Rant: Working while in grad school

[JCShutout]

JC, can't you get a TA position? It should be less demanding on your time than an 8:00-5:00 job.

Nah, they save those for the phd students, and it doesn't pay near enough to cover my debt.

The next week should be telling. I'll have sent 7 of my 9 proposed questions for my comprehensive exams by Sunday night. If they're even close to being on topic, I'm fine. (I know two have already been accepted, and I'm pretty sure 3 more will be accepted.) 2 I'm unsure of, and 2 I haven't a clue yet. <bites fingernails>

If all goes well, I'll just have the last two questions to develop, a month of practicing answering the questions (with some more research on each), and a paper due in December. I've had to cut my volunteering time which breaks my heart.

EDIT: The two I was worried about got approved straight up this morning. Thank GOD. Otherwise, I might have been in real trouble. Now I can focus on just getting these next three cleaned up for this weekend when I send them in, and if approved, I can just worry about 2 more questions, and getting started answering all of them. I'm hoping to take the exam the week before Thanksgiving.

EDIT2: And that pesky 15-20 page paper too. Argh!

[AJ]

I made the decision to be a B student and do as little work as possible in subjects I don't care about. Maybe I sound like a slacker, but I think I have my priorities straight.

Thats what I did, my GPA ended up being .01 higher than what my goal was. I usually had a choice of 3 different prof's for each class so I would talk to fellow students and take the easiest ones. My GPA ended up being decent and has never even been brought up in any interviews.

I honestly didn't care about the education, I just wanted the piece of paper that would open up more job opportunities in the future.

[BW23]

I'm getting ready to start my third advanced degree. All working full time. All with kids. All with life struggles mixed in (major surgeries of family members, death of family members, etc.).

Going to school is supposed to be a sacrifice.

[Bo Hart]

I like working 25-30 hours a week and having virtually zero expendable after factoring in bills, and then watching friends work zero hours a week and having mommy and daddy buy them whatever elaborate toys they want.

Oh wait, no I don't.

[GatewaySnayke]

Currently I work full-time and take 2 MBA classes a quarter. Last year I made the decision to be a B student and do as little work as possible in subjects I don't care about. Maybe I sound like a slacker, but I think I have my priorities straight.

Other than listing my graduate GPA on a resume, I don't think it's ever been noticed or discussed by anyone. And I've been told that your undergrad GPA is much more important, as depressing as that is to me.

Crap, you have to list your GPA on a resume?

[Richie Allen]

Currently I work full-time and take 2 MBA classes a quarter. Last year I made the decision to be a B student and do as little work as possible in subjects I don't care about. Maybe I sound like a slacker, but I think I have my priorities straight.

Other than listing my graduate GPA on a resume, I don't think it's ever been noticed or discussed by anyone. And I've been told that your undergrad GPA is much more important, as depressing as that is to me.

Crap, you have to list your GPA on a resume?

Not unless it's something you want them to know. My graduate GPA was close to perfect so I list it. Otherwise, no.

[JCShutout]

Okay, 8 of my 9 questions are approved. If I can get my last one done this week (they are due November 11th), I can start developing the answers. I've already answered 1 completely, and half of 2 more. I think that's good, but I still have a hellish month ahead of me. Written exam is on November 18th. 20 page paper due early December. Dargh!