If you 1/2 a$$ it you won't make it there period. We had a bunch of folks in my program that simply stopped showing up to classes but were technically still on the rosters. And one guy I worked with over at NIJ took 15 years to finish his Phd. Put the same amount of effort into school as you do that 'silver airplane'of yours and you'll be fine...

 

far from... But people change. If yoy have a passion and drive, you can do anything as corny as it sounds.

 

You will be suprised that your Graduate program is actually less demanding than your undergraduate studies. I had the same concerns as you when I started my first program. Most programs are designed to provide the tools to complete a project or a thesis, using group projects throughout the program. Class sessions were predominately class/group discussions on the assigned readings and providing real world situations; actally learned a lot from my classmates.

To keep ahead I found out early in my programs what my project and thesis requirements were and outlined my end product, filling in the content as I took a class. I was also able to find some of the required text books early in the program; some of the editions were older but I got the gist of the course. This relieved the stress and time constraints at the end of the program.

If your degree coincide with your occupation you will find out it will be a cake walk for you. You will probably find yourself providing a lot of information during class. My second degree was a MS in Network Security Engineering and I actually enjoyed myself and learned from my classmates as well as the instructors.

Just stay ahead with your reading and you'll be fine, good luck.

 

I've been working full time and been a part time student for ages now. I'm wrapping up an undergraduate degree in Mathematics this semester, and will start on a MS in Computer Science next semester.

See if the syllabai for the courses you are going to take are available online. While I haven't always done it, the classes I've done best in are the ones where I snagged the syllabus a few semesters early, got the textbook, and started looking over the material. Often you can "play along" with the class, grabbing notes, homework, and exams as the professor posts them online as the semester goes along. Then a semester or two later, when you take the class it's not completely new material.

Working full time also has meant that I've had more income than I did when I was a full time student, so I can "buy" my way out of some problems. Sometimes the book the prof has chosen sucks, buy buying a few other books that explain the material better, or in a different way can be helpful. When I took a digital electronics class, I bought enough stuff so I could build and test all of the lab projects at home. When I took a robotics class, I built a similar robot at home, because I could afford to do so (and robotics will be a major emphasis in my Masters degree).

Oh, one thing that makes it a bit easier for me is that I work for the University, so I don't have to leave work to get there. Also I get 2 classes a semester for free, but anymore I only have time for 1 a semester.

 

Congrats Ethan... school and full-time work are difficult, but doable. I had a 40-45hr a week job and still graduated college somehow.

BTW... eat a bagel when you are at Hopkins, my guys drop them off there fresh every morning ... thanks for helping to pay for mods!!

 

I'm going back to school in 2 yrs for my MBA @ Gtown. I thought undergrad was a frikkin JOKE TBH. You wouldn't imagine the amount of idiots that can't even do simple math graduate w/ at least a 3.0. Though, going to grad school while full-timing it makes it even more fun!