How do you balance work and grad school?

[trillionaire]

hello all,

I am working on a PhD and may have to work this semester while I am taking courses. I know there are a lot of graduate students on here because of the other thread, but I thought I would start this one for specific information.

* How much time do you spend in class?
* Studying?
* At work?
* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?)
* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR)
* when do you socialize/go out?
* what is your sleep schedule like?
* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc...

Sorry to barrage with so many Q''s, but I want to figure out a good schedule so that I can be on track and get everything done!

 

[poshpepper]

I am not doing a PhD, but am currently pursuing my MBA.

To answer your questions:
* How much time do you spend in class? -- About 4 hours a week in class at school and approximately another 3 to 4 hours outside of school in the online component (this is in addition to studying)
* Studying? -- About 2 to 4 hours per week depending on if I have a test or paper due.
* At work? -- I work 40hrs a week
* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?) -- Normal work schedule for me 8am-5pm
* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR) -- I live with my FI so we see each other everyday (I know I am lucky on that front

)
* when do you socialize/go out? -- Usually Fridays and Saturdays. I do most of my school work on Sundays and some of it during the week (Monday to Thursday)
* what is your sleep schedule like? -- Typically I get about 6 hours a night (12am-6am)
* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc... I still play ice hockey twice a week and I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. I am a busy girl!

 

[Shoopy]

Reading this thread reminded me of the horror LOL

I went to a private undergrad school and although tuition was covered, everything else wasn''t. So I was taking 5 classes

, and working 3 jobs

, for a combined 60 hours of working a week

But I lost a ton of weight during that time

LOL

Anyway, being that undergrad was an extreme case, I''ll answer based on my Grad school experience:

* How much time do you spend in class? I went to class every other Friday and Saturday. I had two classes a semester and it started at 5PM Friday until 10 and at 8AM on Saturday until 5PM.
* Studying? Since we had one weekend off, I would study that whole weekend. While working it wasn''t going to happen.
* At work? 45 to 55 hours a week
* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?) M-F
* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR) We lived together. I had been so used to the crazy schedule already that i just sort of made time.
* when do you socialize/go out? I don''t think I ever really did during that time. If I did, it was on the off weekends or right after class on Saturday.
* what is your sleep schedule like? HA I still got my ususal 5 to 6 hours.
* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc... N/A...which is a shame because I really do need to start working out LOL

 

[Elegant]

Okay, I will attempt to answer these questions to the best of my honest ability...but I still can''t figure out how to respond with colored font!!!

* How much time do you spend in class? None anymore - finished my 2 years of course work and now I never have to go to class!

* Studying? Depends on when I am on a roll. I could spend 4-5 hours a day if the mood strikes...and depends on what you are doing - researching takes forever, and when I am working on a lit review, one page could take one hour...

* At work? I am a teacher so I leave my house at 7:30am and get home at around 3:30pm, then I get in the mood to study at about 6pm or 7pm after I have relaxed.

* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?) I work M-F, no evenings, no weekends - just 5 days a week with summers off!

* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR) When we eat, watch tv, and in between breaks - he has been REALLY good about giving me space for all of these years...

* when do you socialize/go out? weekends or almost never because I am so exhausted from the rest of the week, I barely ever do anything...ever...no life...and it sucks...

* what is your sleep schedule like? Now that I am on break I sleep during the day, etc...my bf has sleep apnea so I can NEVER get a good night''s sleep! But when I was doing my coursework, I rarely slept because I had to read so much for several classes, like one book a week sometimes, and still write papers, etc.

* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc... I had little time for exercise - I have gained SOOOOOO much weight...ugh...I still played with my dogs, but it was a bit before I fed them in the afternoon after work, and then a bit after they ate...I felt bad.

So overall, grad school has sucked majorly because I have no life and it sucks the life out of you...but I am crazy and I love going to school, so...

 

[scarlet16]

Hi there-
I just graduated from law school and for the first 3 years (of 4) I worked full time as a paralegal and went to school at night.

* How much time do you spend in class? Class was usually 6-9:30 M-Th.
* Studying? Pretty much all day Sunday and sometimes Saturday depending on how much reading I had for the week; at least a month before finals, I studied ALL day Saturday & Sunday (and usually Friday nights)
* At work? I spent at least 40hours per week; and more when there were trials going on.
* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?) M-F 9-5 (sometimes through lunch, and sometimes got in earlier if I had deadlines to meet)
* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR) Live with my now FI, so we would have dinner together when I got home, and Friday nights and sometimes Saturday afternoons was dedicated to him.
* when do you socialize/go out? Very little
* what is your sleep schedule like? usually from 12AM-6AM
* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc... I''d get up at 6AM, run for an hour

Sorry to barrage with so many Q''s, but I want to figure out a good schedule so that I can be on track and get everything done!

