Would you quit your job to study full-time?

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reactor_sa

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I never finished a degree and only have a diploma from 9 years ago.
The only way I'm going to finish a degree from scratch now is to do it 3 years full-time and get it over with.

Would it be a bad idea to quit a really good job and study full-time, cashing my pension fund to tied me over until I started working again?

Would I be wasting years of experience?
Would it be a problem finding a job again?
Why the hell is the world so bent on degrees?!

I have almost 10 years experience in business intelligence and analytics, I'd like to study bcom management accounting.

Lastly, the plan is to immigrate asap, but after studying if studying is a good idea.
 
Would you quit your job to study full-time?
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If you can afford such a venture by all means YES!

Only 3-4 years and you will see the payback coupled to same existing experience in no time. When I enrolled my son I was surprised at the many "grownups" enrolling. If I was not so old...


Anyway as you said that will also contribute and may be your ticket abroad.
 
You will be taxed heavily on pension fund, plus will you be able to bear the unexpected costs in that time period?

Do it part-time via Unisa. You can do like 3 courses a semester to manage.
 
No. Unless you can guarantee you salary will be triple what you earning now because of the following:

You need to recoup 3 years lost revenue.
Compensation for taking the plunge to study.
Inflation after 3 years.

Rather look for part time option even if it takes 5 years.
 
A good place to start is to have a look at the immigration website of the country you want to go to. Look for the professions wanted and take it from there.
 
Nope, cashing in your pension early is never a good idea. Any financial advisor could probably tell you that.

Study part-time if at all possible.

Why the hell is the world so bent on degrees?!
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It isn't. Degrees mean next to nothing these days, what they want is experience. It's very hard getting a job even with a good degree if you have no experience. I'm guessing it's because they hand out degrees like candy these days and any half-literate moron should be allowed to study after matric because exclusion.
 
Look at the specific country you want to emigrate to before making the decision to study, or what to study. I have heard some places require a Masters at minimum, while others just require a bachelor. All countries will give you bonus points for having a Phd, depending on what your field of study is of course.

It sounds like you need to consider what this will do for your career. Will it benefit you? How much will it benefit you? Is a bachelors enough, or do you need honours? Masters?

Some universities such as Wits offer postgraduate courses that you can register for based on your work experience alone (although having an undergraduate education certainly helps). Maybe look into those? I am studying the Graduate Diploma in Engineering, despite having an Honours degree in an unrelated field.

Would I study full time? Flip yes - if I could afford it. I have already cashed in my pension fund for a previous venture - it isn't a good idea for most people. Not only does it affect the interest you earn on your pension, it also affects it when you cash it in terms of tax. I think Sars has a website explaining the implications - they are larger than you think.

Have a look at all of the available options, at Unisa and at other places. Look at CFA, for instance. Whatever you do, I would not advise you to cash in your pension fund, which means part time.
 
If you have the funds saved up, yes, do it. But don't touch your pension fund. You'll be heavily penalised w.r.t. taxes, and you'll likely never be able to recoup that money, not even if you suddenly get a BCom. A degree won't be making you rich. Compound interest means you should be trying to save as much as early in your life as possible, trying to start later will mean pain in your old age, e.g. http://www.oldmutual.co.za/personal/investments-and-savings/investing-for-growth/unit-trusts/learn/invest-in-your-life/make-money-on-money.aspx
 
Yeah, I'd also rather go the part time study route. Plenty of people I know do that.

I'd be afraid the 3 years will feel very long and you'd be missing out on experience, possible opportunities for promotion and all the money you can invest from your salary over the period.
 
Start part time and try get an entry level position in the field you want to study (Management accounting) so as your degree progresses so does your experience. Ive only been working two years and I can agree that experience > degree. Degree just helps to get your foot in the door. I Started my Second degree through Unisa now in a slightly different field. Its a long road but I believe its worth it. Check out CIMA.


When I did my first degree a Lady enrolled with me that was like 31. She had worked in England and wanted a change. Shes now finishing her Masters and is doing her PhD afterwords because she loves it.
 
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reactor_sa said:
I never finished a degree and only have a diploma from 9 years ago.
The only way I'm going to finish a degree from scratch now is to do it 3 years full-time and get it over with.

Would it be a bad idea to quit a really good job and study full-time, cashing my pension fund to tied me over until I started working again?

Would I be wasting years of experience?
Would it be a problem finding a job again?
Why the hell is the world so bent on degrees?!

I have almost 10 years experience in business intelligence and analytics, I'd like to study bcom management accounting.

Lastly, the plan is to immigrate asap, but after studying if studying is a good idea.
Click to expand...

A diploma (assuming 3 year diploma (N.Dip?) from a recognized institution), and 10 years documented work experience should be enough for entry to most countries. Job satisfaction issues aside, if I were you I would look at the difference you expect to earn in your new job vs. your old one, and see how long it will take to break even, and if the time period this takes is worth the risk (3 years without pay, even unpleasant factors such as possible death or injury over this period, etc.). As others have suggested, a UNISA degree can be done in parallel with a job to mitigate some risk.
 
