How many of you work full-time and are preparing for GMAT?

Question

Just wanted to know how many ppl here work full time and study for gmat. I work fulltime in a bank and find it hard to study. I get home from work and I am tired. Can't concentrate or think properly. This has been going on for a while, and I feel like I have no life. 

Sometimes i question why I am doing this, even after the gmat there will be 2-3 more years i'll have study.

pparija · Answer

you definately are not the only one...
I work fulltime and am studying for gmat...

nowadays i dread weekends because it isnt anymore fun.. i know i am going to have to study and cannot just go brain dead!

but think of it this way.. a little pain now will lead to lots of gains in the future..
a good score may get you into a good schooll..

think of it that way.. also sometimes i think of it just as a challenge...
then the will to beat it is even more...
i think a key is not to think of it as if its out to get you...

i am sure a lot of other ppl who have taken the exam can give you better advice having taken it..
me.. i am still studying!!

sm176811 · Answer

I worked full time (actually more like 1.5 times), + worked pro bono for The National Parks and RESPECT Refugees and prepared for GMAT.

Its feasible, but takes lot of time management and dedication!

For me this forum helped me to keep my motivation level up!

walletless · Answer

yes - same here. Work full time and travel a lot for business, sometimes on weekends too. It is very difficult to balance work and studies, but I am determined

No wonder my parents always complained that I am stubborn....

necromonger · Answer

I work full time and handle a group with multiple projects...so it does get hard, I can barely spend 30-40 mins on weekdays and few hours on weekends. But that's not stopping me from trying to do well in GMAT...

shampoo · Answer

thanks for your responses guys. I have been studying for a while now, about 6 months on and off. I don't know, for some reason I don't seem to improve anymore. My gmat test is on the 15th.

willget800 · Answer

all the best with the exam...

i am the same boat... working full time and studying for gmat..

its like the last 5 years been either doing masters after work, or studying for something...

kind of bad... wife is getting angry

this is it this week.. and then i know i will be relaxed till i begin mba

rhyme · Answer

I quit to study for my MBA. It's a long story which you can find in a stickied thread in Share your GMAT experience (I think its called "insipirational experience herein or something similar) but long and short of it - I didn't feel I had a choice given the hours I worked/commuted - out of the house by 6.30am, back at the house at 10 or 11pm, I usually couldn't stay awake for more than 30 minutes. 

It was a hard choice though - theres no question that moving jobs at this stage hurt my application - but in a sense, I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't moved, I would never have finished the GMAT (in which case, I would never get into an MBA program anyway) and theres no way I could ever have pulled a 730. But... it was also a calculated move in a sense because I knew that I could find work quickly (which I did) - there's not even a gap in my resume. 

The difference was that the new job didn't require me to put in 90 hours a week.

subhen · Answer

Well my schedule is not that bad eventhough I also work full time. But indeed it is difficult to study after coming from work. As many have already mentioned, when preparing for GMAT one learns one of the first principles of personal management i.e. time management. I appeared GMAT quiet sometime back and need to appear again. It has taken me over an year to motivate myself to sit for GMAT again. Infact I was much better off previously when I had no child. Now with a 1 year old daughter it is all the more challenging, however it is not impossible. GMAT preparation requires a lot of mental strenght, determination, self descipline and perseverance. If not anything else you will come out of this exercise gaining from the experience in the above.

sng · Answer

Yes it is hard to find time and motivate myself sometimes. But I do really enjoy this. After all, this is the path I chose. I'd like to say we're the fortunate ones here. Many people can't even afford this type of time and money. Not to mention the expenses we all have to bear once we are accepted to the B schools.
Even if I study only a little a day, it's still rewarding. I know I am getting one step closer to my goal each day.

Good luck everyone.

lfox2 · Answer

I work full-time, and do not have the energy to study after 12 hours at work. I study for 1 hour most morings in the week, instead of in the evening, this means that my morning energy is focused on the study. It depends if you are an evening or morning person. 

I would say only take the GMAT when you are ready, I have taken it a few times, and I have never been quite ready (not enough study!), which means maybe I will take it one more time!

uguleri · Answer

Same is the case here.I am workin full time in a software company.Along with work and preperation pressures, I have been feeling down because of the wories about my application.

.A software engineer from India with 3+ years of experience,how can he prove himself different from others when there are so many competitors with same profile and even better. I do not know how to calculate GPA from my 67.32% in Bachelors degree. All these questions not only increase my worries but also hamper my progress towards a good score. I have read in various articles that when u r preparing for a test, a time comes when ur performance in the sample tests starts deteriorating.And after that it again improves.So this thought sometimes gives me some motivation to continue with my struggle. I have been preparing since May this year and have already taken a date in Sept. I hope to overcome all these worries before the test. :boxer

-Guleri

Futuristic · Answer

working full time...make that over full time!

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How many of you work full-time and are preparing for GMAT?

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