Working While in Grad School

[maldonut]

Hello fellow speechies/SLPs-to-be!

I recently graduated with my Bachelors in Speech and Hearing Sciences, and I'm taking a gap year before going into grad school (mostly for mental health, but also to get in more volunteer opportunities, observation hours, etc.). I plan on working on my gap year to make extra money for grad school, which leads me to my main question - will I be able to work part-time while attending grad school full-time? I plan on going out-of-state for grad school (which is NOT cheap), and I would like to find work in order to pay for grad housing/apartment, groceries, etc. I've heard a lot of mixed opinions from people saying that I won't be able to work or that I can but with a position that has flexible hours (which is rare). HELP!!!

[doa]

I would like to hear the answers as well, imo its possible i personally know few people that have been to canadian grad schools as int. students and they worked max 20h a week.

[WomanOfLetters]

I'm not in the same field as you do (I'm in the humanities), but I highly not recommend working part-time while attending grad school full-time. When I did my full-time MA, I constantly felt like time was not enough. Before starting my MA, I heard from some grad students that the transitioning from undergrad to grad studies was huge, and they needed some adjusting, so I was prepared. I had worked for several years in a very busy job (overtime work was the norm, sometimes I worked from 9 to 12), so going into grad school was okay for me. But it was definitely intense, and burnout was not unheard of. In my opinion, it's better for you to work full-time in this coming year (so that you'll have more money and some full-time work experience) than working part-time while attending grad school. If money is an issue, why don't you take two years off? It's never too late to start grad school!