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Any Moms who went back to school for an Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's?
How did you manage working a full-time job, family, and a personal life? I decided to go back to school in 2019 to obtain an associate's degree, and at the time I was caring for my 3 boys, 18, 15 and 4. I was working full-time, taking care of them and spending time with them, having a social life and anything else in between. In November 2020 (now only caring for 2 of them) I just wanted to finish my associate's, and wasn't thinking about obtaining a bachelor's degree. Now that I'll be finished with the associate's degree, I'm looking for to obtain a bachelor's. I want to hear about what you're doing or have done.
Jocelyn Lyons
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01/19/22 at 9:57PM UTC (Edited)
Yes, I just completed my master's while working full-time and with my 3 year old home due to the pandemic.It was tough!
I was lucky enough to have people in my network that could help me with my son, and I agree with the other commenter that I sought others' buy-in before I decided to pursue classes. I definitely had to work to carve out time for classwork, and I think what helped my toddler deal with my "school time" was that I dedicated my full attention to him when I was NOT doing work. I started out taking one class at a time so that I could make incremental additions to my schedule, and I utilized every possible moment for my schoolwork. I downloaded an app that reads pdf files so that I could listen to my assigned readings during my commute, I also listened during my time at the gym or when out walking the dog. I took advantage of my lunch and breaks to complete any quick tasks needed for family or work, and I drank a LOT of coffee. I'll be honest, I didn't have as much personal time as I would have liked, but for me it was not as much of an issue because of covid anyway. You can do it, Jeslyn (love your name, by the way)! When you have the motivation, you can accomplish anything. Best of luck!
Jeslyn Patterson
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01/19/22 at 10:05PM UTC
Congratulations on finishing your masters! I completely understand the work you put in during any "free" time you had. Thank you! Love your name too, nice names we have for twins LOL!
Jocelyn Lyons
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01/20/22 at 1:21AM UTC
Haha!! Thank you. Please update us when you finish your degree! You should be so proud of yourself! I know your kids must be so proud of their mom!
Anonymous
01/19/22 at 8:31PM UTC
Hi Jeslyn - Yes, I was a mom of 2 (newborn and age 4) when I returned to school to finish my Bachelor's degree. I was also working 50+ hours on a very demanding complex construction project. It.was.not.easy, but the payoff was worth the sacrifice. I returned for my Master's and graduated last year, when my children were 12 and 16 - I learned the kids' age did not matter - babies/toddlers or active teenagers...the process required sacrifices from everyone, including my very supportive husband. I missed a few events, but I proved to my kids that they can and should go after their goals in life and hurdles/challenges just make the rewards that much sweeter! I think the key was getting everyone's buy-in before I started, setting up a solid routine/schedule to ensure all priorities were addressed, including my marriage, because it couldn't be last if everything else was going to balance (his support was critical). Once everyone knew the routine, we all did our best to support each other and have proactive discussions about needed adjustments before they blew up and left everyone disappointed or overwhelmed. Good luck - go finish that goal!!! You've got this (and if its get overwhelming...pause and ask for help from friends/family/professors/classmates)...there are people who want to see you succeed...lean on them!
Jeslyn Patterson
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01/19/22 at 8:45PM UTC
Wow and congratulations on finishing both degrees! Thank you!
