<p>Has anyone done this or known of anyone who has done this? Is it recommended to take 1 or 2 classes undergrad classes per semester (I have undergrad coursework prereqs to make up since I did my undergrad in the sciences)? 2 seems like it might be too much considering I have to work 40 hrs/wk</p>
<p>Since I just got a engineering job, my company can pay for me to take classes to get my MS in ME/AE. I'm not quite sure what I want to do long-term so I thought working for at least a year would be good to help me with my interests. However, my long-term goal for now is to get a thesis-based MS or phD and work in R&D or research in a lab, but not get the coursework-only MS. </p>
<p>But at the moment, I don't really know what area I want to focus on in ME/AE, so thats why I'm thinking I could just take classes for now. If I want to do the thesis or phD full-time, i'll just quit the job and re-apply to phD or thesis-based MS programs. Or I could work full time and take classes part-time to get coursework done over 2 years, then temporarily stop for my thesis research, since my current school also lets me switch from a non-thesis to thesis option easily. Is this a good idea? Or should I just not take the classes at all?</p>
Not at all. Here in CCNY we have many part-time students who have full time employments, just like you. They take 2 courses per semesters usually. Sometime 3, if time allows.
They would also take summer courses as well. The important thing is don’t over do (overload) yourself. Even full time undergraduates tried to impress others and take 20-22 credits per semesters (usually the max is 18, and they did over-credits). Consider you have a full time employment up to 40hrs/wk, and let say 5 dy/wk, that’s about 8 hours per day. In case you have to overtime for work, and then exams from college, that’s a lot of stress.</p>
<p>
Here is the first confusion.<br>
You said you are not sure about your long term goals, but you said you have a long term goal at the moment.
So you are now in a non-thesis MS program, am I correct?</p>
<p>The confusion continues in the next paragraph:
Why would you think consider PhD and thesis-based MS simultaneously?
Which one are you referring to? Non-thesis, thesis-based?</p>
<p>I am not sure if others (who are definitely more knowledgeable than I am, since I am like a little rookie) understand everything.</p>
<p>I know plenty of people who have done this and am considering it myself. I would take no more than two classes at a time, one if you’re really busy. Expect your free time to be substantially diminished, but not completely eliminated. You’re going to really make sure you stay on top of the courses because there may be a lot of things competing for your time and attention, depending on your situation.</p>
<p>I completed my M.S. in Engineering (mostly online) while working full-time. Like PurdueEE said, expect your free time to be greatly reduced. All of my non-Math and non-Statistics courses had us in groups working on case-studies. That means coordinating schedules with other classmates and conducting conference calls and responding to plenty of back-and-forth e-mails. </p>
<p>Plus, you never know how your job will ask for time. A couple of semesters, I had to drop a class and just take one class because of work and business travel commitments. Thank goodness some summer classes were broken into Summer I and Summer II condensed semesters.</p>
<p>Of course, I had a non-thesis M.S. program…but I have to say that I don’t regret going that route one bit.</p>
<p>“You said you are not sure about your long term goals, but you said you have a long term goal at the moment.
So you are now in a non-thesis MS program, am I correct?”</p>
<p>I’m not sure, but I am LEANING towards a long-term goal of doing R&D. Yes, for now I’m in a non-thesis MS program</p>
<p>"Why would you think consider PhD and thesis-based MS simultaneously? "</p>
<p>well at the moment I’m not sure which one I’d like to do, but I’m leaning towards the thesis-based MS because if I complete that then I can continue with the phD</p>
<p>“I could work full time and take classes part-time to get coursework done over 2 years, then temporarily stop for my thesis research, since my current school also lets me switch from a non-thesis to thesis option easily. Is this a good idea? Or should I just not take the classes at all?”</p>
<p>When I meant get my coursework done over 2 years, I mean I could take classes as a non-thesis student in order to fulfull the thesis-MS course requirements (at my school thesis-MS requires 2 fewer courses than non-thesis) because I can easily switch from a non-thesis to thesis MS. Then after my coursework, I could stop taking classes and stop working, so that I can go to school full-time to do research for my thesis.</p>
<p>Wait, so you’re saying you got an engineering job with a science degree and now your company is wiling to pay for your part-time Master’s in engineering? That’s exactly what I’m trying to do when I graduate next year!</p>
<p>I suppose you could do that, but beware that there is essentially no way to get a thesis-based MS while working full-time. I suppose you could try and work out a deal with your employer to take an educational leave of absence for a few years while you do the research. Some employers offer that (for example I know Boeing did as of a couple years ago).</p>
<p>well my MS won’t be online, but perhaps I could look into it… it would be far more convenient than driving to work, then to school, then back to work</p>
<p>well, I had taken 2 ME/AE courses before I got the job so that helped me get the job</p>
<p>right, I’m aware that its impossible to complete the thesis-MS while working full-time. I figure that in this economy, companies like Boeing probably wouldn’t let me take an educational leave of absense, right? I suppose I could ask my boss anyways…</p>
<p>You never know until you ask. The economy honestly shouldn’t factor into whether or not they let you. All that should really matter is whether or not they still offer the program. You are just a peon to them, and them forking over $40,000 to put you through a couple semesters is absolute chump change to them, especially if they expect to see a ROI on the order of millions right off the bat (which isn’t out of the question).</p>
<p>sorry to bump this thread, but my situation completely has now changed alot but is still similar to the previous questions, so I decided not to create a new thread</p>
<p>I no longer work at the job I had when I created this thread, as my employment was unexpectedly terminated. However, when I got that job offer I had to turn down another one. Well, believe it or not, a few days ago I called the place that I turned down the offer for to see if they had any openings. To my surprise, they didn’t seem angry at me, and today, they told me that they should have an opening for me but will let me know in 2 weeks, after the hiring manager returns from a business trip. Since getting an MS is a job requirement, I have to eventually get it while working as well.</p>
<p>They plan on having me work part-time so that I have more time for school. The main problem is that I want to do the MS with thesis, but the only 2 schools nearby are USC and UCLA. I want to do my MS in AE or maybe applied math, but USC doesn’t offer RA-ships to MS students in AE. My main area of interest is CFD, but UCLA only has 3 profs in that area, and one of them doesn’t take MS students, leaving 2 available. Those other 2 sometimes take MS students, but won’t anytime soon. I really don’t want to just take the coursework-only MS. I may decide to go for the phD</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier in this thread, taking a leave of absence from work to do my thesis sounds like a good option. But since only 2 profs do research I’m interested in, is taking the job and going to UCLA worth gambling on? Or should I turn down this job again, so I can find another MS program where I can more easily find research in my area of interest (out of the schools I had just contacted before today, it seems like I can easily find an RA-ship at UC Davis)? or maybe I should instead ask if they can give me an internship?</p>
<p>I forgot to clarify that I’ve already been admitted to the MS at UCLA for fall 2010, but have to apply for spring or fall 2011 for other schools</p>