Balancing Your Time (Students)

[JeganRX]

I'm sure many people here have dealt with, or are dealing with, the overwhelmingly split lifestyle of college, a career, and holding a decent life as well. Now to start, I'm in the babied position of living at home still, so I cannot speak of "getting by" in terms of my finances, as I'm protected in that sense.

What I want to know are the experiences that people here have had in finding time to both educate themselves, and take the jobs necessary to advance their careers. I'm in a staff job right now... Now, that may seem preferable, as it affords me a set-schedule, and a steady income (albeit a meager $15 for editing and shooting interviews), but it largely eliminates the time necessary to take on most freelance work. Sure, there are one-two day jobs that I can take, and I have taken some at-home stuff when possible, but it's still limiting. Come September, I'll be coupling this job with a full-time student status. I'd say film school, but you can't even call it that (trust me, I tried transferring, didn't have enough credits to make the savings worth it).

Anyway, the point is, I'll have the job and school, with essentially no time for freelance gigs, and we all know the catch-22 of getting jobs with our past experience... By the way, the only reason this job is a "problem" is just because I feel it has no room for advancement, there's nothing to learn, and the work is highly repetitive. Taking an internship is an option, though it would be extremely difficult to find time between my current job and school for it; quitting is not an option as I can't afford to take no-pay work right now.

Thoughts? Experiences? Complaints over my own whining?

 

[grinner]

Creativity and determination.
At one point, I was taking 21 hours, was in two plays, and ran my own business. The labs for my tv classes ran well into the night and I lived almost an hour from school.
I literally moved into the school's theatre for a while. Yes it was tresspassing and yes I finally got busted after a full semester of doing it but I tell ya, it's what made it possible for a stint. I'd drag ass through a propped door I set up the morning before at about 2am, sleep on the set we made on stage (it had a bed), the bells in that very tower would wake me at 7, I showered in the dressing room and made my 8am class each morning. I went home on weekends to have a life and catch up on my window tinting/auto graphics business.
This really didn't change as I grew older, got married and started having children. Getting started in TV means you start for nothing or very little. I started at 3.35 an hour at the local news station. So I worked three jobs. With the birth of every new baby, I had to give myself a five figure raise. That meant another job for many years. By the time I was staffing for CMT in Nashville, I only worked two jobs. I'd leave my 50 hour a week gig and drive to Hendersonville and moonlight at TBN until midnight or so, every weekday. Never did I get to tuck my kids in during the week. Not until they were beyond toddling years and I was into a salary that could justify just one job.
All this said, do know that your schooling is for you... not a job. You can make a reel right now that'll land you gigs. Thats the same reel you'll be making to get gigs later. A degree means nada to the industry. In my case, it was for my Dad.
No regrets. College is where young people go to find out who they are. I did indeed do that. I had a blast. Lots of great memories. Still havn't used a degree.

 

[JeganRX]

Thats the same reel you'll be making to get gigs later. A degree means nada to the industry. In my case, it was for my Dad.
No regrets. College is where young people go to find out who they are. I did indeed do that. I had a blast. Lots of great memories. Still havn't used a degree.

Indeed, I've long realized it by now that it really doesn't mean much of anything, but I can relate on that reason to go. It would be a severe disappoint to a number of people if I dropped.

 

[Mattykins]

You want your degree though. To dropout or skip college in this job market isn't a good thing at all.

You have to find a way to balance your time. Cut out the parties. If you can't handle a relationship, stay single. Limit the time you spend wasting away in front of the TV or computer.

Right now, I am in post on my project, ADing a major short film, Co-Producing another short, I need to crew on two additional projects for a class, taking 17 hours, and remaining relatively social. And I have a job too.

It's possible. The good part about student films is that they typically shoot on weekends. So you can have a job, work on shows, and do college stuff at the same time.