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This. STEM is very hard with a full-time job. Especially when you are not a 'natural' at it. Most people that claim that they do well with a 40 hr job and college either a. has one easy major b. Is very smart and already knows the material. I know several people that don't have to study at all and get good grades. I HAVE to study.
Murphy's law will murder you in college. Everything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong. Car battery dies right before midterms. Your teeth need surgery...the works. The unpredictability is what sets one back.
Yes, any schedule that is packed so tight that you can't "expect the unexpected" and handle it is not good.
That leaves no time for eating (except for the meal at work), let alone food preparation and shopping for food, just as one example. Then there's travel; to/from school, work, etc. There's bathing, clothes washing/drying, etc. Unless one has a maid, housework has to be done. Cars break down, have to go to the shop. It's often very difficult to get classes all scheduled in a block, plus some courses require labs, clinicals, projects. And one does need a bit of downtime, if only to watch TV for an hour a day and/or read the paper or play on the computer.
You can't find time to eat in those 6 hours of unscheduled time??? Really?? Live on campus and it's easy...and you get better aid As for down time--nope, if you need to work full time and go to college full time, you give up down time--sorry, just reality for those of us that had to do that...although, even being a science major and working full-time, I seemed to be able to find plenty of down time...yep, some weeks are busier than others but it's completely doable....
You can't find time to eat in those 6 hours of unscheduled time??? Really?? Live on campus and it's easy...and you get better aid As for down time--nope, if you need to work full time and go to college full time, you give up down time--sorry, just reality for those of us that had to do that...although, even being a science major and working full-time, I seemed to be able to find plenty of down time...yep, some weeks are busier than others but it's completely doable....
Actually, in your example it was two "free" hours a day, and that doesn't include ANY travel time between home, school, and job.
Didn't know you were a science major; I believe you said you've worked in HR!
You can't find time to eat in those 6 hours of unscheduled time??? Really?? Live on campus and it's easy...and you get better aid As for down time--nope, if you need to work full time and go to college full time, you give up down time--sorry, just reality for those of us that had to do that...although, even being a science major and working full-time, I seemed to be able to find plenty of down time...yep, some weeks are busier than others but it's completely doable....
It can be doable for SOME. That's the impression I'm getting, which explains why some of the people who get lots of support, get financial aid to live on campus, along with other forms of help are more able to handle double FT. Is living on campus an option for most people? I don't know.
A lot of people I've done to school with now who had spouses, children, and a full time job tell me they are very happy with a 3.4 or 3.5, or a little less. One guy today told me he has a toddler and wasn't going to stress out about not being able to graduate with honors. I don't blame him.
I took two classes at a time year round at the UofMN while working full time. I was married and we bought a house at age 21 so I had a lot of juggling. The degree was in Electrical Engineering and I worked in a semiconductor lab as a research assistant. Luckily Honeywell paid for every book and class that I took. But my life was pure Hell for many years. I woke up at 3AM to study till 6AM every day. My weekends were usually full as I worked about 50 hours a week including Saturday.
EE wasn't easy. I could have gotten better grades if I could focus exclusively on school. But 10 years later, I finally finished. When the classes are stretched apart, it makes it tougher to remember the building blocks from one class to the next. But it's doable.
EE wasn't easy. I could have gotten better grades if I could focus exclusively on school. But 10 years later, I finally finished. When the classes are stretched apart, it makes it tougher to remember the building blocks from one class to the next. But it's doable.
While I commend you for your efforts, your situation doesn't sound like what people in the "I worked full time and went to school full time" camp claim. They talk about being a stellar student and finishing their degree within 4 years. Of course it's doable if you choose to take more time, but how doable is it for most people to complete it in 4 years and graduate *** laude?
While I commend you for your efforts, your situation doesn't sound like what people in the "I worked full time and went to school full time" camp claim. They talk about being a stellar student and finishing their degree within 4 years. Of course it's doable if you choose to take more time, but how doable is it for most people to complete it in 4 years and graduate *** laude?
Yeah, I think the only people that can do this are the ones that "get it" already. Fulltime work and school is NOT for people who don't 'know' the concepts already. Like, of course I'm sure everybody here knows how to add and subtract. Give me 12 classes in one semester and a fulltime job and I could do this. But make me do derivatives and hell to the naw...
While I commend you for your efforts, your situation doesn't sound like what people in the "I worked full time and went to school full time" camp claim. They talk about being a stellar student and finishing their degree within 4 years. Of course it's doable if you choose to take more time, but how doable is it for most people to complete it in 4 years and graduate *** laude?
There are other variables in the mix. The level of difficulty of the classes as well as what grades you are willing to settle for. I would have to study 2-3 hours a day for most EE classes to get a B. Meanwhile I simply needed to read the easy material in psychology for an A and study an hour before the midterm. Not all degrees or classes are created equal.
I went back and took a lot of business classes (finance, OP's Management, Accounting, etc). For me, those classes were mostly common sense. Yet finance and accounting were considered weeder courses inside the business curriculum. So we are each designed differently. I knew of some students that didn't have to work too hard at the engineering classes yet they struggled with humanity classes. The people with green and purple hair seemed to write the best papers.
I will say with confidence you cannot always believe what people say on a forum. People on forums get 7 miles more to the gallon of gas with the same car that I drive. It takes them a fraction of the time that it takes me to drive in rush hour. And yes, they get a 3.9 GPA while working full time and they finished their technical degree in under 4 years.
Half way into my part-time graduate program, my wife was diagnosed with cancer while she was 35 weeks pregnant with our second child, a son, who is happy and healthy now. I continued to work full-time and took care of both kids and my wife who went through 20 chemo sessions, a double-mastectomy, 50 radiation treatments and another major surgery. We also bought a house and moved to a new town in the midst of all of this.
During the most stressful time period (the last two years of school), my cumulative GPA was at its highest, and I graduated with honors.
I think certain people thrive on stress.
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As for down time--nope, if you need to work full time and go to college full time, you give up down time--sorry, just reality for those of us that had to do that...although, even being a science major and working full-time, I seemed to be able to find plenty of down time...yep, some weeks are busier than others but it's completely doable....
So we are each designed differently. I knew of some students that didn't have to work too hard at the engineering classes yet they struggled with humanity classes. The people with green and purple hair seemed to write the best papers.
