Working during Graduate School

[flower!]

I am about to start graduate school at Columbia, pursuing an MA in art history. I recently had an opportunity to start working part-time, which wold be great because it pays high enough that I could cover my living expenses. However, the position is for a few hours every weekday, and I'm worried its going to take away from my ability to engage with school. The position is somewhat related to my field, but will most likely not help me professionally.

 

I'm sure this is a common problem, I was wondering how others weighted the pros and cons of working while going to graduate school.

 

 

[rocketbird]

It will absolutely take away from your ability to engage. You can do it, but if the options are working + no loans versus not working + loans, you have a difficult decision ahead. 

 

I worked two jobs in undergrad and it affected my GPA. When I quit one of them in my last quarter and overloaded on classes in my desired field I finished with a 3.9. 

[ak48]

It will absolutely take away from your ability to engage. You can do it, but if the options are working + no loans versus not working + loans, you have a difficult decision ahead. 

 

I worked two jobs in undergrad and it affected my GPA. When I quit one of them in my last quarter and overloaded on classes in my desired field I finished with a 3.9. 

 

The mathematical possibility of obtaining an overall 3.9 GPA indicates your grades weren't that affected.

[Dal PhDer]

I've worked during all of my degrees. Part-time during my undergrad and PhD,and full-time during my Masters.

 

My Masters work was directly related to my thesis, so it actually was extremely beneficial for me. During my PhD, I've done a lot of TA work, and consulting work. It might take away from your school time (beit social or academic work time), but it can be worth it. 

 

I think you just need to be cautious and don't burn yourself out. There's pros and cons for working, and I think it varies between students.

[Rogue856]

I think it depends. I worked full-time all semesters except one as an undergrad and still managed an overall 3.9. I would say the biggest difference was the depth at which I learned the material. Working full-time I got by with great grades but didn't really master the material. I think the key is to really manage your time and set aside blocks for schoolwork that can't be interfered with. Not working though I learned a lot more, made more connections between readings from different classes and produced more polished writing. I will be working 20hrs/wk as a TA during my MA and I'm hoping it will be easier than having a regular job.

 

It's definitely a tradeoff and in my opinion if you don't need to work, don't work. You're much better off getting as much as possible out of that MA program. You also have to consider how your job will interfere with department functions, conferences, etc. Those things are important for networking and in my experience employers are not keen on employees ducking out all the time for those things. But if working is best for you in terms of your debt burden then it can be done.

[danieleWrites]

I worked during my MA and I had to choose between sleep and work (both school and paycheck) far too often. If you can do it without working, I recomend that. A person can only do so much in one day.

[sociologo]

If you have funding, make sure that you are allowed to have employment outside of your TA/RA position. Sometimes there is the expectation or requirement that you do not pursue employment outside of what is given to you. The thought is that that is time you should be using for your courses or conducting your research. 

[Soul]

I am about to start graduate school at Columbia, pursuing an MA in art history. I recently had an opportunity to start working part-time, which wold be great because it pays high enough that I could cover my living expenses. However, the position is for a few hours every weekday

 

Assuming you aren't living under the bridge, you snagged quite a deal in that a part-time job could cover your living expenses in NYC. Impressive.

 

 

With that said, the question is will the demand of your field, be it industry or academia post-MA, afford you the opportunity to sacrifice either a) grades or networking opportunities in order to have temporary part-time income? Now that I think about it, I don't know of any field, regardless of how technical it is, that would give such job stability. However, some fields are better than others. If your field is ultra-competitive (and intuitively you should have some knowledge of this), then you should take best care to make sure your profile (grades, research, portfolio, etc.) is of high quality. A part-time job, especially a *few* hours every day may not seem like a lot, but when you count lectures, outside projects, readings, course papers, manuscripts, meetings, etc. those hours during the week add up. So much so that you maybe sacrificing quite a bit academically and professionally. If that is the case, it maybe better to take out a little bit extra in federal loans (if you can) and spend those part-time hours working/networking your arse off to position yourself in the most competitive place when you're done!

[flower!]

