If you are a distance learner and an employee

How can you manage if you are a part-time student between your studies and your job?


Is it possible for you to get 2 degrees same time?

 

I agree with Steve.


Abner

 

When I was doing my MA, I typically took one class a semester, occasionally two. I enjoyed concentrating on one thing for a while. I took a long time to complete my thesis too. But I didn't worry about slow progress since I was doing the program for personal growth.

I've heard of people doing that, but it sounds like a bad idea to me. I'd much prefer to focus on one program and to give it the attention that it deserves. Part-time of part-time is probably cutting things too thin.

 

Re: Re: If you are a distance learner and an employee

Speaking from experience...

Bill is correct. Is it possible to do two at once? yes. Is it a good idea? My experience says not for me. I was going too many directions at once - job, family, degree #1, degree #2, etc. One is enough...

my opinion anyway

clint

 

I also agree with Bill and Clint. I found that the going at breakneck speed doing way too much did not work for me. Too many other commitments just slowed everything down. Taking one class/test at a time at a pace I could handle helped keep me on track.

Start slow and pick up steam as you get to know at what pace you can keep up with.Ultimately you'll be the best judge of what course/degree load you can handle.


Dan

 

I am a full time employee and a fulltime student and I have a wife and a 3 year old! I manage just fine I fit school work in when my daughter goes to bed and on the weekends(I don't have much of a life I will admit).. sometimes I don't finish until the wee hours of the night but I manage..It depends on how important it is to you and the stress level(and sleep) that you can handle.

 

It is surely possible to do a job and one degree full time. What kind of degrees are you thinking of and is there any overlap?

 

The power of transfer credit!!

I am self-employed and are currently in two different graduate programs (one BM, one Online). My online degree does overlap with the BM degree that I initially started. I used some of the course from the BM degree to satisfy 33% of the online degree. Therefore, I think overlap is helpful in participating in two programs at the same time.


Something to keep in mind:

Many program specifically state that credits earned for a previous graduate degree can not be used to satisfy the requirement of their own program. So sometimes it is better to start the second program before actually finishing the first program. At that time they are simply "graduate credits", not "graduate credits that were used to satisfy the requirements of a previous graduate degree."

 

sleep is for the weak

This is my wife's experience;and mine, too, by extension. She works a full day, comes home, spends about two hours a night and four hours per weekend day on school, and leaves the cooking, dishes, and laundry for me to take care of.

Can it be done? Yes. However, you must have the discipline to put in the hours.

I teach undergraduate courses online, and I get to see this from the other side. I have found that the students who check in daily and communicate with me frequently tend to do well. This is especially important, when a student wants some flexibility in due dates. An 88.7 looks like an A, if you have been in regular contact with me; it looks like a B, if you have not.

One strategy that works very well is to organize a study group among your fellow students, even if it is not a stated expectation of the class. That way, you learn by explaining the material to others, and you stand a better chance of making friends with your classmates.

 

I think it is possible. I took two classes per semester for my Masters. I could have taken one class and one class for a another masters program.

 

It is surely possible to do a job and one degree full time. What kind of degrees are you thinking of and is there any overlap?

 

I worked part-time to pay my way through undergrad and grad school, although I was not married at the time. Later, when I did my MBA, I was married, with children, a mortgage and a demanding professional career. I paid for the MBA out of pocket since my employer would not pay for additional education.

I echo the earlier comments that self-motivation, self-discipline and the committment to see it through are the primary factors of success. If you want to do it badly enough, you will find a way to overcome the inevitable obstacles.

 

I completed 28 credits - all the hard way - during the last 12 months while working full-time. So concurrently tackling two overlapping degrees is possible. But be forewarned... The pressure of working full-time and studying at what amounted to a full-time equivalent basis took its toll on me.

But it can be done if you can find that magical proper balance.