4.5 Life with an Outside Job
If you have a full or part-time job outside the university, you may feel that you are between two worlds, without belonging to either one. Neither the university nor the workplace is well adapted to dealing with the other, and each may place demands that are incompatible with those of the other.
Your biggest problems may be the double commute, scheduling difficulties, and isolation.
While you are taking courses, each semester will bring challenges of how to arrange to be on campus at the necessary times without unduly hampering your work. Don't make the mistake of believing that you need time off only for going to class; a graduate student may need time for access to resources (e.g., labs or libraries) that have limited hours, for meeting with instructors or teaching assistants in their office hours, and for meeting with other students for group projects. Email, remote computer access, and other electronic communication will alleviate some of these problems but not all of them.
Many departments put time limits on progress toward degree that are incompatible with part-time status. Know and understand the rules, and have a plan to deal with them, either by taking a leave of absence from your job or by working as if you had two jobs.
Later, when you are involved in research, you will need to carve out time to meet with your advisor, as well as time for your thesis research.
Since you do not spend as much time on campus as a typical student, you may find it harder to get to know your colleagues, find study groups, and generally learn the ropes. Consider some of the advice given above for fellowship students.