You might have heard how people have juggled their way through a completing their masters to get a better career. Yes! Everything you’ve heard about working full-time while taking part-time classes are all correct. Or, if you’re still deciding whether to do it, short answer is there are always pros and cons to everything that we do. While getting your Master of Science in Computer Science degree may be considered a pro in the future, the tuition, rent, and everyday life isn’t going to pay for itself. So, what do you need to know, and what are your options?
Full-Time Work + Part-Time Masters In Computer Science: Pros and Cons
We’re not going to sugarcoat this for you. Since computer science is a very technical field of study, your time and effort are going to be split into different things. It’s tough as nails to accomplish, but it’s certainly doable. There are a lot of things to consider. To hinder your doubt, we’ve come up with the pros and cons of doing full time work while taking your part time masters in computer science.
Pros
Convenience
Let’s face it, life is tough. The more you have to juggle like work, family, and friends is already a handful. Now, adding school into the equation, it may not seem like a good fit, but you want to progress in your career. Taking a part time masters in computer science can help you with that. While you still have multiple responsibilities, getting a part time masters degree can provide convenience in providing you flexibility. This could be the only solution to juggle all of the things you have to in your day to day life as a full time employee.
Apply new skills
Taking a part time masters degree basically means it will take you longer to accomplish. A full time masters degree in computer science can take up to 15 months or more. On the other hand, a part time masters degree can take you anything between 24 months to 36 months. This is dependent on how many courses you can take at a given time and if you can complete each course requirements. While you’re slowly learning the ins-and-outs of computer science in your field of study, you can easily take into account applying the skills you’re learning during your masters into your work life. Your newly acquired knowledge and skills can put you at an advantage in the company you’re working for. Better yet, you could be up for a promotion or a grant to continue your studies since you’re putting what you’ve learned into your work.
Commendable
You don’t need to announce that you will be taking up your masters while working full time, but you will need to tell the Human Resource department about your situation. This news may reach the top or it may not, but your employers would think it’s commendable. Completing your postgraduate degree while working is something people with great responsibility can do. Your employers will not only appreciate your commitment to both your work and studies but also your willpower and motivation to do so.
Cons
Time
As Albert Einstein once said, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” Balancing your work, education, and life will be very difficult. While you might be thinking that since you’re only studying part time, that you’ll easily be able to fit it into your schedule. Think again. Remember the times you stayed up late in college cramming to finish your assignments, expect similar while studying part time. Time constraints will always happen, so you need to take this into account.
Money
A master’s program in any other name will be and is expensive. The average cost of a master’s program in computer science can range between $30,000 to $120,000. That’s a big price to pay, but you also have to factor in other costs like miscellaneous fees, health insurance, and day-to-day expenses. If money isn’t an issue for you, you’re one of the lucky ones that don’t have to worry about student loans.
Focus
Staying focused on one aspect of your life can be difficult. This is going back to time management. You will have focus your time at both work and school which may lessen your “me time” or time for other things. There are also other considerations like the amount of years it will take you to finish your master’s degree. Within that timeframe, there could be numerous changes to consider as circumstances can change.
There will be more pros and cons towards your list in pursuing your masters degree in computer science while you’re still working. The list we’ve provided here is just the tip of the iceberg as there are other pros and cons that will be dependent on your situation. However, focusing on the end goal of why you’re getting your master’s degree can help you work more effectively towards your future. Don’t forget to put in passion into your work and studies to get through the tough times it can bring.
Good luck!
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How many units of part time master degree should I enroll? while doing full time job.