Working FT + School

kikibaby

For those of you who have gone to school while working full-time, what was your average class load each semester?  I'm starting in the Fall and I'm not sure how many classes I can reasonably take.  Right now I am signed up for 4, but 1 of them is an online class that doesn't start until October.  I don't think the other 3 will be hard classes, but... am I pushing it?

vallyhoo

I worked 30 hours/week for the better part of undergrad, and took 4-5 classes. My last semester I had my current job and worked 40 hrs/week but only had 2.5 classes.

My H worked 40+ and took 3-4 classes a semester.

baystateapple

I worked 40 hours and took 3 classes, which at my school was considered full time for graduate courses.  It depends on the courses and the workload.  Are they classes in subjects that you enjoy, or subjects you struggle in?

My advice would be to go to the first classes and check the syllabi for each one.  If you think that you're going to be bogged down, or you get a bad vibe from the class, cut it down.  It's better to have a smaller course schedule, and do well, than to overdo it and end up performing poorly in all of your classes.

laurenclaire1386

I worked close to 40 hours a week and my last semester of college I took 5 classes. It was the most awful 4-5 months of my life. I think 3 is cutting it close, but if you feel good about it, then you should be fine. Just remember that taking a day off from everything is rare when you're working and going to school.

soontobehimes

I work 35 hours a week (except in the summer), sell Scentsy, and take at least 24 credit hours a semester (12-15 a term). I am incredibly ready to be DONE with school. I get a smidge stressed about 4 weeks in, but I work better when I'm stressed. Maybe ease into it and then if you think you can handle more, go for it. It'd be better to find out you can take on more than be overwhelmed and have to take an incomplete or something! HTH!

SteveandKris

I worked 35 hours my last two years of undergrad, taking 17-20 credits each term.  But I worked nights and was able to do a lot of school work at work, so my answer might not be as helpful.

cschuma2

I think it matters more how well you want/need to do in each class.  I was taking 16 credit hours and working 35-40 hours a week a few years ago.  I was getting by in school but certainly not doing as well as I could have been doing.  I cut back to 9 credit hours and this was much more manageable for me.

prideeinpynk

I'm in school FT and working FT right now. I take all but one class online and that helps. However, it is a LOT of work. I've always managed to keep a 3.7-4.0 GPA, even when I took 7 classes one semester. I'm working on my accounting undergrad right now.

That being said, I'm about to start studying for the GMAT and getting ready for grad school hopefully next fall. At that point, I'm going to look for a PT gig so I can work PT and work on my masters. I couldn't imagine doing something that big and still working FT. I approached FI about my plan and thankfully he's 100% on board with it; I was worried he'd be upset about losing some of my income but nope!

vallyhoo

what are you going back to school for Kiki?

arbolita

I'm only doing two at a time, because I know how overwhelmed/burnt out I'll get otherwise.  Timewise I probably could fit another one in there, but mentally I just can't handle it.

L-Bride

I worked full time in college and took 6 classes every semester so I could graduate faster. Don't do that, lol- I was internally a crazed lunatic during my college years and wouldn't do it again for a million bucks.
I would say take 3 classes while working full time. If you have an online course it will most likely be harder than you think and take up a lot of your time.

georgia_bride09

I've worked FT and had two classes a semester since 2008, and the only time I have problems is in the summer, when the classes are compressed and I'm in class until 11 at night.

I'll be starting my Master's soon, and I plan to take at least two. We'll also be TTC soon, so I could very well have a newborn at that time as well.

My H is about to start school next month, and he went down to PT since he works retail and didn't want to work nights all week (he'll go to school during the day). This quarter, I don't think he's FT at school, but I think in August, he will be.

Bubbalub

I worked FT and took 2 classes per semester and felt overwhelmed a lot. But it was also art school where the classes are 3 hours long and entirely homework-based (no in-class tests) and we were expected to spend several hours each week on homework for each class. I felt like I was handcuffed to a computer for 4 years.

