[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Fulltime Job + Fulltime College (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 7/21/2010 5:02:26 AM EDT
|
Is anyone doing it? Is it worth it? Too hard? I was planning on taking 2 online classes in addition to my full time job... then I thought about 3 classes and now I'm debating 4 online classes. |
|
I did it, in person classes. Only slept 3-4 hours a day. Very stressful! Must have excellent organizational skills. Little or no social life, I did court a couple of ladies, both were students in the programs I was in. Married the second.
The secret was the insomnia. |
|
One of my advantages is that I work from home. I really don't have too much of a workload and even if I do, it's not like I have to drive somewhere. I just don't want to get in over my head. Right now I'm planning on 3 classes per semester over the next 4 years (Spring, Summer & Fall) for a B.A.S, starting from scratch. I can significantly cut that time down if I take 4 classes each term. I'm thinking 99% of it is time management. |
|
Quoted: You will not sleep in a meaningful way. You will fall asleep while driving, while standing up, mid sentence, in class, on the toilet... You get the idea. In the end it is worth it to come out of school with little debt. Luckily my employer reimburses college tuition for job related degrees. 100% for A's, 75% for B's.. etc. I was crunching the numbers the other day, it's really not too bad. From a strictly credit hour and books standpoint a BS degree for an in-state student will run about ~$16,000. That's not too bad over the course of 4 years ($4k a year), I think the people with the debt are the younger ones who use loans to cover living and partying expenses as well. |
|
I did it. To me it wasn't hard but I was in my early twenties full of piss and vinegar. I even found time to party with friends between all that. You just have to figure out time management and what your #1 priority is. This will depend heavily on whether you are gainfully employed and are going back to school or furthering you education or you are working at WalMart and going to school to get a better job. In the latter example I would focus on school first and tailor my work schedule (if possible) around school. I was able to do that and it worked out great. Pros - You will most likely have money to pay for school vs loans. You will not find yourself tempted by many many things because you're too focused on work+school. Cons - Little sleep, many hours working and then worrying about doing your school work (or vice-versa), social life may suffer, too much coffee! |
|
Quoted: I worked full time through college. My job paid well, and I was able to travel a lot during downtime at work and always had money for gun stuff, but I had very little free time to socialize otherwise. Probably wouldn't do it again. I think my problem is that I have TOO much social time.  I have a pretty cushy corporate job, 9-5 from home and pays very well. I just look back at the past few years and working and paying bills is getting pretty boring. Need to find ways to improve myself and be productive. This degree should help me advance up the ladder and land a few more raises. I think I'm going to tackle 3, if I can or can't handle it then I'll adjust accordingly, but 3 is the magic number right now. The only thing I'm really scared of is Math & English, once I get those out of the way electives should be easier. |
|
My wife did that for part of her BS degree. The rest of the time she worked part time (20-25 hours per week) in a co-op job in her field. I guess it might depend on how difficult you find the classes. She mixed her difficult classes with the "underwater basketweaving" type classes most semesters so she didn't have a full load of hard classes.
|
|
I did it, so did the wife. I graduated with a total school dept of 7K. I was horrified and thought it was impossible to pay it off.
Course, that was back in the 70's when 7K was real money.  For that matter, we did it before there were computers and you spent all night in the typewriter lab doing papers. . 
|
|
Im working 50-60 hours a week with 2 online classes and 1 Night class for my masters, it's a bitch and a bit hard on the family.
