In this post, I want to share tips on how to combine full-time university studies with full-time work. Let's postpone the philosophical question about the need for this combination, as well as the discussion about the problems of modern education, for another time.
First of all, in the dean's office of your university, find out if it is possible to arrange a so-called free visit. In my case, it was a piece of paper that all the teachers had to sign at the beginning of each semester, and their signature said that they agreed that I would attend lectures on a free schedule (note, not a word about practical classes). In fact, there was little sense from this piece of paper, and there is exactly one practical benefit (about it a little further). But the presence of such a document with you in case of any disagreements with the department or the dean's office can play into your hands (see, you yourself signed it here). It's bureaucracy, baby.
If suddenly there is nothing like this in your university — it's not scary. It will be a little more difficult, but it is quite feasible.
The mentioned practical benefit of the document on free attendance is that it is a very convenient reason to approach the teacher and start a conversation about your absence in pairs (there is a difference between « I will not go to your pairs » and «please sign here »). And having this conversation is very important for the successful completion of the subject at the end of the semester.
The most important point of this conversation, as well as any further conversation with teachers (and in a good way, with anyone :)) — be polite. No, not so — BE POLITE!!! Many students, starting to work, feel like masters of life, open the door to the classroom with their feet and talk to teachers through their teeth. It won't work. If you still want to get a diploma about A / O, any teacher can do you a good harm in this, and if you do not prevent it completely, then spoil enough nerves.
Explain to the teacher that it just so happened that you need to work, and you may not be able to attend all the lectures, although you will try. If this part was received more or less favorably, you can throw a fishing rod about the fact that everything is not as smooth with practical classes as we would like, and perhaps some of them will also have to be skipped, etc. The main purpose of this dialogue is to find out how to get a positive assessment with the least cost at the end of the course. Some teachers suggest doing an abstract/report/test paper/whatever instead of attending lectures, agree, in any case it will take less time and effort than taking time off from work every time. Some may agree that you will miss the lectures, but they will require mandatory attendance at practice. — agree, even if you do not manage to attend all the practices, the teacher will at least remember that you told him about something like that. There are clinical cases that require attending all lectures, checking the synopsis, and so on. — if you have one such beast, then you can endure it, but most often with polite (this is important) persuasion you can achieve some indulgences.
Why is it even necessary to talk to every teacher at the beginning of the semester? This is such a trick against the format of their thinking. If the teacher sees only solid «enki » in the magazine opposite some surname, he automatically puts this person in the category of losers and sloppies, with whom there will be a lot of hassle. Naturally, when this person shows up during the session, they will immediately be aggressive towards him.
I had a situation when I forgot to talk to a new English teacher at the beginning of the semester, and I came to her class for the first time just before the test week. At the beginning of the couple, I listened to a 15-minute lecture about how she doesn't know me and doesn't want to know, that I have to go to the head of the department to explain who I am and what I've been doing all semester, and other nonsense. I bravely remained sitting at the back desk. 15 minutes before the end of the pair, when all the other students of the group had already passed everything they wanted and left, I once again asked to pass the translation of the text. Grumbling, she agreed. In 15 minutes, I translated 4 texts to her, which took 3 times more time for other students in my group. An instantly kindled teacher assigned me to take the test the next day, after which I received my 97 out of 100 and we parted friends.
What happened, I think, is clear, — with a good translation, I quickly transferred myself in her head from the category of «sloppies, they don't know anything, they don't go to couples » to the category of «the subject knows, everything else doesn't matter ». If I had started a row with her, I would not have been given the opportunity to do it so easily. Therefore, I think politeness and patience are two very important things when communicating with teachers, and especially in resolving conflict situations.
This advice is voiced by almost all teachers to all students, but no one listens to it consistently. But for those who work, it becomes critically important. Firstly, the average student has time during the session to spend the whole day in line to take a particular laboratory to a particular teacher, but the working one does not (unless, of course, he takes a vacation during the session, which in itself is unpleasant). Secondly, teachers, as a rule, are much more loyal to those who hand over work before the deadline, and, accordingly, do not force him (the teacher) to sit in the classroom late. So for the early delivery of the work, you can be forgiven for not visiting couples, and not perfect knowledge of the subject.
Writing a diploma (bachelor's, master's, specialist — not important) — is a long, tedious and time-consuming process. If we are focused on spending as little time as possible on this, we simply need the help of a scientific adviser. And I'm not talking about the fact that he will write a diploma for you, no. But, for example, intermediate versions of the diploma can be sent to your supervisor by e-mail, instead of running every time with a flash drive to the university. So it would not be superfluous to make sure that the teacher is able and ready to use it (unfortunately, there are far from 100% of such in our universities).
The most important experience that I have learned in three years of combining work and study is that politeness and patience can achieve much more from people than scandals, at least from teachers at universities. It is not necessary to prove to every teacher that he does not understand anything either in his subject or in life in general, even if you are sure that this is so. Be cute and fluffy — and nothing will prevent you from getting the coveted diploma of higher education in parallel with salary and work experience.
