Hello! I am new here. I wanted to ask a question to anyone that got a master's degree while teaching full time. I teach a multi-grade classroom (5th/6th) at a private school. I will be starting my second year teaching this fall. I love my job and have a small class size, so I feel like if I'm ever going to have the time while I'm working, now is that time! The 2 programs I'm looking into are primarily online because I live about 30 miles away from the schools, and I don't want to drive through rush hour traffic to get to class. Thankfully they have online options for their degrees. I was talking to an admissions counselor and she said the expectation is that we spend 15-20 hours a week on school work. I know working on my master's is NOT going to be easy and I expect it to be rigorous...but the thought of spending 20 hours a week on school outside of work overwhelms me. Those who have done this--how did you balance your school work, family, and job? What was your typical routine? Did you spend about 20 hours a week? (I know programs vary and that it also depends on the kind of student you are, but I'd like to get some general ideas.) Thanks!
So I did a physical classroom program. Disclaimer: I'm a good multi-tasker and I don't have kids. It was time consuming, but really not as hard as people said it would be. I took my reading around with me, read if I had extra time on my prep, read any time I was waiting around. Weekends and some evenings, I would work on my thesis. I just made sure to do a little bit of something EVERY DAY and finished in 3 semesters no problem. Now, this would be different if I had kids. My husband is very understanding about a busy schedule, so that wasn't an issue, but I could see how it would be for some people.
I did my school administrator qualification online while I was teaching in Egypt. I found that by setting aside one afternoon per week where I was totally focused on nothing but my coursework, I was able to do 90 percent of it during that sitting. To be successful with this, you'll really need to cut out distractions and work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once the bulk of the work was done, I would spend a few minutes on other days following up on forum posts, and completing the interactive requirements. If you hammer out the tasks one by one, in a focused manner, you should find that you can work much more efficiently than you imagined.
I was 24/25 and single. I did a traditional classroom program (nights and summer) from January 1995 to December 1996. I had lots of writing and reading due to being in the English program. I was a first year teacher doing my internship. (But had a year of full-time subbing previously.) I started my day at the high school where I taught English in grades 12, 11, and 9. Then I went across town to the middle school and taught 7th grade reading. One to two nights a week I had to drive 40 miles round trip to campus for class from 6-9. I did college work on weekends and school work on the weekdays I didn't have class. I am naturally good at organization and time management. I'm sure that helped. I also was so new to teaching that I didn't realize other people weren't that busy.
Thanks for your input everyone! My aunts have their master's in education and they got them while working full time and raising kids, and they both told me that I'd be surprised how different the expectations are in grad school from undergrad and that they felt it was very manageable. Thankfully I don't have children right now, just a husband and some dogs, so I'm the least amount of busy right now than I'm ever going to be. I think I just need to bite the bullet and do it! I just got kind of spoiled last school year when I could come home from work and just relax and do my own thing...I'm a little nervous about saying goodbye to that. I'm hoping that I can get the bulk of my school work done during week nights so that I can have my weekends free from obligations. I just don't feel ready to give up all my free time. Did any of you feel like you had to sacrifice a lot of free time to do this? Is it realistic to think I could get all my school work done working a couple hours each evening to have my weekends mostly free?
Let's just say God got me through it! I think 20 hours is a huge commitment if you are working full time - I'm also at a private school with small classes - I will tell you that I'm pretty sure I never spent as much time on the work as they recommended, and I never took more than 6 credits (usually 2 classes at a time). I did take a long time to complete my MEd -, but my employer was paying for the tuition so that was the better option for me, i.e. rather than going full time. That being said, I've always been amazed at what other people and teachers have been able to handle as far as working full time and grad school work - I honestly am not the best student while working full time and it is difficult for me switch my focus from work every day in this manner. Also, I'm not married, no kids - can't imagine how I would have done it w/kids at home!
