The alarm goes off at 5:00 AM and you feel like you just went to sleep. You start that pot/cup of coffee, jump in the shower and get ready for work, enjoy some coffee and maybe some breakfast (if time permits), then its off to work for 8-12 hours where depending on your job, you don't have much time at work to put those final touches on that report. At the end of the work day you're headed to class, while your coworkers are headed out for a cold one or home to take care of their families. After class you go home to study and put those final touches on that report you were thinking of all day so you can get it turned in before its due at midnight.
Going back to school full time is stressful, and it's even more stressful when you have to add a full time job on top of it. Whether you work 8 or 12 hour shifts, day shift or graveyard (night) shift, its always the same. Getting little sleep, heading to work, then to class and still having to study or write a paper, or vice versa (class then work). There are many stresses that come with being a college student full time. And adding a full time job on top of that doesn't make it any easier, and finals week doesn't make it any easier either. There are struggles along the way of trying to fix your schedule for that stressful week!
Having To Request/Beg To Be Off For Finals
If your manager is anything like mine, laid back, but still in a way strict, it can be difficult to get off for your exams, especially if your job is understaffed, or you're required to work a certain number of hours per week. If you have vacation time you would just use that right? Maybe? Unless you have a job where you can't or don't get vacation time, but you get ETO (earned time off) that you can use. And if you don't have enough ETO to cover you for those days you're just out of luck; unless someone is willing to swap days around with you.
Working Late With An Early Final
Some people have jobs where the only time they can work is evenings, that means working til 11 or after to get their hours in for the week, and their classes are early afternoon so they can sleep in after working late. Then comes finals week!! Then you're working late and now you have an 8AM final! YIKES!! After working late, you have to get something to eat for dinner and you realize you have to study for that final before going to bed, or wake up early and study before the exam. While studying for exams after work, the only thing on your mind is probably sleep. I know that's the only thing i'm thinking about after working a 12 hour shift.
Going Into That 8AM Final
You begin to realize you should've studied more, you think your not prepared for the exam, and to top it off, you didn't get much sleep. You begin to wonder, "How am I going to make it through this exam?" "Am I going to be able to pass this exam and will what I make help me pass this semester?" "I just want to go back to bed."
Believe it or not, just reading your notes, or even just skimming through the chapters and reading the important or confusing sections once right before the exam will help you remember a lot while taking that exam. Questions on the test will bring back a memory of what you read just before the exam.
