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Re: Graduate school
That's good advice.
I was in a hurry last night when I replied, so let me address your entire post now...
I don't know a lot about online distance programs, but from what I have heard about LaVerne, Phoenix sorts of programs that are supposed to be geared toward the nontraditional students is that they are lax and therefore the quality of education suffers greatly (they're also expensive). If you are planning on staying where you are employed and they would just like you to get some more education, they're paying, and don't care much where, then that might not matter.
If you can cut down the work or take time off to go back to school it would make it easier, but it's not absolutely necessary for everyone.
As far as motivation and time go, what you need to do is make the decision that you're going to do this and stick to it. It sounds really simplistic, but if you're already questioning whether you can do it, you're facing the wrong direction.
It's definitely doable, but you need to expect to and be willing to work hard.
I've done 16-19 unit semesters as an undergrad working between 30-50 hpw (19units and 50 hpw for a couple months) and it can be done. Right now I'm in a joint program where I'm getting a 2nd masters and PhD. It's kicking my @ss to be sure, but I'm doing it. I have to work about 20hrs a week (on avg) for my assistantship, keep up with my research, and I'm taking 12 units (Tons of reading!). Just to put the units into perspective most programs consider 8 units equivalent to the fulltime undergrad 12 units. All this happens at school, so I get there at about 8-8:30 am and I go home between 10-12am. On the weekends I sleep 14hrs a night to make up my sleep debt, take saturday off or easy, and study/work on sunday for about 5-6hrs (typically 3-9pm).
Having established that I'm speaking from experience and gotten to complain a little, let me assure you that it can definitely be done. At the most stressful points you may feel like you're teetering at the brink of insanity, but just talk yourself down from that ledge. Take a 30mins or an hour off, call it an early night and get a little more sleep to tackle it in the morning, and press on. Above all what helps is to have people who can relate, understand, or will just listen when you need to rant AND to be able to laugh about it. Sometimes I feel like that's all that keeps me sane.
If you don't have that elsewhere, you do have that here. Lots of students and overworked people here.
Hope that was more reassuring than scary.
That's good advice.
I was in a hurry last night when I replied, so let me address your entire post now...
I don't know a lot about online distance programs, but from what I have heard about LaVerne, Phoenix sorts of programs that are supposed to be geared toward the nontraditional students is that they are lax and therefore the quality of education suffers greatly (they're also expensive). If you are planning on staying where you are employed and they would just like you to get some more education, they're paying, and don't care much where, then that might not matter.
If you can cut down the work or take time off to go back to school it would make it easier, but it's not absolutely necessary for everyone.
As far as motivation and time go, what you need to do is make the decision that you're going to do this and stick to it. It sounds really simplistic, but if you're already questioning whether you can do it, you're facing the wrong direction.
It's definitely doable, but you need to expect to and be willing to work hard. I've done 16-19 unit semesters as an undergrad working between 30-50 hpw (19units and 50 hpw for a couple months) and it can be done. Right now I'm in a joint program where I'm getting a 2nd masters and PhD. It's kicking my @ss to be sure, but I'm doing it. I have to work about 20hrs a week (on avg) for my assistantship, keep up with my research, and I'm taking 12 units (Tons of reading!). Just to put the units into perspective most programs consider 8 units equivalent to the fulltime undergrad 12 units. All this happens at school, so I get there at about 8-8:30 am and I go home between 10-12am. On the weekends I sleep 14hrs a night to make up my sleep debt, take saturday off or easy, and study/work on sunday for about 5-6hrs (typically 3-9pm).
Having established that I'm speaking from experience and gotten to complain a little, let me assure you that it can definitely be done. At the most stressful points you may feel like you're teetering at the brink of insanity, but just talk yourself down from that ledge. Take a 30mins or an hour off, call it an early night and get a little more sleep to tackle it in the morning, and press on. Above all what helps is to have people who can relate, understand, or will just listen when you need to rant AND to be able to laugh about it. Sometimes I feel like that's all that keeps me sane.
If you don't have that elsewhere, you do have that here. Lots of students and overworked people here. Hope that was more reassuring than scary.
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