Working full time, MA part time

[bzrunner2009]

I do agree that the first year is a bit bumpy but the second year you know what to expect. I think this was reflected in this year's grades. I KILLED on my fall semester 2011 grades. I was pulling a 12 credit load (3 graduate courses and 1 language course) and working on the outside. I believe that if anyone ever doubts my capabilities that my Fall 2011 semester is redeem worthy.

[oseirus]

To the original poster: I have worked part-time for a good chunk of my Master's program (full-time school) and I was able to manage it, mostly. It was still difficult and I often reluctantly had to ignore my social life. Everyone manages their time differently though so perhaps it's best to just try for it and see how it goes.

I had first considered doing full-time work and part-time school but realized that in that situation -- full-time work -- my job would always come first, and I just did not want to do that, sacrificing school, seeing as I wanted to spend my time/$ in graduate school doing my absolute best. I did not major in history in undergrad, so I feel as if this is my one chance to prove myself for PhD applications.

Well guess time to burn my "underachiever and proud of it" t-shirt, membership card and signed Bart Simpson certificate of authentic slackertitude ... but in all seriousness I am assuming you are saying that the first year was difficult but as long as you put forth the effort it was doable?

[bzrunner2009]

Well guess time to burn my "underachiever and proud of it" t-shirt, membership card and signed Bart Simpson certificate of authentic slackertitude ... but in all seriousness I am assuming you are saying that the first year was difficult but as long as you put forth the effort it was doable?

Lol, yes. I think my first semester was the hardest as I struggled with imposer syndrome for the first two weeks. I also realized that the thinking level at the masters level was another whole playing field (I know... my durp moment).

[oseirus]

Lol, yes. I think my first semester was the hardest as I struggled with imposer syndrome for the first two weeks. I also realized that the thinking level at the masters level was another whole playing field (I know... my durp moment).

Well guess I've found another student mentor! Welcome to the fold!

[Sigaba]

Any opinions or advice?

My concern is that while your work may not impact your grades as a master's student, it may impact your study/critical thought time.

Please keep in mind that the objective of course work is not simply to get good grades but to gain an understanding of one's fields of interest that enables one to create new knowledge in one's fields of study. If you work while going to school, you may end up trading 'processing time' for 'peace of mind' from the bump and grind of the workplace. (You've had a tough day at the salt mines, you have a paper due the day after next, and instead of going home and busting hump on that assigment, you decide spend some time decompressing with the understanding that you'll still have tomorrow. Meanwhile, your competition, who doesn't have an outside job, is grinding and toiling away at that essay. Sure, you botm may end up acing it, but who has a better opportunity to write the type of an essay that is going to get professors saying "Hey, this is a student who would benefit from more mentoring--and more financial support from the department"?)

If your ultimate objective is a master's, I think the question is: Can you do it? MOO, the answer is 'yes,' especially if the work is somewhat mindless or if you're going to be in a supportive work environment. However, if you intend to enter a doctoral program down the line, I believe the question should be: Should you do it?

[oseirus]

who has started looking for jobs?

[jamc8383]

I have to rely on federal loans and a part time work to finance my MA. During my first semester I was doing about 24-30 hours a week of retail, my second semester I was doing 12 hrs/wk as a tutor on campus and 12 hrs/wk in retail. This third semester I'll be moving into balancing two university jobs for a combined total of 24 hrs/wk. I've intentionally balanced my course load to make this possible. Each semester consists of one upper division course, one graduate seminar and one language course. The program will take me a little longer, but I can dedicate the appropriate amount of time and energy to my coursework. Additionally, I have two colleagues working full-time and doing an MA. They each take no more than two courses/semester. Most of us need to work while pursuing our masters degrees, you just have to make sure that your work isn't so time consuming that your grades suffer. Hope that helps.