..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.

My Masters was in Criminology & Criminal Justice

I just finished my MA in history. It wasn't dissimilar to third year of undergrad, just with an extra semester dedicated to the dissertation.

I agree with @Blanca:

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! 💪

MSc Public Sociology.

I know this isn't the point of the thread, but I am really curious to know what the practitioner doctorate is in?

As for whether you can do it, you certainly had the odds stacked against you before and coped. My only observation is that the force driving you to operate like that may have been a survival mechanism from living with and then escaping abuse. Like an extended flight response - throwing yourself into "overachieving" as a means of escaping what you've been through by never having time or headspace or energy to engage with it. It's quite common and does burn out eventually, so if you think there might have been an element of that then I'd be more wary of launching into a Master's on the same basis. (From the point of view of not wanting to break yourself.)

What happens if you get partway through and realise you've bitten off too much, could you still defer to go part time even if you had started?

If the answer to that is yes, then you don't really have a lot to lose by trying.

You sound amazing BTW. I have a LO and about to go back to work. It's been the hardest year of my life and I'm barely able to keep up with texts to friends etc never mind do a Masters!!! Well done you

I have two masters - 1 pre children and 1 post. I did both full-time. I'd say a lot will depend on your determination and how the course is run.
I worked 3 days a week for the first masters and didn't find it a problem at all.

I worked 20 hours during the second, with 3 children (the youngest was a baby). My partner was not around for the first 6 months of the course - all they taught part! It was incredibly tough. I was exhausted from dealing with a non-sleeping baby, early morning and evening shifts and a particularly gruelling masters.

My first masters was run with an appreciation of the fact students have other commitments. The second was not. There were patronising talks, along the way, about how much time we should be giving to the course and how we shouldn't be doing it if we didn't have that time. It was patronising, elitist and exclusionary. The masters is usually a pre-cursor to further qualifications and the attitude of the powers that be were that were weeding out those unsuitable for further training. Actually, what they were doing was perpetuating young, white, middle-class privilege and they should know better.

Anyway, I survived and am now doing the further training. That is a walk in the park, compared to the MSc.

I can't say I'd recommend doing the MSc full time as a single parent. But it can be done. Part-time would be the sensible option - but it was not the right one for me. (I didn't want to prolong the issue of trying to do a masters, work and parent!)

I know this isn't the point of the thread, but I am really curious to know what the practitioner doctorate is in?

I was attempting not to out myself, hence calling it that, but I'm due a name change anyway it's to become a chartered Occupational Psychologist practitioner, and my MSc is in Organizational Psychology. I'm not sure if it's actually termed a 'practitioner doctorate', but was just trying to convey that you have to be employed throughout, and your work is based on your career - so I wouldn't expect to have so many issues there (plus you can take a few years to complete it all so no mad rush).

What happens if you get partway through and realise you've bitten off too much, could you still defer to go part time even if you had started?

Yep, they said that's an option - though said it is not in the best interests of anybody to do that, so it's better to defer. Not sure why. Maybe because you wouldn't be with the same cohort for the weekends in London if you switched part of the way through?

Thanks for all the kind comments. I'm glad there's a few more that think I'll be alright. I think I will too, but I guess I just had a small voice telling me I wouldn't and hoped I'd get a handful of people telling me I'll be fine I was allowed to spend the morning at work reading and making notes so if that continues, it'll be a huge help. Also some v inspiring stories here!

Ahh I can see why your boss is so keen now! Sounds really interesting and positive. How exciting :)