Gemma Monk-Hartley
Project Manager
- Loves: My horse, Traveling, Studying
- Hates: Exams, Shopping, Wet weather
- Inspired by:
- International travel
- Exploring different societies and cultures
- The Tate Modern
- Fear of failure
- My links:
Study while you work - is it worth the hassle?
For the last two and a half years I have been studying for my Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Professional Certificate followed by the Professional Diploma. I passed - hurrah - but was it all worth it?
Studying whilst working full time is not something to undertake lightly. It's a BIG commitment. Finding an extra 12 hours a week (and more round exam times) around a 40 hour + working week, hobbies, family, social life and the necessary sleep is a scheduling nightmare in itself. But you can find spare hours that you never knew you had, and you do learn a very important lesson in time management so long as you're committed to it.
So why did i bother? I've asked myself this many times. It's not part of my appraisal, it doesn't give me a pay rise or promotion, in fact it had nothing to do with work (although they have been incredibly supportive throughout).
Studying for me is a necessary escape from work. I don't start things unless i'm going to see them through and succeed, I hate failure and I certainly don't give up. So i'm committed to my end goal. And that commitment is a really good excuse to stop thinking about work all the time, think beyond my day-to-day activities and see more of the bigger picture. This in turn helps keep me engaged and interested in my work and stops me looking elsewhere for new challenges.
But even more important than having a distraction, its helping to quench my thirst for knowledge. In some ways studying has made it worse as I now have even more avenues to explore that were only just touched upon in my text books. But that's a good thing for me, Playgroup and my clients. It ensures that i keep up-to-date with new developments and can hopefully make alternative suggestions that my clients hadn't previously thought about.
And what's next for me? Well I had planned to continue with CIM and complete the Professional Post Grad Diploma and then embark on a Masters. I think I still will but not straight away. Studying while you work is only worth the hassle so long as you enjoy it. After two and a half years I need a break from exams so that i'm ready to throw myself into the higher levels.
And in the mean time i'll keep up with the latest news in the marketing world and i've also started a Diploma in Horse Care. No exams. After all, there is more to life than just marketing!!!
Posted by Gemma on 11 Mar 09, at 10:16 am
7 comments on this post
And good luck with the new course.
We can't have you climbing up the walls. You might injure yourself or Mary.
Yes Gemma, it is worth the hassle. All the hard work you are putting in now will hold you in good stead for the future.
I have no doubt you will either end up running your own company, running Playgroup or becoming Marketing Director at Unilever!! Or even running a horse centre.
I know which option my money is on..
Well done
What you need is a course in Marketing for Horses – you could develop a social media site and call it Horsebox. Hey (hay!) maybe I'm on to something.
Well done clever-clogs
Just because one is a student doesn’t mean that one cannot possibly hope for a job that coincides with one’s course. I myself am still a student and I’m earning more than the regular wages per month. One of the things students have to realize is that nothing is impossible. And that there are opportunities everywhere. It might not come knocking on their doors so they would have to seek them out themselves!
www.sangambayard-c-m.com
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I completely agree with everything you have said. I have studied with the OU whilst working and start my next course in May. It is a big commitment of hours. For me, it is the need to learn new things, if i didn't have this I would be crawling the walls of the office not knowing what to do with myself.
Well done Gem for passing your course!