Overnight shifts while in college

Cloud Strife

Banned
Aug 12, 2006
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I just applied for overnight stocking at Target (only open position). The work schedule is from 10AM-7PM. I'll have a class every morning at 8AM and my latest class is done at 1:50PM, except for Monday and Wednesdays; they end at 4:30PM.

I figured I'd go to class after work, then sleep after my classes are done, which is around 1:50PM. Then I'll wake up at 9PM and go to work. Has anyone worked overnights during college before? How was your experience? Did you have enough time to study and do homework? This is my first year at college and I'm currently taking 17 credits.

Update: After reading all the helpful comments, I've decided I'm not going to get a job. Since this is only my first week, I have no idea how hard college is going to be.
 

nsafreak

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2001
7,093
3
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You are looking at one very stressful year. There is no way you're going to have the time to do your study work and homework. Stocking jobs do not have enough break time to allow for the work that you need to do.
 

veggz

Banned
Jan 3, 2005
843
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Originally posted by: Cloud Strife
Originally posted by: veggz
Are you planning on having any friends?

No. Work/money > friends.

Here is a better plan:
1. Study hard and do well so you can get a good job after graduation.
2. Make friends.
3. Network, network, network.
4. Take a work study/part time job for a maximum of 15-20 hours a week.
 

Theb

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2006
3,533
9
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Originally posted by: Cloud Strife
I just applied for overnight stocking at Target (only open position). The work schedule is from 10AM-7PM. I'll have a class every morning at 8AM and my latest class is done at 1:50PM, except for Monday and Wednesdays; they end at 4:30PM.

I figured I'd go to class after work, then sleep after my classes are done, which is around 1:50PM. Then I'll wake up at 9PM and go to work. Has anyone worked overnights during college before? How was your experience? Did you have enough time to study and do homework? This is my first year at college and I'm currently taking 17 credits.

I know people who have done it. I think it would be best to do two weeks of school and see how much time you need for homework before deciding to take on a full-time job. Most advisers will tell you to set aside 2 hours of study/homework time for every hour you spend in class.

You're going to miss a lot of the college experience if you're always running to work. You don't get to have that experience again (even if you go back to college it's not the same). You've got the rest of your life to work.
 

Sqube

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2004
3,078
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If living off-campus would be cheaper, you might as well do it. Class all day and work all night basically means you're not really taking part in the college experience.

You might think work and money is better than having friends, but you'd be horribly wrong. You need to find a happy medium and work with that.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
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What is your major? Different majors require different amounts of work. It also depends on how well you take to the new material.

That's a 9 hour shift (you posted it wrong too, you posted a daytime shift, 10am-7pm). On top of that, you're going to have several hours of classes. In addition, you need sleep, and time for homework. Classes here at Penn State say that they expect 2-3 hours of work outside of class for each hour spent in class.
I had 15.5 credits during my first semester, and had little spare time. Most of my homework time was spent on calculus and history. 1.5 credits of that was on an ice skating class, which meant no homework. That was definitely a help, but it still ate up time that could have been spent on other truly useful classes. (Gym-class type credits are required here.)
My second semester was 16 credits. I spent more time on homework. Calc II, Statics, and an engineering sketching/CAD class took up the most time for homework. My light class there was Economics. That class was just so damn easy for me. I got A's on all tests except the final. I didn't even spend 15 minutes studying for that, and I still got a B. I could have skipped the final and still gotten a C in the class. Still wound up with an A in that course. Class average was somewhere around a 65% on the final, though it was brought down by a 0%, a 32%, and a 44%. Otherwise, it was still in the 70% realm.
That was just Econ though. The other classes were not nearly as forgiving. Some sketching assignments took more than 8hrs to complete.

The techniques you may have used in high school too will not work in college. For me, high school was a damn breeze. The social aspect was what made it feel like utter hell, but the "academics" were, well, they seem like a joke whose punchline I was never told. Standardized testing was a godsend for me. All too many teachers would often use the standard material, and the tests used the exact same wording, so I didn't really have to learn anything. I could just remember the phrasing and match things in the mutliple choice questions. I had plenty of time for computer games and TV, with little time devoted to finishing the mindless homework assignments.
College assignments will require a lot of work. There really isn't any good way around it unless you happen to be an expert already, or if your teachers can't detect BS in assignments which are handed in. Cheating is not recommended either, as it can get you booted from a school with a permanent mark on your transcript, which other colleges will not like should you try to get into another one.

This semester, I do have a job, working on campus. It seems that work-study type jobs, at least some of them, allow time for doing homework. They don't pay a lot, but then neither does working in retail. At least that way you can get paid to do your homework. I'm taking only 14 credits, so that should definitely help.

I also advise what's probably going to be said here a lot - don't sacrifice your grades for a low paying job. Good grades can lead to government and private grants, which is essentially like getting paid to study and do well in your classes. There are also student loans available, and there should be some too which have their interest paid by the government until 6-9 months after you graduate. Yes it is good to stay out of debt, but sometimes it's unavoidable. The best thing you can do in that respect is to still spend carefully. Just because you have a loan and grants doesn't mean that you are suddenly rich. The thousands of dollars of loans will need to be paid back, and interest can start to build up quickly once the government has paid their part of it.


