Any mature students here?

J

jbj

Poor old Geordie's array...
I mentioned a while ago I've been put on a few committees and stuff in work that, down the line, will put me in good stead for promotion if I choose so.

The boss is now wanting to send me on an information evening to find out about a couple of masters courses I could do - both are geared towards management in teaching.

I'm obviously quite glad she's giving me the push just now and if someone else is going to pay for me to work towards a masters then that's cool but I'm not so sure about the workload.

I manage to juggle the teaching and DJing well and still have a life away from work but wouldn't want to take on something that sucks up all my free time or I start it and realise I can't commit the time and energy to come through.

Anyone here ever done further ed whilst in full time work? How did it go?
 
Updating my CV is quite an eye opener - it's all done online via a central server nowadays: I was unsuccessful in A LOT of applications and interviews before landing this gig :grin:
 
I got my MA in History while working full time. Took 2 courses a semester, so it took me a little longer than usual to get through the program.

In terms of course work, the reading load was pretty heavy (500-1000 pages per week) with a fairly hefty writing commitment in most classes. In my experience, free time was less than abundant--and I think I had an advantage in the reading department because my BA is in English and I took a lot of philosophy as an undergrad, so I struggled a little less with the theory-heavy assignments than some of the folks in my cohort who were reading, say, Foucault for the first time.

If you're used to deejaying on the side, then late nights aren't a huge problem for you which might make it a little easier to budget your time. There were plenty of nights where I leveraged my higher than normal energy level/capacity for working through exhaustion in order to make everything happen.

Near the end of my program, we executed a multi-stage out of state move (including a home sale and later home purchase). I do not recommend this sort of project as a way to add excitement to completing a graduate degree. So, if you're planning a wedding (for example), I'd wait until that dust has settled before enrolling.

Oh, and you're probably not deejaying too many gigs for a while. My musical involvement/output slowed to a trickle.
 
Peen Simmons said:
I got my MA in History while working full time. Took 2 courses a semester, so it took me a little longer than usual to get through the program.

In terms of course work, the reading load was pretty heavy (500-1000 pages per week) with a fairly hefty writing commitment in most classes. In my experience, free time was less than abundant--and I think I had an advantage in the reading department because my BA is in English and I took a lot of philosophy as an undergrad, so I struggled a little less with the theory-heavy assignments than some of the folks in my cohort who were reading, say, Foucault for the first time.

If you're used to deejaying on the side, then late nights aren't a huge problem for you which might make it a little easier to budget your time. There were plenty of nights where I leveraged my higher than normal energy level/capacity for working through exhaustion in order to make everything happen.

Near the end of my program, we executed a multi-stage out of state move (including a home sale and later home purchase). I do not recommend this sort of project as a way to add excitement to completing a graduate degree. So, if you're planning a wedding (for example), I'd wait until that dust has settled before enrolling.

Oh, and you're probably not deejaying too many gigs for a while. My musical involvement/output slowed to a trickle.
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My wedding is in just over 2 months so we're good on that front.

Slowing down the gigs isn't really an option - it pretty much is a 2nd job and I'm booked into 2019 now - most of the time is taken up by admin - I average around 50-60 gigs per year so I could make it work. Whether I've got the gumption to do so or not is a completely different matter :embarrassed:
 
I don't have experience from the student side, but I occasionally teach classes on the side for the "night school"/continuing ed school here at the university I work at, and on average, the older students taking these classes while working full time during the day have their shit together and are on top of the class work much more than the undergrads. (who in turn, have their shit together much more than I did as an undergrad...)
 
Started my masters at 36. It was geared toward part-time folks, but done as a two-year (Fall, Spring, & Summer sessions for each academic year). The first year I worked part-time, the second full-time. If you get a program that let's you do it over two or three years (and any should because it's money for them), you should be able to handle the work.

It has to be a priority or it won't be worth it. If someone else is footing the bill, you want to make sure you do well, not to mention find out their expectations...meaning what they think you owe them as a result.
 
