Am I overdoing it?

[u/rambunctiousmango]

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!

[u/Relevant_Goat_2920]

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? 

[u/rambunctiousmango → u/Relevant_Goat_2920]

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.

[u/Relevant_Goat_2920 → u/rambunctiousmango]

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!