The Double Life of a Working Professional and Grad Student

Fatima Shami

The beginning of a semester is different for me as a working professional enrolled in a distance-learning program. Unlike on-campus students, I don't get new stationary or walk around campus to find which building my classes are in. It is like another day – I get up, get dressed, and go to work. The difference is that now I also have to come home and attend online classes in the evening. If I'm lucky, during my lunch break I might be able to get to Aggie One Stop for any admin needs, which usually has a wait for a callback. If I'm lucky, I'm not in a meeting or in the chemical plant when this return call comes, otherwise the clock starts over. Being a working professional and going to school is a completely different experience than being on campus as a fulltime student. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

One disadvantage is that it can be a very isolated journey because the people around me don't realize what I have going on. I'm still physically present, but I have a lot more to do now and I may have bouts of disappearing to study. There is not as much support that I get on campus. I don't get to go rock climbing in the gym to blow off steam like on-campus students might. Instead, I may have to find other ways to relieve stress, such as walking or cycling on the weekends. My biggest tool becomes balancing everything and being as proactive on homework as possible. Then on the weekends, I have to pick and choose which parties and events to attend. Being in school as a distance-learning student means I have a whole other life that I live without the people around me.

However, there are also a lot of benefits to being a working professional going to graduate school. I get to apply what I'm taught the same day and see the impact and changes it makes over the semester. I can also share this with my professors and get immediate feedback, whereas on-campus students may have to wait a few years to apply their knowledge. When I studied on campus, I had many options for places to study. Now, as a distance-learning student, I only have one coffee shop to go to, but the baristas there know my name and I get a lot of free coffee due to their loyalty programs. One thing I realize is that it's easy to burn out because I don't have as many options to move around. As a working grad student, I may also be on call from time to time and if something happens, it could overlap with my midterms. Fortunately, all of my professors at Texas A&M University are kind enough to work with me especially if I give them advance notice. I've also been lucky enough to have a great supervisor who has helped me, especially during finals, but that is pure luck. Most of the time my company pays for all or some of my college fees. On the bright side, being a working grad student does have its perks, such as student discounts on museums, food and more.

The class experience is initially shocking if all I have known is a traditional class setting. I see a bunch of names in a line and sometimes the professors, but always slides. Despite these challenges, I still think that going to school as a distance-learning student has its benefits. I am still earning while I study, so the return on investment on my degree is higher. And after a few years, I will get to walk across the stage.