And finally you say that "Work/money > friends." What's your social life been like up to this point? Changing that might be tough. It seems that socializing is more addictive than pure cocaine, though not quite as dangerous. Quitting it cold turkey could drive you nuts very quickly. On the other hand, if you're used to being alone, it might not be that difficult to do. The latter is my situation. I frankly wouldn't recommend it. I seriously motivated a close friend to consider suicide when I did open up to him once about how I go about my life, and my various constant anxieties and such. So it seems that this manner of living might be somewhat caustic.
Some people do manage to find a way of balancing a job, friends, and school. I have yet to figure out how they do it, as it seems physically impossible to do it all within the time constraints given, such as hours in a day, and the fact that humans need sleep. But some people do seem to do it.
 

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
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Originally posted by: Cloud Strife
Originally posted by: veggz
Are you planning on having any friends?

No. Work/money > friends.

No social network FTL
Have fun trying to get a job with no friends and target stocking monkey on your resume.
 

Xyclone

Lifer
Aug 24, 2004
10,312
0
76
Originally posted by: veggz
Originally posted by: Cloud Strife
Originally posted by: veggz
Are you planning on having any friends?

No. Work/money > friends.

Here is a better plan:
1. Study hard and do well so you can get a good job after graduation.
2. Make friends.
3. Network, network, network.
4. Take a work study/part time job for a maximum of 15-20 hours a week.

OMFG QFT! Your plan sucks, OP. So what, you'll make minimum wage while you fail your classes. It's not worth it. Ace all your classes so you can make some REAL money after graduating, not some minimum wage crap.
 

ngvepforever2

Golden Member
Oct 19, 2003
1,269
0
0
Well, I have never had an overnight shift. However, I do work almost full time (32-36 hrs/wk excluding traveling time which is around 1 hr each way) and I am taking 16 credits. In my case I have to do it because I need money to pay my tution and to...well. live :D. The good thing is that my job is in my field so I get to gain a lot of experience in my industry before I graduate. I have been doing it now for 3.5 years since I was 18. Right now I am a senior (I am a CS major). I have a good GPA, and I have been able to make friends along the way. I think working and going to college is very doable if you are disciplined.

But, as someone else mentioned, you should see how your classes are going to go before you get a job. What is the point of taking so many credits if you are going to end up flunking half of them?. Also, money is always good but believe me when I tell you that family and friends are way more important because because they will help you maintain your sanity (especially when you want to work full time and go to school full time).

 
May 16, 2000
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It's different for every person, dependent on specifics, personality, etc.

I've got two actual jobs this semester (one full time, one part time), plus my sideline stuff. I've cut down to full time on school though (down from more than double loads), in order to make it happen. I am involved in student government and debate however, which takes extra time. I don't do much other than school and work, so it's not a big deal to me.

My night job is throwing freight at home depot, 10pm-6am roughly. The good side is that 2-3 days a week we're done early and I can get a few hours of studying in. I personally love mindless labor jobs while I'm in school. Keeps me active, lets my mind rest, etc.

While you shouldn't totally ignore peoples comments about what it takes to study, remember that everyone is different. Taking classes with friends I often spent an hour on what took them 6 or more, and sometimes the reverse was true. There is no absolute rule on what it takes. You just need to feel it out for yourself.

There are two levels to consider: what you HAVE to do, and what you WANT to do. Make sure you do what you HAVE to do, no matter what anyone says. After that, try and do at least something that you just WANT to do too.
 

postmortemIA

Diamond Member
Jul 11, 2006
7,721
40
91
instead of making $8.00/hr now, wait till you graduate... I would take a loan if you need money now.
 

Goosemaster

Lifer
Apr 10, 2001
48,775
3
81
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
It's different for every person, dependent on specifics, personality, etc.

I've got two actual jobs this semester (one full time, one part time), plus my sideline stuff. I've cut down to full time on school though (down from more than double loads), in order to make it happen. I am involved in student government and debate however, which takes extra time. I don't do much other than school and work, so it's not a big deal to me.

My night job is throwing freight at home depot, 10pm-6am roughly. The good side is that 2-3 days a week we're done early and I can get a few hours of studying in. I personally love mindless labor jobs while I'm in school. Keeps me active, lets my mind rest, etc.

While you shouldn't totally ignore peoples comments about what it takes to study, remember that everyone is different. Taking classes with friends I often spent an hour on what took them 6 or more, and sometimes the reverse was true. There is no absolute rule on what it takes. You just need to feel it out for yourself.

There are two levels to consider: what you HAVE to do, and what you WANT to do. Make sure you do what you HAVE to do, no matter what anyone says. After that, try and do at least something that you just WANT to do too.

well put; I jsut got out of a lien of work that was very intensive and am having trouble finding something good. Never thought about home depot this time of year:D

mindless stuff sounds good.....
 
Jun 4, 2005
19,723
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Like someone else has mentioned, wait a couple weeks, see what spare time you have, and get a job that would fit accordingly. Don't overwork yourself now, it'll only screw you over later.
 

DaWhim

Lifer
Feb 3, 2003
12,985
1
81
if you are belonged to the night crew, I don't see how you can't handle the overnight shift. personally, I prefer overnight shift.