As the popularity of hospitality degrees continues to grow, more and more working professionals are seeking ways in which they can complete their education. After all, the number of people who have to work full-time while going to college has gotten much higher ever since the debt on student loans became a nationwide issue. So, instead of borrowing money, individuals are choosing to pay for their schooling and graduate debt-free.
Related resource: Top 15 Hospitality Management Bachelor’s Degree Online Programs
Hospitality Degrees
Before clarifying if someone should try to pursue a hospitality degree parallel to their full-time job, it is important to provide a basic overview of this education path. In the vast majority of situations, hospitality studies are based on courses related to management, law, finances, quality service, facility operations, and similar. Due to this, the coursework is rightly perceived as fairly difficult since the educational institutions take a mile-wide-inch-deep approach. In other words, even though most topics do not go into extensive detail, there is a plethora of different material from various fields. In addition, most students resort to bachelor degrees that will mandate no less than 120 credits or eight long semesters take over four years.
Working Full-Time
Regardless of the overview for a seemingly difficult degree in the spheres of hospitality, it is very much possible for someone to graduate while holding a full-time job. The reason why is the fact that college courses in a typical 16-week semester take no more than two and a half to three hours. So, a student who is pursuing a four-year degree will be required to take an average of 15 hours per semester. This means that their college load for every week will be 15 hours of on-campus presence. Of course, individuals who resort to online classes will be able to bring that number of on-campus hours down. Still, the expected class time is probably going to be in the neighborhood of 15 hours.
Since a full-time job is considered to take 40 hours per week, adding another 15 is definitely doable. Obviously, there will be more hours that have to be invested over the weekend as the student works on their homework or prepares for the exams. Those days, however, are not business days and the student’s job will not interfere with their studying. Therefore, the question really boils down to how much overtime is someone able to handle during any given 16-week period?
Overtime Considerations
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average American works approximately 6.3 hours per day. When converted to weekly figures, this accumulated to 44.1 work hours. Thus, it seems that most Americans are already logging in overtime that does not even account for time spent driving to work and other miscellaneous duties. Based on said statistics, it appears reasonable to expect that someone who is passionate about hospitality would be willing to put in an extra 10 to 15 hours each week to obtain their degree.
In the end, however, every student is different and their time management skills certainly vary. Not to mention that the ability to find an understanding employer who will work with the student’s class schedule can be quite challenging. Regardless, although it is true that getting a hospitality degree while working full-time is hard, it is also true that doing so is possible and has been proven by thousands of people.