"Whoa! You only go to class 3 nights a week at 6pm? What do you do with all that free time?!"
What do I do with all that free time? Contemplate life. Stare blankly at the kitchen wall. Whip my hair back and forth. If you only knew.
Full time students in the MLHR program take 3 classes per quarter and all required classes are taught during the evenings. At first glance, it may seem like we MLHR folks have oodles of free time and that graduate school is a breeze- but that couldn't be further from reality.
Almost everyone in the program works, because those bills surely aren't going to pay themselves. Some of my classmates have jobs in HR, some have non-HR jobs, and some have assistantship positions and work for the university. After our respective workdays are over, it's off to class for the rest of the evening. And maybe there's a group meeting thrown somewhere in there, or even tacked on after class lets out at 10pm if you're working with a bunch of masochists. Or perhaps there's a student organization meeting that you need to attend- before you know it, your free time is zilch.
Here are just a few reasons why the MLHR students roll their eyes when someone remarks about how much free time we seem to have:
- Having class from 6pm to 9:45pm three nights in a row after a full day of work feels as grueling as trying to bike the Tour de France with a flat tire. Going uphill.
- The assigned reading is never optional- there will be a quiz tonight and you'd better be able to spout off with an explanation of the Seven S Model if you want to avoid being put in the hot seat during tonight's class.
- Very few assignments are based on what you produce as an individual. Every course features a group project- which means you have group meetings once a week, times three.
This program certainly isn't for anyone who's looking to snap up a master's degree with the same amount of effort that you put into making a bowl of cereal. The coursework is challenging (this coming from someone with a bachelor's degree in HR) and your schedule will be far more busy than it was during undergrad. But nothing beats that feeling of immense triumph after debating with a professor about the Seven S Model and knowing what you're talking about- because you did your homework.