Pursuing an Engineering degree + working part time, is it hard?

I'm moving out and moving to santa barbara. I plan on going to sbcc and later transfer to ucsb. I'll be living on my own so I'll be paying for rent, food, etc. I will only need a car for a job most of the time. I'm going to apply for financial aid soon and my dad said he would help me out too, but not how much yet.

I want to work in the IT industry. I have always been working there. My first major was to get a Bachelor's in Information Technology with an AS in networking. I wanted to change my major to computer engineering.

I noticed I would have to take a lot of lab courses with the chemistry and physics. I'd think that it would be hard to work my hours with them. I know the enginneering degree will be harder to get and require more studying time.

Do you think I can manage pursuing a comp. Engineering degree while working part time also having a social life of course

Engineering programs are VERY demanding. And, it makes little sense to pursue studies if you can't earn at least a 3.0 g.p.a. Given that you plan to do engineering and thus are pretty much guaranteed a decent job when you get out (assuming you make the 3.0 or higher mark), I'd do as much as you can with loans and help from your dad. That way you can concentrate on your studies and do better. I see far too many students take on too much and then do poorly in the classes, which is a mistake because you're paying so much to take the classes.

One strategy that works very well for a lot of engineering folks-- and that will help you A LOT when you go looking for a job at the end-- is to find internships (most of which are paid) during the summers. Most engineering folks work full-time at paid internships or temporary jobs during the summers, and this work gives them a huge boost once they're looking for a permanent job. Sometimes you can even find a company that will hire you every summer. Search early for internships and apply as high as you can-- to the best companies that you can. I think that will serve you best.

Computer engineers, especially, are in heavy pursuit. You'd be even more competitive if you did an internship in a setting where you'd need a security clearance b/c government jobs (or jobs with contractors who work for the government) are very plentiful. My cousin is a VP at Booz-Allen, and he's ALWAYS trying to find good talent to hire. He encourages my younger cousins to do computer engineering. You can be making about a $100,000/year before too long. That'll pay off a lot of loans really quickly.

Stick with federal loans (not private, higher interest loans). You can consolidate loans when you graduate and can arrange for graduated payments (so that you pay more as you begin to make more). Keep your costs as low as possible. If you're first in your family to go to college, make that clear to the university to which you apply and look for scholarships-- there is a lot of support out there for first generation college students.

Good luck to you!!

yes you can do what you want to do. Put your priorities first and you can make it happen. I work fulltimen and im pursuing my masters degree in bio engineering and im doing well. I also have a part time security job i actually study while at work. You can do it. Its possible.

If you're looking at engineering. . . yeah, don't be expecting much of a social life. Even without a job, you often don't have time for much of one. If a normal college social life is important to you, then you might want to change your plans now. You do still sometimes get to have fun, but it's less often and the craziness is definitely limited.

Is it doable? Certainly. I had several friends who had outside jobs, and several of my students since I've been a TA seem to as well. You just need to find one that's okay with weird hours and make the arrangements once you know what times your classes and labs are going to be for that semester. Depending on where you work, they might be hard to change. . . so just plan wisely when you set the hours if so. Every now and then, you may need to pull out the "but I have to work then!" if you get the occasional person who's trying to set up something that conflicts with this pre-set work schedule. . . but most of your fellow students and instructors won't get too annoyed with you. It's life, and some need to have a job to afford to be in school.