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How to Get a Nursing Degree if You Have a Full-Time Job
Getting a nursing degree while working full-time is a difficult path to choose. But for some people, this is a reality they have to cope with. And yet there are ways to make this path less overwhelming. Read on and you will know how to deal with nursing school and a full-time job simultaneously.
The easiest answer is, don’t get a full-time job when you’re after your nursing degree. But the easiest ways most of the time do not work for our lives. The hard answer is, that if you plan to pursue your nursing degree while working full-time, you should be ready to sacrifice a lot. Learning how to balance work and study is a life-long path. You will have to take seriously every minute you have and don’t waste it thoughtlessly. Moreover, if you have family or other additional obligations, you’ll have to learn to ask for help. Otherwise, the task may prove to be insurmountable. So, let us discuss in detail how to get a nursing degree if you have a full-time job.
Pick the right job
The best choice for a nursing student is to work in healthcare. First, you will be able to practice your education. Second, you will build working connections that could help you with your career after graduation. Third, your employers will be more lenient to accept your parallel education.
But if your job is not relevant to healthcare, there are also several options to consider:
- Find a flexible job – your nursing schedule can be hectic from semester to semester. It is best to have a job that lets you pick a time for work and study.
- Use your salary to free yourself from redundant academic assignments – there will be always tasks that teach you something and tasks that only steal your time. Consider hiring professional lab report writers to win some space in your schedule.
- Consider working remotely – while you get your education and work simultaneously, you should fight for every second of your life. Working remotely would help you save hours of time people need to commute to their working place.
- Let your work be not stressful – while it may sound like nonsense, you should consider that studies will drain a lot of your mental strength. Pick a peaceful job that would allow you to relax at least somehow after your studies.
Value your time
Count every hour of your classes as 3 to 5 hours of your life. Because that is how much it will usually ask of you. When you’re studying for a nursing degree, you will usually spend most of your day at school. That leaves very little time for doing your full-time job. Not even mentioning your basic needs that often don’t get a place in such a tight schedule.
Leveling up your time-management skills is crucial in these circumstances. Some of the things you can do to save time are: prepare your meals beforehand, do not procrastinate, make your study place organized at maximum, and delegate, delegate, delegate!
Delegate as much as possible
Let the people around you know that you have studies and a full-time job. And ask them for help. You may ask a co-worker to swap shifts with you to accommodate your education better. Or your friends to babysit your children while you’re busy. Ask your family to unload your household responsibilities. Ask for help and you will be answered.
Find a creative way to study at work
If you’re working in healthcare, you can use your job for academic projects. Employers usually have a friendly attitude toward those who pursue their profession. Ask them also for some additional space to study during your job. For example, you can listen to the audio classes while doing some automatic work.
Keep your health a top priority
One of the most important lessons on your way to the nursing degree should be the understanding of how to keep up your personal health. A nursing school with a full-time job will demand all the strengths you could accumulate. That is why you should take care about what you eat, how you sleep, and whether you exercise.
While a healthy diet might be obvious, the other two could be dismissed too easily. Yes, working and studying leave too little time for a healthy sleeping schedule. But that is the reason why you should strive to sleep healthy more. Sleep deprivation drains your memory and task-solving abilities, which are essential for education and work. By sleeping less, you actually make your daily tasks more difficult and time-consuming.
The same is true about exercising. While a double activity of work and study may leave you exhausted, it’s not an excuse to eschew physical exercises. Because they help your body be filled with energy and you overall fill more resilient when you incorporate exercises in your schedule.
Final thoughts
You have got a difficult task ahead of you. But there are ways to handle this task and achieve your goals. Take advantage of these pieces of advice, and your education will be easier even when you have a full-time job to attend to.