Thank you all for your great input on this subject! I didn't even consider that the directors of my program would view working outside of school inadvisable. I've spoken to a few graduate students—one said yes definitely work, and the other said don't work take out loans. The debate continues. 

[Panama Slim]

I would disagree with taking out any loans.  There are a few professional degrees that pay back quickly enough to cover loans.  I don't believe you are doing one of those.  If you need money to live (but not to live well) then my humble advice is to work or wait for funding. The one debate I think is valid is between work experience versus networking.  To me, this questions boils down to whether one will do enough networking to offset the value of some work experience. Is the work at least arguably connected to your long term goals?  Can you "network" on weekends, during and between classes?  Will the networking be high quality or just chit chatting at the coffee house? 

[juilletmercredi]

I have a close friend/coworker doing the MA in art history here at Columbia.  She works part-time at an art gallery AND works part-time in residential life with me, which probably totals about 30 hours a week (20 hours in this job and probably around 10 in the other.  She doesn't think it interferes in her ability to engage in her work beyond the point where she can get what she needs to get done.  She's writing her thesis now (in longhand, I might add).

 

I personally work 20 hours a week in my doctoral program.  I don't think it takes away from the ability to engage.  If you work a job that is flexible, you can schedule your hours so that you are in the department often enough - and you can make those colloquia, talks, brown bags, whatever.  One of my advisors doesn't even know I work part-time.

 

I completely disagree with the advice to not work and just take out loans.  Living in New York is expensive, and if you can avoid taking out the $50,000 in loans it will cost you to cover living expenses over two years of living here, then do it.  AFAIK art history jobs don't pay six figures, so the less debt you can take out, the better!

[ArtHistoryandMuseum]

AFAIK art history jobs don't pay six figures, so the less debt you can take out, the better!

 

Haha - nope! Especially not for emerging or mid-career museum positions...

 

Now, if you are in an upscale museum, and/or if you are the executive director, deputy director, or established professor/PhD curator (or something like that)... there might be instances then to see six figures. 

 

But generally not during, or straight out of grad school.

 

In other words, IF you were able to swing six figures immediately, I'd be really impressed! 

Edited May 4, 2013 by ArtHistoryandMuseum

[fullofpink]

I am about to start graduate school at Columbia, pursuing an MA in art history. I recently had an opportunity to start working part-time, which wold be great because it pays high enough that I could cover my living expenses. However, the position is for a few hours every weekday, and I'm worried its going to take away from my ability to engage with school. The position is somewhat related to my field, but will most likely not help me professionally.

 

I'm sure this is a common problem, I was wondering how others weighted the pros and cons of working while going to graduate school.

 

Hey OP, I would take the job. If you find it is too much of a burden, you can always resign without too much of a smear on your reputation. Plus, if the job is in your field, networking opportunities + your masters will take you much much farther career-wise than just doing the masters. 

[imonedaful]

It depends on how you work as an individual. Some people are more productive with a full schedule. If you are going to school, working and studying you only have a certain amount of time to devote to each and will properly budget your time. Often this is much easier than having too much time on your hands to overthink things. However, if you are a person you cannot handle time constraints then you should reconsider. But, not having to take out any student loans and be able to cover your living expenses will definitely ease your mind. And peace of mind can be quite valuable. Plus, as the poster above me said, you can always take the job and resign in the future if it does not work with your schedule. 

[bluestskies]

I'll be working full time and am going to school part time (8 credits a quarter year round, as opposed to 12 credits a quarter fall/winter/spring with summer's off). I worked 3 jobs during my 4 years of undergrad and interned in my department, and my grades weren't the best, but the work experience was quite beneficial in the long run. Plus I enjoy being busy. 

 

At this point I'll have been out of college a good 6+ years and couldn't imagine not working - but that's mostly because of my personal situation - getting close to buying a house and starting a family and need to keep my job and steady income. In addition, it does help that I'm already in the field of my degree program and working my way up - I think it would be worse for me professionally to quit for school and have a 2 year gap in employment rather than having the 3 years of work AND having a masters at the same time.