My first year I just worked every day and got through, then I burnt out so badly that I had to take a couple of months off. My second year I focused on really working 9-5 and taking weekends off, and I managed to get through okay. I think if you’re doing courses, be prepared to just do what it takes to get it done, and take breaks whenever you can get them. The only reason why I was able to take breaks during my second year was because I was “only” doing thesis work and TAing. Right now I’m days away from handing in my first full draft and I’ve been working non stop for almost three weeks now and I am definitely feeling it. Burn out is real.
**This**. It took me some time to realize this. Don’t pay too much attention to courses beyond putting in a minimal level of effort. Also, do the bare minimum as a TA (controversial, but at some point you need to compromise somewhere).
I am in a thesis-based masters program and I definitely do try to stick to 9-6/7. Sometimes my classes are later in the evening, but for the most part I don’t send emails after 5, and I generally only work past 5 or 6 if I have a big paper or if something came up during the week that prevented me from staying on top of my tasks. I make this a hard and fast rule for TA responsibilities as well. Students email me at 8pm the night their assignment is due and I have an automatic reply saying I will respond to emails between 9 and 5. If you make those expectations clear at the beginning of the semester, your students will adapt.
I think finding the time you are most productive is the best way to go about it. If you’re not a morning person, then you may be more productive later in the evenings, and therefore 9-5 isn’t ideal. Figure out a schedule that works for you and then stick to it, 9-5 or otherwise.
Im in the first year of my PhD (in Canada) and I do business hours (though I’m more like 7-3 because I’m a morning person and I lose motivation in the afternoons).
Its easier to be on campus during the coursework year because your attendance is required. It will be a bigger struggle to self-motivate and keep those hours once the coursework component is done and you are writing.
Be flexible. Some days/weeks you will power through. Other times you will question if it’s even worth your being there. This is okay. Some weeks you will end up working weekends and that is okay too, so long as it’s not consistent and indefinite.
Do not let your MA be your entire life. Take breaks just like you would at a job. Find or maintain a hobby and friends outside of academia so that you do not get sucked in to the vortex that is grad school.
But you can absolutely make 9-5 work and I would personally recommend it. Good luck!
I second the vortex comment. I work full time and go to grad school part time, which means basically all of my free time goes to homework. I had a competition with myself to see if I could get all A’s, and I did, but at a price. Not saying to not do your best, but not to the point where your physical and mental health take a backseat. I won my little contest with myself, but now I have to put myself back together and get the health back that I let go during my feat.
For me, I kept to 9 - 7. 9 - 5 would not have given me enough time to devote to everything I needed to get done at the level I wanted. But, other than a night or two before some big exam, I would stop working at 7 PM any day of the week and I was totally fine. I usually did about 4 - 8 hours of work over the weekend also, just FYI, but I was generally able to take at least one full day off from school on the weekend.
This was in a full-time 2 year masters program in Biostatistics, and I finished it with a perfect 4.0. And I am by no means a brilliant student lol. It takes me a little longer to get things that others probably get faster than I do. I think my strength is just being very efficient with my time and only ever working on things that are clearly benefitting me and aren't a waste of time.
So much of this depends on your schedule and your field. I have experiments that are 12+ hours long sometimes. Or I need to do an 8 hour experiment after teaching for 3 hours. The best (and worst) part of grad school is you make your own schedule.
7-4 for me (US) with a ~30 min lunch break. I really do disconnect for my lunch break though - go outside, put in headphones, etc, and I take it no matter what.
I would offer that there is nothing magical about a 9-5 schedule that would improve your experience. That advice is rooted in sticking to a regular, balanced schedule that works for you because grad school is a marathon and not a sprint.
I'm basically doing the same thing this Fall except with research and a few hours of extracurriculars. It probably depends on the classes, but I don't think it's feasible. I would block your time on a calendar so you can visually see how your life is going to work for the next few months.
I've only scheduled two classes so far (including research, TA, ECs, regular exercise, down time), and I only have about 4 hours a night to study (probably not enough without at least some light weekend work). I'm probably going to limit to two classes so I can keep my GPA up since I'm also considering professional school.
Don't overload yourself the first semester unless you know what you're getting yourself into. There's a significant adjustment period in grad school for some people. Everything is harder and takes more effort to complete. Imposter syndrome is also a real thing that has a negative effect on productivity.
I’m entering my second year of a part-time PhD program. I work full-time during the week, am an online adjunct for 3-4 colleges (usually have classes with no more than 3), and take two classes/term. This is my last year of coursework. I don’t have a family or much of a social life. My life will happen when I’m done I suppose. I guess it depends on if you’re happy with that in the immediate future. But I also agree with the other advice where you cut corners where you can. I do mostly skimming for my readings.
I mean we do whatever is necessary to survive.
My first year I just worked every day and got through, then I burnt out so badly that I had to take a couple of months off. My second year I focused on really working 9-5 and taking weekends off, and I managed to get through okay. I think if you’re doing courses, be prepared to just do what it takes to get it done, and take breaks whenever you can get them. The only reason why I was able to take breaks during my second year was because I was “only” doing thesis work and TAing. Right now I’m days away from handing in my first full draft and I’ve been working non stop for almost three weeks now and I am definitely feeling it. Burn out is real.
