working full time and pursuing a MS in engineering

ken285
Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:58:17 +0000

There are many people doing that at Columbia. In my department, there are many people working full-time and taking classes part-time. The department creates the class schedule in a way so that it allows these people to take the courses. Every MS course is in one of two time slots: 4:10-6:40PM or 6:50-9:20PM, so many people come in after work or leave an hour or two early from work.

We need 30 credits to graduate, which is 10 courses @ 3 credits each. Some people take 1 course every semester and graduate in 5 years. I know one person who’s trying to graduate in 3 semesters. Some of the part-time students that I know find it pretty tough if they take two courses per semester.

If you plan on working full-time, one thing to consider is how much your company chips in for tuition (if they do).

EDIT: Not all engineering departments are like mine. I know of at least one (probably many more) at my school that has most of the classes in the middle of the day, which doesn’t go well for those in the workforce.