u/rambunctiousmango

I work full-time and I’m about to start a hybrid MLIS program. I’m taking two classes, with one that meets once a week for two hours and one that’s entirely online and asynchronous. I was also recently offered an internship doing archival research and writing at a local government office. The internship is 10-15 hybrid hours a week and pays enough to cover tuition. I’d be going into the office once or twice a week for a few hours at a time and doing the rest remotely. It feels like too good of an opportunity to pass up, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m underestimating how hard it will be to juggle everything.

When I look at my schedule on my own it seems difficult, but doable if I plan things out effectively. I went to a fairly academically rigorous school for undergrad, and I’m used to being chronically busy. From my point of view, doing all of this is just reorienting all the various bits of my current busy schedule so they all work towards the same goal. I do, however, wonder if I’m banking too much on what I’ve heard about MLIS classes being relatively easy.

I’m fairly young and live with my partner and some other friends/roommates. My family lives out of state, so outside of a trip or two each year to visit I don’t have a ton of outside obligations on that end of things. I haven’t signed the final offer letter for the internship yet, but I feel like this is probably the best possible time to have a hellish year in exchange for some extra money and a ton of experience. This being said, I don’t have a great sense of how rigorous my classes will be or how much time I’ll need for homework. I know it’ll vary between programs, but please tell me if I’m making some horrible terrible mistake!

I’m about to start grad school and an internship, which I’m doing on top of a full-time job. My classes and internship are both hybrid, and I’ll only need to go in person 2-3 times a week. My ft job is fully in person.
My schedule works in theory, but I’m worried I’ve way overcommitted. Does anyone have any tips for managing a packed schedule while still having time to eat dinner and do laundry and stuff? I’d take anything

This is mainly just a vent, but I’m wondering if anyone has any tips for dealing with casual sexism from guests? I know this is something anyone in a public-facing role will deal with, but I feel like I’ve noticed an uptick recently and it’s starting to get to me. I’d love any advice on dealing with it!

I’ve worked in museum education for the last decade, and the last three years have been spent in a science museum that focuses on a field I studied in undergrad. I have more “official” experience than anyone else on my team, but I’m also a 5’1 woman. Beyond the usual experiences of people assuming I’m a volunteer (many of them ask if I’m in high school) or asking if I know where they can talk to “a real scientist,” I’ve recently experienced guests asking the nearest man about specific museum questions, whether that man works here or not? I wear a uniform and a lanyard and feel like it’s pretty apparent that I’m the one facilitating the activity or tour, but apparently it’s not enough to show that I’m an employee.

Last week I experienced a man coming up to me and rubbing my back while he asked me where the bathrooms were. My team and HR have been great with dealing with this instance, but all of it combined is starting to get to me. Again, I know this sexism isn’t a museum-specific problem, but it’s starting to wear on me. How do you all deal with it?

Hello! I have a bit of a silly request. I work at a planetarium, and we’re working on a program where we talk about what it would be like to visit the moon. As the resident perfume fan I’ve been asked if I’d be able to find anything that we could wear or have people smell to add to the atmospheric side of the program. We’re specifically looking for gunpowder or ash, as apparently the moon smells like an old firework.

Do you happen to know of anything that might fit the bill without leaning into anything too sweet or floral? A single gunpowder note would be ideal but I’m not sure this actually exists. I’m looking into MiN New York Moon Dust, but I’d love to hear about anything else you can think of that’s smoky and rocky and moon-like!

Hello! I have a bit of a silly request. I work at a planetarium, and we’re working on a program where we talk about what it would be like to visit the moon. As the resident perfume fan I’ve been asked if I’d be able to find anything that we could wear or have people smell to add to the atmospheric side of the program. We’re specifically looking for gunpowder or ash, as apparently the moon smells like an old firework.

Do you happen to know of anything that might fit the bill without leaning into anything too sweet or floral? I found a post from someone looking for gunpowder a few years ago and someone suggested BPAL’s spectral armies, which seems perfect, but it’s from an old Yule collection and I can’t find any for sale right now.
A single gunpowder note would be ideal but I’m not sure this actually exists. I’d love to hear about anything else you can think of that’s smoky and rocky and moon-like!

