I’m currently going into my Sophomore year. While I only take 3 classes max a semester, I work 40-45 hours a week to be able to afford rent and what not. And no, taking out a bunch of loans to pay for rent is unfortunately not an option.<p>Between work, school and (for what it’s worth) a relationship, I feel I have very little time for much else. Projects for example. I have tons of little things I am wanting to try, build, and learn about, but finding the time to do this is hard. Sometimes after a 10 hour work day and 2-3 hours of studying and homework, I just don’t have the motivation to do anything else.<p>I stress about this a ton. About my lack of technical experience on my resume and all the time I spend at an unrelated job. Am I stressing too much? I make fine grades, I just worry I’m hurting my chances by not being able to do all the extra things that seem to do.<p>I recently had a phone interview with a local startup for an internship. While the guy loved my personality and communication skills, I simply didn’t have enough technical experience for him to be willing to offer me a position. I had nothing to talk about when he asked about side projects and so on. This was a huge bummer. I’m very eager for relevant experience.<p>Does anybody have any advise on perhaps how to use my time better or if they have any personal experience that could help?
It's probably impossible for you to fit anything else into your schedule between a full time job and three classes. From my perspective, working fulltime during school makes a candidate more attractive rather than less, even if you're waiting tables. It shows you value your education way beyond someone who's just taking classes, that you're willing to stretch yourself to the limit to get there. That's admirable. Ceteris paribus, I'd take the hard worker over the Github portfolio.