I started my BA at age 42 while working full time; I worked on my Masters from age 50-52 while also working full time. It was challenging at times, but I was able to do it while battling depression.
 
I got my MS when I was 38 and working full time. Like @Peen Simmons , I took 2 classes each semester and one in the summer. It took a couple of years, but it's definitely doable.
 
Dogsinotpalc said:
Started my masters at 36. It was geared toward part-time folks, but done as a two-year (Fall, Spring, & Summer sessions for each academic year). The first year I worked part-time, the second full-time. If you get a program that let's you do it over two or three years (and any should because it's money for them), you should be able to handle the work.

It has to be a priority or it won't be worth it. If someone else is footing the bill, you want to make sure you do well, not to mention find out their expectations...meaning what they think you owe them as a result.
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The best part of it is that I won't really owe anyone anything. I'm not sure what the funding situation for this one is but ones have come up before which are fully funded either by the local authority or the General Teaching Council and that's it - you're not tied in to anything or expected to hang around - the whole point of it is "continuing professional development" as they call it - more teachers with MEd's = looks better for them and they need to foot the bill otherwise very few would go through it themselves.
 
jbj said:
The best part of it is that I won't really owe anyone anything. I'm not sure what the funding situation for this one is but ones have come up before which are fully funded either by the local authority or the General Teaching Council and that's it - you're not tied in to anything or expected to hang around - the whole point of it is "continuing professional development" as they call it - more teachers with MEd's = looks better for them and they need to foot the bill otherwise very few would go through it themselves.
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That's awesome and not something you should pass up. Are these general MEds or are there specialties that you can select? I would see if there are choices, in case one is more appealing than the ones you mentioned...if you're not gassed about those initial options that is.
 
I don't know if you'd consider me mature enough, but I'm 28 and doing an MA at the moment. I quit my full time job and moved abroad. For me personally the combination is a bit too much, I like to completely dive into stuff, it doesn't work for me to spend my day fragmented on different stuff. I earn a living by doing freelance design and development work on the side.

I'd say doing a MA is quite taxing, but it depends on how you can pace it. I spend about 60 to 70 hours a week on my studies when I'm taking courses, but I also have weeks/months with no courses where I work on other stuff and do research for my thesis.
 
Upon some deep inward reflection, I don't think it's ever been accurate to refer to me as a "mature" student. I'm pretty much a man child. If you mean like adult learner...well, again, physically yes, but maturity wise, not so much.
 
Dogsinotpalc said:
That's awesome and not something you should pass up. Are these general MEds or are there specialties that you can select? I would see if there are choices, in case one is more appealing than the ones you mentioned...if you're not gassed about those initial options that is.
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This current ones on offer are both geared toward middle management. The details are pretty bare on the content just now but one does sound pretty good.
 
The thing I always reminded myself (and my fellow classmates) is that they don't send the report card home to your parents anymore. Getting a good grade is nice, but once I knew the content I didn't put in the spit and polish that would turn a B into an A-.
 
Chicken Man said:
The thing I always reminded myself (and my fellow classmates) is that they don't send the report card home to your parents anymore. Getting a good grade is nice, but once I knew the content I didn't put in the spit and polish that would turn a B into an A-.
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I went the other way. I was rather focused and concerned about doing well...the goal was to kill it. I did, fucking nailed it.
 
I just started my master's in music this year at age 33. I'd been teaching guitar at the college level up until now (my job was turned into a full-time spot, but they wouldn't let me apply for it because I didn't have a master's, so I lost my job). Music is likely pretty different than other subjects, but there are a few academic classes I have to take, and they're all pretty heavy on reading and writing. I'm balancing teaching, gigging, a family, practicing, composing, and running a band. I'm stretched pretty thin, but I love doing this, so I'm not stressed out.
 
I finished my bachelor's degree in accounting at 29 and my MBA at 42. Apparently, I could get rather short with the family, but we all survived.
 
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