It depends a lot on what your job is, etc. But you can get disability and still have a job. I get disability year-round, but I'm still going to work my 5-week-long job this June/July. You just have to let them know when your work schedule changes. You get a check each month, yes. I am a student and still on my parents' insurance, but I have car bills, gas bills, TV bills, phone bills, etc. It's based on each individual's need. I get a certain amount based on my living expenses during the school year, my phone bills, my car/gas bills, and that I pay for a lot of my own food and stuff.
Mind you, they like to weed as many people out as possible, so it can be a real pain to get approved for disability. I was denied for more than two years, with a lawyer (who has CF) fighting for me. Finally this past December they approved me. The good point to be denied for two years is that I got back pay for all the time my case was going through the courts. I got half this January and will be getting the other half this June. In the meantime, I am still getting my monthly checks, but the two big back-pay checks that I got are worth about $15,000. So my only major advice would be... if they deny you (really, WHEN they deny you), keep going. They don't like to approve anyone if they can avoid it. So they're going to try denying you first. They figure if you quit fighting there, then you don't really need the money. It's a pain in the butt, but it's worth it. It took more than two years to fight it, but I finally got approved and now my parents aren't drowning in my bills.
