How to Juggle Both Work and School

Now, turn your attention to center ring where Alice attempts the death defying act of juggling life, work and school. This act may not be suitable for youngsters!

When going back to school after working the typical 9-5 job for so many years, sometimes it’s hard to juggle both time consuming activities. It is possible, however, with proper preparation and motivation.

The jugglers in a circus go through years of preparation. From basic training to advanced tricks, they dedicate their lives to keeping up with the trends and providing memorable performances. In all honesty, life isn’t that different. We train for years in a grade school setting, preparing us for the real world. We keep up with our job and provide to be amazing workers. But what happens when more is added to our plate?

Nowadays, plenty of people have learned how to take on both work and school. Here are some tips that effectively help people learn how to balance the two activities.

• Manage Time Efficiently – Create a schedule that you can stick to. Whether you’re pursuing online education or in class schooling, schedule your work and class time slots first. Then, schedule homework and study time around that. Try to stick to the schedule so tasks are completed regularly. Make sure your schedule is flexible enough to incorporate emergencies, important tasks, work trips or large projects.
• Stay Organized – Keep all school work organized in one place. Mark on a calendar when important tasks are due. Get projects done early if important meetings or company wide events are coming up.
• Communicate – Make sure your employer knows that you’re pursuing school part time. Likewise, make sure your professors understand that you’re working. There are additional responsibilities that come with both school and work – make sure people understand the demands you’re undergoing.
• Manage Stress – Stress is inevitable when combining both work and school together and although it’s hard to prevent it, there are many ways to lessen it. For one, make sure to take breaks. Give yourself time to collect your thoughts and breathe. Make sure you follow a healthy diet and stay active. Daily exercises along with healthy meals help your body stay calm. Last, take time off. On the weekends, take one day for yourself. See a movie, read a book, visit a museum, do anything that doesn’t revolve around work or school. Give yourself You time.
• Keep Yourself Happy – Remind yourself constantly why you’re taking on such a heavy load. Remind yourself that it’s worth it. Know when too much is too much and relax your body. And, most importantly, keep reminding yourself that it can be done!

Taking on both work and school can be a daunting task, but with proper preparations and care, it could be over sooner than you know it. Just keep yourself focused, organized and happy. Know which club is coming at you next and just like the talented jugglers, you’ll easily make the perfect catch.

The Salary Difference

It’s true that there are many individuals who’ve succeeded in this world without proper college degrees. People such as Bill Gates, who dropped out of college and created an empire out of what he knew, thought college was a waste of time.

The thing is, we’re not all Bill Gates.

Some people can thrive after high school and find a steady job that they enjoy; but to make a decent salary, a college degree is typically required. When scanning through job ads on CareerBuilder, most advanced positions, ones where the real salaries kick in, require a college degree. The education, the experience and the knowledge is extremely helpful and, accordingly, extremely profitable.

According to Forbes, in the late 1990’s, the annual income for someone without a college degree was $30,400. For someone with a college degree? $52,200. MSN MoneyCentral commented that in the mid-2000’s individuals who have earned a college degree had a salary that was 60% higher than those who started working right out of high school. Doing the math, they state that on average, the degree earns the individual $1 million more during their lifetime.

The real advantage of college is the knowledge acquired and experiences had. And although it may be expensive, it’s definitely worth it in the end. A college degree opens up so many venues, so many career choices. Plus, the extra million dollars during a life time? Well that’s just icing on the cake.

Tips for Online Learning

As mentioned previously, more people are turning towards online college. It’s a great way to get the degree you need/education you want and not nearly as time consuming. Currently, a good friend is pursuing her masters degree through an online university. As she finishes her last semester, she gave me a list of advice for those just starting out.

1. Have the proper materials – An online university means that all classes are, by definition, online. Make sure you have your own computer connected to the Internet or access to one. Programs such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel are necessary. To back up schoolwork, purchase a USB flash drive. They’re like the old floppy discs, only smaller with much more memory. Headsets are also extremely helpful. When trying to concentrate, they can easily silence the busy room around you.

