BlsdMama Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I'm curious of everyone's personal experiences with their kids juggling work with school. I was *adamantly* against DD working while going to school. When our homeschool group sent out a request for applicants for the opening Chik-FilA specifically directed towards homeschool kids, we discussed it and decided she could do 10-15 hours/week. She has been working 20-30 hours a week, which I'm not super thrilled about. *HOWEVER* oddly, it's seemed to make her more focused. Because of the limited time to study, commute, and work, she seems to be using her time better than ever before. Juggling was really hard for her freshman year. She's taking 17 hours this semester, 2 of them honors classes, and is handling the workload quite well. Is that what you've found as well? I'm really surprised frankly and she's embracing this busy season of her life. (It helps that she adores her co-workers.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I know personally that up to a certain point this is true for me. I do have a tipping point, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Yes, I think it's about knowing the tipping point. The demands of div 1 college sports are similar, except coach won't let you cut back on practice. I had a friend on the baseball team. He said he always got better grades spring semester. He said because he knew he had no time, if there happened to be time he studied. In the fall, he had lots of time so sometimes he wasted time and got behind on projects. He never let that happen during baseball season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 The other thing to consider is if time committed to the job means missing valuable internship opportunities or undergrad research. So, if the student can afford to cut back on work and replace some work hours in internships or volunteer positions, it might be best to go that direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I've always used the rule of thumb that 8-12 hours/week helps a student to prioritize and focus which could in fact improve marks. Much more than 15 would depend on the student. My one guy that has worked about 30 hours of week had his school suffer. It was a good thing he was almost a year ahead. After missing most of a semester due to a concussion, he's had to cut back a lot to finish school well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 My dd seems to do better with a full schedule too. She slacked off big time last spring. She only had two classes and no job. Her grades were not what they should have been and she kept missing deadlines. Then she spent the entire summer working more than full time hours between two jobs. This fall she's got a full class load, plus a part time job working 20+ hours a week. She's doing MUCH better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I don't think it would have worked for my daughter's first year, but now in her second year, she has just become a seasonal (Christmas) worker at Macy's department store downtown. For some reason, this just makes her day! She loves it so much, and it has given her a better attitude about everything school-related as well. I can't quite figure it out. She works three days/week (about 15 hours). She's able to take the metro line there, but has to taxi back to her dorm since it's after dark. (So, an hour's worth of work goes to the taxi each shift!) Another daughter worked at least 15 hours/week during her junior and senior year of college, and it worked out fine. My son worked 30 hours/week, and was really stressed. He would have been fine not working at all, but he was our oldest and first one in college, and our income was so limited at that time that he needed to work. I think it's whatever your daughter thinks she can handle and what her needs are. If it's working for her, that's great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 My guys definitely do better with jobs, volunteering, or a similar plan. It not only gives them their spending money (jobs), it helps them focus their schedule and gives them a co-worker camaraderie that is nice to have mentally. Often kids in my public b&m school do better if they have jobs, sports, or a focus too. I get more done when I'm semi-busy as well. BUT, I've just turned down a second long term full time job (this one in my field - Physics) because it would start Dec 9th. Two of my three will be home in Dec & Jan. Full time with grading and planning, etc, would use up way too much of my time and I'd hardly see them - plus we wouldn't be able to go places except on school holidays. No amount of money or personal "fun" by being in my subject is worth that trade off to me. One has to find their own balance. Hubby and I were thrilled a couple of weeks ago when middle son told us he wanted to stay home this summer instead of being far away or getting a job and working. It's his last free summer prior to his last year at college and (probable) med school. He'll go on another medical missions trip for a couple of weeks, but other than that, I plan to savor every day. (He will be helping hubby out with engineering work that needs to be done, so will get some $$ that way AND his 5th year of college is tuition free/room free, so our only cost is food.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Not the same as working, but my dd broke her toe recently and has to sit out of dance class and had to miss play practice for two weeks for the first two weeks. She did less work than ever before! She had all this extra time and wasted it. She does much better when busy. My son has worked for two years now, just 5 hours a week tutoring or teaching a chess class. He loves the $ and independence. Managing his schedule was such an important step for him to master before he left for college. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Not the same as working, but my dd broke her toe recently and has to sit out of dance class and had to miss play practice for two weeks for the first two weeks. She did less work than ever before! She had all this extra time and wasted it. She does much better when busy. Ha! I have a true weekend off this weekend as I'm caught up, and instead of getting things done like I normally would be doing, I'm sitting here killing time since I'm not rushed. I'm not even looking up what I thought I'd be getting on the computer to google. I still need to get to the grocery store, cook a bunch of butternut squash, get some work done with the ponies, read up on plants and cellular respiration (two different topics), get some laundry done, and figure out which direction I want to take with an ear issue (what I'm supposed to be googling as I got stalled this morning thinking about it). If I were rushed for time, a good bit of that would be done already, but today? I think about it and figure I'll get to it around lunchtime, and if not today, there's always tomorrow. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 My dc work more efficiently when they have some outside activities imposing time pressure on their schedules. I think that's pretty common. As others have said, though, there's a need to find the right balance. It's easy to overcommit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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