Getting a Degree While You Work: How Long Does It Really Take?

Perhaps you have a friend who’s been getting her MBA for as long as you’ve known her. And you’ve known her for five years now. Or maybe a coworker has been in and out of so many undergraduate programs even he can’t keep track of how many credits he has until graduation. And then there’s the guy you met at the gym. He works just like your friend and coworker, and has two kids, but he got his MBA in 10 months flat. What’s the difference?

If you’ve done any research into pursuing a degree while continuing to work full-time, you’ve already discovered there are more programs, and more types of programs (as regards time commitments), than books in most university libraries. Every type of program is designed to cater towards the schedule and needs of various students: some stress flexibility; others advertise their accelerated nature, focus or, sometimes, even longevity. So, at its simplest, how long it takes you to get a degree while you work is entirely up to you and the program you choose.

That said, we do have some advice as to different types of programs and questions you can ask schools. Read on.

Traditional Programs
Modeled on brick-and-mortar schools, traditional schools allow students to come and go as they choose. For some students—particularly highly self-motivated ones and ones looking for the maximum in flexibility—this option is very appealing. For others, it is nothing short of an invitation to failure and wasting money. While being able to come and go as you please is handy when an unexpected crisis interrupts your life, it can be difficult to resume the program. Really, when is life not in the way?

At many of these schools, as soon as you’ve put your degree on hold, you might as well have fallen off the face of the earth, at least as far as the school is concerned. Ask prospective schools what sort of services they provide to students having a difficult time. Ask about graduation rates. Ask about the availability of schedule advisors or degree planners. The more services a school has to help its students make it from beginning to end, the easier it will be for you to finish on time.

Accelerated Programs
Some online universities have perfected the art of accelerated programs. Starting with a high school diploma, you can get an undergraduate degree in about two years from an accredited university, rather than the four at traditional schools. An MBA can hang on your wall after 10 months rather than two years. For those driven students who are 100 percent committed to earning their degrees, an accelerated program is a great choice.

Because the programs are so intense, they can offer less flexibility in some respects than at traditional schools. You can’t just up and leave an accelerated program and rejoin it at your leisure. But most accelerated programs—the ones worth considering as least—realize their programs are demanding and that most likely their students will, at some time during the course of getting their degree, find themselves overwhelmed by work, life, family and school. They have developed the resources to help students get through difficult times.

Where a traditional school will say, “Sure, go and take some time off and we’ll see you again when we see you,” a good accelerated program will make sure a student is in contact with his or her personal advisor (who can act as an intermediary between the student and professors among other things) and will assign a student advisor who can motivate and coach. It sounds like tough love but, “You don’t know how many students I’ve had thank me for not letting them drop out and for helping them push through,” says the Chief Academic Officer of a leading online university. “They recognize that if they had been able to drop out they most likely never would have come back.”

Support Resources
Do you get a personal advisor for the duration of your degree or only for the first term? How available are personal advisors?

In addition to personal and student advisors, which are standard procedure at most universities, ask about degree planners. Before you take a single class, a good university should assign a professional to you, and together the two of you will plan out the course of your degree. This practice helps ensure you don’t get an email a few days before your expected graduation alerting you that, whoops, you happened to miss this key class and won’t be graduating after all.

While any degree planner is better than no degree planner, best of all is one whom you can check in with over the course of your degree and not just immediately after enrollment. Chances are you might not need one after the initial meeting, but just in case, it’s good to know that the option is there.

Class Availability
So you know what classes you need to take; the next step is to make sure you’re going to be able to take them when you need to. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to get into a class you need to graduate. Generally speaking larger schools have the advantage here—the more students enrolled, the more classes offered—but not necessarily. Not having the class you need is a good way for a school to keep you, and your money, around. Speak with your advisors to make sure you will get into all the classes you need.

Credit Transfer
If you have college credits from elsewhere, use them. Inquire about whether the school offers experience credits or can take a look at your portfolio and offer you some credits that way. Taking advantage of already-earned credits and life experience is one of the easiest ways to save yourself money, and, more important to many, time.