Student life while working in a professional role.
"How difficult is it for a student to achieve their academic goals in a postgraduate or PhD program while managing a full-time 9-to-5 job?"
Reply 1
If the postgrad programme is part time then it might be doable but ideally, you'd want part time for the study and work aspects if you want to ensure decent grades
For full time study the hours needed for that will be very similar to your 40 hr work week
For full time study the hours needed for that will be very similar to your 40 hr work week
(edited 10 months ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Sam26624
"How difficult is it for a student to achieve their academic goals in a postgraduate or PhD program while managing a full-time 9-to-5 job?"
It depends....for a taught masters, I'd say that it is relatively easy (except for timetable clashing with work hours if you are really working 9-5). Both my wife and I did our masters while working full time in our restaurant business, working up tp 70 hours per week, mainly evenings and weekends, so no clashes with the timetable. We both graduated with distinctions, in subjects which are different from our undergrad degrees.
For a Phd, it might be more difficult, but my experience is that if you skip teaching, conferences and papers to journals (all big parts of the PhD experience, but not strictly necessary if your aim is not academia), then the actual research and writing of thesis is relatively simple, and a full time job of 40 hours per week is feasible (just about!).
This is only my experience of doing a masters and a PhD in the social sciences. Others may have different experiences, either within the same field or in STEM. Hope this helps.
Reply 3
'Writing agency', by which I think you really mean an essay mill.
Please go forth and fornicate!
Please go forth and fornicate!
(edited 10 months ago)
Reply 4
In my experience, part-time study and a full-time job is doable. Part-time study, a full-time job and parenthood is less wise. I managed part-time study, a 32-hour job, parenthood, a Distinction, and health issues. There IS a limit.
Reply 5
Original post by Sam26624
"How difficult is it for a student to achieve their academic goals in a postgraduate or PhD program while managing a full-time 9-to-5 job?"
Hello,
I think it depends on the course that you are wanting to study, but generally I would say that if you studied part time, it would be manageable to combine the study with your full time job. The most important thing to make it less stressful for yourself would be to stay really organised and on top of your academic work because once you start to get a bit behind with a piece of work it gets really difficult to catch up. I know quite a lot of postgrads who combine working with their study and they find they can keep on top of everything and are doing really well!
Maybe before enrolling on the course you could speak to the tutors in the department you would be looking to join and ask how many hours a week they would expect you to devote to the study, and if they think that it is manageable to study and keep working full time.
Good luck with everything,
Jess
University of Chester
PhD English
Reply 6
Hello!
Studying at a Postgraduate level can be a lot of hard work, especially if you're working a 9-5 job, but it is manageable.
If you are studying on a master's course, luckily the hours are less than undergraduate level as the university expects you to be working alongside your subject area.
I was worried about the workload too, so I'm currently doing my MA part-time. So I'm only in one day a week and doing one module at a time. It's worked out so much better for me with my study time and tuition payment instalments.
Even part-time if you find the work too much, the staff are there to help and accommodate you when you need some extra help and support.
What I'm trying to say is that it is a lot of work and sometimes that can be difficult to manage, but the university will be there to support you as they understand you might have jobs and families and other commitments to consider during your studies.
As long as you are able to put aside a few hours a week for study and assignment preparation, you should be fine.
I hope this helps,
From Josh
(LJMU Official Student Rep)
Studying at a Postgraduate level can be a lot of hard work, especially if you're working a 9-5 job, but it is manageable.
If you are studying on a master's course, luckily the hours are less than undergraduate level as the university expects you to be working alongside your subject area.
I was worried about the workload too, so I'm currently doing my MA part-time. So I'm only in one day a week and doing one module at a time. It's worked out so much better for me with my study time and tuition payment instalments.
Even part-time if you find the work too much, the staff are there to help and accommodate you when you need some extra help and support.
What I'm trying to say is that it is a lot of work and sometimes that can be difficult to manage, but the university will be there to support you as they understand you might have jobs and families and other commitments to consider during your studies.
As long as you are able to put aside a few hours a week for study and assignment preparation, you should be fine.
I hope this helps,
From Josh
(LJMU Official Student Rep)
Reply 7
Hi Sam26624 
It’s wonderful you’re considering further academic study alongside your job. I think depending on the course you want to do, it’s definitely something that’s possible, but you do need to carefully plan for it. There are several considerations that I think are really important, first.y, what course are you considering? Some masters are taught and others are by research, and this obviously makes a difference as for the taught course you would likely need to attend classes in person, at the uni. Secondly, the course itself, whilst all postgrads have a heavy workload some courses have more intense periods than others which could work around you taking holiday from work maybe?
It’s vital you remain organised and on top of your reading etc and don’t get behind as this can then cause problems to catch up if you’re in full time work too.
Have you considered online or distance learning? I did a masters part time with the ou whilst working full time and this was really manageable. If you were wanting to go to university itself, I would suggest a part time course might be less pressure for you. Additionally there are professional postgrad degrees which may be of interest to you?
I would definitely attend postgraduate open evenings at the unis you are interested in and speak to the tutors leading the courses. They will have lots of advice about how the uni supports their students who work full time as there are lots of you !
I hope this helps a bit,
Best of luck
Jess
PhD English
University of Chester
It’s wonderful you’re considering further academic study alongside your job. I think depending on the course you want to do, it’s definitely something that’s possible, but you do need to carefully plan for it. There are several considerations that I think are really important, first.y, what course are you considering? Some masters are taught and others are by research, and this obviously makes a difference as for the taught course you would likely need to attend classes in person, at the uni. Secondly, the course itself, whilst all postgrads have a heavy workload some courses have more intense periods than others which could work around you taking holiday from work maybe?
It’s vital you remain organised and on top of your reading etc and don’t get behind as this can then cause problems to catch up if you’re in full time work too.
Have you considered online or distance learning? I did a masters part time with the ou whilst working full time and this was really manageable. If you were wanting to go to university itself, I would suggest a part time course might be less pressure for you. Additionally there are professional postgrad degrees which may be of interest to you?
I would definitely attend postgraduate open evenings at the unis you are interested in and speak to the tutors leading the courses. They will have lots of advice about how the uni supports their students who work full time as there are lots of you !
I hope this helps a bit,
Best of luck
Jess
PhD English
University of Chester
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