Re: Study full time, work part time OR study part time, work full time - Which Is Bet
What was your first degree/what is your second?
Working is great for experience. It looks good for your resume and has the added bonus of giving you an income!
I've done full time work/part time study and part time work/full time study, so hopefully I can help a bit.
1)Full Time Work/Part Time Study
I was working 5 days a week, 8.30-5 in a mid-tier insovlency firm. I attended university 3 nights a week (2 subjects, but one had the lecture and tutorial on different evenings).
I found balancing work and study in this situation was hard, mostly because of the nature of the work. I was expected to work extra hours, and I would come home exhausted and drained and could not focus on my study.
Looking back, I should have left sooner.
To be fair, working in insolvency isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's a very stressful environment. If I was working full time at the firm I am with now, I think I could have managed a lot better. I'd recommend, if you did follow this path, try to avoid stressful jobs and find somewhere that values the fact you have study commitments too.
2) Part time work/Full time study (also part time study)
I love this option, and I think its more to do with my age and where I am working.
Evening classes were okay, but I felt a little left out because everybody else was a mature aged student and I was a school leaver. I also feel now, the teaching standard were less than the day classes.
My job now is also fantastic because they understand I go to university and need to have time to focus on that too. I'm only working in a small tax firm now, but its a far more relaxed environment and I love it here. Nobody really works overtime, and its very much a case of if you don't finish today, then just start tomorrow
The other thing is, I'm studying part time now, but last semester I did full time. It's very hard to be able to fit in all your subjects AND have time to work, just because most office jobs are Mon-Fri only and 4 units of study usually means 3/4 days a week minimum.
I prefer part time/part time. I've only got 2 subjects/2 days a week at uni, and only 3 days in the office. I could have done an evening class as well so as to be a full time student, but I decided just to focus on doing well in these two instead.
Don't forget, you can always do the summer/winter break courses to catch up. Part time doesn't necessarily mean 6 years for a degree. If you mix it up between 2 and 3 subjects, plus the short courses its more like 4.5 years