I commute from the north side to south loop. Every tracker and map tells me it should be about a 45 minute commute (train to bus), but I usually budget at least an hour. This week has been horrible with lolla, and it’s been taking closer to an hour and a half. I know lolla doesn’t happen all the time, but I do frequently find myself being affected by festivals and stuff going on downtown, especially when it comes to timing my bus transfer. I’m wondering how other people account for transfers? How much extra time do you usually give yourself? I know I need to start leaving earlier, but I’m not sure what I should actually be aiming for

I work at a job that caps full-time at 35 hours a week and doesn’t allow overtime. I’m not making a ton, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until I sat down and realized I make exactly what I’d be making if I were working 40 hours of a minimum wage job. My current schedule alternates between mornings and evenings and already includes working weekends, which has made it incredibly difficult to find a side gig or get a second job. I’ve been applying for other full time work with no luck.
I’m at the point where I’m pretty sure I could be making more if I quit my current job and worked two part time positions, but I worry about losing health insurance. This is the first full-time job I’ve ever had, and it’s been a huge weight off my shoulders to not have to worry about going to the doctor. I don’t have any major health issues but I am on a few medications that would be good to continue somehow. I am looking at marketplace options, but it feels somewhat risky. However, I’m drowning with my current pay. I’m applying to everything I see, but haven’t actually made up my mind about whether I’m willing to give up my benefits. What do I do?

My partner and I currently live together with two other roommates, but we’re trying to see if it’d be feasible to live alone next year. We’d be looking for a one bedroom and aren’t too picky on location or amenities. This being said, our combined income is only about 50k (pre-tax).

Our current share of the rent is $1,400. We would be able to get a co-signer, but ideally we’d find something under $1,600. Our credit is decent enough (mine is the lowest at 675 but I’m bringing it up). Most of our friends are on the north side, but I’m not opposed to moving south. We are gay, but definitely don’t need to be right in the heart of boystown or anything. We’re fine as long as we can somehow reach a train, as we both work in the loop. We currently live in Uptown and enjoy it, but we’re also looking at Roger’s park, Albany/irving park, and Bridgeport/pilsen area. Open to other suggestions as well!

Is this feasible? I feel like it is, but with the way rents are going I’m not sure if we should plan to just stick it out with our current roommates.

Edit: I am not asking about moving into a new place with new roommates as a couple! We’ve been lucky enough to live with another couple we’re friends with for the last few years. I know most people won’t want to live with a random couple. I’m asking whether we’re likely to find anything we can afford on our own or if we should plan to keep living with our friends.

I have about 13k in cc debt with 25% interest. I only make about 30k a year, but my actual living expenses are not very high (I think I can get them to 1,000 a month). I thought I was going to need to pay for a medical procedure out of pocket, so for the last year I’ve been paying the minimum on my debt in order to prioritize savings, and I’ve managed to save about 5k.
I recently learned I don’t actually need to get surgery right now, and I want to go back to paying off my cards as quickly as possible. I’m planning on taking a significant amount out of savings and making a big payment to knock out a good chunk of what I owe, but I’m not sure how much to actually leave myself for emergency savings. My original plan was to pay off 4k, but now that I suddenly have some amount saved up I’m nervous about losing that much of it. I know I’m still going to be in a huge amount of debt either way and this isn’t a one time solution, but how much should I actually leave myself in the savings account?

I currently work full-time in museum education in a large city, and I'll be starting a mlis program in the fall. I have about six months of public library experience from a few years ago, and had an archive internship during undergrad, but the bulk of my work experience has been in museum facilitation and education. I plan to go into public or youth librarian services, so my museum experience does feel similar in some ways, but I know it isn't exactly the same. I love my job, but the pay isn't great and there's no room for advancement. I know libraries aren't much better, but I've been in the GLAM field for a decade and don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

My original plan was to keep my current position for a while, but I've been worried about finding more internships and library experience given I have a pretty variable schedule that already includes weekends. The public library system in my city has been on a hiring freeze for the last few years, but they recently ended it and posted a part-time clerk position. The hourly pay is significantly more than my current position, but it's only 20 hours a week. There is, however, a chance I could drop down to part-time at the museum and work both. I'd be making about $300 extra each month, which would be amazing, but giving up the benefits and security of full-time. I'm also not sure whether doing this would count towards PSLF.

Any advice? This is entirely theoretical at the moment (I haven't even applied yet!) but I'd love to hear any insight you have! I'd love to get more library experience while I'm in school, and the pay bump would be nice, but I'm wondering if it's insane to consider giving up a job with health insurance in the current market. I'll most likely be in school for three years, so I am also wondering if I'm jumping the gun a bit. My current plan is to apply and see what happens, but how would you approach this?