Balancing Work and Study

In many cases, students opt for an online education in order to save money. By studying at home part-time they are still able to work, and many plan to keep their full-time jobs. However, studying for an online degree will eat up a lot of time and energy and although full time work is great in theory, it may be necessary to modify your working hours as you progress through your course.

This could mean cutting back to part-time employment or taking some time out. Before starting on your degree you should look into the possibilities of flexible working. Many employers will be happy to allow you to cut back a little if the degree is going to enable you to do your job better. But if it isn’t relevant to your current occupation, you may find they are less sympathetic. It could be worth considering a move to a more accommodating company, especially if your degree would be of value to them.

You will need to be extremely well organized if you are combining an online degree with a full-time job. One of the best ways of dealing with this is to draw up a realistic study timetable. You will need to allow time for domestic tasks and where possible delegate these to other members of the family or room-mates. You will need to give up TV most nights of the week and cut your social life to a minimum. Having said that, you don’t want to burn out and so should schedule some time to relax, so that you can do things you enjoy and meet friends from time to time.

If you have children, you’ll already have childcare arrangements set up during working hours, but what will the children be up to when you are studying? You’ll have to make sure that you have a quiet place to work on your assignments and that they are safe and happy whilst you are busy. If you have to spend time at the library after work or on weekends, you need to make sure that someone is able to look after the kids. And no matter how stressed you are with the pressure of work and study, you must make time to spend with your children. If you have a partner to share childcare or will be relying on parents or friends, you need to make all the arrangements well in advance, making sure that everyone is very clear about what they’ll have to do and you should also have contingency plans for emergencies.

The college should provide a schedule with submission dates for assignments and details of exams. And you’ll need to know the procedure for late submissions, as extensions may only be allowed in unavoidable situations such as illness.

You should also check the flexibility of your degree programme. Part time programmes usually specific the number of years in which you must complete your studies and this could prove to be extremely useful if you are having difficulty balancing your time. Taking a semester or a year out could enable you to focus on earning money, which you could then save towards your final year, allowing you to cut back on work and concentrate on what is probably the most important and difficult year of your degree. And taking a bit longer over your degree could enable you to devote more time to your family.

You should also look at possible ways of funding your degree through grants, scholarships and loans. If there is any free money available, it would go a long way towards freeing up some of the time you now spend working. Scholarships and grants vary according to where you live and your circumstances. Charitable foundations often make smaller one-off payments to students in need, but these need to be investigated early – at least a year before you start your course. Also take a look at student loans as a last resort. You might find that you need to take the final year off work in order to complete your degree and get the results you want and a one-year loan will be easier to repay than a loan accumulated over four or more years.

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