Studying with children

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Anyone done this?

I feel like I need to up skill and earn decent money for our family.

Thinking of doing part time psychology degree with OU whilst working full time. Would this be possible with a child starting reception in september and plans to have another child in next 5 years?

Dont know what I'll do with psychology, I just find it interesting and would hopefully improve my writing and critical thinking skills, which I dont currently use (I'm a cleaner).

I guess me and my husband are similar.

I have a 3yo and a 2yo. I have the boys full time and work PT. Dh works PT and studies PT.

We have no childcare so are both very busy.
I don't know how intense a psychology degree is but dh is doing an intense degree and couldn't work any more

Does your DP never spend time with your sons?

I know DP would expect me to carry on doing most childcare as I earn less

I'm doing a psychology degree with the OU. Realistically you will need between 5 and 10 hours a week of study time. Keep in mind this is not 'skim reading the text book at lunchtime' type study, you need to be able to focus, engage with the material, make notes, do wider research, and listen to recordings/watch films and video clips, post on forums and get involved in discussions, etc as well as reading the text books. So you need space and quiet to work, as well as time. You might find that you need more time as you come up to assignment deadlines, and at the end of the modules. Some modules also have exams you will need to attend in person.

Having said all that, I have 2 kids and a full time job, and I'm scoring well enough at the moment to be on track for a 2:1 degree, after 4 of 6 modules. The thing that makes the difference for me is my DH is very supportive and hands on. He's happy to take his turn with the kids on the weekend or in the evening, to allow me time to study and work. I also plan my annual leave to give me study breaks in advance of big assignments. But as my kids are in nursery fulltime rather than school, I don't have to save my leave for the school holidays.

The tricky side of it is that work, study and two children is fairly mentally tiring, often the last thing I want to do when the kids have gine to bed is crack open the books, so you do need to be really motivated to succeed. It's a great experience though, I'm loving the course, and I'd do it all over again despite how hard it is at times.

I am in my final year of a degree with the OU (maths). I have variously done part time study plus full time work (before children), full time study plus full time work (before children), part time study plus part time work (currently, with a toddler and now pregnant with second). I could not manage full time work plus part time study with a child, though you might. The only way I manage to keep up is with my mum looking after my son for a few hours on my day off so that I can study in-depth for a decent chunk of time, and this is for 1 x 30 credit module at final year level.

Every man and their dog has a degree in psychology, but how many actually use it to 'earn more money' or use it at all?

Seriously, don't do that if it's to earn a better wage.

In your situation I would expect your DP to be required to look after children for at least a few hours on a weekend (if you are off at the same time). I’m not sure how you earning less automatically translates to you being expected to be more available to take care of your son if you are both working full time. But either way it would be very hard if your DP is not on board

Thanks some helpful replies on here.

Seriously, don't do that if it's to earn a better wage

How else can anyone earn well when most jobs require a degree. I have a DipHE but employers dont recognise it as a qualification.

DP always tells me that I have to do more childcare and housework because he goes out to earn more and pays more in bills

I think PP means a psychology degree specifically. I have no idea, I’m not au fait with career options with a psychology degree - it might be worth speaking to a careers advisor of some kind. If you have a particular career in mind it might be better to look at other subjects, however equally it’s no good studying something you’re not very interested in.

If you are interested in a subject related to your DipHE, it may be worth exploring whether you can use the credits towards a degree.

Yes, I did my degree and post grad with three small children at home. I started when DC1 was nine months old and was finished by the time he was four, had two more DC in that gap too. It was utterly relentless and exhausting but I survived and now have a fairly decent teaching career.

I have taught a fair few students who are single parents too, they all make it through with pretty good grades and usually go onto uni.

“DP always tells me that I have to do more childcare and housework because he goes out to earn more and pays more in bills”

I think that his attitude is going to mean it is unlikely he is going to be supportive of your studies, which will make things much more difficult for you. If you’re trying to earn more money in order to counter his attitude, then I think you probably need to post in the Relationships section!

I’m doing a psych masters full time (online with BCU) while working 30 hours a week, with children aged 5 and 8 and no support other than DH. It’s hard, really hard, I have no life at the moment, but it is temporary and it is so interesting, feels good to use my brain. It’s very possible. Definitely look at what you want to do with your degree afterwards though - I have a grand plan but I’ll need a phd to eventually get there.

