Hi all. I am thinking to do a degree in my other passion which is music. At the moment I'm a freelance writer but I'd like something a bit more permanent. I did some googling and came across this online course http://www.getarealdegree.com/degrees/music-education-degree/[/URL], however, I'm not sure how much time I would have to spent daily to studying and how it would affect my family life... Has anyone here ever tried to study an online degree while having kids?
Study and kids?...
- Thread starter ChloeP
- Start date
I took some online courses while earning my university degree. It depends a lot on the workload of the course and what the professor expects of you. I had some courses where I was doing 2 hours a day of reading or other study work in addition to the time spent in class and others where I had barely anything to do outside of class. What helped me was setting aside a specific time to get a portion of my work done each day. Either my husband would take the kids for me or I would work while they slept or while my daughter watched television for a bit before the baby was born. It's a challenge but well worth it in my opinion.
Not all kids love to study. Some studious kids love to study while others love to play. But kids have to stay involved in both study as well as play...
I took some correspondence courses before I had kids and it was a disaster. There were inconsistencies in the texts and study materials, and I could never get ahold of an instructor. In one course, I spent over a month trying to get ahold of someone, and didn't get any responses until the deadline had passed. At which point they asked why I didn't show up for my proctored exam, and I said... where have you guys been? Turns out whoever was assigned to me had died, and they hadn't even bothered to inform me or replace her. So I got a refund, but not without a hassle. The other one I took involved similar hassles, but I was able to pass and get credit. It's not worth it at all. Spend your tuition at a real university with onsite staff, realtime feedback and tangible resources. Unless things have improved since 2002.
Good point. I've also done a number of correspondence courses, but the key is to do it from a reputable school/university. Here, a lot of universities/colleges with actual campuses and on-site lecturers also offer correspondence courses. When I did mine, there was a lecturer assigned to the course, who compiled the material, set the tests/assignments and who I could contact with any questions about these, as well as an administrative office who would answer all administrative queries. If there were inconsistencies in the material, I would have been able to call the lecturer who compiled it directly, and ask him/her for clarification. Granted, this was in the second half of the 90's.akmom said:
I would be extremely wary of these "online colleges" that seem to be springing up everywhere these days. Are their qualifications even worth the paper they are printed on?
You have taken a very good decision to continue your study online. Choosing to attend a traditional college or to get your degree online, the types of courses are almost similar. However, getting an online teaching degree can offer you more flexibility. It allows you to continue to work full time or raise a family and when the kid is fast asleep, you can login to proceed your study.
Hi there. I recently finished an accounting degree which took me 6 years. When I started studying my youngest son was 1.5yrs and my oldest was 6. I can honestly say that there were moments when I felt guilty for studying because It did take some of my attention away from my 3 beautiful sons. I felt a lot more tired (due to the very late nights up reading text books) but I know that it was the right thing to do. My children were very accommodating and understood that what mummy was doing was important. But, also I knew that I was providing them with an example of a good work/study ethic. It was hard work and there were many times when I didn't want to pick up my text book, but every time I looked at my boys they inspired to try harder. I'm not sure how my reply has helped you but good luck with everything 