"I worked full time and went to school full time" (bachelor's, masters degree)

[TabulaRasa]

I could have done it, but I could not have done it and maintained the GPA I did. Something would have been sacrificed, and it would have been the As. At least, some of them.

Wouldn't have been worth it to me, and I had enough scholarships that I didn't need to work ft. Part time during school year and ft summers was enough. Others may be able to pull it off. The way I approach school, though, nah.

[NoleFanHSV]

I worked 30 hours and went to school full time. Still ended up 50k in debt.

[old fed]

Originally Posted by NDak15

Does anyone else want to call bull when someone says that? I hear this comment so much and never buy it. Simple mathematics shows that it would be virtually impossible not only to get 40 hours a week in while taking a minimum of 12 credits, but also when would you study? For those of you who say you did it, how did you your schedule look?

i worked evening shifts, 330pm-midnight. it's really not impossible. and i worked every weekend so i had weekdays off.

studied some at work if we had a bit of downtime (work was the exact field i was studying so that helped) and in between classes. also weekend days and days off during the week.

my last year i did have to cut down to 32hr/week because i had clinical rotations that were 40hr/week as well

[old fed]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I don't believe some people did it. My issue is what was possible 20 or 30 years ago is much less likely to be possible with today's much higher tuition.

how does the cost of tuition impact how much you can work in a week now versus 20-30 years ago?

i think the OP only asked about working full time, not saying it paid for tuition.

[Marie Joseph]

I did it for both my B.S. and MBA degrees.

I worked as a manufacturing supervisor 10PM-7AM Monday-Saturday

Attended classes 4 hours M,T, W and 6 hours on Thur/Fri

I got hardly any sleep during that time period.

I graduated summa *** laude with both degrees.

[in_newengland]

Congrats are in order for anyone who did that.

For grad school back in the 80s I worked and took six credits at the same time. It took several years to get that degree but it was mostly free because I worked a stupid job at the university for a few years and got free courses. Then I worked at a job that was in my field and they needed more people with graduate degrees so I got scholarships. Since it was in the same field, I was able to stay after at work and go in on weekends to do my school work. There was absolutely no free time, I had to eat junk food and it affected my health--but I did get the degree.

[Frostnip]

Originally Posted by NDak15

Does anyone else want to call bull when someone says that? I hear this comment so much and never buy it. Simple mathematics shows that it would be virtually impossible not only to get 40 hours a week in while taking a minimum of 12 credits, but also when would you study? For those of you who say you did it, how did you your schedule look?

I averaged out to working full time during my undergrad, but it was more like 25-30 hours per week when classes were in session, and then an ungodly number of hours during breaks.

I wouldn't say my majors were easy, and I attended a rather competitive school, but I've never had to study a lot - I have an unusually good memory for facts and processes. So that helped, I'm sure. I'm also a fast reader.

Some jobs are more feasible than others for students, certainly. One of my friends had a "security guard" job where he could mostly just sit and do his homework, for example.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I don't believe some people did it. My issue is what was possible 20 or 30 years ago is much less likely to be possible with today's much higher tuition.

1) You have plenty of evidence here that many have done it (and continue to do so)
2) Tuition has increased 3* inflation in last 30 yrs
3) 1987 Min wage = $3.35 College (Public 4 yr) = $1260 = 376hrs work (= 2
months)
4) 2017 Min wage = $11.00 (in my state) $15 in Seattle... College (Public 4 yr) = $9270 = 842hrs work (= 5 months)

so... you get to use your brains and be creative;
1) Go to UoWY ($4892 an EXCELLENT public U (Especially for technical and teaching careers))
2) Get a better job!
a) Learn a skilled trade in HS (My kids did this) Pay is at least double minimum wage + LOTS Of OT (especially in summer)
b) Work a RISK job during summer (my kids did this too) Firefighting and Alaska Fishing *$30,000 - $40,000 in 6-8 weeks. Many students do this (including 4 of my coworkers)
c) Get a job at a company that PAYS (reimburses you) I did that for 5 degrees, so did many FT co-workers (of 5 people on my night shift, 3 were in my school carpool)
3) Go to HS in WA or HI... (Free FT college instead of HS (HI is reduced, but not totally free, WA you must pay for books, but tuition is free)
4) Take a couple yrs off and build a college fund. (~ $40,000/ yr is pretty ez IF you work OT and weekends every chance you get)
5) Live at home (my kids DEFINITELY didn't do this) (They were ready to leave home long before age 18, had their own cars, furniture, food, clothes, insurance, and income by age 16)
6) Do the Jr College route and save 30%
7) Join the military
8) Volunteer / work in one of the 'community service' career positions that pay / reimburse your college costs.
9) Write yourself some grants! (Good to learn this skill anyway)
10) Move overseas for a less expensive (and often BETTER) EDU.

many more options, just figure out which best fits you.

It is even possible some of us worked FT during college because we wanted to!! (understood the value of doing so)

As an employer, imagine having 2 applicants...
1) ONE Worked in a relative field to degree, has 4 yrs experience and stellar evaluations and referrals to DIRECTLY join and contribute to the success of your company (But only has a 3.0 GPA...) BTW, NONE of my employers cared about my GPA IF I had actual / proven experience
2) Second applicant had mommy pay for college, has never signed a rental agreement, is still driving a car mommy provided for him / her, No tangible evidence this person can EVEN DO the job...

You sign the checks, do the books, find the clients and HIRE the workers...

Who are you gonna hire?

[MissTerri]

Originally Posted by NDak15

Does anyone else want to call bull when someone says that? I hear this comment so much and never buy it. Simple mathematics shows that it would be virtually impossible not only to get 40 hours a week in while taking a minimum of 12 credits, but also when would you study? For those of you who say you did it, how did you your schedule look?

I worked part time and went to school full time and had plenty of time to get my homework done. I also took out student loans and had help from my parents. I knew a couple of people who worked full time and went to school full time, it was definitely a lot harder for them. I also knew many people who didn't work but went to school full time and many of them struggled with time management. Maybe a little too much free time.

[nobodysbusiness]

I did it.