When you think of going to grad school as a mom, it is natural to feel overwhelmed. The process can feel daunting. There is so much to know.
Learning centres like TheCollegeMonk make it easy to bring that natural grad school anxiety down a notch. Here you can learn what you need to learn to be an effective parent and grad school student before registering for your classes.
Learn How to Schedule
A cool thing about grad school is that most of the busy work is on your own time. That means that you get to schedule it. You will be very busy doing all of that, but you won’t have the stress of someone determining your schedule for you. Own your schedule by taking control of it.
For you, this will mean a work, school, and home life balance. You’re always going to be doing something. It’s important to figure this out before you start. Many studies indicate that the moms that do not complete grad school do so because of scheduling stressors. They may also lack the support they need, but having help with scheduling is a key factor here. Learn about the tools you can use to manage your schedules, like libraries that are open 24 hours a day, so that you can complete grad school and manage your home life simultaneously.
You don’t need to be a midnight owl to do well in grad school. But you may feel like you have a PhD in scheduling, in addition to your own PhD, by the time you are done. You also want to learn how to get used to it. When you are done with your program, your schedule will no longer entirely be your own. Having that PhD scheduling prowess will come in handy. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple all offer technological resources where you can create multiple schedules simultaneously.
Learn Your School Resources
Every centre for higher learning knows that every student is different with unique needs. They also know that many students, thousands at every college and university, are parents. There are resources for parents all over every campus that can help you make this an easy transition.
You may find the child care centre at your school an easy resource. You can also see if there are any subsidies for parents at the schools you want to study with. You may even find parent support groups or social circles that can help you connect to other students in the same parenting boat.
Learn How to Network Early and Often
After you get your Ph.D., you will have to know how to be a networking guru. This will help you get a job and keep a job. It will also help you to feel fulfilled in your career community. You can begin your networking career in the academic arena. Become involved with clubs and social circles that will be recognized as useful for work down the road. You also want to attend as many academic events as possible to mingle with people who can help you grow in the graduate school arena.
At the same time, get out into the community you will be working in and network there as much as possible. You can find local academic events in your campus calendar or newspaper and local community or career-minded events in your area online. Additionally, social networking sites like LinkedIn will help you find events and groups in your area where you can begin your networking life. Learning how to network early and often is part of the career.
Crush Grad School Before You Start
Starting grad school as a parent can feel daunting. You want to change the world while looking at the tiny humans in front of you daily. It’s a huge daily task that will feel like a balancing act. Crush it before you start by knowing what resources are out there to help you, and you’ll feel that much better come registration day.