Thanks guys, I know it seems extreme, but part time if one had to do 3 half year modules a semester, it would take 5 years at best, longer I guess for some of the bigger or more difficult modules. That's 5 years of all work and no play.

The reason I want a degree is mainly because the better job positions often list a degree as a prerequisite. In fact my current job lists it but I guess I've got enough rep in the organisation to get an exemption.

I will maybe start this year in semester 2 part time, and consider the options until next year.
 
reactor_sa said:
I never finished a degree and only have a diploma from 9 years ago.
The only way I'm going to finish a degree from scratch now is to do it 3 years full-time and get it over with.

Would it be a bad idea to quit a really good job and study full-time, cashing my pension fund to tied me over until I started working again?

Would I be wasting years of experience?
Would it be a problem finding a job again?
Why the hell is the world so bent on degrees?!

I have almost 10 years experience in business intelligence and analytics, I'd like to study bcom management accounting.

Lastly, the plan is to immigrate asap, but after studying if studying is a good idea.
Click to expand...

Yes. It's a humbling experience but really worthwhile.
 
Every single job I've taken listed a degree as a pre-requisite.

I've never needed it.

Definitely wouldn't burn all that money only to break even in a few years not knowing for sure you would ever actually profit from it.

You would need to work out if earning your salary through those three years can be won back after completing them and whether you will make it all back if at all in the years to follow.

And NEVER touch your pension. Not even for this. You will be far worse off.
 
reactor_sa said:
Thanks guys, I know it seems extreme, but part time if one had to do 3 half year modules a semester, it would take 5 years at best, longer I guess for some of the bigger or more difficult modules. That's 5 years of all work and no play.

The reason I want a degree is mainly because the better job positions often list a degree as a prerequisite. In fact my current job lists it but I guess I've got enough rep in the organisation to get an exemption.

I will maybe start this year in semester 2 part time, and consider the options until next year.
Click to expand...

There is no easy solution here.

You aren't going to get anything worth having on your CV without a significant amount of work, effort, money and time. You can save money by doing it part time, but that requires more time.

The problem is that the money cost of cashing your pension in is a lot more than you think it is.
 
As others have mentioned here I would rather do CIMA that BCOM (management accounting) especially since you are keen on emigrating anyway. Its recognised worldwide and its a professional qualification. It also takes just as long as a degree to get and can be studied at your pace. Financially it definitely would not make sense not working for three years to study full-time now though. It would probably take you 15 years to catch up on the income lost (obviously depending on your current salary).
 
reactor_sa said:
I never finished a degree and only have a diploma from 9 years ago.
The only way I'm going to finish a degree from scratch now is to do it 3 years full-time and get it over with.

Would it be a bad idea to quit a really good job and study full-time, cashing my pension fund to tied me over until I started working again?

Would I be wasting years of experience?
Would it be a problem finding a job again?
Why the hell is the world so bent on degrees?!

I have almost 10 years experience in business intelligence and analytics, I'd like to study bcom management accounting.

Lastly, the plan is to immigrate asap, but after studying if studying is a good idea.
Click to expand...

Right, my serious 2c:

a) Working full time while effectively studying full time is hard, but you can do it. I completed my honours degree in a year while working full time. it resulted in less free time for myself/friends/girlfriend etc., but they understood. The benefits of still earning a salary while working were massive, and allowed me to study without dipping into savings or turning to a student loan. FWIW - I'll be doing my Masters over the next two years while still working full time, and am fully prepared for the challenge.

b) Look at skipping the standard B degree and going straight into a honours or master level course (once again, this is what I did). Some institutions recognise your previous experience and let you into post-grad courses after you've successfully written a recognition of prior learning (RPL) exam. Obviously the caveat is that you need to prove you have the ability and prior knowledge to perform at an acceptable level, but with 10 years of experience in your field I don't see that being a huge problem.

c) The immigration angle. In your position (which I actually am, since leaving S.A. within the next few years is my priority) I would look at perhaps doing something that has international recognition, perhaps even at an international institution. Distance learning with universities in Europe and America is a real thing, and the number of courses on offer from reputable institutions is immense.

Feel free to PM away if you've got any questions, I'm pretty sure I've done a fair bit of the research you're about to do. :)
 
I started my degree at 27 while in London. It was a choice of study there and get some experience or write off ever coming back to CT. I was working for a major publisher, part-time in their finance department during term time and full time in summer.

Just after my last exam my boss mentioned that I should email HR and see if there's anything in their digital department ( I studied computing).

There was and my combination of finance and computing meant I was perfect to handle their analytics and optimisation role that was about to be advertised. The combination of experience and my new education meant I walked straight into an amazing, fun job - and I've since carried on in the same line of work in CT in a fantastic company.

Personal experience so I can't advise, but I can say that had I not studied, I would have still been doing clerical crap after 30 as my parents couldn't afford a tertiary education for me...
 
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