Get a degree without quitting your job

Many of us have commitments when it comes to our work life and joining a full time course becomes highly difficult in such situations. If you have work commitments but want to continue with your education there are many alternative options that you can take which will allow you to complete your studies without needing to quit your current job. You need to blend in both learning and work to do so and here are some great tips that you should follow to manage your time better.

Get flexible work hours

If possible you should talk to your boss about your education plans and you just might be able to get some flexibility when it comes to work. Getting a flexible work schedule so you can pursue your studies is one of the best ways to balance work and education. If you do not have the privilege of being able to work with flexibility at your disposal, you can choose to shift to a different job which is flexible and understands your needs. If you have flexible work hours you can easily balance your part time classes and also continue working full time without any hitches.

Have study time

If you tend to finish work early and have the option to leave once you are done you should try to carve out a chunk of your day for studying. You also might have hour long lunch breaks and you just might be able to squeeze in a good 30-40 minutes of dedicated studying in it. Knowing when you have free time and how you can utilize it for studying is important. You just might want to hit the office cafeteria and study instead of waiting at your cubicle for the lunch to end. Also, you might talk to your HR about your studies and you just might get the option to leave early if you are done with work and have no pending assignments left. Not all organizations offer the privilege but it’s important you plan out everything with your current organization before going ahead with studies at the workplace.

Maintain a routine

It’s more than likely that you know the entire day’s schedule for each day of the week at the back of your mind and you need to incorporate a fixed routine to get your work done in time effectively and also have time for studies. You might also shake things up a bit squeeze in more time. If choosing a faster mode of transportation from work is feasible then you might want to make some changes in that department as well. Also, your weekends are your best bet so you need to have a decent amount of time devoted to your studies so you can keep up with your coursework. Maintaining regular contact with your institute and your classmates is important and you need to stay updated with all the latest changes. Some courses like executive MBA programs specifically require students to work with other students in groups so that they find it easy to network.

Set goals

You need to have pre-defined goals on your mind so you can stay in touch with your studies. Most working professionals tend to wait until the examinations come knocking at their doors before they begin studying. Considering how difficult higher education is, you need to have specific targets for your coursework and have an academic calendar for your studies so you can complete studying for all of your papers in time. Having milestones and sticking to them allows you to pace yourself through the coursework and also have the time to revise before the finals come in.

Take help from your colleagues

One of the best ways to manage your work is having your colleagues at work help you out. If there’s an important class you need to attend you might ask your colleagues to see if they can take up some of your work for you while you attend your classes. You should make it a point to help them out as well on days where you have time to take up extra work. Before going ahead with something like this you need to take permission from your HR and projects can be assigned accordingly to allow you more flexibility with your work.

Invest in yourself

Considering you will be juggling two lives at once and need to balance your work and education, you need to invest in yourself and stay mentally and physically fit at all times. If you succumb to stress with all the pressure you will ruin both your studies and your work life so it’s important that you take care of yourself and know your limits.

These are some of the key points that you need to keep in mind when you are setting out to get a degree without quitting your job. Whether it’s a part time course or distance learning options that you choose, you need to be dedicated to both without making any compromises.