Can I work full time if I don't have complete availability?

Full time means you’ll be working 40 hours per week. When you actually work those hours may or may not be negotiable between you and your employer. Most employers are flexible when they can be and when that have someone whom they feel is a good employee. So when you interview, find out whether it’s a fixed schedule or if they can be flexible in giving you the shifts you want. Also, they might be open to kicking it down to PT if you can’t work all the required shifts.

This will depend 100% on the employer. As kevbo says, “full time” generally means 35–40 hours of work in a seven day period. It’s up to the employer to decide when those hours are.

Full-time is usually 35 or more hours per week in most companies, as DynamicDuo points out.

I was able to rearrange my work schedule to fit my classes while I attended college. Retail is usually the best for having schedule flexibility. However, it is difficult working that many hours plus class and studies and trying to have fun in life too! Good Luck!

Thanks for your answers.

I have a part-time job right now, for which I keep getting four hours a week, and I just can’t survive off of that. Unfortunately, that’s how most part time is right now, so I was looking for a little more stability.

I appreciate the feedback, I’ve never had a full time job, but I’ve had two and three jobs at a time for several years now. I guess the consensus is that I should just give it a shot, which I definately will. :)

As an employer, I respect someone who is totally upfront about their availability. If their schedule works with my needs I have no problem hiring them.
I had one guy who applied for a 9 am to 6 pm job and got to his third interview (that was the one with me) before we found out that he was in school full time in the day time. Totally wasted every body’s time

As others have said, it depends on the employer and it also requires you to be upfront about it.

With that being said, I would recommend that you apply for employment in businesses that are open many more hours a day than 9 to 5. Note: a lot of folks hate to work night shift so employers often prize finding someone who wants the night shift, as in my neighbor who readily got night shift work at the 24-hour Super Wal-Mart, and several friends who were in high demand to work night shift at local hospitals.

When I was working for someone else, it was for a business that was open 8 to 5 seven days a week. Many employees hated to work weekends, so I volunteered to become the weekend manager, thus freeing me up two weekdays.

In addition, the majority of our cashiers were students – as long as they communicated their schedule needs each semester to their supervisor and worked their 40 hours per week there was never a problem. In fact, during slow periods they were allowed to do homework while at the register as long as they stopped immediately when a customer came in.

Also, while not particularly exciting work, many professional cleaning crews work in the evening and at night, cleaning offices that would be occupied during the day. My step-son did a lot of that when he was being a part-time single parent.

I got lucky and found an employer with night and weekend hours, who was able to work with my schedule and give me the kind of hours I needed. I worked at a pizzeria, fyi. Make sure you list your availability on your application.

edited by me: sorry, posted to wrong question.