Any part time students also working full time?

ruby_eskimo

Hi all. I graduated from university last June and I'm now going to head back to do a masters in October on a part time basis in addition to working full time. Just wanted to know if there were any other people in the same situation? People have raised concerns at my ability to work and study at the same time. But in my mind I'm only doing 3 modules each year and my employer is fairly flexible. Plus I work at a teaching hospital with it's own library stocking many of the journals etc that I'd be using anyway so I can always spend my lunch breaks in there!

MrsManda

I know a few people who've done Masters while working ft but it depends on what you mean by a pt course. Are there lectures/tutorials you need to regularly attend or is it a distance learning course where you've got a set amount of work but you can do it at any time?

I'm sure if you plan your time and you are realistic about what you can do, you'll be fine

ruby_eskimo

I have to go for lectures one and a half days a week which isn't too bad. Also I have the option of working 3 long days at work with 4 days off which I think I could handle. I'm really looking forward to it because it's one step closer to what I want to do!

Oldernotwiser

Studying for a Master's part time shouldn't be much different from studying at undergraduate level. If you think of the number of OU students who do this (both under and postgraduate) you might find it reassuring.

ruby_eskimo

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Studying for a Master's part time shouldn't be much different from studying at undergraduate level. If you think of the number of OU students who do this (both under and postgraduate) you might find it reassuring.

Well that's what I thought. But I had to go for an interview for the course and they kept going on about whether I had fully considered the whole thing and whether I'd be able to cope. Just wanted some reassurance that I wasn't being an idiot in thinking I could do this! Well that's the impression I got from the people interviewing me!

Oldernotwiser

ruby_eskimo wrote: »

Well that's what I thought. But I had to go for an interview for the course and they kept going on about whether I had fully considered the whole thing and whether I'd be able to cope. Just wanted some reassurance that I wasn't being an idiot in thinking I could do this! Well that's the impression I got from the people interviewing me!

Perhaps they were just being cautious; I can't see how anyone could afford to do a Masters part time and NOT work full time.

Good luck with it.

Natti_A

I have just been accepted onto a part time masters course, whilst working full time! Not quite sure how i will manage the first year and a bit (very book heavy) but after that it turns much more research based and therefore it should become easier for me to fit it all into my already hectic life!!

I have already accepted that my social life/sports activities will have to be cut back, but 2.5 years pain for a lifetimes gain is how im looking at this!! Plus with the cost of it all, i wont have much money left anyway to have a social life!

panpipe

Congratulations Natti_A!

@ ruby-eskimo (well anyone really)
I'm just finishing my third and final year of a Masters course, and I have been working full time throughout. It's hard work! It wasn't too bad for the first and half the second year as I lived locally and actually worked at the uni, though that was awkward in itself as I ended up doing all the course admin as well. During the Christmas holiday of the second year, I moved 200 miles away, so that meant a commute of 3 hours each way one day a week for lectures. That did get quite tiring, and annoying on those days where the lecturer decided it was only going to be a half hour session! Grr. Work were good with allowing me the time off though.

As I said I'm in my third year now and writing my 20,000 word dissertation. There are no lectures involved but it doesn't take any less of my time; in fact I'd say it's taking more! When you do get to that stage, you really need to get yourself mentally prepared for working all day then going home and writing for maybe 4 hours every evening, not to mention all day on weekends!

Not trying to put anyone off here! Like I said, it is hard work but (I hope!) will be so rewarding when I've finished and get my MBA to show all the work I've put in over 3 years!

Lara44

I studied part time and worked 4 days a week, one of these was a Saturday. I had about 3/4 a day off on a Sunday which I used to cook all the meals for the next week. It was a slog and to be honest I couldn't have handled the full 5 days a week.

That said, it depends so much on your course, job and personality. Social life will have to be cancelled, rather than cut back, though! It sounds like your option of the long days could work, but perhaps also talk to your employer about the possibilities of going down to 4 days per week in 'peak' exam times when you have deadlines? That way you can also tell your college that you have contingency plans in place.

I had a brilliant time studying, and I found part time to be an excellent way to study. It allowed more time to absorb everything, which I am sure helped me gain a good mark. Also it was nice to have a life outside uni, as others got a bit sucked into the whole student mentality. The interesting nature of the course also offset my admin job.

I am about to go back part time to do a phd, working 3 days per week, and studying 3.

Good luck and have a great time!

Lady_Fluff

I'm just finishing my last module right now, so only another 27,000 words to write now! I'm lucky in that my employers are paying for my course, so have had no problem getting the time off to attend (it's my last ever seminar today!). The course I'm doing (MSc Equality and Diversity) only runs part time and, as a result, the modules are generally structured over weekends - all the lectures for the entire module have been condensed into Thursday PM, all day Friday and all day Saturday, with 5 hours of seminars around them, thus making them suitable for people working even if their employers won't give them study leave for it, as they only have to take minimal amounts of their own time. It's tough going, I must admit, but I was never the most studious of undergrads and my 2:2 was deserved. It helps that my partner is also doing a Masters, so we motivate each other to work normally, although it menas we don't spend loads of time together (but it makes the time we do have even more special!). I'm unsure how I'm going to manage the research for my dissertation now, but I'll face that hurdle when I come to it!

I say go for it, you've got nothign to lose. I don't know how your course is structured, but we have the option of not doing the dissertation and getting a PostGrad Diploma, and I know some places will give you a PostGad certificate for 3 modules worth of work if you decide not to continue. So even if you do find it too much, it would be worth sticking it for a year and at least you'll have something to show for it!

Good luck!!!

panpipe

@ Lady Fluff - I found it quite difficult at the beginning to get into a routine with my dissertation research, so much so that I've got more left of it now than I'd planned to have by this stage . Plus my uni has been awful this year, but I won't bore you with that...

I'd recommend trying to stick to the same pattern as your lectures, i.e. in your case Thurs PM/Fri/Sat to do your research, as you're already used to setting that time aside to study. It may seem like you've got plenty of time at the start, but do get stuck in straight away - and leave yourself plenty of time to write up the research, not get bogged down by reviewing the literature!

Good luck with it! I'm 12,000 words down, 8000 to go by the end of April then I'm done! :beer: