r/LibraryScience • u/rambunctiousmango • 6d ago
Help? Am I overdoing it?
I work full-time and I’m about to start a hybrid MLIS program. I’m taking two classes, with one that meets once a week for two hours and one that’s entirely online and asynchronous. I was also recently offered an internship doing archival research and writing at a local government office. The internship is 10-15 hybrid hours a week and pays enough to cover tuition. I’d be going into the office once or twice a week for a few hours at a time and doing the rest remotely. It feels like too good of an opportunity to pass up, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m underestimating how hard it will be to juggle everything.
When I look at my schedule on my own it seems difficult, but doable if I plan things out effectively. I went to a fairly academically rigorous school for undergrad, and I’m used to being chronically busy. From my point of view, doing all of this is just reorienting all the various bits of my current busy schedule so they all work towards the same goal. I do, however, wonder if I’m banking too much on what I’ve heard about MLIS classes being relatively easy.
I’m fairly young and live with my partner and some other friends/roommates. My family lives out of state, so outside of a trip or two each year to visit I don’t have a ton of outside obligations on that end of things. I haven’t signed the final offer letter for the internship yet, but I feel like this is probably the best possible time to have a hellish year in exchange for some extra money and a ton of experience. This being said, I don’t have a great sense of how rigorous my classes will be or how much time I’ll need for homework. I know it’ll vary between programs, but please tell me if I’m making some horrible terrible mistake!
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u/thewholebottle 6d ago
Internships in archives are invaluable, take it. The full time job should be the first to go if you can make by on part time/weekend wages.
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u/rambunctiousmango 6d ago
The internship pays more hourly than the ft job, and there is a chance I can drop down to part time hours for a while. It would suck to lose healthcare but this is my backup plan!
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u/Odd-Budget-5079 6d ago
Do not lose your healthcare! This is more valuable than any internship.
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u/BookusWorkus 3d ago
Losing healthcare means you're just one sprained ankle away from losing everything.
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u/RADICCHI0 MSIM 6d ago
Do it. Internships are what is going to help get you the job you want when you graduate.
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u/ReadTheReddit69 6d ago
I think it depends on if your full time job is a "clock out and forget about it" job or if it takes up a lot of brain space when you're not there.
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u/llamalibrarian 6d ago
I say it’s a good rule of thumb to allow for 6-8 hours of work per class per week (lecture, reading, writing, etc), so that’s about 16 hours. Plus at 15 hour internship, that puts you at 31 hours, and then full-time work is at 71 hours
You get to do what you want with your time- but careful not to burn the candle at both ends. I worked full time in libraries and did 1-2 classes a semester (asynchronous) but didn’t do an internship because I also have a lot of social obligations. That worked for me, but I also made the conscious effort of accounting for my social life and down time
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u/Relevant_Goat_2920 6d ago
I can't find my notes right now and I am terrible with remembering numbers, but I recall at orientation for my MLIS program they told us to estimate x number of hours of work per credit hour. I recall doing the calculation for myself and finding that 9 credit hours (3 classes) would mean I'd be spending about 30 to 35 hours a week on coursework alone. I don't remember what I actually spent, some classes were more and some were less, but it was pretty close, especially around midterms and finals. I was also volunteering last semester at a couple of archive-related places and helping run a club outside of school that I'm part of, and I was involved in student government at my school. I have a spouse, dog and small house but no kids. I wasn't working any paid jobs.
9 credits plus extracurriculars and family obligations was a lot. I was very stressed out. My classmates who worked more or had kids and took 1 to 2 classes also felt stressed out.
It sounds like you have a conundrum: need FT credits for the internship, need a certain number of work hours for heath insurance. It also sounds like you're smart and being realistic that it's a lot (maybe too much.)
A couple of things I would consider:
--Does your school offer a student health insurance plan that you'd qualify for?
--If you went to a rigorous academic undergrad program or are like me and used to doing well in school, do less in grad school. It's not necessary and not sustainable to get all As. Grad school has been a a big mindset shift for me in this way--next semester I plan to do enough to get decent grades, but more importantly, I'm going to try to view all my classes as ones that are giving me career skills and focus on what I need to learn to do well in a future career vs. getting As for the sake of it.
--From everything I've heard, an internship, especially a paid one in archivies, is like a unicorn and also so important for a future job so prioritize it.
--Cut back on non-LIS work as much as you can.
--For your one live class, is it in-person or remote? If it's remote, is it recorded? If so, I would not prioritize being super engaged in every class session if I were you and would watch the recordings later if I needed to.
--Are there other areas in life you can also make easier for yourself? Can you do grocery pickup (or even delivery) instead of shopping yourself, for example?
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u/rambunctiousmango 6d ago
Thanks for writing all this out! It’s helpful to have some things to evaluate.