I completed a program that met one weekend a month. Will you have to sacrifice free time? Yes. You may be able to get much of the work done during the week, but you also need to be prepared to work on weekends if necessary. If you need to write a thesis, the writing and editing can be very time-consuming!
Yes, I had to give up some of my free time on weekends. The only way not to have sacrificed free time was to have slacked off somewhere else, which was not something I was willing to do. It wasn't like I was spending every non-teaching moment doing work for college, but I did have to make some sacrifices. I am an avid reader, and I had to give up some of my "for fun" reading. I typically spent Sunday afternoons working on hobbies. Those had to be put away some days. I did the non-thesis option. I had to take two additional classes, but I just didn't think that I had time to handle it with everything else I had going on. I don't think I would like the online classes. There wasn't such a think when I was in grad school, but one of my friends is currently working on a degree that's about 60% online. She has set times that she has to be online during the week, and she has to have her computer hard-wired into the Internet access. She was sharing a wireless connection with her brother, who lives in the same apartment complex. She had to have her own Internet installed in order to complete her classes. Her brother is in school too, and he works full time. She couldn't always use his computer. She'd have issues submitting assignments sometimes. Maybe I'm just too old for all of that. It sounds like a PITA.
I completed my Ms Ed in one year while teaching almost full-time (had Fridays off). I barely looked up for that year. I took classes from 7-10 two nights a week and all days on Friday. I was exhausted and had no free time whatsoever. I don't know what the difference will be doing it all online, but most of my classes had a minimum of 1 book to read per week + one paper to write per week. Good luck!
I earned a masters degree during my first, second, and third years of teaching. Honestly, the program was pretty easy. I don't remember being that stressed out by the process. This time around I am two classes away from my second masters (needed for my current position). The program is a high workload and online. The 15-20 hours a week is fairly accurate. If you let it, some weeks would be very light (4 hours or so) and others would be completely overwhelming (30 hours or so), but see my tip below. Tips: Make a list ahead of all tasks and deadlines and work through the list far ahead of the deadlines. I tend to get things done two weeks ahead of time at the beginning of the semester and fall "behind" until I am finishing the final assignments the day before the due date toward the end of the semester. It made things less stressful and the day to day routine about the same. Start with one class if you can. Buy a lot of quick meals for the freezer that are somewhat healthy so you have quick meals on hand. I do not have much personal time, but I make sure to "feed" my relationship with together time as much as possible.
Thank you everyone! Your feedback and tips are great and much appreciated! I'll briefly describe the program I am most likely going to be doing: it's online through a local university (not an online school, though) and you take one class at a time. The class durations are 8 weeks. There are no breaks between classes, the only break is between December 13 and January 5 for the 2 years this program takes. I receive an iPad with tuition and there is an app developed for our program--communication with classmates and professors is designed to be completed via iPad. Obviously I will need a computer to type papers and such, but I'm supposed to be able to do a lot with the iPad. The reasoning behind the iPad is that more and more K-12 schools are integrating them so it's a great way to keep us as professionals up on the technology. The 15-20 hours a week I mentioned before is all supposed to be work for the one class--since they are only 8 weeks long, they are very condensed and have a somewhat high workload. I have taken 2 online classes in my undergrad and am familiar with how they run. I always found them to be a bit easier than my on campus classes and never spent as much time on them as they said I was supposed to--not out of laziness, but just because I didn't think things took as long as they said they were going to. Now this was at the undergrad level, so I am expecting things to be a bit more challenging at the graduate level. Anyway, I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond and if anyone else has anything to add, please do. I think I will apply--I know I won't regret getting my master's degree, I will only regret NOT doing it.
My program was also 8 week classes, except I went one night a week and all day Saturdays. I think the challenging thing about classes like this is the amount of READING you'll have. Because the classes are so condensed, you'll end up reading anywhere from 4-7 books in that eight week period, in addition to supplemental articles and things.
