I'm currently doing a work sponsored MBA through distance learning at a uk uni, tied in with our in-house development function. Not sure if our set-up is standard, but in our case at the end of the first year you have a post-grad certificate in management studies, end of second year a post-grad diploma, and then another 12-18 months to top up to the MBA.
We usually get 1 or 2 full day workshops per module, and one or two written assignments (usually 2-3000 words each) for each one, depending on if a module is 10 or 20 credits.
I won't lie, it's hard! My job is quite pressured anyway (project based), and whilst ds1 is now 6 (had just started school when I signed up for it), ds2 isn't quite 1 - I found out I was pregnant with him the week I handedin my first essay for it!
I'm coming towards what should be the end of my second year out of 3/3.5, however I deferred 2 modules due to ill health whilst I was on maternity leave, so I've added a year onto my timescale as I have to wait until next spring for uni to run those particular modules again, and then until September 2014 to start the masters top up, as I need to finish those modules first.
At the moment I'm struggling a bit, have a string of deadlines approaching for this summer's management research project, and struggling to motivate myself, bit that's largely to do with issues at work more than school itself. On the whole though, I've really enjoyed it. I quit my undergrad degree part way through my second year, and assumed I'd probably never get the chance to do something like this. I'm not really sure yet whether it will do me any good in my current role, but I'm of the opinion it will look good if I ever look elsewhere, especially having done it part time, distance learning, giving birth in the middle, having fairly major surgery (twice if I count the cs as well!) and that's without the day job...
It's certainly been an eye opener, and the way our assignments are structured they've each had to be related back to a real life situation at work of our own choosing, to give context to our day jobs, which has given me a real insight into various issues. We're pushed quite hard, there are certainly no allowances made on the marking in any way, and with so little contact time, it's very much up to us to get ourselves organised and put in the work. I'd struggle to say how many hours per week I put in, I'm terribly bad at discipline, so it's frequently either nothing (if I've just handed something in) or almost full-time (if an essay is due!) rather than the recommended smaller amounts more often!
I know some colleagues and friends think I'm mad, but Ilove a challenge (and I've always been a bit bonkers...).I know I'd regret it if I didn't do this now.
Oh, and I'm almost 35...
I'd say, if you want to do it and have the opportunity, go for it. Just don't underestimate what's involved. Happy for you to PM me if you have some more specific questions, I've tried to stay relatively vague on here to try and avoid outing myself...