..to think I'll be able to do a masters?

[CoolLikeOvie]

I've got a place on a full time distance learning MSc course, and I start in September. I just got an email from the University essentially asking me to think very carefully about whether I'll be able to complete it full time if I have other commitments. I'd have to defer a year if I switched to part time. So I am thinking about it, but I'd like to gauge your opinions, as I have no idea what the step up will be like from undergrad to MSc.

I graduated last summer. I started uni with a 5 month old baby, and worked throughout, though at the beginning this was bank work so wasn't constant. I left an abusive relationship in this time, and was a single parent pretty much throughout (DDs dad had the odd hour of supervised contact but nothing of substance).

I also have ADHD, which was undiagnosed at the time, meaning my time management and concentration abilities were severely impacted and I started most assignments a day or two before they were due. I'm under no illusions that this affected my grades, as my dissertation (which had staggered deadlines for the completion of each part) got a high first, whereas my overall grade was a 2.1. Nonetheless, I had a ton of shit going on, my MH was shot to bits and I still seemed to cope OK juggling it all.

I got diagnosed with ADHD just after graduation - I'm medicated now, and my symptoms have improved tenfold. DD starts school in September. I have a newish job with a super supportive boss who reckons he wants me to complete this MSc (and go on to get my practitioner doctorate) more than I do I work from home a couple of days a week and he's already letting me use a good chunk of these hours to do some introductory reading.

All in all, I'm in a much better situation than I was during my last degree and I was feeling pretty confident in my abilities to complete the course and get good grades - and I am really excited to see what academic potential I may possess now my ADHD is medicated.

But this email has got me a bit worried. Could a single parent work 25 hours and do a full time masters, or is that just a crazy idea? I worry that I'm thinking about it in undergrad terms, whereas I'm sure MScs are much more difficult. I don't know anyone who has done one IRL, so I can't ask anyone else.

I'm currently on my 2nd Masters (relevant, not just showing off)

1st masters was p/t and working full time on placements as a healthy single 23 year old and it was a bit hard but completly doable.
2nd masters, also p/t but with DC. Sometimes SAHMing and sometimes working. OMG has it been tough. I've needed to do various resits and have extensions.

It's not even that the work is harder, it's more that its in more depth/takes longer and DC aren't predictable. When for eg. DS had chickenpox it was impossible to leave an essay till 'the night before' like I could have done as an undergrad.

Personally I was super busy during my MA and I know I would have got more from it doing it part time. I’m currently doing a part time level 7 course (post grad equivalent) and am enjoying it way more. For someone with your ability it would be a shame not to get as much out of it as you can.

I'm in the third year of my PT MSc and I won't lie it's been hard. I am now pregnant going into this year and wondering how I'm going to manage it. I have a demanding full time job and a teenager (and partner) so there is a lot on my plate with family commitments as well.

Be prepared for a lot more reading than at BSc level. A LOT. To get good marks (merits and distinctions) you need to be able to synthesise a lot of information and your critical thinking skills need to be on point. To get the depth to pass at this level you need to have a lot of info. I'm doing my MSc in my profession so am knowledgeable but it's been a lot.

There is no harm starting and then deferring to part time if it doesn't work out!

I think you’ll be fine. You obviously have a good work ethic and sounds like you have a good boss who will give you some time for it.

I did a science subject MSc, uni based not distance learning, and although it was harder than the undergrad it there wasn’t a huge difference, just natural progression, and the time I put in was roughly the same.

From experience those who struggled with the Masters degrees were generally those who struggled with their undergradswbd therefore maybe shouldn’t have done the masters in the first place. If you got through your undergrad ok and found the difficulty and time needed fine to cope with then you will likely be fine doing the masters full time.

How much overlap do you expect there to be between the masters and your job? If they are very related, you may not need to do as much self-study/reading than if you weren't working.
How supportive will your workplace be if you need time for study or assignments? It sounds like they are keen to support you which will help.
Generally, I would expect a full time MSc whilst working 25 hours a week to be hard going.

I can't really comment on postgrad versus undergrad as mine were in very different subjects, but at postgrad you should expect to receive much less help and have to work out what to do and how to do it on your own.

Have you applied for DSA for your ADHD?

It might be worth thinking about deferring for a year so you can get that all arranged.

I started a full time masters whilst working full time, I thought it would be okay because I was actually only at uni one day a week, and I crammed all my 37.5 hours into three long shifts. The course was in public health and a lot of it would have been fine, but there were individual modules within the masters that were completely new subjects to me (international political economy) that i’d never studied at gcse, a-level or undergrad, so it was just too much to suddenly hit the ground running at masters level. There was SO MUCH reading, and I am a fast reader and I love to do it, but I was leaving ever IPE lecture with essentially a full ream of paper in hand outs, which needed reading and digesting in the next week along with my working hours and rest, and that was one module.

In the end, I wasn’t in a position to make it work for me, I was spreading myself too thinly, and for how much it was costing me to go to uni I needed to do a good job of it, so I de-registered and haven’t regretted it.

I’m doing a part time masters and work 25 hours with two kids....it’s been hard! The sheer volume of exam revision, reading and research for essays. I could not have managed a full time course... perhaps it will be different distance learning?

