I currently work 40 hours a week and I was thinking of taking online courses at my community college.?

Do you think 17 credit hours of online courses is too much? What are online courses like?

I currently work 40 hours a week and I was thinking of taking online courses at my community college.?
You of course know your body and your sense of dedication more than anyone, so all I can tell you of is my experience. A few years back I decided to go back and complete two additional undergraduate degrees, and did them in conjunction with a full-time job. (Right now I am taking a full course load in grad school and working full AND part time)





While I do have to say that taking 9 credits was challenging but rewarding, taking a full course load in undergrad, 12 credits, plus a full-time job was very painful. Now, keep in mind one of my classes was online and the other 3 were in class, but "getting to class" wasn't the problem, the sheer scope of work was.





My experience tends to show, at the undergrad level, professors expect a LOT more of their online students in comparison to traditional students. Whereas a student in a classroom might have two exams and a paper, an online student will have "required readings" every week, and a requirement to log in and post at least once a week.





If you think you can manage that, times five or six considering how many credit hours you wish to take, by all means, go ahead. However, if you haven't tried any online courses yet, I'd recommend just trying 2 (6 creds) working up to 3 (9 creds) and so on.





Good luck.
Reply:WAY to much to take on! Online or traditional, 17 credit hours and a full time job is suicide. Full time is typically 12 credits, with each class needing 2 hours of study/hw time for every hour spent in lecture or lab.





Onlines are great, though, for busy schedules. I have 2 this term. If you like self-directed learning and are organized and motivated you'll do well. You'l have a text w/the usual reading assignments, papers/projects, online discussions, and quizzes and tests (which may or may not be online, dep. on your instructor). Most everything is submitted electronically, so I've found that dial up connections really don't cut it.
Reply:17 credits is WAY too many! Online courses are great if you have a hectic life schedule already, but require a tremendous amount of discipline. I didn't so much care for it because I missed the dynamics of a true classroom where you learn from each others experiences.
Reply:NO!!! I work 40 hours a week and am on call 24/7. Im taking online classes at my college. I was taking 6 campus hours and ten online hours... Online classes are simple.. im taking biology, world literature, and US history online... and have taken most of my classes online... I think its easy.. you just have to be able to make time after work to do your home work... no biggie tho.. good luck