Tips for Students Who Work: How to Manage Home, Work, and School

Key Insights:

• Students who work may face challenges when trying to manage home and school. Challenges can include time constraints, scheduling conflicts, and increased feelings of stress.
• Being a student who works isn’t always negative. It can help you learn effective time management and build transferable skills, giving future employers a glimpse of your strong work ethic.
• If you’re worried about getting overwhelmed, UMA has several Student Services in place to help you pursue your educational and career goals while taking care of your other responsibilities, without feeling like it’s too much.

A survey of undergrad students at 104 institutions across 27 states found that 67% worked for pay while enrolled in school and 19% were caregivers or legal guardians to children or other dependents.¹ While pursuing a healthcare degree can prepare you to enter this field, if you are among the students who also have a job and/or family to take care of, fitting your schoolwork into an already packed schedule can sometimes feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.

Here we discuss some of the challenges students who work can face, so you know you’re not alone if you experience them. We also provide several tips for how to manage school and work if you have a family to take care of or other important obligations.

Challenges Students May Face When Juggling School, Work, and Home Life

Managing school, work, and home can leave little room in your schedule for anything else. This may be okay if you’re someone who prefers to stay busy or doesn’t like a lot of idle time. It can also be challenging for people who worry whether there will be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Adult learners who work or have families to care for can sometimes face scheduling conflicts if they’re enrolled in a campus-based healthcare program. Taking classes on campus generally means that you must be present on specific days and times. This can be difficult if the days and times don’t align with other tasks in your schedule — like work, kids’ school functions, or taking elderly parents to doctors' appointments — and may force you to choose between these obligations.

Feeling pulled in multiple directions can also lead to feelings of stress. If you know that you must work overtime during a particular week, for instance, but also have a big class assignment due, you might have anxiety about how you’re going to manage both.

Benefits of Being a Student Who Works (or Has Other Obligations)

Although it can feel challenging to juggle school, work, and home, taking the steps to pursue your healthcare degree while holding a job and/or being a caregiver can offer several advantages:

• You learn the art of time management. Being able to properly manage your time can increase your productivity, boost your reputation, streamline your decision-making, and enable you to reach your goals faster.⁴ It can also be beneficial for your mental health, since people who struggle in this area generally have an increased risk of sleep issues, stress, anxiety, and depression.⁵ Becoming good at time management can potentially provide these benefits.
• You gain the opportunity to build transferable skills. Even if your current job isn’t in healthcare, it can still help you build skills that are important in this field. For instance, good communication skills are critical when relaying information to patients, and teamwork skills can help you work cohesively with other healthcare professionals. Utilize the opportunity to build these types of skills in your current workplace setting, setting you up for success once you’re ready to enter your healthcare career.
• You’re able to earn an income while pursuing a career in healthcare. Adult learners who have full or part-time employment can work toward their degree while still earning the money needed to pay for bills and other expenses. This can help ease financial strain when going back to school. (Financial aid may also help ease this strain by paying for some or all of your healthcare education, if you qualify. Ultimate Medical Academy’s Student Finance advisors help learners enrolled in our healthcare programs navigate the financial aid process.)
• It shows future employers your work ethic. Work ethic isn’t necessarily about filling as many hours a day as you can with work-like responsibilities. It’s about reliability, consistency, initiative, and a willingness to continue to work toward a goal, even if it’s tough. Putting forth the effort to go back to school when you have other obligations can show all these things.

How to Manage School and Work: 5 Tips for Adult Learners

If you’re concerned about how to manage home, work, and/or school at the same time, these five tips can help:

#1: Create a schedule

Writing out a schedule can help you stay on track while also reducing the likelihood that you’ll accidentally miss an important function or deadline. Add your work hours and any events or appointments you want or need to attend. Also, set aside time to study, take care of household chores, and even pencil in your social time. You may be busy, but it’s still important to spend time with family and friends.

#2: Don’t overbook yourself

If you’re a planner, you may be tempted to schedule every minute of every day. However, this approach can backfire if something unexpected happens. A car accident blocking traffic on the way home from work, a child who comes down with the flu, or a friend who needs help when you planned to study can all derail your plans. To keep these types of events from throwing off your schedule, leave room for them. Give yourself a few extra minutes to travel places, set aside more time than you think you’ll need to do your assignments, and don’t wait until the last minute to get things done. Your stress levels will thank you.

#3: Have backup plans

Even the best plans don’t always work out. Having alternate plans in place can prevent these inconveniences from becoming emergencies. Decide in advance what you’ll do if you must suddenly work overtime, face unforeseen transportation issues, or if a childcare provider cancels at the last minute. That way, if these situations arise, you’ll already know how to deal with them.

#4: Think in terms of priority versus balance

“Work-life balance” is a common term. But it’s incredibly hard to achieve balance between any areas of life because there may be times when it’s more important to focus on one over the others. Instead of thinking in terms of balance, think about priority. Maybe work will be a priority one day, whereas school becomes a priority the next, or home on a different day. Recognize when each area may need a bit more of your time and effort, and don’t be afraid to adapt if those needs change.

#5: Choose an online program

Some students prefer to take classes on campus. There’s nothing wrong with this option — if it fits into your schedule. But if you have limited open time, earning your healthcare degree online may ease this constraint. Even blended learning programs, which contain both in-person and online components, can provide some relief.

What Can You Do If You Feel Like an Overwhelmed Student?

Students who work and/or have a family to take care of can sometimes feel overwhelmed. While this is understandable given your numerous obligations, help is available to adult learners at UMA.

UMA’s Student Services are in place to help reduce student overwhelm. We have team members available to assist with your assignments, who can answer questions about your course or program, and can help you devise a strategy to better manage home, school, and work.

You don’t have to go through your educational journey alone. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you successfully navigate your healthcare degree program.

FAQs

• Can I complete a healthcare program while working full-time? Yes, you can. A National College Attainment Network survey found that 43% of college-level students worked full-time (40+ hours a week).⁶ It may not be easy to be a working student, but that same study found that 84% of the undergrads surveyed still believed that a degree would lead to a higher quality of life,⁷ which can make it worth the effort.
• Is working and going to school hard? What may be hard for one person may feel easier for another. If you’re enrolled at UMA and struggling to manage your schooling while working or caring for a family, let us know. We have a variety of team members available to help find ways to deal with your obstacles, potentially connecting you with available resources (if qualified), so you can reach your academic and career goals.
• What support services does UMA offer to help working adults during healthcare training? UMA’s Student Services can assist you with admissions, financial aid questions, your coursework, and more. Learner Services team members can also guide you toward potential resources that may be available to help address your obstacles as you pursue your healthcare education.
• How can I stay motivated while working, taking care of a family, and earning my healthcare degree? It can be helpful to set career goals. This gives you something to keep working toward. Also, keep reminding yourself why pursuing a degree is important to you. Take time regularly to envision what your life can look like after you graduate from your desired program.
• Can an online healthcare program help me balance home, work, and school? Earning your healthcare degree online can free up more time in your day by eliminating a commute. It can also help by not restricting your learning to specific days and times. Together, this may make it easier for you to go to school while attending to home and work.