over again


That went on for 4 days a week (no evening classes on Fridays, thank God)...I literally was working on 30 minutes of sleep those days ...I used to fall asleep behind the wheel late at night and the car would start to run off the road, scaring the shit out of me lol ...Luckily the roads were almost completely empty at the time...If I actually stopped to think about how much I was doing, it would have paralyzed me and I would have just rolled over and gone back to sleep, seriously.

Oh, and good luck, Hokie lol ...I got so caught up in reliving those years that I forgot to wish you success while you're doing the same.

The key is time management. Dont waste your time. Im about to start back to school (physical therapy degree) next week. I have clinicals that start in September and I work evenings.

My best advice is to ENJOY the ride. Make sure that you never ever complain. I love A&P, let me know if you need any good mnemonics.

dreamfactory313 said:

Do mnemonics work for you?


I learned af few mnumonic tricks (journeys and maps in my mind to store laundry lists, etc.), but can't figure out how to translate them to studying.

They're very powerful I admit. I almost never forget things when I use mnumonics.

Imago said:

They certainly do. Alot of my studies in anatomy/physiology, kinesiology and human pathology are purely memory related. Cranial nerves for example:

Ooh, Ooh, Ooh To Touch And Feel Veronica's Gaping Vagina And Hymen!


[Edited 8/13/08 12:25pm]

dreamfactory313 said:

Seriously though...mneumonics work like a charm for me too.

Byron said:

That is insane! I couldn't do it. No way.


Thanks for the well wishes btw.

I work 8-4 Mon-Fri, go to school 5-10 Mon-Thurs and bartend Friday nights. It's hectic and you will get burnt out but just remember it's not forever!!! I'm exhausted all the time, I can't imagine having a kid on top of it (or ever). I take cat naps whenever I can so I'm refreshed. The hardest part for me is to unwind when I get home. I get my stuff ready for the next day, take a hot bath and try to fall right to sleep.

Good luck. Also I've been listening to motivational books on my itunes and it's actually helping me....force a smile when you've just about had it and it can do wonders!!!!

CarrieLee said:

Actually the kids help me to remember to laugh and relax. I know there will be times when I feel like quitting, but they keep me going.

I am sort of looking forward to the challenge in a way. Not saying it will be fun all the time, but I can imagine the great sense of accomplishment I'll feel when I'm done will be awesome.

Thanks for the well wishes and good luck to you too.

Single parent of 3 including a kid with autism, work full-time and in two weeks: school full-time. People will tell you that you are insane and they can't do it. Being in the middle of it Jill, I just kinda feel I do what I have to. I need a degree to make the type of money I'll need to take care of my son. And I now officially have no help with him. I look forward to school starting again because being home sometimes makes me bawl my eyes out. In the past three months, my son broke my toe, my finger and he is not sleeping.

So.....hopefully looking at my situation just made yours a little easier.

Stymie said:

You tell her!!! She won't listen to me

ArielB said:

You kinda go on automatic pilot when you have people to take care of. She'll be exhausted by when she's done, it is going to be so worth it to her. I can now look back and most of college is behind me. It's been very hard but worth every moment of it.

Good luck! It's tough, but it CAN be done!

I had a friend in college who had class from 8am-3pm most semesters, and then worked nights in an emergency room until 6am. She also had a daughter! I was happy when she finally graduated and could go on to be a teacher like she wanted to!