To do a Masters while working full time as a lone parent?

[Namechangelikeits1999]

I'm a lone parent, 2 DC, one about to start high school and one going into Y9. I work full time term time only. My DC are fairly independent and support the idea.
I think this might be the ideal time to finally do my MSc. It would be done in 12 months if I can manage it. Therefore finished before Y10 exams etc for eldest.
I can't drop work hours because of finances, I don't particularly want a student loan either.
Am I completely mad? Anyone done it and have tips?

I did a PhD part time (six years) as a working single parent. It helped that I worked in the institution where I was registered for my PhD, but it was still a lot of juggling. I had to have rigid routines, kids had to be quite independent and share in household chores, school holidays involved holiday clubs and the goodwill of family and friends. I did much of my writing up late at night after the kids were in bed. They missed out in some ways, but they did get the message that working hard academically was quite normal, and all of them grew into very successful independent students through school, uni and professional qualifications.

Slightly off thread but it’s a bit crazy isn’t it. Not sure I could manage an MA but I’ve started with reading a back log of books I’ve been meaning to read - 4 down so far this summer!

What is your ultimate goal? To be a psychologist, you need to do a PhD. Places on PhD courses are very competitive. You'll need some work experience. Are you prepared to move with your family to go wherever you are accepted for a PhD. Will you be able to fund it? You won't be able ro work FT AND do a PhD.

I did this, but with a part time masters that was in person over 2 years and it was hard going. I condensed my hours down to 4 days, but ended up reducing to 0.8 fte as it was just overwhelming amount to do on top of my job. I don't have any kids either. I had next to no social life at all during the second year with all of the deadlines falling very close together, so my biggest piece of advice would be have a look at when all the major deadlines fall as it requires seriously careful planning, and probably taking time off work. Good luck though, it is doable and I don't regret it at all!

I think you need to do it part time as realistically you're only totting up maybe 20 hours a week there. I know you mentioned you can work more in school holidays, but they probably won't correspond to when you need to work more for the course eg for assignment deadlines, exams, keeping up during the course etc. You really need to be able to regularly commit somewhere around the recommended 40 hours a week every week. You seem to be able to be able to find the 20 hours though so I'd do it part time - I think you'll get more out of it that way, be less stressed, feel able to take some time off over the weekend and do better on the course.

Ultimately yes I'd like to be a psychologist of some kind, I'm currently thinking ed psych as I have years of experience in education, SEND, etc. I haven't thought as far ahead as PhD yet. Just really want to start the process.

I've read the full thread. I think you need to work out whether you want to actually LEARN - or just go through the motiins and get the piece of paper

I have 3 (!) master's degrees. The first I did part-time in my 2nd and 4th years of teaching, age 24-26. Attendance 2 night a week was required and obviously, a lot of reading and essay writing, study for exams and the writing of a dissertation. I had no kids or responsibilities other than my (obviously term time only) teaching job. But I took it seriously and wanted to learn.

My second was an MBA, part-time over 3 years, also whilst a teacher. Still no kids. A big workload, but I took it seriously again.

The 3rd was for fun after I'd stopped working full-time.

I'll go back to my earlier comment - is it just for a bit of paper or to actually LEARN? Because frankly, you'll struggle to get through it, let alone learn and retain knowledge, doing it in one year. Which - given your circumstances, is unfeasible.

Do it part-time over 2 years. LEARN from the course.

I totally get where you as I was in the same place 10 years ago. The thing is, it is pointless to do that conversion masters (and costly I assume) if you don't know if you can follow with the next step.

I decided that the requirements for the PhD were too much for me as a single mum. I wasn't going to move and the success ratio was too much of a risk. If I recall at the time, there was offer for 10 applications with applicants being able to show direct experience as psychology assistant roles. My job was related, but I knew I couldn't compete with younger, free to move, experienced applicants.

In my experience the OU strongly advises people against trying to do that many credits (and therefore hours) at once on top of full time work. They are experts in distance learning around the rest of life and they see how many people succeed Vs fail or defer when biting off that much.

The guideline is 10 hours per credit. MSc is 180 credits, so 1800 hours of work. That's if you're already ready to work at post-grad level in the subject.

When would you sleep? Rest your brain? It's far too much.

You also asked about would you really need to do the hours advised. If you just skate through doing the minimum to pass, do you think you'll be getting as much out of it as you could? Will it be as beneficial?

Spread it over two or three years. You will get more from it without making yourself ill.

