Working during grad school?

[futurespeechpath1]

I understand it's recommended not to work at all during grad school. But would working 10-15 hours a week as an ABA therapist be too much on top of 3 classes+2-5 clients in the clinic?

[hopefulfuturespeechie]

I have worked throughout grad school and haven't had a problem. They told us in the beginning don't go past 12 hours. 

[futurespeechpath1]

57 minutes ago, hopefulfuturespeechie said:

I have worked throughout grad school and haven't had a problem. They told us in the beginning don't go past 12 hours. 

Have you ever gone past 12 hours? Did you do clinic at the same time? Sorry for all the questions

[BioCook]

I started working towards the end of my first semester of grad school. I wanted to get a feel for how school and clinic were in terms of the commute and workload before committing to something else. Luckily, I was able to get a GA position at my school (clinicals were at my school's clinic), but I do know some people in my cohort who work around where they live and some who commit solely to grad school. See how the first few weeks of grad school goes if you are able to!

[bibliophile222]

I worked all through grad school, but only 5-10 hours a week. I got work-study jobs on campus because they were so flexible. There might be some semesters where it could be tough to work during the week because you may have placement during the day and classes in the evening. A bunch of people in my cohort also worked. I think up to 20 hours a week would be doable for someone with excellent time management skills, but if you're like me and you tend to dilly-dally, maybe 10 or so hours would be better. It definitely would have been much easier not to work at all, but any bit of extra income helped! 

[Gkj _ Speech]

Not working is simply not an option for some people (like me!), and it can be done. I found child care positions that worked around my schedule. A few people in my cohort did ABA. Others work retail/food service positions. 

Definitely continue to look for GAs or student worker positions on campus. They will always work around your school schedule. A few people work for professors as student workers, as note-takers for the Academic Success office

[Caitzilla]

Personally, I am planning to work throughout grad school (20 hours) and I'm nervous about how I'll handle it all. However, if I prioritize everything appropriately, I am confident I could be successful! ?

[AlwaysaFalcon]

I personally have worked throughout graduate school. I'm in my last internship and I still am luckily able to work. My program you have to complete your coursework first then the last three semester are full time internships. So during the coursework portion of my program I worked 15-20 hours a week and during the internship portion of my program I worked 12-15 hours a week. I worked through federal work study on campus so for me that was very convenient because I lived close to campus and employers were understanding of you being a student. My other classmates were G.A's and worked as well. I personally thought it was very manageable. 

[futurespeechpath1]

3 hours ago, AlwaysaFalcon said:

I personally have worked throughout graduate school. I'm in my last internship and I still am luckily able to work. My program you have to complete your coursework first then the last three semester are full time internships. So during the coursework portion of my program I worked 15-20 hours a week and during the internship portion of my program I worked 12-15 hours a week. I worked through federal work study on campus so for me that was very convenient because I lived close to campus and employers were understanding of you being a student. My other classmates were G.A's and worked as well. I personally thought it was very manageable. 

How many courses were you taking while working?? I believe I'll be taking 3 in addition to possibly 3-5 clients in the on campus clinic

[futurespeechpath1]

On 5/28/2020 at 10:34 AM, Caitzilla said:

Personally, I am planning to work throughout grad school (20 hours) and I'm nervous about how I'll handle it all. However, if I prioritize everything appropriately, I am confident I could be successful! ?

Were you taking 3 or more classes and clinic at the same time??

[AlwaysaFalcon]

On 6/18/2020 at 2:26 PM, futurespeechpath1 said:

How many courses were you taking while working?? I believe I'll be taking 3 in addition to possibly 3-5 clients in the on campus clinic

Depending on the semester I had anywhere from 3 to 5 classes.