#DILO (A day in the life of) a master’s student – Nicole

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Through the #DILO series of blog posts, we have been bringing you insights into the life of our master’s students, sharing their thoughts and opinions, ups and downs, and key learning points during their online studies. The whole idea behind this series is to make you aware of the realities of online studies, and aid you in decision making.  

This week we take a look at a day in the life of one of our master’s degree students – Nicole. Here are a few insights and some words of wisdom that Nicole had to share from her experience:

An Introduction 

“I am still learning about who I really am” – Nicole

Who are you, really? 

Nicole Weiner, a lifetime learner with a family and a job, but I am still learning about who I really am 

Which Uni are you studying with? 

University of Cumbria 

Which programme did you choose and why? 

The MBA in Public Health Management program. Being a nurse, I am interested in helping people live better, healthier lives through prevention. 

Being a nurse, Nicole is dedicated towards helping people live better and healthier lives

The Study Plan 

How did you plan to study each module, and what was the reality? How many hours did/do you have to put in each day/or in a week? 

When I do something, I do not think about “the how” so much. I decide and I do. Thankfully my responsibilities at home are minimal and I was able to carve out some time from my work agenda, since I am an occupational health nurse, I took about 2.5 hours from my work schedule each week since the two are related. Plus, I worked at home as well, especially the weekends.

But it was not difficult to participate in the forums on a regular basis. In one sitting: sometimes an hour, sometimes 6 hours. In my opinion, your work agenda should allow some time for master’s, if the two are related.

What part of the day did/do you find most suitable to study? (e.g. early mornings, lunch break, evenings, weekends?) 

Anytime. If I have to do something, I can do it just about any time of the day, but after 7 pm I do like to just relax, so usually not in the evenings. During my thesis this will change because I have changed jobs and in this new job, I will not be able to carve out time to write or study during work hours.

Relating to my above answer, my next job will be as a research nurse, therefore I cannot study during work hours because I am not caring for a whole population group and there will be more technical duties to do. As an OHN, I was one nurse to 650 people. That’s significant, but the company was great and gave me space for balance. 

How much time did you devote for each assignment? 

“Try to start working on assignments early on” – Nicole

Depends. Like I said earlier, forums usually half an hour to an hour. Assignments I dedicate a lot of time but I cannot put a number on it. But one thing I can say is that I try to start working on it very early, so that I am not rushed in the end. 

Travelling and Communication 

“As long as I had my computer I could study if I wanted to while travelling”- Nicole.

How did travelling impact your ability to study? 

No problem, as long as I had my computer I could study if I wanted to. 

How were you able to interact with peers and/or professors given the time differences? 

In my personal case, there is no time difference between the UK and Switzerland. 

A typical day as a master’s student 

What does a typical day as an Online Masters’ student look like for you? 

School is just an extension of my other activities. I can say that definitely, the program being online makes life a bit less complicated. 

Any advice? 

Do a little bit every day, with a day off every now and then, or vacation even. If you work on your assignments regularly, you can afford to take time off and not stress it. And please advise your professors of your absence. 

Well indeed, incredibly helpful advice from Nicole. A contingency plan not only saves you from an unpredictable situation but also helps you follow your study plan with confidence. To get you through the master’s studies we have great faculty who are subject-matter experts, who guide and encourage the students to achieve their potential.  

If you have been dreaming of joining master’s programme or have had this personal goal to gain higher education, now is the time! Take the valuable advice from our current students, gain from their experience, add your own unique study strategy, and make your own success story!

Chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on all the programmes we offer, the application process, and information on discounts we might be offering at this time. 

#DILO (A day in the life of) a master’s student – Beatrice

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Through the #DILO series of blog posts we have been bringing you insights into the life of our master’s students, sharing their thoughts and opinions, ups and downs, and key learning points during their online studies. The whole idea behind this series is to make you aware of realities of online studies, and help you in decision making.  

This week we take a look at a day in the life of our MBA student Beatrice. Beatrice is an electronics engineer with over 19 years of experience working in IT. She is currently studying for the MBA in Management Consulting, offered through our exclusive partnership with York St John University, UK, and working for an American company as an IT Project Manager. Along with handling a full-time job and a master’s programme, Beatrice manages a busy household with a husband and two daughters. Here is an insight and some words of wisdom that Beatrice had to share from her own experience. 

With the MBA Management Consulting you gain an understanding of consulting techniques and develop a range of transferrable skills

An Introduction 

Which Uni are you studying with? 

York St John University (UK) 

Which programme did you choose and why? 

I chose the MBA in Management Consulting programme. It allows me to improve my knowledge and complete my profile as Project Manager. 

The Study Plan 

How did you plan to study each module, and what was the reality? How many hours did/do you have to put in each day/or in a week? 

Prepare a study plan and pick a time of the day that works best for you

I planned the modules to avoid overlaps and could make it as planned. It is important to allow at least four to five hours a day, 4 days a week. This can be increased to 5 hours a day when approaching assignment deadline. 

What part of the day did/do you find most suitable to study? (e.g. early mornings, lunch break, evenings, weekends?) 

Allow yourself enough time for each
assignment

What worked best for me were early in the morning and late in the evening, when there is no distraction (work, children, etc.) 

How much time did you devote for each assignment? 

