I just got a new job at Universal Studios. I am 20 years old and love my job there. This is where the problem comes in. At this moment I make 9 bucks an hour and a 1/2 away by car or 2 hours by metro. I can’t afford anything closer. I tried driving, for 2 days and it costs almost 20 dollars a DAY in gas alone. No way, to much money. So I started taking the bus. I don’t know how long I can do this though. I am burnt out already.
I leave at 5:30 am every morning.
Get to work at 8am.
Start work at 9am.
Work until 6 pm.
Take metro home.
Home at 7 or 8pm.
This schedule leaves no time for anything. I eat once a day (dinner). I get home do laundry for work blah blah blah. Surf the net for half hour/ or work out a bit. Go to sleep.
This sucks, and I want to quit even though I love my job. They already have me in for a small promotion and it won’t take me long to move up again. But is it really worth it?
What do you think? Should I quit my job and find one thats close to home? Or suck it up? any other ideas?
There has to be other hourly employees at Universal with the same problem.
Check with your coworkers and see if there is any local places they stay. Sometimes several people pool money to rent a place or even get a motel room. Is there a billboard in the break room? A place to post a message for a room?
Spending a few nights close to work can make it easier. Go home weekends (or whenever you’re off work).
He didn’t say it was an hour round-trip. He drives an hour and a half to work. So he has to drive that long to get home, too. So let’s say a three hour round trip. Let’s say he drives 150 miles, 75 each way. If he gets 30 miles a gallon, he uses 5 gallons. At $4.00 a gallon in California (I assume he’s living in California, but you know what happens when you assume. ), that’s an easy $20.
Check Craigslist for cheap housing and put an ad of your own in it. When I went to college I rented a room from an elderly lady who was supplementing her social security.
My gf is in advertising, and that is pretty close to her schedule. Her drive is only an hour, but she works a very long day. She has been doing this for decades, but the money is amazing.
We make use of the weekends, and I help out by feeding her horses, etc.
If you love the job, and some promotions/raises are forthcoming, stick with it!
Also, do you like your coworkers? Are you able to be at least a little social with them during the work day? I work crazy long hours, but have fun interactions with my coworkers throughout the day that is almost a substitute for an actual social life.
That’s a much more livable schedule when the money is “amazing”. For one thing, you can afford to outsource a great many things. Would she have done this for decades at $9/hour?
I took a quick look at Craig’s List. A room in a shared house in Van Nuys is around $500-$600, which should be manageable on that budget. You can get it down even cheaper if you are willing to consider creative living spaces. I had a friend who lived for a year in a walk-in closet so that she could further her career. With a shorter commute, you can consider picking up a low-stress weekend job waiting tables or something.
If a job has growth potential, it’s worth just about anything to stick with it, especially if you are young and can put up with a lot.
Why do you do laundry every single day? It seems that a minor investment in clothes could actually really improve your lifestyle. suburban thrift stores can be a goldmine (the downtown ones are usually picked over by hipsters)
Why do you arrive at 8am, but “start work” an hour later? Why not arrive at 9?
How do you spend your commute? you can nap, read, listen to podcasts, deal with your snail mail, write your rent check, read work-related articles, knit, or do a million other relaxing or productive things on a train commute.
Because buses operate on their schedules, not their passengers. Perhaps the bus that comes after the one the OP normally catches would drop him off after he’s supposed to already be at work. Or maybe the next bus drops him off at quarter till nine, which means that he doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room if the bus is running late. It would better for him to catch the earlier bus.
), that’s an easy $20.