A quick list of reasons why I only work 10-15 hours per week, and manage
People have been asking me in meatspace a lot: How do you live on 10 to 15 hours per week at 9.30/hour? Well, allow me to list the reasons:
1. I work under 16 hours because I’m on state medical insurance. If I worked over 16 hours, I wouldn’t get this anymore, and would have to pay $250/mo co-pay to get all my medications (I’m type 1 diabetic). This of course, does not include doctor or emergency room visits, which also cost me $50 and $100, respectively.
2. If the 16 hour cap was lifted, I’d only gain two more hours (18 hours per week), tops. Everyone else at my seniority level only rakes in 16 hours, so given point 1, I’d be losing a ton of money.
3. Being T1 diabetic, I kind of need my medication when I need it, not whenever I have money to get it. If the latter were the case, I’d have been dead long ago.
4. A second job is out, because 1. There’s nowhere else hiring right now, 2. I’m planning to return to college this fall, and 3. My current job requires me to be available at all times, making a consistent schedule impossible.
5. Leaving my current job is also off the table, as nowhere else is hiring, and my current job has unparalleled flexibility with my college schedule, which cannot be guaranteed elsewhere. I’d also be leaving 4 years of seniority behind, which would put me in a risky situation.
