Studying and working full time....as hard as it sounds?

[Gnome]

Come Jan next year The Plan is to start a post grad diploma in education while supporting my partner and baby daughter with full time work. Not exactly sure how this is going to work at the moment and that's why Im posting.
At the moment Im still sifting through Unis and courses and I will be talking to them about it too but I wanted some input from someone who has actually done it before.
Has anyone done something like this before? Do you have any general recommendations or advice? dos and don'ts (dont do it at all is not really going to cut it ) And most of all, what things are going to crop up that I would never have thought of?

 

[johnboyjjb]

If you are a studier this can be quite difficult. If you are annoying person who learns everything by osmosis (like me) it is just tiring not too difficult. The big thing is scheduling. You have to budget time for your loved ones and schooling but budgeting time for yourself is almost as important if not more. Schedule your heavier classes in the spring and fall. Winter is too likely to share sickness and summer has too many distractions.

 

[doyme]

Have you talked with anyone at work about it? If your workplace knows you are studying they can be supportive with schedules and perhaps allow more flexibility in work times etc...

Also, will the uni/college know you are working full time and supporting a family? It's best to be fairly open about these things early on, before you feel the pressure of deadlines at work or in college.

 

[Jericho]

My friend Tom's father actually did something very similar, he did his grad studies for Educational Psychology while working full time as a school counsellor. So it's definitely possible but it takes an awful lot of dedication, some extremely good time management skills, and it might take a lot more time than a typical graduate degree as well. If you can't put in the same hours that a regular grad student would, then it'll take longer.

Be sure to know what happens when things go sideways, a friend of mine recently received his Masters after 5 years and there were some points along the way where it very easily could have collapsed and left him with a huge pile of debt and no grad degree. Whether that's his fault, his supervisor's, or a combination of both is a hotly contested topic, but still the point remains: be prepared and make sure you know the process inside and out in case things go wrong.

 

[skeeve]

Considering that this is what any normal graduate student does I would say no, it isn't difficult. However, you really need to thing about logistics. It is not advisable to have your job to far from your school - you want to spend as little time as possible commuting.

 

[Ocelot]

If you're from the UK you should use the Open University, they send you the books and stuff you need and you are given a personal tutor who you can ring up about the course. It's designed especially for people in your situation.

If you aren't in the UK, is there anything like the Open University where you're from?

 

[atacam]

Well I can actually throw my experience into this one. I have finished a BNC in engineering and just coming to my HNC first year exams in engineering. I have been doing this alongside a fulltime job, on day release. I am married and have 2 children, one of 12 and one who will be 1 on Sunday.

I am not saying it is easy, but it depends on how dedicated you are, what support you have and if you are prepared to put in quite a few late nights.

You have to really sit down and manage your time, but something of importance is to find some time to kick back. I managed to maintain my hobby so relaxed whilst painting.

Saying all this though I couldn't have done it without the support of my wife Zoe, who gave me the space to do the work and relax when needed.

If you do go down this route, good luck, because I know how hard it can be, but be assured it will be worth it in the end.

 

[mud duck]

Make sure that your partner knows that weekends are going to be for studying (say 4hrs or so a day). The baby is going to be their responsibility most of the time. Never take Physics 2 and Chemistry 3 at the same time. One 'hard' course and one 'easy' if possible, these being all subject to you, and what is offered at the time. Take a breather once a week or more (as needed), pub, walk, painting, whatever. Don't take school to work or verse visa (although I did get a coworker to model for a drawing on lunch, and the building had some nice architectural bits that I drew up) But for the most part the two don't mentally match up. Have fun with both, I mean what's the worst that they can do? Fire you, and kick you out?