Generally, 4 to 5 days. Sometimes more, depending on the topic. 

Travelling and Communication 

How did travelling impact your ability to study? 

When travelling, other activities make it more difficult to find the required hours to study 

How were you able to interact with peers and/or professors given the time differences? 

We used e-apps that allowed delayed interactions (email, campus portal, WhatsApp). 

A typical day as a master’s student 

What does a typical day as an Online Masters’ student look like for you? 

1. Spend 2 hours early in the morning, reading and watching class videos  

2. Spend 1 hour at lunch time to review and make some researches  

3. Spend 1 to 2 hours at late evening to write or complete researches 

‘Research’ is an important aspect of Master’s studies. Learn to research effectively.

Any advice? 

It is important to have:  

1. The support of your entourage  

2. A schedule that includes your studies, work and personal activities, even leisure. Follow it as much as possible  

3. A contingency plan 

Well indeed, incredibly helpful advice from Beatrice. A contingency plan not only saves you from an unpredictable situation but also helps you follow your study plan with confidence. To get you through the master’s studies we have a great faculty who are subject-matter experts, guide and encourage the students to achieve their potential.  

If you have been dreaming of joining a master’s programme or have had this personal goal to gain a higher education, now is the time! Take the valuable advice from our current students, gain from their experience, add your own unique study strategies, and make your own success stories! I would love to feature you one day on our college blog. 

Chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on all the programmes we offer, application process, and for information on discounts we might be offering at this time. 

#DILO (A day in the life of) a master’s student – Nigel

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As a former Education advisor, if I had to pick one of the most frequently asked questions by prospective students, it would definitely be “How many hours do I need to study?” 

The vast majority (if not all) of our students are working and leading remarkably busy professional lives. Some are motivated and have already decided to undertake a master’s, while others contemplate the unknowns of an online programme. In my experience, two things effect their decision the most.  

First – finances, and second, being able to strike the perfect work, study, and life balance. While I cannot completely help you with the finances (partially yes – check out the discount offers currently being offered on our online MBA, MSc, and LL.M programmes), I thought what I could do to help was to bring some facts to light about the other unknowns – what does a typical day in the life of an online master’s student look like? 

I asked a few of our students from different walks of life, occupations, and personal situations to answer a few questions on their study tactics and strategies, plans and reality, and so on. I thank each one of the respondents for taking the time to share their experiences and give valuable advice to you – possibly future students. In our ‘a typical day in the life of a master’s student’ blog series once a month, we will bring to you one of our real students or alumni sharing the insights.  

Today, we’re looking at Nigel’s typical study days. Nigel, an RKC & University of Cumbria soon-to-be graduate, offered us these answers: 

An Introduction 

Vidhi Kapoor (VK): Which programme did you choose and why? 

Nigel Lee Tranter (NT):  MBA – Leadership and Sustainability, I chose this topic for two reasons  

1. I have a passion and high degree of interest in both topics  

2. I wanted to study through a recognised programme and a recognised college/university, and I wanted something I could easily apply in the workplace 

The Study Plan  

VK : How did you plan to study each module, and what was the reality? How many hours did/do you have to put in each day/or in a week? 

NT: My initial plan was to commit the majority of study hours at a weekend, however, in reality what actual worked was daily early mornings (2 hours per day) with a supplemental number at the weekend which flexed between 4 – 6 hours depending on workload. 

VK: What part of the day did/do you find most suitable to study? (e.g. early mornings, lunch break, evenings, weekends?) 

NT: For me definitely early mornings starting at 5 or 5:30 

VK: How much time did you devote for each assignment? 

NT: I assessed the requirements after reviewing each assignment and built in an extra 30% as contingency to allow for extra reading, research and breaks as each assignment progressed, this was based on the evolving nature of discovering something new and interesting during the research phase. I set aside about 20 hours per week for studies.

Travelling and Communication 

VK: Did you travel for work? How did travelling impact your ability to study? 

NT: Only rarely did travel affect my study time due in part to the early morning start time plus mode of travel (usually train or airplane) allowed me to study while travelling also. 

VK: How were you able to interact with peers and/or professors given the time differences? 

NT: The use of virtual and collaboration technologies eradicated the time differences. During my dissertation my supervisor and I agreed to also supplement using WhatsApp also to support the learning experience. 

A typical day as a master’s student 

VK: What does a typical day as an Online Masters’ student look like for you? 

 NT: Start at 5 or 5:30am, study for 2 hours. Commence my normal business day around 8 am, finish my business day circa 6 to 7pm then depending on how I felt, perhaps another hour’s study, however this was always optional so as not to feel it was mandatory thus avoiding the learning experience becoming stressful. 

Any advice? 

VK: Any advice you have for students to better plan their studies. 

NT: Find your working space and condition yourself to prepare for learning when you enter this space. Build in contingency for holidays and breaks to avoid building pressure. Find your optimum study period of the day when you are most productive and experiment with this timeframe, learn how to research effectively to get the quality results you want, study productivity techniques that work for you and finally enjoy the experience. 

Alright folks, this was a sneak peek of a typical day in Nigel’s life as a master’s student. I hope you find it insightful and informative and that it gives you an idea of what to expect when you enrol for our master’s programmes. Watch this space as we have many more interesting insights coming up! 

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