2020 - 'Nothing in your life will change until you make the decision to change'

jwil

Hope everyone is well.

I've just done a silly?  thing.  I've signed up for a Masters Degree.  I've wanted to do one for years, but haven't found the right one, had the money or the time.  I've just found one that looks really interesting with the OU and is relevant to my work (I won't be able to get funding through work, but am doing it for interest as much as anything).  The kicker is it is incredibly expensive.  It's an integrated Masters so I think I might be eligible for a student loan, but can't apply until the summer.  If I wasn't eligible for the loan, I could probably cover a course at a time, but it would take forever to complete and obviously cost a fortune.  It doesn't start until October and I don't need to confirm until September so I'm not committed yet.

I really really want to do it but am torn!

ladyholly

Go for it if you can. You will never regret it. Well until you have an assignment to finish and the stuff piles up but that's only transitory. If I can give one tip make sure you are as organised as possible before you start including getting the rest of the family to do as much as possible with housework, washing etc. Good luck. 

remote_control

I got a masters loan and am in my second year. I don't earn enough to pay back my masters loan currently.

I don't want to give too many details on here but would discuss via pm if you want, I have been doing it part time while working and have children similar ages to yours. For me it has been great but a lot of hard work, it definitely wouldn't suit everyone and many coursemates have really struggled because they haven't put the time in. I love it though. 

savingholmes

I think it depends what you plan to do with it. My mum did a masters later on in life and it transformed her career and opened new doors.

jwil

ladyholly said:

Go for it if you can. You will never regret it. Well until you have an assignment to finish and the stuff piles up but that's only transitory. If I can give one tip make sure you are as organised as possible before you start including getting the rest of the family to do as much as possible with housework, washing etc. Good luck. 

Thank you   My degrees are with the OU as well so I'm used to working and studying.  It's bloody hard, but I think I'm better prepared now than I have ever been.  Good points on getting others to help out more too.

remote_control said:

I got a masters loan and am in my second year. I don't earn enough to pay back my masters loan currently.

I don't want to give too many details on here but would discuss via pm if you want, I have been doing it part time while working and have children similar ages to yours. For me it has been great but a lot of hard work, it definitely wouldn't suit everyone and many coursemates have really struggled because they haven't put the time in. I love it though. 

Thank you    I have studied and worked together before, so I know what to expect there.  This is an integrated masters so has undergraduate and postgraduate studies combined.  For that reason I don't think I'm eligible for a masters loan, but the course appears on the list suitable for student finance, and it appears I am eligible even though it's not my first degree.  I'm glad you are managing well though, it gives me hope!

savingholmes said:

I think it depends what you plan to do with it. My mum did a masters later on in life and it transformed her career and opened new doors.

I don't actually plan to do anything with it, it's for my own satisfaction.  However, I don't rule anything out and it could potentially be very useful.  I'm a bit of a study fiend and have two degrees and some other qualifications already with the OU.  The last few years have been the first since I was 18 that I haven't been studying, and I've been itching to do something else for a long time.

jwil

Thank you everyone for your support and thoughts.  I really appreciate it.  I really want to do the course, and will do it at some point.  I've waited a long time to find a course that looks right and this is the first one that I've really wanted to do since the one I wanted to do before was discontinued a few years ago.  I've looked at other institutions too and haven't found anything that directly appeals.

I have to be realistic though and remember that I want to get a lot of other stuff done, including the house!  A lot of my original debt has been built up in part due to my studying as my other degrees were self funded.  The OU is a lot more expensive now too!  I don't want to get myself into the same position again.  So I think a lot relies on me getting finance.  If I can do that I will go for it as soon as possible.  If it turns out I am not eligible, I will have to think how I approach it and maybe put it off a bit longer.  Some courses are cheaper than others and I can do them out of order to cover the cheaper ones first.  I might be eligible for some credit transfer from a couple of my other courses as well which will help bring the cost down.  It's doable, I just need to not rush in.

ladyholly

My degree was also through the OU. Yes a full time job plus family plus studying is hard but very satisfying when you succeed. One of my years I made a huge mistake as my workplace offered me the chance to do a course with our local university. What I didnt realise it was more work than I thought so effectively I was doing a full time studying between the two plus all the other stuff that mums do and continuing to work full time plus overtime. That was a very intense few months.

jwil

ladyholly said:

My degree was also through the OU. Yes a full time job plus family plus studying is hard but very satisfying when you succeed. One of my years I made a huge mistake as my workplace offered me the chance to do a course with our local university. What I didnt realise it was more work than I thought so effectively I was doing a full time studying between the two plus all the other stuff that mums do and continuing to work full time plus overtime. That was a very intense few months.

Wow, I bet that was hard work.  Well done for managing to complete it all!

HairyHandofDartmoor

It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it. You still have debt and need to spend money on the house. I would be tempted to prioritise that for now if it was me. But if you want to do the masters badly enough then you'll find a way to do it . I did an undergraduate degree before I had my children, then about thirty years later spent two years studying functional skills maths and two years getting my teaching assistant qualifications. I enjoyed studying again in my fifties, but it took up a lot of my free time so I'm glad I've finished and can call my time my own again. It's a balance between the money spent, the loss of free time, and the benefits of getting the qualification.

Have a lovely weekend .

jwil

HairyHandofDartmoor said:

It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it. You still have debt and need to spend money on the house. I would be tempted to prioritise that for now if it was me. But if you want to do the masters badly enough then you'll find a way to do it . I did an undergraduate degree before I had my children, then about thirty years later spent two years studying functional skills maths and two years getting my teaching assistant qualifications. I enjoyed studying again in my fifties, but it took up a lot of my free time so I'm glad I've finished and can call my time my own again. It's a balance between the money spent, the loss of free time, and the benefits of getting the qualification.

Have a lovely weekend .

You are right of course.  I'm going to apply for the student finance, and if I don't get that I'll revisit the plans and probably put it back for a bit.  If I get the finance, then it won't cost me very much at all if anything and so won't impact on the debts or the house.   I've done plenty of studying combined with working, so am happy about that time commitment.