I've never been a great student and I'm not sure that I want to go back to school in the Fall. I've done two years at a university and I just don't think it's for me.<p>On Monday I will start a new full time job that could allow me to make a living while simultaneously bettering myself as a programmer. Assuming everything works out, I will have to decide in 3 months whether I want to go back to school. Because of the situation I'm in, I would have to work full time while taking a full course load, leaving virtually no time for programming.<p>This is obviously a big decision and I was hoping the lovely folks here at HN could shed some light on what I should consider before choosing.
How is your life different now than it was during your 2 years at university? How long ago were those 2 years - a couple years ago, or more than a decade?<p>Most universities like to talk about the rule-of-thumb of 2 hours study per hour of instruction. Full course loads are 12-18 hours of instruction per week in this part of the world, so the university would like you to spend 24-36 hours per week studying. In reality, study time may be 30-90 minutes usually, and 2-3 hours once or twice per quarter; this means 6-18 hours of study most weeks, and 24-54 hours during finals.<p>To break it down:<p>Sleeping - 56 hours<p>Working - 40 hours<p>Instruction - 15 hours<p>Study - 15 hours<p>Transportation - 20 hours (1 hour to work and 1 hour to return home, 1 hour to and 1 hour from university, including buffer for leaving late or being stuck in traffic * 5 days a week)<p>-----------------------<p>Total - 146 hours<p>1 week - 168 hours<p>Surplus - 22 hours<p>During finals, you would have no time. Even people who really enjoy college find a schedule like this almost impossible to keep.
It certainly is possible to work full time and school full time, although I have not meet many people who are able to do both well. It requires a great deal of commitment and drive to be an excellent employee while being an excellent student -- particularly for two entire years, minimum, while finishing your degree. It is exhausting and puts a strain on you in other ways, not just having to give up on your free time to program.<p>If your options are "work full time with the freedom to do what you want to do" and "work full time, take a full course load, and have have no free time", it seems a pretty easy decision to me. Particularly because you actually seem excited abut the job and not at all excited about the prospect of more schooling.<p>Good luck choosing.