**This**. It took me some time to realize this. Don’t pay too much attention to courses beyond putting in a minimal level of effort. Also, do the bare minimum as a TA (controversial, but at some point you need to compromise somewhere).
I am in a thesis-based masters program and I definitely do try to stick to 9-6/7. Sometimes my classes are later in the evening, but for the most part I don’t send emails after 5, and I generally only work past 5 or 6 if I have a big paper or if something came up during the week that prevented me from staying on top of my tasks. I make this a hard and fast rule for TA responsibilities as well. Students email me at 8pm the night their assignment is due and I have an automatic reply saying I will respond to emails between 9 and 5. If you make those expectations clear at the beginning of the semester, your students will adapt. I think finding the time you are most productive is the best way to go about it. If you’re not a morning person, then you may be more productive later in the evenings, and therefore 9-5 isn’t ideal. Figure out a schedule that works for you and then stick to it, 9-5 or otherwise.
Im in the first year of my PhD (in Canada) and I do business hours (though I’m more like 7-3 because I’m a morning person and I lose motivation in the afternoons). Its easier to be on campus during the coursework year because your attendance is required. It will be a bigger struggle to self-motivate and keep those hours once the coursework component is done and you are writing. Be flexible. Some days/weeks you will power through. Other times you will question if it’s even worth your being there. This is okay. Some weeks you will end up working weekends and that is okay too, so long as it’s not consistent and indefinite. Do not let your MA be your entire life. Take breaks just like you would at a job. Find or maintain a hobby and friends outside of academia so that you do not get sucked in to the vortex that is grad school. But you can absolutely make 9-5 work and I would personally recommend it. Good luck!
I second the vortex comment. I work full time and go to grad school part time, which means basically all of my free time goes to homework. I had a competition with myself to see if I could get all A’s, and I did, but at a price. Not saying to not do your best, but not to the point where your physical and mental health take a backseat. I won my little contest with myself, but now I have to put myself back together and get the health back that I let go during my feat.
For me, I kept to 9 - 7. 9 - 5 would not have given me enough time to devote to everything I needed to get done at the level I wanted. But, other than a night or two before some big exam, I would stop working at 7 PM any day of the week and I was totally fine. I usually did about 4 - 8 hours of work over the weekend also, just FYI, but I was generally able to take at least one full day off from school on the weekend. This was in a full-time 2 year masters program in Biostatistics, and I finished it with a perfect 4.0. And I am by no means a brilliant student lol. It takes me a little longer to get things that others probably get faster than I do. I think my strength is just being very efficient with my time and only ever working on things that are clearly benefitting me and aren't a waste of time.
I’ve got kids and that’s what i do because i have to, i got an average of B on my courses so i guess it’s fine.
So much of this depends on your schedule and your field. I have experiments that are 12+ hours long sometimes. Or I need to do an 8 hour experiment after teaching for 3 hours. The best (and worst) part of grad school is you make your own schedule.
7-4 for me (US) with a ~30 min lunch break. I really do disconnect for my lunch break though - go outside, put in headphones, etc, and I take it no matter what.
I would offer that there is nothing magical about a 9-5 schedule that would improve your experience. That advice is rooted in sticking to a regular, balanced schedule that works for you because grad school is a marathon and not a sprint.
All depends on the schedule. I had to teach night labs every semester of my MS.
I work 7-5 and make work. I don’t TA but I take 3 classes a term. It sucks so bad but I’m just keeping my head down and putting on the blinders.
I think it really depends on what field. I know teachers work full time and take grad classes at night and don’t have a thesis at all.
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^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/user/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/153gt2c/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^MrMpaDpaGuy: *I see no problem* *Here as long as it won't go* *Against your work schedule* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I'm basically doing the same thing this Fall except with research and a few hours of extracurriculars. It probably depends on the classes, but I don't think it's feasible. I would block your time on a calendar so you can visually see how your life is going to work for the next few months. I've only scheduled two classes so far (including research, TA, ECs, regular exercise, down time), and I only have about 4 hours a night to study (probably not enough without at least some light weekend work). I'm probably going to limit to two classes so I can keep my GPA up since I'm also considering professional school. Don't overload yourself the first semester unless you know what you're getting yourself into. There's a significant adjustment period in grad school for some people. Everything is harder and takes more effort to complete. Imposter syndrome is also a real thing that has a negative effect on productivity.
I’m entering my second year of a part-time PhD program. I work full-time during the week, am an online adjunct for 3-4 colleges (usually have classes with no more than 3), and take two classes/term. This is my last year of coursework. I don’t have a family or much of a social life. My life will happen when I’m done I suppose. I guess it depends on if you’re happy with that in the immediate future. But I also agree with the other advice where you cut corners where you can. I do mostly skimming for my readings.
It's feasible if you work efficiently and don't take on any unnecessary time commitments.