Field Work & Part-time program

[jr84]

I will be going to Fordham part-time in the 3 year extended program. I will be working full-time in a non social work field. I thought my job would be pretty accommodating regarding going back to school but things changed when they found out I got accepted. It's a small company and I've worked there for almost 6 years. I met with my boss and was pretty much told that my work couldn't slack off b/c of school. I guess I understand their concern but thought it was weird since the first year I would be taking night classes and technically my work wouldn't be disturbed until my second year. I've seen them make exceptions for other ppl at work and thought they were pretty open about accommodating ppl with varied circumstances. We discussed possible problems that could arise and this is even BEFORE school started! Now I feel weird asking for any special treatment in the future.

So I guess my question is, has anyone had any trouble getting their job to accommodate their field work, while going to school part-time. Especially interested in ppl who are working full-time in a non social work field.

[arcoventry]

One of the hardest decisions I made personally was choosing the 2-year full time program over the extended program. When I weighed the facts and realities, I knew it would be almost impossible to commit to both. My (non-social work related) job is high-impact, deals with unpredictable clients, and includes a small but mandatory amount of travel, often without warning. I can't speak for how your responsibilities at your full-time job compare, but the decision I came to was that rather than stress and suffer for 3 years, I would bite the bullet - quit my full time job and get my degree in 2 years.

It sounds like your boss was not very confident you would get in to grad school - or that you would decide against it once you got accepted. It is easy for them to be politically correct and tell you they support you no matter what, but when your team and your boss's reputation faces damage because you're distracted or otherwise unavailable, it is going to create conflicts of interest between the two of you.

[jr84]

Financially, it would have been impossible for me to quit my job. IMy job really isn't that demanding but I do travel maybe 3-4x a year, but I know well in advanced (I already know my travel schedule for next year).

I think they thought I wasn't quite sure if I was going to go, not that I wouldn't get in. One of my bosses actually wrote me a recommendation and seemed super supportive when we talked about it. I do understand their concern but I thought their attitude was odd b/c other ppl have gone to school part-time and it didn't seem like a big deal.