Not exactly the same, and I see you've made your decision, but my husband is currently finishing his bachelor's degree and working full time. It's very hard on him and he'll probably quit his job for his final trimester. He's having a very hard time with one class (diff eq) and also has to do 150 hours of career-specific community service in just one trimester! Insane! And of course his work week is more along 60 hours a week, including Saturdays. Good luck with your masters!
I started my program my first year teaching. Between the demands of my first year in general, my first year internship process required in my state, and my college classes, I did literally very few things not related to education. I easily spent a minimum of twenty hours per week on my program. My classes required online chat time, video conferences, phone conferences, group work, and so forth during the week...I took a few classes a semester so just that aspect took up my evening hours. My weekends were writing papers, doing projects, and all the other lovely assignments. I don't think I realized how consuming it all was until I finished my second program which I started immediately after my master's. The sense of relief was incredible. I don't have children. If I had children I wouldn't have taken so many classes at once...I took a pretty heavy load the whole way through.
I started my program my 3rd year teaching. But I wasn't married and didn't have kids. I went to campus for classes and took 1-2 classes per semester and summer. I started in Aug. 05 and graduated in May 08. I think if you include the class time each week, I probably spent about 15 hours a week doing stuff, maybe a little less.
I was teaching full time and I had a baby while getting my masters online. You can do it if you are very driven, self-motivated and a great multi-tasker.
I teach full time and have a husband and 11 year old daughter. I take only one or two classes each semester. I am almost done with a reading masters. It's taking longer but that's ok. Good luck. I also prefer NOT to take summer classes so that I'm totally present for my daughter when we are in vacation together. You can do it! Where I live you don't want to get a masters until you have tenure as it costs more for the district.
I'm doing mine now. I'm going part time so it should take three years to finish(4-5 classes a year plus thesis.) it's not too bad, really, but I've always been a pretty good student. Also, i don't have kids. I do still manage to fit in life outside of school, as well, though this year my district is adding an extra course to our load and taking away a planning period every other day, so we'll see how this goes...
Thanks everyone! That brings me to one more question I have about whether or not to do this that I probably should have mentioned in my original post: Will this hurt my ability to get jobs in the future? I work at a private school right now so there is no tenure and I don't get a significant raise for getting my master's degree. I mainly want to get it because it is a personal goal of mine and my husband and I are thinking of starting a family in a couple years, so it just seems like now is the time if there ever was one. However, this is my first job and while I love it, I do worry about job security. Our enrollment numbers are projected to drop next year and even more drastically the year after and I'm worried that I may be forced to find a new job if that happens. I am an elementary teacher seeking a master's in Special Education. I want a special ed degree for the knowledge and the tools to work with those students in my general ed classroom. If I were to apply for new elementary jobs, would having that master's degree help or hurt? I know for new teachers they generally hurt, but at this point I will have 3-5 years experience. With that in mind, is the master's degree a plus?
A master's degree in special ed can definitely be a plus, but they may not give you years of experience when you are hired. Because I got my masters while working for my school, they had no choice but to move me on the salary guide from BA to MA status. However, when a co-worker of mine was hired with her master's and 8 years of experience, they started her at step 1, MA. Just be prepared for that.
I recently started grad school for School Counseling with a minor in Special Education. My classes began at the end of the school year which is also crunch time in kindergarten with programs, celebrations, field day etc. I had an extremely supportive co-teacher who was outstanding and gave me some moments during the school day if needed. With that being said... I am not the most organized with my time and found that balancing personal life, a relationship, family time did take a hit in some areas, but luckily each session is only 8 weeks long with a break in between. I also found that my grad school professors were EXTREMELY understanding and allowed me to have extensions on work as long as I informed them ahead of time. This was a major shift from how professors are in undergrad. It is not impossible some weeks were way easier than others, but at the end is where the big papers are due. Try to get those in early, get them edited by the writing center in time to resubmit. Good luck and you can do it!
I like online classes a lot as it gives you much more flexibility. Look for a program that offers summer classes and take advantage of that. Try to dedicate a specific day for grad school work (Sat or Sun) and do the reading during the week. Best wishes.
