Balancing education, work and life
Going to college can be expensive. Making a realistic assessment of your own life and financial situation can help you decide what career to pursue and how to balance your life while in school. Many students need to work while in school. Think about your own situation when considering the options below:
- Going to school full-time and not working. Do you have financial support outside your own income or savings?
- Going to school full-time and working part-time. Can you drop some of your other responsibilities or can someone help you out? Are you able to juggle many responsibilities at once?
- Going to school part-time and working full-time. Is your employer supportive and flexible? Is your family supportive and willing to help pick up other responsibilities you may have?
- Going to school part-time and working part-time. While this may be a more realistic schedule for many students, it assumes that you have enough income and/or savings to meet your financial obligations.
So what might it look like if you were working and going to school at the same time? Below are three different examples to help you think about your options.
Tonya - She works full-time as a Certified Nurse's Aide in a nursing home and goes to school part-time working toward a Licensed Practical Nurse degree. She is able to work the night shift and weekends so that she can go to school during the day. Her employer provides some tuition reimbursement because her degree will allow her to advance at the nursing home.
Jose - Jose works part-time and attends school part-time. Jose's family is helping him pay for school so that he doesn't have to work full-time.
Mary - She attends school full-time and works part-time. Her family helps to care for her young child. She has taken out loans and believes she can pay them back because of the starting wage in her chosen profession.
If you think you will need to earn income while attending school, there are many options to consider. One might be to apply for an entry-level position in a health care setting. This can be a good way to get experience in health care. Many larger health care employers offer tuition reimbursement. Keep in mind that tuition reimbursement is usually for full-time employees only or in some cases pro-rated for part-time people.
Click below to explore these sections:
How much will it cost?
Types of financial aid
Website resources for financial aid
How to apply for financial aid
Financial Aid Glossary
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