 

[trillionaire]

... *taking notes*....

unfortunately my classes are not at night, which makes it tough...

 

[geckodani]

I''m not the one in school, but DH is in law school, so here is his insane schedule...

* How much time do you spend in class? 6-9 hours a week, usually at night or on weekends. His work is flexible though, and lets him work later shifts if needed to accomodate a morning class.
* Studying? 3-4 hours every night he doesn''t have class, several hours on sat and sunday as well.
* At work? 40 hours a week.
* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?) M-F, usually 8-5 but they are flexible with his hours.
* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR) Breakfast together every day. Dinner together on nights he does not have class, and usually an hour or two of TV/Game/Hang out time a night.
* when do you socialize/go out? Usually once a weekend with friend for dinner/movie or something.
* what is your sleep schedule like? I''m not entirely convinced the man sleeps.... Usually 1-6:30.
* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc... Nope.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

* How much time do you spend in class? Half online, half face to face but in a classroom from 6-9:45 Tuesday night.
* Studying? 2 hours a day
* At work? 45- 50 hrs a week
* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?) 7:30-5:30 with every other friday off (9/80)
* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? On the phone during the week and Sundays is "love day"
* when do you socialize/go out? Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons
* what is your sleep schedule like? 11pm to 6am
* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc... Sure, not a lot though

It is very time consuming but so rewarding!

 

[Haven]

Hi, trillionaire,

I started and finished an MEd in reading and literacy while I was teaching high school full-time (and working as the head coach for the school''s speech team). I''m not going to pretend that there was a lot of "balance" to my life, but here''s how I did it.

* How much time do you spend in class?
I had class two nights a week for four hours per night, so eight hours per week. Class was an hour from my home, too.

* Studying?
This varied with the classes, and it was more researching than studying, but I spent an average of fifteen hours per week doing research, writing papers, and reading the core texts for class.

* At work?
HA! I''m a teacher, so on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I was at work from 7 AM to 9 PM at least. I had to squeeze in teaching AND coaching my speech team kids, AND grading an insane amount of English papers. I had class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I got to work around 6:30 AM and had to leave by 4 PM those days. It was TOUGH. So, that totals about 60 hours per week. That doesn''t include the all-day speech team tournaments one to two Saturdays per month. And I always spend my Sundays grading papers for anywhere from four to eight hours.

* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?)
See above. (Basically, ALL the time.)

* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR)
We talked on the phone every day when I left work. I would sometimes call him after the school day was over and all my students had left. We never talked before the school day because he doesn''t get up that early!
He stayed the night at my place most Wednesdays, he''d come over around 10 PM. I''d go to his place on Saturday nights, I''d normally get there around 8 PM, and spend the night. That was it, and many weekends I''d be too tired to do anything so I''d stay home. It was tough, normally the only time we''d spend together was when we were asleep, but it was better than nothing.

* when do you socialize/go out?
I didn''t do much of that at all. My friends started sending me emails that were titled "Are you alive?!?!?!"

* what is your sleep schedule like?
Most weeknights I''d go to sleep around 1 AM, and I''d wake up at 5:30. Saturdays I''d sleep in if I didn''t have a Speech Team tournament, and I always slept in on Sundays.

* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc...
Not much. I would sometimes squeeze in a short workout, but I always walked my dogs. I suppose that was a workout.

I know this is a bleak-looking schedule, but I did it. And I''m really proud of the work I did for that degree, it was much more difficult than my first master''s, and I worked much harder for it. I wasn''t sure I could make it work because I''m a relatively new teacher, but you just make it work. You do. And although a PhD will take a lot longer to complete than my 2-year MEd, there IS an end date.

Good luck!

Oh, and what are you studying, by the way?

 

[Daydreamer7130]

I am currently doing my Masters in Nursing with board certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner. My schedule is INSANE! I currently work as an "agency" nurse so that I can make up my own schedule so I can fit in my clinical hours. There are pros and cons to being sort of self employed. Currently my FI does all the cooking, cleaning and laundry because by the time I get home I am physically and mentally exhausted.


*How much time do you spend in class? 5 hours a week, if it''s an online class about 10-20 hours depending on the research that needs to be done.
* Studying? depends
* At work? 16-32
* When do you work? (m-f? evenings? Wkds?) dayturn or afternoons, mostly 12 hour shifts
* when do you talk to/spend time with your SO? (I am in an LDR) when I come home from work or clinical. the kids are always in bed so I don''t get to see them much. there are weeks that I don''t get to see them. but I always leave a lipstick kiss on their cheek so they know I was in and loved on them while they were sleeping. The guilt is tremendous!
* when do you socialize/go out? never
* what is your sleep schedule like? midnight to 5 am
* do you have time for exercise? Pets? etc... only if I cheat myself out of studying time