With these five tips and advice from RMIT alum, you can nail the study-life-work balance as a postgraduate student.
With these five tips and advice from RMIT alum, you can nail the study-life-work balance as a postgraduate student.
With these five tips and advice from RMIT alum, you can nail the study-life-work balance as a postgraduate student.
It’s hard to deny that striking the perfect study-life-work balance has become a modern-day Holy Grail. With 29% of Australians working from home in recent years1, trying to find that elusive balance that gives you time for family and personal commitments can seem overwhelming.
At RMIT, a busy schedule doesn’t have to mean delaying your next pay rise or career move. We spoke to members of the RMIT community to find out their tips for achieving study and work balance while studying a postgraduate qualification.
When considering both study and work later in life, you need to ask yourself what your end goal is. And that goal is different for everyone.
It could be a career change, the next step up the ranks at work or a way to fulfil your passion. Once you’ve identified your compelling ‘why’, you can focus on 'what’ balance looks like for you.
Master of Animation, Games and Interactivity student, Janifer Lai, studied her passion and found that exploring what she loves motivated her to find time in her schedule for study. Janifer’s balance comes easily because she prioritises for what she enjoys.
“I wanted to take my studies further, and to have the freedom to experiment, learn and explore more under a friendly environment with professional guidance,” says Janifer.
Your family, friends and colleagues care about your passions and life endeavours. They’re likely to be your biggest cheerleaders and want to help you achieve your goals and aspirations. So lean on them if you’re weighing up returning to study as a postgraduate student and seek their support to help you achieve a healthy study, life and work balance.
You may find it beneficial to sit down with your family and your manager before returning to study to share why it’s important to you, any concerns you might have or any temporary shifts you might need to make to your usual routine, particularly if they involve them. Together you can identify and prepare for any hurdles that might pop up along the way, such as the possibility of needing to take a day off work to study during assessment time.
Having the conversation to ensure they’re aware of your study commitments as early as possible allows for open communication. They might even be able to offer support in other aspects of your life to help take the load off and put you at ease when trying to balance study, life and work.
University support services could have a huge impact on the way you’re able to achieve your work-life balance while studying. Consider the following questions when you start researching universities:
Have another question about RMIT? You can also contact one of our friendly team members through Study@RMIT.
Being realistic with your expectations is the first step in planning a balanced study and work schedule.
Master of Marketing alum, Vinisha Pulikkaprambil, planned a manageable and fulfilling daily schedule around her professional goals, aligning her classes with the skills she needed for her future career.
“Choose units that have industry projects linked to them, because that is what will give you a chance to apply the knowledge that you're gaining while studying and build your portfolio,” says Vinisha.
While you’re thinking about your future schedule, another consideration should be making time for your personal life. This will look different from person to person. For you this might mean having Sundays off each week or setting up an allotted time each night to unwind from work and study.
RMIT is here to help you thrive and achieve your study and work goals, with tools for finding the postgrad course that’s right for your career and your circumstances. For example, current students can also take advantage of study support tools that can help you streamline your time management techniques, such as an assignment planner and peer mentoring. Master of Finance alum David Brown noted that the services and locations at RMIT made his time studying that much more engaging and allowed him to strike a work-life balance.
“[RMIT] as a learning environment has spaces that distil focus and are really well resourced to make learning easier,” he says.
Ready to choose an industry-connected qualification that will make you indispensable in your industry? Be ready for what’s next by exploring RMIT’s postgraduate courses today.
1Finder. “Remote working statistics”. 14 April 2023, https://www.finder.com.au/remote-working-statistics. Accessed 30 October 2023.
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Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.