With proper time budgeting and motivation anything can be done successfully, even if that means I have to spend my lunches for a week and a half writing a 20 page research paper so I can play with my 5 month old at night. |
|
I worked a job Mon-Fri 7am to 4pm. Then went to school from 6pm to 10PM. 2 hours in between for studying and grabbing a bite to eat. Got home about 10.30..........studied to about 12 and went to bed. Same routine next day. It can be done, you just have to be commited. |
|
Quoted: Im working 50-60 hours a week with 2 online classes and 1 Night class for my masters, it's a bitch and a bit hard on the family. With proper time budgeting and motivation anything can be done successfully, even if that means I have to spend my lunches for a week and a half writing a 20 page research paper so I can play with my 5 month old at night. That is the million dollar question. Which classes require 20 page research papers? |
|
Quoted:
Is anyone doing it? Is it worth it? Too hard? I was planning on taking 2 online classes in addition to my full time job... then I thought about 3 classes and now I'm debating 4 online classes. I had a 30-35 hr/wk job, took between 11-14 hrs per semester, and bounced at 2 different bars every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. It almost killed me, but that piece of paper was worth it... |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Im working 50-60 hours a week with 2 online classes and 1 Night class for my masters, it's a bitch and a bit hard on the family. With proper time budgeting and motivation anything can be done successfully, even if that means I have to spend my lunches for a week and a half writing a 20 page research paper so I can play with my 5 month old at night. That is the million dollar question. Which classes require 20 page research papers?
It was a class dealing with legal and ethical issues within the security environment...working on an MBA with emphasis in Business and Organizational Security |
|
Quoted:
During my time I worked full time and only took 2 to 3 classes. I got and still get paid very well so my priorities were with work that paid me $$$ rather than listening to some liberal bullshit all day long. It took me longer to finish but it was worth it...  This is pretty much what I'm doing. It's taking me 6 years, but I'm almost done 
|
| A guy in my dorm freshman year was doing full time college (plus taking extra classes so he could graduate early), holding down two or three part time jobs, and maintaining a serious relationship. I think he bought a house by the end of freshman year. If that guy isn't/doesn't become a self-made gajillionaire nobody will. |
|
Quoted: My wife did that for part of her BS degree. The rest of the time she worked part time (20-25 hours per week) in a co-op job in her field. I guess it might depend on how difficult you find the classes. She mixed her difficult classes with the "underwater basketweaving" type classes most semesters so she didn't have a full load of hard classes. It definitely depends on what classes you're taking. Organic Chemistry takes a lot more study time than Theater 101. |
|
My wife has been at it for quite a while now. I agree with the sentiments of "I don't know how she does it."
She still manages to find time for the kids, church, cleaning house, and other various crap. She's currently organizing a relative's baby shower. I just don't get it. Glad I married her regardless. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
My wife did that for part of her BS degree. The rest of the time she worked part time (20-25 hours per week) in a co-op job in her field. I guess it might depend on how difficult you find the classes. She mixed her difficult classes with the "underwater basketweaving" type classes most semesters so she didn't have a full load of hard classes. It definitely depends on what classes you're taking. Organic Chemistry takes a lot more study time than Theater 101. This. Start slow and get a feel for the workload, then ramp up. If you can't handle it you may create a serious problem for yourself academically. Make sure you can excel. |
|
I did this back in the mid 90's. Had an academic overload of 18-23 credits per semester and worked full time. I was lucky and had some flexibility from my employer. I also wanted to get out of college ASAP.
Work: Friday - single shift Saturday - double shift Sunday - double shift I had no social life for my last two years in school, not that it mattered as my then gf (now wife) was in school far away. I was too exhausted on Mondays to attend school - plus school was almost 100 miles away. I lived in a dump that some other students and I rented during the week, and went to my parents on the weekends which was nearer work. Many weekends, I never even saw them. All in all, I was glad I did what I did, but it was hard. Work (and Monday recuperation) would sometimes conflict with classes, so I missed a lot of classes. I maintained a solid B average due to a great short-term memory, but I did get summoned to different dept. head offices for counseling on attendance on multiple occasions. I was so burned out at the end, that I left to live with my gf the day after my last exam. Did not stick around for graduation. Edited for typos. |
|
I did it, for the seven months it took me to complete the police academy. Working 40 hours a week as a corrections officer, midnight shift in the county jail, and going to the academy was about 35 hours a week for class time and driving. Ugh...I survived, but it was tough. I wouldn't want to have to do too many more 80 hour weeks, especially not for months straight.
|
|
My Father worked a full time job, and went full time to a State University when I was young. He literally slept about 4 hours a night, on average, for four years, working straight graveyards. I did the online schooling thing while working full time, and it was kind of a pain, at times. |