Working in Grad School

[ADL]

Hey guys. I know myself and my stress and anxiety are much too high for me to handle a part time job on top of a full time graduate program. But every single person I speak to seems to have some sort of job. If it is not a paid position it's something that looks great on a resume. I feel so bad about myself for not being able to handle all that. I have enough money saved so that I definitely do not have to work during grad school but still, I feel like a child compared to these people. One guy is working a full time job, is a TA and is taking 9 credits. Another girl is working 20 hrs/wk and taking 15 credits (the average in my school is 12/semester). I'm not in an intensive field like law or medicine, I'm in a public policy program. Don't get me wrong, it's highly ranked and really difficult but still an MA is never as hard as a JD or an MD. Should I be feeling this bad about myself? Do many grad students work? Help!

[Lisa44201]

Some do, some don't. We were warned on the first day of orientation that taking outside work was highly discouraged; for clinical students, depending on the job, outside work could actually hurt their chances for getting licensed. If you were smart/fortunate enough to be able to save enough money such that you don't have to work, take the time to ace your classes.

[michigan girl]

ADL, how many credits are you taking? 

 

Being a full-time student and working part-time is very normal. In professional master's programs, it is usually required that students work part-time to gain skills that enhance your coursework and make you into a more competitive candidate for full-time employment. Time management and being strategic with your schedule is essential. If you have never worked in college, try to take it slowly (start off with 8-10 hours per week). In future semesters, depending on the number of credits enrolled, increase those hours once you get adapted to your environment. I generally don't recommend a work schedule of 15+ hours per week for first-year master's students because these students are still adapting to a new environment and learning the foundation of their future profession. 15+ hours can also be overwhelming and negatively affect your grades. Below is (this is my opinion) an ideal work schedule (per week) based on number of credits enrolled in a term:

 

8-10 Credits..............................14-20 Hours 

11-14 Credits..............................10-16 Hours

15+ Credits..............................6-12 hours

Edited September 20, 2013 by michigan girl

[annieca]

I'm one of those absolutely crazy people that has to be insanely busy to get anything done. It keeps me focused in a way nothing else can. So this semester (as a first semester student) I will be working 30 hours a week at two different jobs as well as taking 9 hours of classes. Suicide? Probably. But... I am out of state, it's really hard to get GA/TA funding in my program and I can't afford to not be working. One job is an hourly RA position max 10 hours a week that I am incredibly interested in - it's something I would love to research myself. The other is a 20-hour-a-week-minimum at a very, very well-respected Archives. Even with those I'm going to have to take off loans which I was hoping to avoid. *sigh*

 

So it comes down to a money thing. Some people can afford not to work crazy schedules and just take lower paying jobs in their field for the experience. Ultimately, I agree with people saying to take it slow and find out what you can handle.

 

One last point - there is an incredible benefit for working outside of the grad school life as well. It's that you get friends/acquaintances outside of grad school who will not try to "outstress" you.

[juilletmercredi]

I think this depends entirely on the field.  In my psychology department, hardly anyone works aside from research hours because you're expected to spend most of your hours in the lab.  In my public health department, I would say a significant proportion - but not half - of the doctoral students work.  Many of the master's students work, though, either to gain experience or cover living expenses (or both)  I do worked and have worked in varying capacities since my fourth year (I'm in my sixth year).  Sometimes, I have worked two part-time jobs (like TAing and serving as a GA - when I did this, I was easily working 30 hours a week on top of my schoolwork).  I also need to be insanely busy to get anything done and feel productive - I consider this an "easy" semester because I'm writing my dissertation, working 10 hours a week, and volunteering for one organization (average of 3 hours a week).  I feel lazy, lol.

In some programs, outside work is discouraged anyway, but in other programs part-time work during a program can help lead to full-time jobs afterwards, or at the very least research opportunities for your thesis.  But if you know you can't work, then don't take on the extra work - your first priority is doing well in school.  However, do realize that you will be in competition with these students for jobs and that people who are hiring MPPs are looking for people with good grades AND experience.

[MsDarjeeling]

While working vs not outside of grad school may be field specific, I think a lot of it has to do with whether you're in a PhD or MA/MS program.  Many PhD programs are funded so outside work is less of a need whereas MA/MS programs are generally unfunded so working is more of a necessity.  In my MA program at least 90% of the students work because it is unfunded and many have families or mortgages. 

 

I personally take 12 units per semester and work 32-40 hours per week at a job completely unrelated to my field.  I also work 4-10 hours per week at volunteer jobs directly related to my field and log a few hours a week on independent research projects.  Then of course there's time spent studying and doing coursework and I have no idea how much time I devote to that.  Regardless there is still time leftover for a full nights sleep, exercise, hobbies, family, and friends.

[PsychGirl1]

We are prohibited from working outside of grad school in my PhD program. Thank goodness!

 

When I did my master's, I worked, but only within my department (TA'ing, etc.), and was careful to accept only positions that would allow me to do my work as well. If that meant TA'ing one easy class for like, $300 a month, then that's what I did. You could start with something small- you will probably be surprised how well you balance the additional responsibility!