sneaking work hours in

[rohinimohan]

I'm a grad student and start this Fall in Columbia. It's been worrying me, the number of times the univ people tell me I'll have noooo time to work, even on-campus. The way they go on and on about it, they seem to think I'll flunk if I so much as venture towards a job! But I do need a job to pay a part of my tuition, since they weren't as responsive when I hounded them about funding (they love saying no, it seems). Hmph.

I know a lot of Asians/Indians (I'm one too) who hold down a job and kick ass at univ too. Hoping I'll be able to pull it off too.

They said I can work 5 hours a week at the library or something, but don't say how I go about that.

RA/TAs are out of question because my masters is only one year long. What to do? Is anyone going through the same thing?

[ramprasad]

You can certainly work if you allocate your time properly. And if you don't have a TA/RA, then you can definitely work. TA/RA's work 20 hours anyway, so you can spend the same number of hours working elsewhere.

[lotf629]

People at Harvard say the same thing, but I worked 15+ hours every week through my MA, full-time over vacations including Thanksgiving and Christmas, and did very well in coursework. It is possible, though kind of sucky.

I'm going to Columbia too and I'll be working because of my family situation. For me, it's work and go to school, or work: school without work is simply not possible given my parents' situation. People would say it's impossible, but I've been doing it long enough to know that it is possible, and for me it's necessary. You make it work if you have to.

If you have teaching ability, get a job in Manhattan tutoring: $35 an hour and up, way up. Columbia enrollment will help with that.

[Minnesotan]

Try to get a job that lets you read. Library work, overnight security at a car lot, etc. That's what I did as an undergrad, when I had to hold down three jobs to pay the rent.

[lotf629]

Minnesotan makes an excellent point. I find that such jobs can often end up making me more productive than I would be with no job because they help me structure my time and force me to sit still long enough to read and study.

[Michelley262003]

Get a job as a tutor. You can make your own hours, charge your own rates. I'm sure someone would be dying to have a grad student help them with a paper/ math homework/ science etc. Whatever your skill maybe. Also, if you are a decent test-taker and did well on the GRE you may try applying for a job teaching at Kaplan or princeton review. They are always looking for teachers for the suckers that take those courses.

best of luck

[Sgt. Pepper]

i work in a library as a reference assistant (I actually work at two different libraries with this same position) while taking five courses and it's not so bad. The good part is I end up doing a lot of reading and researching, so I do all my coursework while I'm sitting around. I just got a ton of stuff done the last couple hours, and it works out great when I have 5-7 hour stretches.

[Politicalgeek]

If possible, try to do something related to your field. I did a public policy masters, and some of my most successful classmates worked as consultants while in school. You'll be in the national center for journalism - what about using the time to develop freelance clients?

[kaybee]

Get a job as a tutor. You can make your own hours, charge your own rates. I'm sure someone would be dying to have a grad student help them with a paper/ math homework/ science etc. Whatever your skill maybe. Also, if you are a decent test-taker and did well on the GRE you may try applying for a job teaching at Kaplan or princton review. They are always looking for teachers for the suckers that take those courses.

best of luck

What would be a reasonable price to charge per hour for helping students edit their papers?

[allyson]

I know I'm the exception - but I chose to work full time during my MA. I didn't want to be a TA - I wanted to make real money. When I say I was working full time - I mean it, too. I ran PR for an orchestra during my first year...and in the summer I switched careers to journalism, becoming a television producer. It does suck, but you can absolutely do it - you just have to be careful of your time. I got a 4.0 and graduated first in my program. My friend was right behind me rank-wise and she also worked full time. This means we did better than the "non workers."