Photo credit: Toby Burrows
Starting a postgraduate degree alongside your career can seem tricky, but there are definitely tools and techniques that can help you to priorities the two, and make it work for you.
Here are our top tips:
1. Integrate your study into your work
Where possible, a seamless way to lighten the load of postgraduate study would be to apply your studies and research to your current field of work. This will help you to upskill within your current role and industry. If you are studying something unrelated to your work, use the skills from your workplace to apply it to your postgraduate studies e.g. time management, people skills, working in a group.
2. Form a strong support circle
It is important to make sure your support circle (i.e. friends, family, boss) thoroughly understands the sacrifices you will have to make and ways they can step up to help you succeed during this time. Being up front with your boss especially will help you both set realistic expectations while you’re studying – make your availability clear and come to an agreement prior to commencing studies.
3. Always have a plan
During this time it is crucial you prioritise and find ways to be efficient while taking on extra study. By forward-planning your time (with to-do lists, calendars etc) you can anticipate for busier times and make sure you are well-prepared. If you know a busy period is coming up in your course, or at work, you can move things around in advance to help you cope.
4. Avoid Burnout
Another way to balance career and postgrad study is to make sure you have a plan in place to avoid burnout. It is easy to say yes to everything, however it is important to have boundaries to ensure you aren’t spreading yourself too thin. Avoiding burnout can also mean prioritising self-care to make sure you are the best version of yourself during this time. Try fitting in small amounts of study and revision into each day so it doesn’t become overwhelming.
5. Postgrad community
While your personal support circle is important, sometimes you need to have people around that just get what you are going through. By actively making friends throughout your degree, you will have another support circle to fall back on.