What are you going back to study, in particular?

btrflykate1230

I work full-time right now and take 2 graduate classes a semester. I don't think I could handle much more, but I also have a 20 month old kid. I think if I didn't have Declan, I could handle one more.

kikibaby

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_working-ft-school?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:7e781fcb-1b49-45b1-a8e7-865636b171cbPost:f385caea-e23b-4b57-93c4-6053df438e19">Re: Working FT + School</a>:
[QUOTE]what are you going back to school for Kiki?
Posted by vallyhoo[/QUOTE]

Web Design/Multimedia Technology.

I think it's a good idea to go and just see how it goes.  I've got a few weeks after classes start to drop one if need be, but I don't think they'll be super-hard classes.  They should be fun, actually.  It doesn't sound like I'll be overdoing it, though.  I can probably do some homework at work, too- my office is pretty laid back.

tldh

It depends on your time management skills and the subjects.  I worked 35-40 hours a week while taking 4 - 5 classes each semester.  I graduated with a GPA around 3.0 In law school, I worked 20 - 30 hours a week and took 3 - 4 classes.  GPA was about the same 3.0.

I will point out that in both cases, I didn't have much of a life.  Graduating from college without any student loan debt was more important to me than keggers.  Same with getting out of law school with as little debt as possible.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Are you doing undergrad? I do 2/3 time for my grad program - full time is 3 classes and I do 2 per semester. For undergrad, full time would be 5 classes and I'd probably do 3 per semester. At first I thought 3 classes would be no problem, but when each class requires reading 1 book per week and at least one major paper, plus a 3 hour class each week... no. But it also depends what you do. I'm in a pretty reading-and-writing-heavy subject area.

Keep in mind if you're applying for any kind of financial aid that you're usually only eligible if you are at least half time.

kikibaby

Mery- it's an Associates.  I already have a BS, so this is just a career-change helper degree

jessjo04

I worked 40+ hours and took 4 classes. I almost died; I'll never do that again. But I think it also depends on the degree that you are getting. It was my first semester in my masters of psychology program. Psychology has a lot of reading and writing papers. So when I wasnt at work of school, I had a ton of stuff to do. I didn't have any time to relax and was pretty stressed. I'd suggest starting slow, I tried to do it all and was miserable.

Kiki1982

Hi there, I work 40-50 hours a week and go to school full time for my masters. It's 3 classes a week. All of my classes are on Saturdays, so it's not too bad. I don't have much of a social life, but it's worth it to me to finish sooner. I worked full time and took 4 classes a semester during undergrad, and that was aweful! I had class 4 nights a week after work- I would never do that again! Good luck!

mandysmear

My sister worked full time (night shifts and day shifts) and took minimum 3 classes a semester.  She also did spring and summer sessions and then she'd do 2 classes per session.  Kind of made up for going to school part time. 

NickDanielleB

I work 40 and take at the most 3 classes. It's hard, but I manage to get through it. As another put it, it all depends on your time management skills. I had a chart of what days to do what homework. I tried as much as I could to include at least one night a week with no homework or housework. It was probably the only thing that kept me sane.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_working-ft-school?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:7e781fcb-1b49-45b1-a8e7-865636b171cbPost:fdddf10e-8189-436d-a632-624c3aebdead">Re: Working FT + School</a>:
[QUOTE]Mery- it's an Associates.  I already have a BS, so this is just a career-change helper degree :)
Posted by kikibaby[/QUOTE]

Cool, then I think doing at least half-time would be fine, especially if some are online. If full time is 5 classes , you can sign up for 4 (or 5) and see how the first week or two goes. There's usually a deadline a few weeks into the semester to drop classes - before that deadline and you can drop them without penalty. Basically, I'd stick to your plan. Also, since that 4th class doesn't start until October your life MAY or may not be a living hell for a maximum of 2 months. :-P