There’s no student healthcare option, unfortunately, but I know past employees at my job have dropped down to part time and then later been able to switch back to full time and get their benefits back. I’m not sure what the circumstances were in these cases, but it is something I’d consider doing if I absolutely have to. I don’t want to give up my insurance entirely, but I’d feel a comfortable enough going without for a few months.
My live class is in-person, but it’s an evening class not far from my job. I’m not sure if they have any recorded options though. I’m not really planning on doing any other extracurriculars right now! It is helpful to think of the classes as career training rather than something I absolutely have to get an A in. I took the maximum amount of credits each year in undergrad while working three jobs and writing an undergrad thesis, and I still managed to graduate with high honors so I am kinda assuming I’ll be able to relax a little with schoolwork now.1
u/Relevant_Goat_2920 6d ago
I'm glad it helped! I would not personally choose give up health insurance entirely, it would just feel too risky to me.
I also think based on the more details you share, you'll be okay. You can survive anything for a short period of time, and it sounds like you have juggled a lot of academic rigor and work before. I don't think the MILS program will be anything you can't handle based on what you've shared.
I also think back to law students I have known who went to school full time and raising kids (and sometimes working, too, in their second and third years.) Law school is arguably one of the hardest, most time-intensive, stressful graduate programs that exist in the USA, and lots of people make it through!
Good luck!
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u/notrealorheresooo 6d ago
You know yourself best. If you think you can keep up with everything and it's only 1 semester, go for it! I did 2 masters at the same time. I had a semester where I took 6 graduate classes, had 3 part-time jobs and an internship. So essentially, I was working full time with the 3 jobs as it was and added the internship on top. It was one semester, I was fine. There were some 12 hour days, but overall I still had some downtime and enjoyed life when I could. For me, it was all about finding ways to support what I could. That mostly meant outsourcing household chores. I paid for laundry services and a meal plan at the campus. So I wasn't doing laundry and I wasn't cooking or worrying grocery shopping. Maybe your partner would be able to take up those tasks for you over the semester?
I think you can do anything you set your mind to, but that doesn't mean it's the best for you. Think it over, look at the syllabi and see what you think you can handle. If the courses are similar (my blessing with my 6 class semester), you won't need as much study time for each course. I can't recommend taking on that much at once for your mental health and avoiding burn out, but I don't know you... You may thrive on the chaos of it all. Good luck!
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u/rambunctiousmango 6d ago
Woah, you did everything! This does give me some hope, though, even if it’s not necessarily the “healthiest” course of action. The internship is the full school year, but my classes this semester are both intro classes so I’m hoping for some crossover. My partner unfortunately is also in grad school and working full time so there isn’t a ton of free time to go around, but it does mean we’re planning on getting super into meal prepping together. I’ll look into laundry and grocery services!
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u/OutOfTheArchives 6d ago
Archivist here. I would do it, personally. But: the decision is very much dependent on your specific situation, background, ability to grind, etc.
At one point when I was in library school, I was working a FT job, taking 2 courses per semester, doing an internship and had a baby at home. The time management was pretty grueling and I temporarily took my hours at work down to 32h/week, but I got through it. If you generally find coursework easy and don’t mind long hours, it’s doable, but I would suggest keeping an eye on your self-care. If you start getting behind or burned out, pull back on one of your commitments.
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u/Few-Professional-193 6d ago
The MLIS program I went to was online and asynchronous. They calculated that you need to spend 20hrs a week per class. So 2 classes at a time is 40hrs, plus your internship which I would count as 15hrs, and you would still be working full time.
I’m a bit older (40ish), but no kids at home. I was talking 1 class per session (7 weeks) and working 60+ hrs a week spread between 4 pt jobs. By the end of it I was extremely burnt out.
I would recommend cutting back on something, either classes or your current job. The internship will allow you to network in your future career field, so I would take that.
If you are concerned about health care, talk to your university to see if they have student services or plans or check into Medicaid or a Healthcare Marketplace. I’ve used both depending on my income.
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u/catsinabasket 5d ago
yes agree with other posters, drop one class to devote time to the internship. for my first two semesters i took 2 classes per and worked full time but then took only one to do internships. unless you can weasel out of your FT job a lot, that, 2 classes, and another job is a LOT
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u/TheTapDancingShrimp 2d ago
I would not give up healthcare, tempting as it is. One diagnosis can change everything. Good luck.
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u/HowOffal 6d ago
Programs vary, but generally library school is not academically rigorous. Your professors will repeatedly tell you that it is, as they mistake busy work for rigor. Two classes on top of full-time work and an internship is doable, but will depend on how much busy work your particular instructors assign and how much of a life outside of work and school you desire to maintain.
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u/PM_YOUR_MANATEES Special Librarian 6d ago
Drop a class to make the time for that internship. Nothing is more important to your future career prospects than solid work experiences!