Unique full-time job: Possible to do during MSW program?

[letvasq92]

I am writing to inquire your thoughts on the idea of juggling a full-time house director position at a sorority house while pursuing my MSW degree. I have read on a few other threads how most people frown upon the idea of even a part-time job while getting your MSW because the program is just so time consuming that it seems virtually impossible to balance this. However, if most academic classes/field placements are during the day (I am assuming a kind of 8/9 AM - 5/6 PM type of time allotment) and the position mainly requires you to live in the house at night, do you think balancing this could be possible? I just don't want to overload myself, but I also can't imagine not having a job for basically two years...I feel like this would be a somewhat doable "multitask" job opportunity.

All thoughts appreciated, with opinions from people already undergoing/undergone the MSW track is highly valued.

[thepinkdragon76]

I think your unique position may allow for it, given you will be able to devote the time needed to study and write papers. Have you lived at the house as an undergrad? Do you know what to expect of the sorority members during evening hours and if it will affect your ability to devote the hours needed to your coursework? That is what you need to determine and if you think you can manage it then I say go for it. Only you know your true capabilities. Good luck!

[letvasq92]

I think your unique position may allow for it, given you will be able to devote the time needed to study and write papers. Have you lived at the house as an undergrad? Do you know what to expect of the sorority members during evening hours and if it will affect your ability to devote the hours needed to your coursework? That is what you need to determine and if you think you can manage it then I say go for it. Only you know your true capabilities. Good luck!

 

 

Thank you thepinkdragon76, I think you raised up some good points! I kind of already considered those but just wanted a second opinion to make sure I wasn't...too optimistically getting myself overwhelmed, if that makes any sense. Yeah, I've lived in a sorority house for three years now as an undergrad and I think I know what to expect of members during the evening. 

If there are any other questions I should consider, please let me know! Thanks so much for the help!

Edited February 28, 2015 by letvasq92

[Econ_Friendly]

I am in a seperate discipline (Economics), and I don't know how intense the program is that you'll be going into.  That said, I can perhaps offer some anecdotal advice.  

 

I began a master's program while working as a consultant (remotely - from my home with the flexibility to attend classes when I need, and only out of town here and there).  Because it is consulting, and because I am salary, it was not always 40 hours a week, sometimes it was more.  That said, it's been absolutely (and I mean absurdly) miserable for me.  I was juggling 6-9 hours of varying intensity (from difficult in-class courses to independent work to research).  All of my courses have deserved at least 6 hours/week each of dedication, but all of them could have used 9-12.  Because I was too busy, I've felt like all I could do was juggle everything in an effort to moderately cover all my basis.  What have been my results?  Approx. 3.5 grad gpa.  (That might seem great, but in economics most Master's GPA or undergrad students that go for a Ph.D, which is my goal, have at least a 3.7 GPA.)  As a result, I've been falling short of my goals, and from my own perspective I completely know that I haven't been getting the practice that I need.

 

I've been supporting my wife and I, so I didn't have the ability to just quit.  However, my recommendation for anyone considering pursuing a full-time job while being in graduate school is only do it if you can quit (or seriously ramp-back your hours) if needed.  Your schooling should come first, and I can say now-in the position that I am now in-that I would have definitely taken out loans if I had known then what I know now.

 

Hopefully this is helpful to you or others.

[Econ_Friendly]

Stated another way, consider the mathematics of a full time job:

 

8 hours/day (plus, potentially, some amount of drive time, and some time lost to lunch).

0.5-1 hour minimum for meals/day (even if that is making food, picking food up, etc.)

0.5-1.5 hours drive time (depending on where all you go each day, how far you are from courses, etc.)'

0.5 hour/day for miscelaneous (we have 2 dogs 4 cats, so there's always something that needs done, including laundry for us, etc.).

 

Even at the minimum, that's nearly 10 hours/day gone.  If you get 6 hours of sleep, and you don't spend time relaxing, you ARE left with 8 hours a day or so to get stuff done.  From my experience, this is far from realistic.  My schedule looked like this on an average day:

 

5:30am-6:30am Wake up, make coffee, take out dogs, help wife get ready to leave.

6:30-7:00 make/eat breakfast

7-10:00 Work

10:00-10:20 get ready

10:20-10:40 drive to campus/park

10:40-11 walk to class

11-2 TA work, with 1 hour break at from 12-1, of which approx. 45 minutes was useful.

2:10 Walk to car

2:10-2:40 drive home (longer drive home b/c more people around campus/leaving and some coming)

2:40-3:15 Take dogs out, get settled back in, have a small snack

3:15-6:00 Work

6:00-7:30 Cook/Eat dinner/and spend a little while after talking to wife.

 

At this point I would have been up for 14.5 hours, completed only around 6 and a half hours of my 8 hour day, not studied at all.  If I had to do grocery shopping, do a bunch of clothes, or had a meeting, then I lost more time.

 

I was optimistic before I experienced it.  You just lose a LOT of time to nothing.  

[louise86]

First, you will want to check with your program. My program does not allow full-time work for full-time students. Second, personally I think it would be too much, I cannot imagine going to my field placement and then coming home in the evenings and having to deal with more issues from other people. My concern would be poor self-care and burn out. You can always try and see if it works and if it doesn't then you can make changes. Good luck!

[hyronomus4]

I am writing to inquire your thoughts on the idea of juggling a full-time house director position at a sorority house while pursuing my MSW degree. I have read on a few other threads how most people frown upon the idea of even a part-time job while getting your MSW because the program is just so time consuming that it seems virtually impossible to balance this. However, if most academic classes/field placements are during the day (I am assuming a kind of 8/9 AM - 5/6 PM type of time allotment) and the position mainly requires you to live in the house at night, do you think balancing this could be possible? I just don't want to overload myself, but I also can't imagine not having a job for basically two years...I feel like this would be a somewhat doable "multitask" job opportunity.

All thoughts appreciated, with opinions from people already undergoing/undergone the MSW track is highly valued.

 

It's probably possible if you're very organized but I would say avoid it if at all possible. 

I worked a live-in job Fri-Sun during my MSW and it was a challenge for me to do anything while I was on "work time".  It was a completely different job from what you're looking at but similar idea.  I found that the biggest issue was I was never able to get long chunks of time to work on papers and projects.  I could only get an hour here or an hour there (with constant interruptions) and I found that I really need several hours to sit down, organize myself, and get stuff done without distractions.