2. Make a routine – When starting online schooling, most people that they can turn everything in at the end of a semester. That’s not always the case. There are projects, group assignments and more. Set some time aside every day (or every other day) to work on assignments, read materials or study. Try to turn it into a routine so every day you know that between Jeopardy and whatever must see TV show is on that night, you are working for an hour.

3. Schedule accordingly – A large benefit of online classes is that they’re done at your own pace. If you know something big is coming up (a company trip, a family reunion, a birthday party) get work done sooner rather than later. Getting ahead can only help. In addition, make sure all work is scheduled efficiently. Have work done consistently throughout the term; you don’t want to end up with 200 pages of reading due two days before the exam.

4. Get to know the professor – Although the instructor is a faceless person, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t befriend them. Get to know what kind of teacher they are early in the class. Do they like students who participate online? Turn in assignments early? Ask lots of questions? Much like in grade school, getting to know a teacher can only benefit you in the end.

5. Make friends – With most online classes you’re able to e-mail or speak with fellow class members. This is incredibly beneficial if you have a question regarding an assignment or need help. Befriend fellow classmates and work together – you’re all in the same boat together.

6. Stay organized – Be on top of everything. Use a planner to write down when assignments are due. Although it’s not as time consuming as your 9-5 job, it’s just as important.

Using these tips, my friend easily completed her online degree. Sure it was a struggle at times, but it was worth it. Knowing that she has more opportunities in the work force has given her a new hope. And really, isn’t that what schooling should do?

Online Degrees

The number one reason people give for not going back to school is that they don’t have the time. With so many accredited online colleges around nowadays, time shouldn’t be an issue. These institutions give you the option of taking as many credit hours as you want during a semester and completing the work at your leisure.

Pursuing an online degree is entirely different than obtaining an on site degree. Classes work around your schedule. All readings and assignments can be completed when you have the time, rather than during a predetermined hour. Whether it’s between two TV shows or in the morning before driving to a day job – work at your own pace! In addition, they can be completed wherever as well. From your bedroom to the coffee shop down the street, all you need is computer access and a desire to learn.

Online schools such as The University of Phoenix have been on the rise since they first started. With more people opting to getting their education virtually rather than in person, additional online schools have been popping up daily. The Web site eLearners has an organized list of every accredited online institute around. Allowing you to search by degree level and/or area of interest, they present you with options that best match your criteria.

A degree is a degree, no matter where you get it from. If you wish to go back to school, why not try it online? It’ll save you loads of time, energy and stress.

Moving On

My grandfather had the same job his whole adult life. After high school he joined the army; after fighting for our country he was hired into a very boring business. He worked 40 hours a week pushing papers. He met with clients, he had important business lunches and he came home every night to his wife, completely exhausted. After so many years, he was given the gold watch and retired timely.

After quitting my first job after college he was aghast. Why would I give up such a good job after only one year? The thing is, my grandfather still has the old world mindset. If you have a decent job, you keep it until you can’t anymore. You don’t move on, even if you’re unhappy. For years he didn’t enjoy what he was doing, but he couldn’t quit it, oh no, that wasn’t the way.

Nowadays it’s easier to move on to another job or even another field. People go from accounting to advertising daily with no questions asked. The big question is…how does one make that jump?

The best way to improve within the job market, or to make your resume more impressive, is to have the proper education within the field. Experience is one thing, but knowledge is another. Most employees look at that first: whether you have a degree, what field it’s in, etc. Employees are impressed to see that and nowadays it’s almost essential in certain companies.

Of course at certain ages, some may feel foolish going back to the classroom setting with eighteen year olds, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are so many ways to get an education nowadays that it’s silly not to! Countless amounts of schools offer short day classes, night classes or even online classes in many different fields. They also offer masters programs in case you want to keep going!

Changing a job is not easy, but with the proper educational background it could be done. Because no one wants to work for sixty years at the same company. We want to change and grow and with schooling, we’re able to.