Hi Misty,
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Undergrad is often one of the first times we come across other people who share the same classes or dorm rooms with each other, but aside from that, live very different lives from one another. It may be the reality that you simply have a lot more responsibility than many other of your peers. I personally don't think the academic world is optimized for students who aren't full time, particularly if you are studying in a STEM field.
My "worst year" in college was sophomore year of undergrad – I was working 2 days per week off-campus and spent the rest of my time studying and staying up late to cram for classes that I didn't feel like I was keeping up with. It worked while I was a freshman, but I struggled with the classes as a sophomore much more. There was nothing elegant about my solution to this either. It ended up being the year where I had the lowest grades, and I failed a class I had to repeat as well. However, I passed on the second try, and by junior year I had saved enough money that it was not necessary for me to work while in school. This extra time was very helpful in providing me with more time and energy to focus on school through graduation. Junior year's coursework also made more sense to me and I had more friends to study with.
Only you know what your own social, financial, and college schedule look like, so the following suggestions may not be appropriate. I don't usually think there are too many "hacks" in the world. These are just ideas that you may or may not have already explored.
- Is it possible to work less or not at all for some period of time?
- Depending on the nature of your job, is it possible to bring homework with you to work or get some other form of support from your employer? Some companies will pay for education for their staff. If that was an option for you, perhaps you would need to work less short-term while you focus on school?
- Would there be a way to take something you work on at work and use it as material for school?
- It is possible to take fewer classes at a time?
- Is it possible to load more classes into certain days of the week to reduce the time needed to commute to and from school? (Not sure if your classes are online or in person).
- Are there classes where working or studying with other students will help you learn faster?
As a final note of encouragement, the fact that you made it to junior year shows that you have already been successful for over half of your undergraduate time-frame. I hope that you find yourself with more time or a less demanding schedule through the remainder of your time.
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Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-28-2024 11:28 AM
From: Misty Bay
Subject: Navigating Undergraduate studies, work, & home-life.
Hello everyone,
I am a new member and am a Junior at Liberty University in the Civil engineering program. I am submitting this post in the hopes of soundboarding different strategies on how I can better balance these major parts of my life. I currently have a pretty demanding work schedule and my current job is the company I would like to stay with as an engineer when I finish school. I am struggling with being able effectively manage it all. If you have any suggestions I would love the feedback.
Best wishes
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Misty Bay S.M.ASCE
CMC Steel Operator
Mesa AZ
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