Holding down a full time job is a challenge in itself, especially if you’ve never done it before. But trying to study on top of that is an even bigger task!
Depending on your course structure you’ll probably be given some Distance Learning Modules (DLMs) to complete whilst on placement. These will enable you to keep up with what everyone else back on campus is learning so that you’re not at a disadvantage when you come back for the fourth year. For my year in industry I have 3 DLMs, one for each of my core subjects, and each equates to 10 credits of the total 120 for the year. My DLMs are not examined in the conventional style; rather than going back to campus to sit a formal exam, each DLM has a series of exam style questions which need to be completed. The lecture material is released on Canvas (our virtual learning platform) and the questions are then released several weeks later, allowing time to read through the lecture material and understand it. The questions are open book and you’ll have around 3 weeks to complete them but I’d suggest getting them started ASAP as they are difficult questions!
It can all seem a bit daunting looking at the stack of lecture notes and simply being expected to take it all in without any lecturer lead supervision but once you get going it’ll soon fly by. I’d recommend watching any recorded lectures available through canvas to supplement your reading as, for me, this really helped my understanding by hearing the lecturer talk through everything. You may also discover little nuggets of information they mention in passing related to the notes that may not necessarily be written down. Also, don’t forget those textbooks! There is a wealth of knowledge available in the recommended reading textbooks that you can use. The test is open book but there is no limit on the “books” you can use so make use of the other resources available to you!
One of the hardest parts about the DLMs is motivation. Once you come home from a long day at work one of the last things you’ll probably want to do is do more work! For me I found the 11-8-5 structure works well. This helps me to break down my day into manageable chunks and keeps me on track. The 11-8-5 structure works out as 11 hours work – 8 hours sleep – 5 hours relaxing, in terms of sleep and relaxing you can vary this as much as you like so if you need more sleep you could always make it 11-10-3 and trade some relaxing time for sleeping time. This schedule can look really work heavy but when you think that you’ll probably spend 8 hours a day at your placement job you can look at it more as the 3-8-5 schedule! Obviously, when it comes to weekends you need to really try and cram the hours in to make sure you cover everything in time.
What’s important to remember though is that what I’ve said above is what works for me! That doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. One of the key things with DLMs and studying in general is to find a style that works for YOU! If you study best in a morning then wake up early and get going. If you find you like to start slow and work into the night then have a lie in and keep going into the early hours. Obviously, you’ll need to fit studying in around your working hours during the week but weekends are normally more flexible.
Now that all of that studying is sorted you need to know how to relax too!! Next time I’ll fill you in as to how I like to spend my evenings off.