I think if you completed your undergraduate degree in the context you mentioned, then working 25hrs, kid in school, supportive manager and free from an abusive relationship, then this new adventure will be a walk in the park. Do not let anyone limit your capability, you know you can do this or you wouldn't have put yourself forward. Go for it! 💪

I did not have children, but worked 20 hours a week while doing a full-time masters and two hours' commuting a day. That was fine but obviously having a child makes quite a difference! It probably also depends on the subject and what kind of level you have before starting.

I'd say that the most important thing, though, is whether you think it will be manageable, which you seemed to before you got that letter, so I'd say crack on!

How much overlap do you expect there to be between the masters and your job? If they are very related, you may not need to do as much self-study/reading than if you weren't working.

Loads of overlap. The direction my boss is trying to take his business is hugely related to my MSc, so he's purposely getting me to write reports where I need to research directly relevant theory and studies - both to aid my development, but largely to further the business goals (so I don't think this will change). This new direction is rapidly gaining steam, so I imagine this sort of thing will make up the bulk of my responsibilities going forward.

Also, the MSc is a more specialised discipline of my undergrad course, not a completely new subject, so there is little in the reading I've done so far which is completely frying my brain (although obviously reading is a tiny part of the whole process).

How supportive will your workplace be if you need time for study or assignments?

Very. I basically work for a business consultant and his PA; that's our whole team, so what my boss says goes and he's massively keen on the whole idea.

Have you applied for DSA for your ADHD?

I have applied for it, though I know there's a few months wait. I'm not really sure what they could do for me tbh. I could do with a new laptop (mine needs to be plugged in constantly and is slow), but I can manage without.

My future uni has already awarded me 25% extra time in exams, so that's all sorted.

Hello OP, have you checked the modules and likely timetable? Just asking as for my MA the only difference was that part time people got a year to write their dissertations. All the taught modules still had to be completed in the first year so for me and my peers it was a question of whether or not you were able to write a dissertation over the summer for a September deadline.

I assume with the O.U? They send that email to everyone.

Hello OP, have you checked the modules and likely timetable? Just asking as for my MA the only difference was that part time people got a year to write their dissertations. All the taught modules still had to be completed in the first year so for me and my peers it was a question of whether or not you were able to write a dissertation over the summer for a September deadline.

Hey, I have checked them. It does split the modules and the mandatory 5 weekends in London equally(ish) across two years.

The trouble is, I'm keen to start my practitioner doctorate once I've done the MSc, which will take between 2 and 4 years. So if I defer for a year, then go part time, it could be another 7 years until I'm qualified.

That just seems like such a long time, and years ago, I set myself a goal that I would be a Dr by 30. Sounds conceited I know but nobody in my family has ever even been to college, I went to the 3rd worst secondary school in the UK, was homeless at 15, pregnant and in temporary accommodation at 21 in an abusive relationship etc so I just feel like I've got the determination to achieve any goal I set my mind to if I work hard enough. Maybe naive, but it's what I try to live my life believing.

If you can do it part time and support yourself for the extra time it takes, I would. I did my MA full time with no job and 2 school age children and it was manageable but hardcore. More than that, though, I wish I'd spent the extra time to allow the new learning to bed in a bit if you see what I mean. The fact is, if you do it part time you have more time to do more reading and more thinking for each part of the degree. Maybe that's not the same for a science degree though.

I assume with the O.U? They send that email to everyone.

Not with the O.U, but I did suspect it could be a generic email. They don't know I'm a single mother or anything like that. It just got me doubting myself.

I would be hugely interested in people sharing the actual Masters subject they are studying. Am keen to pursue but wanted an idea of the kind of things to study.

Absolutely you can do it and you'll be fantastic. I did full time OU degree while working full time and a single parent it was rock hard but then went on to do MSc. My Masters year was honestly easier. Less assignments, longer holidays from uni, my contact time was only 6 hrs a week the rest was independent study.

No means easy but it was the best money I ever spent in terms of getting jobs afterwards. Go for it!

I’ve just completed a full time MSc as a single parent with DCs aged 4 & 9, whilst also working a part-time internship.
It’s been tiring at times but it’s literally 8 months of your life... it isn’t even a year.
Grin and bear it and you can do it x

I would be hugely interested in people sharing the actual Masters subject they are studying. Am keen to pursue but wanted an idea of the kind of things to study.

I'm doing my Adv HCP Mental Health, it's a follow on from my MSc Nursing so difficult if you're not already a HCP.

Also

A PP mentioned that people who struggled with the MSc were the ones who struggled at BSc but that's a hell of a presumption. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of variables which would make the BSc easier than the MSc for many people not even including the actual work. I've found time and working around other commitments difficult and have a 1:1 degree in which I came top of my cohort by 5%. I didn't struggle at all but MSc has come with a full time job (42hrs a week min), dog, child, pregnancy, two deaths and associated ceremonies (Jewish) and some ill health!

Glad to hear you've applied for DSA. Your needs assessment will be where you find out what they can do for you - probably more than you expected.

This is standard across all University's. I got asked the exact same question in my interview, I simply replied asking how they managed to work with Children. Needless to say completed and working in the job 10 years on. I think they have to say it just so you are aware, you will be fine. Good luck @CoolLikeOvie !

I would be hugely interested in people sharing the actual Masters subject they are studying. Am keen to pursue but wanted an idea of the kind of things to study

Real Estate Management, currently training to be a chartered surveyor

I did my masters p/t - I had 2 DC under 5 at the start. I did some p/t work (mostly relevant to my dissertation research). I had a very supportive partner.

Personally I don’t think I could have completed my dissertation as well as all the modules in one year.