How to Find Time to Study with a Full-Time Job ??
Civil Engineering Academy
Helping you on your journey to becoming a professional engineer and beyond.
I bet you relate to this, and quite a lot! ??
Balancing studying with a full-time job and the deadlines is a big challenge to passing your exam, if not the biggest one.
Makenzie Allen, a past student of both our FE Course and PE Course, found this to be true firsthand — and she’s not the only one! ??
But the real question is...
Since you cannot let go of your work hours and responsibilities, how do you put in enough study time to pass your exam, in addition to your work? ??
Let’s dive into three strategies past CEA students used to balance full-time work and studying that you can replicate to pull that off too! ?? ??
1. Prioritize ??
When Amanda McFarland was a full-time civil engineering student working two jobs, she had her first baby.
That’s when her priorities changed, and so did her criteria for how she spent her time.
She could no longer choose a class based on the professor or what classes sounded fun...independent of when the class would start and finish.
Instead, she grouped classes together to knock them out all at once and not have wasted time on campus. This allowed her to get the studying she needed, and then go back to her job and baby.
When it comes to your exam prep, you’ll have to do (exactly) the same!
Passing your exam is the priority throughout your prep…but you have to make it one.
This means you’ll have to put in those work hours (there’s no other around it), but then minimize everything else and batch similar tasks together so there’s time left to study. ??
2. Define Your Study Time ??
When Matt Fanghella was working towards his civil engineering degree, he was going to school at night while working full-time.
He worked from 7 AM to 3:30 PM, arrived at school by 4 PM, and that’s when his daily study time started.
He would head over to the library to start working on his assignments until about 6 PM, when his classes began, and would not leave until 10 PM.
Now, guess what? Passing your exam is another milestone that also determines your future! So you need to be clear on when you’ll sit down to study…every day.
Matt applied the same strategy to prep for the FE and PE exams.
He would get to work early at 7 AM and dedicate the first hour to The Ultimate Civil PE Review Course before the work day began.
Amanda also had pretty defined chunks of study time every day — and you should too!
The best way to do this is using the Time Blocking Technique, which we’ve already covered in one of our Quick Tip Videos for you. Go check it out!
3. Talk to Your Employer ??
You may be afraid to ask, but the truth is...
Most companies will support you in your journey to become an EIT, PE, or CFM?.
Here’s proof. ??
When Amanda was studying for her PE exam as a mother of two and working full-time, she talked to her employer about flexible work schedules…and they agreed!
They knew she had to pass her exam while being a mother, and they let her work 30 hours a week so she could not only study but also balance that with the “mom things”. ?? ??
Another way your company can support you is by letting you study in the office. (Yeah, not a typo.)
That’s one way Cameron McLaurin found to put in the study hours he needed to pass the PE Water Resources Exam with his busy life outside of work leading the largest ministry at his church. ?
As long as your work is getting done and you're meeting your deadlines, most companies and managers won’t have problems with it at all.
Another CEA student, Hannah Copeman, works at a structural engineering firm designing in seismic zones, and even such a big firm allowed her to do some studying during breaks, lunch time, slow periods in the company, etc.
So go for it…just check with your manager first! ??
What Makes This Balancing Act Possible? ??
The time management strategies they all used do work, but one thing that made all the difference was having complete control over and flexibility with their study time.
That's why we've created our review courses to be completely online and on-demand so you can tailor your studies to your own schedule and how busy your life is.
In fact...
You can study wherever you are, whenever you have time, and on whatever device you’ve got with you.
So, keep this in mind when planning your study schedule and how you'll go about studying for your exams.
Gather resources that fit into your schedule — not the other way around. ??
If you want to keep receiving more tips, tools, and resources to get over the hump of passing your exams, then don't follow Civil Engineering Academy to check out everything we get out there for you to do just that. ??