Hours per week/day spent on school related work

[Marissa4usa]

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I know this question has been asked before but I was wondering how many hours per day/week you actually spend on school related work? Not only how many hours you physically spent at school, but the time you ACTUALLY DO something school related (including TA, RA work, etc) MINUS things like driving to school, walking to the cafeteria, having lunch with peers, chatting with other people (even if it is with professors), surfing the net (and let it only be a few minutes at a time), making personal calls (e.g. doctor appointment, etc).

Does anybody keep track of how much time they spend on these things? Do you have limit of how many hours you spend on a certain things per week? Do you have a set schedule of when you do what?

What about those who have partners? Families? Kids? How do you handle the reduced time you have due to these other responsibilities?

 

[AlaskanJustin]

I know this question has been asked before but I was wondering how many hours per day/week you actually spend on school related work? Not only how many hours you physically spent at school, but the time you ACTUALLY DO something school related (including TA, RA work, etc) MINUS things like driving to school, walking to the cafeteria, having lunch with peers, chatting with other people (even if it is with professors), surfing the net (and let it only be a few minutes at a time), making personal calls (e.g. doctor appointment, etc).

Does anybody keep track of how much time they spend on these things? Do you have limit of how many hours you spend on a certain things per week? Do you have a set schedule of when you do what?

What about those who have partners? Families? Kids? How do you handle the reduced time you have due to these other responsibilities?

Aside from your basic responsibilities to maintain an RA position etc (which depending on the school will be a set amount of time) I would have to argue this question is relative.... You can spend as little or as much time as you want, of course be prepared to suffer the consequences of less time... Its not like you are forced (to some extent) to be there! But lets be realistic if any of us go through the hoops we do to get in I am pretty sure if we need to we will spend 80+ hours a week at the school doing school stuff.

Just to give you an idea of the research life, I have spent the last two years as a post-bacc fellow at the NIH. I spend roughly 12 hours a day at the lab (sometimes more if necessary) Mon-Friday, and on a weekend day if needed. This time doesnt include the amount of time you spend reading papers, I probably read 4-5 papers a night, 4-5 days a week... So basically research (even in grad school) takes a lot of time.

J

 

[Marissa4usa]

Just to give you an idea of the research life, I have spent the last two years as a post-bacc fellow at the NIH. I spend roughly 12 hours a day at the lab (sometimes more if necessary) Mon-Friday, and on a weekend day if needed. This time doesnt include the amount of time you spend reading papers, I probably read 4-5 papers a night, 4-5 days a week... So basically research (even in grad school) takes a lot of time.

Hi,
thank you for your response, but I feel you didn't adequately answer my question. You said you spent 12 hours a day at the lab. Did you actually work 12 hours straight? Or did you have lunch in between, pick up a quick chat with someone? Make personal phone calls to arrange some personal stuff (you know, family issues, making plans with friends on the weekends, etc)

The reason I am asking is that I hear from many students how much time they spent on school work and for some reason what they are telling me does not make sense mathematically. Unless they don't sleep 🙂. So I feel that some people simply count the time they are physically in school and the time they are physically sitting down at their desk at home as spending time on school related work.

In my case, during the week, I am at school at 8am. I leave at 6pm (15 minute commute). Then I "need" to spend some time with my significant other and then I usually do another 2-3 hours of school work before I go to bed. On the weekends I spend approximately 3-5 hours per day on school work. That adds up to about 76 hours per week. However, I started tracking the actual amount of time that I am actually doing work and it's significantly less because I used to not take into consideration things like having lunch, having a quick chat with someone, etc.

Other opinions?

 

[Cigolon]

During my first semester of my masters I averaged around 70-75 hours a week of direct school work (including RA/TA duties). The following semester it dropped a lot to closer around 40. Then in the fall again it bumped back to around 70 (partly because I had chosen to take on several research projects and teaching an upper level course independently).

It can be a lot, but I managed to pull out a solid GPA each time (even when it spiked in hours) by managing the time. It will depend on the classes, but the biggest skill is time management and learning to not check your email or anything else- learn to work, work hard, work fast, and don't put things off.

your experience may differ.