I did the OU Psych degree whilst working full-time. I didn't have children at the time though. It was pretty full-on, reading on the commute to work, weekends lost to assignment writing, etc. I have a 6 year old now and am back at uni doing a different degree full-time, but I don't work at all.

Honestly, there's no way I personally would cope working full-time and studying part-time with the OU now that I'm a mum. I just don't have the energy or commitment in the evenings to open a book once my child is in bed. That doesn't mean you won't though, you might be made of stronger stuff than me!

Psychology is fascinating and it was somewhat relevant to my job at the time and I did enjoy the course. But, in itself, it's not that useful. I'm inclined to agree with TheNoiseHurts' post above. What is it that you want to do career-wise? With the cost of uni nowadays, I think a professional course is the way to go...something that gets you a specific job at the end of it.

It is possible. I'm doing an English and history degree atm. Partner is very supportive. I plan on doing teaching after my degree. I already have a degree, but it's not the right subject for teaching.

I do agree that you need to do a bit of career research first. If it's to earn more, then you need to work out what job you want to aim for and do an appropriate degree.

How else can anyone earn well when most jobs require a degree.

What jobs are you talking about?

If you want to work as a social worker (for example) you're right you need a degree.
A social work degree, not a psych degree.

Same for physiotherapy, teaching, nursing, midwifery.

None of them require a psychology degree.

Nowhere says "won't employ you unless you have a degree in psychology."

Or at least I'm yet to find one.
I say this as a proud owner of a psychology degree and embarking on a vocational degree which will guarantee me employment when I graduate. Thank God.

Find what you want to work in first, and then choose your degree accordingly.

But believe me, a psychology degree will not end you up in a well paid job.

I’d aim to retrain in something vocational with a career in mind . Lots of people in min wage jobs have a degree . It’s not a guarantee of a higher salary .

I have 2 dc age 5 and 9. I have done 3 years of an OU degree so far. Its been heavy going but have enjoyed it and my DH has been supportive. Prior to my youngest starting school, he would use his parental leave to take time off work when I had exams. I'm taking a year out atm following a bereavement but planning to return to it in October. I work 4 days a week so have that extra day to myself to study. The OU is great but you do need real commitment.

What are you doing your degree in, @InTheCludgie?

I'm in my 3rd year of nursing degree and juggling 3 kids.

There's no way I could do an OU. Not because I couldn't commit but because I need that face to face hands-on learning.
I always have a high respect for those who complete OU degrees!

TheNoise I'm doing Natural Sciences. I trained as a nurse over a decade ago pre-children, had a lot of admiration for my classmates with young families!

I work with HCP students and have nothing but admiration for the ones with children in particular. Juggling the demands of placements as well as assignments is not for the faint-hearted

I have a BA and MA but one of my criteria (certainly not the only one) when choosing to study for a career change was to make a reasonable amount of money - fortunately I enjoy and have an aptitude for maths which gives me the option of some well-paying careers. I think if the aim is simply to be able to tick the box on job requirements that says “educated to degree level” and the subject is less important it might be worth looking for one where the OP’s DipHE credits might be of use

It's totally doable. I did a part time BA with the OU while working part time as a single parent to 3 kids.

A lot of the jobs I was looking at before I had my degree just stated that they wanted graduates so I did a degree in a subject that I enjoyed to ensure I stayed interested and motivated. It took me 6 years and I graduated last year with a 2:1, and I'm now studying for an MA part time.

If you're motivated enough, you'll find the time - I read and study on the bus, in lunch breaks, waiting in the car at school pick up....

I do agree with the previous posters to an extent when talking about whether a psychology degree will lead to a better paid job. I'm doing mine with a specific goal in mind, working towards a career in occupational psychology eventually, but there are precious few jobs that require a bachelors in psychology, most careers in the psychology world will require a masters as well (which will be my next step) or even a PhD, for clinical work. A degree in psychology (or any subject) does however open up access to graduate employment schemes, of which there are lots, many of which dont necessarily require a specific subject degree, just the qualification. Those schemes can and do lead to a better career if you're prepared to commit to them.