how DO you fund a masters and work, practically?

hi there,

i have a 2.1 in English, but it's always been my dream to do a masters in applied linguistics. There are a couple of part-time masters at nottingham, but its expensive- around £2,000 each year, and i live with my partner and have to keep a roof over my head. i can't take out any bank loans (up to my eyes in it after BA) and although you can apply for research council scholarships, given my 2.1, i doubt i'll get them. I don't know if you can pay in instalments either, if so, i'm sure they'll want at least £500 up front!

i know that people DO work whilst doing a masters, but how do they manage it- what are the contact hours and how do you find work to fit around this- i'm betting surely you won't know your timetable until september, by then, what if the contact hours are when you have to be at work?

i found it hard enough finding work around my undergrad studies, saying "oh i can't do this day, i can only do half of that day". So if anybody here managed it, practically, how did they manage it and work at the same time? What things do you need to consider and is it scary financially?

Reply 1

shuvle

I'm in a similar situation. I was thinking work pretty much full time in the 3rd term (dissertation time) and during terms 1 and 2 maybe get a weekend job. If anybody has some more advice that would be great.

Reply 2

subculturehero

it says in nottingham you need £700 a month to live, plus the 4k a year fees, full time, 2k pro rata. thats a lot of money to find! do you get council tax exemption as a postgrad student? there is no way you could live on a weekend job, shuvle though. What subject do you want to do?

Reply 3

blinkbelle

If its only part time you could easily work 20-25 hours/week and do it. A friend of mine managed fine and had a retail job whilst doing her MSc. xx

Reply 4

tigermoth99

You won't have to pay council tax if you're a full time postgraduate. If you're studying full time and living with someone who works full time, you'll only be entitled to a 25% discount

Reply 5

subculturehero

hmmm, what is a part- time timetable like?

Reply 6

Johnni

When i did my PG Diploma the masters course that i was on had a total of 10 modules with each module being 3 weeks long, 1 week lectures, the other 2 weeks self study time.
Maybe other unis runs some of their courses like this as i guess the reason they do this is because it helps 'professionals' as their work release them for only 10 weeks a yr rather than take a whole yr out. I seen other unis adopt a similar type of timetable so i guess its worth asking.

Reply 7

StressPuppy

I completed two masters and kept a full time job going as this was the only way I could fund them.

It is a hard slog but you have the advantage of knowing it is time limited... you know when it is going to end and what you need to do before the date arrives. You will need to be very organised and just accept that your social life will be non-existant for the duration.

I guess this means you need to be Sheldonesque focussed. Also I guess you will need to reasure yourself that the rewards (financial and social) will be worth it. Best of luck! HTH, SP :smile:

Reply 8

cybergrad

When I was studying for my masters I would work two double shifts every weekend. It did not affect my studies and helped my bank balance. The only downside is that I did not have enough time to go out and have fun but it was only for a year, so not that bad.

Have you looked for MRes instead of an MSc, you might get some funding from the ESRC.

http://www.postgraduatestudentships.co.uk/subject

Reply 9

subculturehero

thanks, so much guys. See, my friend did an MSc and he worked pretty much full time, but i didn't understand how ( i assume he had a lot of money saved up as he did a v.expensive masters) i don't understand about how the contact hours would work though- are they consistent, i.e mondays and wednesdays, or are they sporadic?