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Ask HN: What to consider when deciding whether to go back to school?

6 points by jamesbrewer ↗ HN
I've never been a great student and I'm not sure that I want to go back to school in the Fall. I've done two years at a university and I just don't think it's for me.

On Monday I will start a new full time job that could allow me to make a living while simultaneously bettering myself as a programmer. Assuming everything works out, I will have to decide in 3 months whether I want to go back to school. Because of the situation I'm in, I would have to work full time while taking a full course load, leaving virtually no time for programming.

This is obviously a big decision and I was hoping the lovely folks here at HN could shed some light on what I should consider before choosing.

8 comments

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res
Then you should probably ask them :)
jamesbrewer
Sorry :) Typed it up for r/cscareerquestions first and forget that was there. Edited!
res
No worries. It is a big decision, so you definitely want multiple perspectives. Are you in a position where you can't take a year or two off from school, or perhaps longer, to see where things with this job take you? I know scholarships and financial aid can sometimes leave you with your hands tied, but if this is not the case you might want to consider a leave of absence.

Plenty of people leave school and finish their degrees later on (sometimes much later), so you shouldn't feel bad about leaving it on hold for now, especially since you've got a job lined up.

jamesbrewer
Yes, taking a year off is an option, but it would mean paying the interest on my student loans. Not a huge problem as I will have to pay them off eventually anyways.

If I do end up taking time off it would only be temporary at first. I would likely give myself one year to make significant progress as a programmer. If, after that year, I'm comfortable with where I am, I will continue to defer school. On the other hand, if I can't see any definitive improvements, I will go back to school and look for another major. If I can't teach myself to program then I see no reason to get a CS degree.

StevenRayOrr
It certainly is possible to work full time and school full time, although I have not meet many people who are able to do both well. It requires a great deal of commitment and drive to be an excellent employee while being an excellent student -- particularly for two entire years, minimum, while finishing your degree. It is exhausting and puts a strain on you in other ways, not just having to give up on your free time to program.

If your options are "work full time with the freedom to do what you want to do" and "work full time, take a full course load, and have have no free time", it seems a pretty easy decision to me. Particularly because you actually seem excited abut the job and not at all excited about the prospect of more schooling.

Good luck choosing.

stephengillie
How is your life different now than it was during your 2 years at university? How long ago were those 2 years - a couple years ago, or more than a decade?

Most universities like to talk about the rule-of-thumb of 2 hours study per hour of instruction. Full course loads are 12-18 hours of instruction per week in this part of the world, so the university would like you to spend 24-36 hours per week studying. In reality, study time may be 30-90 minutes usually, and 2-3 hours once or twice per quarter; this means 6-18 hours of study most weeks, and 24-54 hours during finals.

To break it down:

Sleeping - 56 hours

Working - 40 hours

Instruction - 15 hours

Study - 15 hours

Transportation - 20 hours (1 hour to work and 1 hour to return home, 1 hour to and 1 hour from university, including buffer for leaving late or being stuck in traffic * 5 days a week)

-----------------------

Total - 146 hours

1 week - 168 hours

Surplus - 22 hours

During finals, you would have no time. Even people who really enjoy college find a schedule like this almost impossible to keep.

jamesbrewer
I went to university in Canada as an international student. I've moved back to the states because I couldn't afford to live in Canada anymore. I just got out of school a month or so ago.

I could work and study if I wanted to. My biggest issue with doing both is that neither moves me any closer to my goal of becoming a software engineer. My courses would all be basic studies (english, math, physics, chem, history, etc). I wouldn't take a computer science course for another two years.

zerohp
I've been living with this schedule for 2 semesters. Luckily I work from home and live 10 minutes from school so my transportation is about to 2 hours a week.

Recreational programming has stopped for me. The little free time I have is consumed by housework and when that is finished I usually just watch TV or a Movie to rest my mind.

I'm really motivated and genuinely enjoy my classes. I don't think I could do it otherwise.