 

[AlaskanJustin]

Hi,
thank you for your response, but I feel you didn't adequately answer my question. You said you spent 12 hours a day at the lab. Did you actually work 12 hours straight? Or did you have lunch in between, pick up a quick chat with someone? Make personal phone calls to arrange some personal stuff (you know, family issues, making plans with friends on the weekends, etc)

The reason I am asking is that I hear from many students how much time they spent on school work and for some reason what they are telling me does not make sense mathematically. Unless they don't sleep 🙂. So I feel that some people simply count the time they are physically in school and the time they are physically sitting down at their desk at home as spending time on school related work.

In my case, during the week, I am at school at 8am. I leave at 6pm (15 minute commute). Then I "need" to spend some time with my significant other and then I usually do another 2-3 hours of school work before I go to bed. On the weekends I spend approximately 3-5 hours per day on school work. That adds up to about 76 hours per week. However, I started tracking the actual amount of time that I am actually doing work and it's significantly less because I used to not take into consideration things like having lunch, having a quick chat with someone, etc.

Other opinions?

Again I have to say this depends, I agree that a lot of us bs around while actually at work etc. I mean gee i am at work now doing some data catch-up but I have time to address these things... so I mean I have to imagine thats true for most. I dont think you can actually predict such a thing, because it would be highly variable week to week. from the sounds of it, you seem to already have an idea of how it would be.

I will say this, i know people that spend a ton of time actually studying etc and I know people that manage to not spend a lot of time doing such things, and they both do fine. cheers!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

It depends if I want to be highly efficient or not. I know the first semester of my first year I probably spent 65-70 hrs a week doing school stuff, researching, reading, etc. Looking back I wasn't very efficient, as I was transitioning from my career and I wasn't in a "school" mindset. As I went through my years I did more, but tried to keep my hours about the same. Midterms, finals, and research deadlines forced me to work crazy hours, but there were also days where I was on the beach by noon on a Friday because I got all of my work done.

 

[Marissa4usa]

*bump*

 

[cara susanna]

For us it's really really light at the beginning of the semester, then you're slammed all at once later and it doesn't let up until break. Then the cycle starts all over again. 😉

 

[psychnerd7]

Take from this what you will since I only just completed my first semester (clinical psych) but I would say I spent a good 60-70 program-related hours (including meetings, emails, classes, research, homework, studying, etc.). Sometimes it was more than that, especially nearing the end of the semester or when I needed to spend a whole normal work week's hours studying for one exam. I am also not a procrastinator. I'm sure it would have been worse if I were.

 

[citman27]

I am now applying to clinical psyc Ph.D. programs with hopes of beginning in August of this year. I am very interested in the answers to this question since I am married. At what time do people get home from school (RA, TA, etc.) and on average how much time is spent studying at home. Also, what is the best way to balance studying and spending time with your spouse. During undergraduates, I used to work and go to school about 70 hours a week not counting study time at home and on the weekend. It was terrible and I don't want to repeat that. I was an addictions counselor part-time, grief group counselor part-time, did an internship, independent research, and went to school full time. I feel, and I have been told by one or two others, that graduate school might actually be less difficult on me than my undergraduates. Can anyone reassure me????

 

[erg923]

If you want to be a productuive student and good clincial scientist, then this is the reality of grad school. I am married as well and its jsut the nature of the game. However, i do not feel my marriage is adversly affected. We still do date nights on weekends, but during the week...its not much more than dinner together.

 

[psychnerd7]

I am now applying to clinical psyc Ph.D. programs with hopes of beginning in August of this year. I am very interested in the answers to this question since I am married. At what time do people get home from school (RA, TA, etc.) and on average how much time is spent studying at home. Also, what is the best way to balance studying and spending time with your spouse. During undergraduates, I used to work and go to school about 70 hours a week not counting study time at home and on the weekend. It was terrible and I don't want to repeat that. I was an addictions counselor part-time, grief group counselor part-time, did an internship, independent research, and went to school full time. I feel, and I have been told by one or two others, that graduate school might actually be less difficult on me than my undergraduates. Can anyone reassure me????

I have to be honest, it's a struggle to not let it impact my marriage. I'm hoping that this ability will develop more with time. From what I hear, it may get easier after the first couple of years when you have more flexibility in scheduling your time (when you're taking less classes). It's truly a huge juggling act, but a lot of it really has to do with prioritizing. I think things that are really important are having a supportive spouse, and also a community in school that is supportive to married students. I would take the time on your interviews to try to find out how many of the current students are married, and if possible, spend extra time talking to these students about their experiences. For me, that was actually a huge factor in my decision process.