Anyone have experience with FT online college courses? Would it be possible to both work FT and complete the courses? Or would it best to work PT for a year?
I am in my final year of a BSc in Mathematics with the Open University in the UK. I have been working full time throughout. The first couple of years it was fairly easy to stay on top of it but as the complexity increased it has definitely been a hard balancing act.
However, if you have the motivation then it's certainly do-able. My work was fairly intense too so as long as you are comfortable with giving up your weekends and have supportive friends/partners then it works just fine in my opinion. You get used to studying as your "fun time" - eg when I commute I spend it reading course notes, I play next to no PS4 games these days and I watch very little TV. I did think about taking a work break to totally focus on the course but in the end I've not needed to and find I prefer the brain ping-pong.
As someone who was in a relationship for 5½ years and is now single if you have a partner do talk it through with them. Be as supportive as you can of them on your journey. I'm pretty sure one of the reasons I lost her was the intensity of the last year or two. That was definitely exasperated by the workload and my general need to dedicate my weekends to exams/coursework/studying.
I got my bachelors while working FT. I did well, and it was manageable. My only caveat is examine your other obligations outside of work and school: family, hobbies, etc. Your time will be severely limited.
It's like running a side project that's actually used and not just for learning/experimentation.
I finished the OMSCS program while working full time. I think most can do it unless you regularly work significant overtime or otherwise have a significant lack of free time. Those with families, kids, etc. seem to do best taking one class per semester. Those with fewer such responsibilities can take two per semester.
Also: Even at two classes per semester it takes two years. One class per semester, a bit over three years. It does take some determination to see it through to the end.
I'm currently seven classes into the OMSCS program (one class per semester since 2014), work full time, volunteer as a FIRST robotics mentor, and have three kids and a loving wife. I have no free time and life is good. However, if my wife wasn't onboard and encouraging me to go through the OMSCS program, I wouldn't be able to do so.
As a current OMSCS student, it largely depends on your CS background, work hours, and which course/program. So far, it's been working pretty well for me as OMSCS has a lot of info about each course (check omscentral.com for course reviews), and I've been scheduling my future semesters based on course workload.