Also, if you're not planning to attend live lectures in person, why are you restricting yourself to local institutions? Find the institution with the best programme, that best suits your interests and aspirations, and where you can have confidence the support will be the best fit for your learning needs and method.

And also, conversion master's programmes are even more challenging than a regular master's. Set yourself up for a positive beneficial experience rather than just trying to rush through to tick the box.

That's too much in one year. You might scrape through with a pass but you a) won't enjoy it much and b) won't be competitive for ed psych training.

Do the course over 2 years.

Studying while working can be done but is not an easy route and requires considerable self discipline and time management skills. I was fortunate to be single and childfree and to live in a council flat so my living expenses were compatively low. I also had considerable transferable skills from my former work as a librarian.

I did my masters in Human Computer Interaction by research albeit back in the 90s. I did not have to attend lectures but I did meet regularly with my professor and subsequently went on to a Ph.D and became an academic (second career in my 40s).

It took me 2 years to do the masters. The first year I was p/t and self funding. I worked tutoring at my uni and dogsbodying for my prof during the day. I also taught evening computer classes in a local college, which is how I became interested in HCI. The first two terms I simply gathered data and prepared a strong research proposal. I was then fortunate to win a 3 year studentship from the uni and later from the state.

I was looking at local institutions because I assumed there would be some form of interaction eg meeting tutors etc. Maybe not?

Also the Bolton course at least doesn't appear to be online. You'll have lab work, working with other pupils.

It's not just a case of ticking boxes, it's a full-on programme with a dissertation at the end you won't just be able to do in the 6 school holiday weeks.

I did my masters in a different discipline but there is absolutely no way I could have done it whilst working. It's not just about the hours to study, it's the extra bits that is not compatible. How will you do group work when your team meets at 10am?

For context I work in a Russell group university supporting students studying online, part-time, alongside often challenging jobs. We say 20 hours a week and most of them really struggle to fit this in, so as others have said I think 40hrs without dropping work hours is not possible and over 2 years (if an option) would be tough but more feasible.

depending on the structure of the course it’s all very well saying you do it in your own time, but it’s likely that you’re expected to have covered certain topics/assessments points by set dates in which case you can’t “save it up” and do more in holidays etc. I would really recommend trying to talk to the team supporting students on the course and see what they suggest - if you came to me I would strongly recommend against it as a working full time person, let alone also a parent! No point killing yourself just to get it done more quickly!

This is food for thought. There are 24 funded places for the doctorate in EdPsych at my local uni but the current gov funding stops in 2026, and who knows if it will be extended.

This is fair enough and point taken! I am waiting to hear back from a couple of universities about what they would advise.

I'm doing an MA part time - over two years. They expect 30 hours per week of study on top of time in uni (that varies but usually 1 day per month). I could not do it on top of full time work, and have needed the summer to write my dissertation. Good luck but it will be very hard.

I want both - I've always had a keen interest in psychology but also recognise that the conversion course is the only way to progress in that field. So yes I suppose a bit of a tick box.

Yes it was. I did it online at University of Derby and it was fully online

How did you find it @whoopdiedoo and what did you go on to do? How long ago was this?
I do wonder if being a full time working lone parent increases your capacity and tolerance levels for stress.

A conversion course is no ordinary masters. It is condensing knowledge from a degree in a subject that is new to you. It is not going to be like doing a masters in a subject you are already familiar with. Doesn't sound like something to rush through and not properly digest due to.your other commitments - especially if you want to do further study in this new discipline.

It was tough but not horrendous. Although saying that the statistics was extremely difficult to get my head around. I had to do a lot of my own additional learning around that. I got a merit in the end. I completed it in 2020. I have gone on to get a job in a psychological field. I’m a psychotherapist for the NHS.

I also have 3 M level qualifications.

I did my MSc F2F when I working full time but pre-kids. I was at uni 3 evenings a week and then writing my assignments in my annual leave. I like to have a short but focused approach to assessments.

I later did an MA followed by a separate PgDip. The MA was 6 weekends of contact and the PgDip was online. I'd had kids by this point. Again, I tend to do my work in short, focused bursts rather than steadily through the term. I would take several days for each assignment when I would go to the library 9-6 at least. My kids were old enough not to need me too much (youngest was 9 when I started).

It is hard. Each of my courses was split over 2 years rather than 1. I think 2 years for a level M course alongside a FT job is very doable but doing it in one year would be a real slog.

I'm also going to add, OP, that your romantic vision of you and your two teenagers doing your homework together for hours every night at the kitchen table is utter fantasy.