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juggling work/college

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
Hey, i am thinking about doing a national diploma in september as i am due to complete my a levels. The problem is the college is about 1-1.30 hour drive each way and i will be there 4 days from nine to five so with travelling on top pretty long days. Also i will need to work all weekend to fund my travelling and running a car as well as having some sort of social life.
Do u think tht the work load will be too high? i dnt want to be stuck on my 1 day off studying all day.
Any1 been in a simialer situation? how do u juggle study and work?
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's not easy to juggle work and study, as studying is a full time job in itself. Be prepared to be studying on your day off, because you will have to.

    What you need to ask yourself is whether working so hard is worth the qualification at the end of it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    you may want to consider moving into accomodation nearer the college or looking for something nearer to you. you will be studying on your one day off so be prepared for that - all that travelling will especially make it hard for you to study in the evenings coz you will be tired.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    becky4131 wrote:
    how do u juggle study and work?
    with very good time management it can be done. but having said that, perhaps it might be worth your while to consider different accomodation which would save you a lot of time travelling back and forth?! other than that, make a schedule that identifies what you wil be doing each hour of each day adn work it out from there... stick with it... and hopefully you might be avble to find some free time at some point during the week. as long as you are committed to your course, you'll find some way of making time work out for you. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeh thanks, im still thinking about it and i would love to live in colege accomodation but simply cant afford it and i cant get a loan cause it isnt a higher education course. Im going to apply and go for an interview and see what they say, i want to do what is right but i really want to do the course so il see what they say.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm currently doing a national diploma but i live about 20 mins walk away from college so travelling isn't an issue for me.
    I'm also working 2/3 days a week and now that the first year of my course is coming to an end it's getting to be a bit of a struggle.

    It's hard to fit in work, college and some form of social life. I seem to spend every night working on my assignments at the moment so the social life bit is non-existant.

    I think it would be a bit of a push for you to manage to work and do this course if you live so far away. Is there no way that you can live closer to the college?

    There are a couple of people on my course which need to work a lot to support their studies and our college is very good about this and allows them quite a bit of time off, as long as they keep up with their assignments and get the notes off other students so maybe the college would be able to help you out there.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks-its good to hear from someone who is in that situation. I could live in at the college but it costs £75 a week and even working weekends i could not afford to pay that. My parents earn a good wage so i wouldnt get help but i cant expect them to pay for me. It is a difficult situation and iv looked at other courses but all the colleges are miles away-tht is wat u get for living in a little town.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have 45 minute walk from my college and I do a national diploma and finish college at 4.30 everyday. Which means i normally get in bout 5.15, i start work at 6 in the evenings, which leaves time for my tea and thats bout it, but that also leaves my weekends free to socialise and get work done. I used to have weekend job and personally I find it easier working the evenings as it gives me more spare time, but you should have no problem juggling you're time, most the people on my course have part-time jobs as well as college, apart from the odd few who have kids, but if you find it hard in the first year, then i will warn you in advance, the second year has loads more work, but it's definetely well worth it, i finish in two weeks, then thats my course done and finshed, although I can't wait to leave, I'm really pleased I did it and I would suggest it to anyone.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I worked part time whilst doing both my undergrad and postgraduate degrees - for my undergrad degree it was a doddle because i only had to be in college 8 hours a week so i worked for 2 days and still had the weekends off which was great.

    For my post grad degree i had to drive an hour each way to university into kent and worked one day a week in north london which was in totally the opposite direction - it was fine really - i just had to be more organised that everyone else - but I also was super lucky because i was working in the field that i eventually wanted to go into. Then in the summer I thought i was being made redundant from my first job so i got another one and then didnt' get made redundant and ended up with 2 jobs and a dissertation to hand in. I'm proud to say that it made me even more organised than everyone else - yes i had to work my socks off but I even managed to get it all completed so for the last weekend whilst everyone else was working their socks off i was out partying at my firends hen night with all my work done and dusted.

    So my short answer is yes its possible - other options might be to get a job somewhere on the college campus so you work there in the evenings and then have your weekends free - or work 1 day a week or even take the corse part time.

    I've never heard of a national diploma though???
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A national diploma is equivalent to 3 a levels. I dnt want to do a degree and iv only studied one a level so wouldnt get the points anyway. Iv got an interview with college on wednesday so il have a chat and ask a few questions but i think im definetly going to go for it, just have to be more organised. If i find it too much then il look at my options again but sure il cope-im used to a high workload and hectic life lol
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I worked all weekend whilst I was at school, got 3 A Levels and got into Uni :thumb:

    I still work all weekend now as a 2nd year undergrad.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Whats the point in doing it???

    If your not academic then surely its better to go and do something vocational like learning to type and going to get a job.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote:
    Whats the point in doing it???

    If your not academic then surely its better to go and do something vocational like learning to type and going to get a job.

    The point is that i want to be a veterinary nurse and to become one of those i need a placement at a vets, well all the vets i have tried(over 100) want some1 with some past experience or qalifications working with animals-this course would give me what i needed. If after i have done the course i still cant get a placement then i will work full time until i do find 1. The point is that i want a career and dnt want to be stuck in a dead end job tht i dnt enjoy so until iv got what i want im not going to give up.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    becky4131 wrote:
    The point is that i want to be a veterinary nurse and to become one of those i need a placement at a vets, well all the vets i have tried(over 100) want some1 with some past experience or qalifications working with animals-this course would give me what i needed. If after i have done the course i still cant get a placement then i will work full time until i do find 1. The point is that i want a career and dnt want to be stuck in a dead end job tht i dnt enjoy so until iv got what i want im not going to give up.

    I agree with everything you've said. I'm doing a national diploma in animal management now and i started it initially because i wanted to be a veterinary nurse and didn't have the qualifications. I messed up school so I didn't get many GCSE results, not because I wasn't clever enough, I just didn't apply myself or whatever. I had limited home schooling so not much GCSE preperation. However despite this I was top student on the first diploma course last year and I'm doing well this year too.

    There is a vocational aspect to it because one day a week is at a work placement so it's very different from doing something purely academic such as A-levels.

    I agree that getting a vets to accept you is difficult, I know because I tried for my placement last year.

    If you need any extra advice on the course or help or want a chat then PM me :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thankyou, Im really excited about doing this course and i agree with everything u have said. It is great to know tht there are other people with the same ideas as me. I just think that at this time of my life i need to get as many qualifications so that i can have a better chance at becoming a veterinary nurse.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ahh so they are vocational qualifications rather than academic ones - I asked because i even though loved doing my both my degrees but they bear little relevance to what i'm doing now and if your not into doing loads of studying i think you can get just as good a job without doing further education. Its crap that you can't get a loan or grant - i'd much rather see my tax payers money go towards people who are getting skills that are applicable towards real jobs.

    x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote:
    Ahh so they are vocational qualifications rather than academic ones - I asked because i even though loved doing my both my degrees but they bear little relevance to what i'm doing now and if your not into doing loads of studying i think you can get just as good a job without doing further education. Its crap that you can't get a loan or grant - i'd much rather see my tax payers money go towards people who are getting skills that are applicable towards real jobs.

    x

    I think that u are completely right, surely it would be better giving money to those who are going to learn skills for future jobs aswell as those who are just gaining certificates and degrees. The job i want to do is fairly low paid so going through a degree wouldnt be worth it for me, i really am not bothered about the pay but i dont want to be repaying a masive loan after.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i am currently working full time and doing a MA part time. My uni is 100 miles away from home, and so getting to lectures takes a while. I do end up studying in a lot of my spare time, but its worth it to get the qualification. Could you do your course part time to raise extra cash??
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