This was a little crazy.
I’ve recently gone through some challenging six months, that involved 70 hour workweeks with pretty much no days off. I would like to share some lessons learned and encourage people that are considering to change careers to do so. It is absolutely possible to develop new skills in your after-work hours. You just need to be properly prepared.
I am currently an IB Math and Business Teacher and I put around 40 hours per week in my job. That involves creating class work, creating exams and checking them, checking home work and maintaining regular contact with the parents of my students. In the past six months I completed a degree in Data Science offered by the tech education company Udacity. My target is simple: I want to get in the machine learning space, and eventually in the AI space. I had to study around 4 hours per day, 7 days per week. Roughly speaking, my studying took me 30 hours weekly. This was the first time I put so many working hours in a week. This is what I learned.
It is super hard.
I believe that it is necessary to appreciate the level of sacrifice you have to go through. It was specifically hard for me because I don’t have a technical background. I have a BS Economics and a good math background. However, I had to build my coding from zero. Moreover, when you have to solve and explain math problems all day, your brain does not want numbers again. Well, coding does not make it easier. Hence you must rely on strong will power to push another 4 hours of studying at night after your day job.
You will feel like quitting at least once.
I know I did. Three months into my program I felt like not going on. I just thought my progress was too slow. However, you must be empathetic to your personal situation. If you have to work, you will obviously be more tired than someone who does not have to work. If you are not a computer scientist, you will obviously need more time to put into your coding. Accept your level and push forward.
Enrolling in a paid program matters.
I think that paying for your program is essential. The reason is simple. Money puts pressure on us. When you know that you paid money to complete this degree, then you want your money’s worth. I paid $2000 for this program. I did it on purpose. Otherwise, if I did some free online courses, I would not have sacrificed so much to complete them. Plus, I got to build a solid portfolio of projects. Plus, I got a credential of completing the program.
Taking a nap before studying matters.
This one made a difference. I used to sleep for an hour after work. This way I could reset my mind for what’s coming. Otherwise, I just couldn’t be focused enough. You want quality hours of studying. There is no point to lie to yourself that you are ‘working’ when you’re looking at the clock every 20 minutes. Chill a bit, and then fire.
Do not take too many days off.
Resting matters. But so does momentum. I am a big believer in creating momentum in anything you do in life. That means starting something and not stopping. I only took a day off when I truly needed it. Only when I felt like my thinking was blocked. That’s normal. Brains get tired too. However, I once slipped and didn’t study for 3 or 4 days straight. That was not good. I had just lost my rhythm. Because these were new skills to me, I had to consistently hone them. And I encourage every beginner in the tech field to stay on your craft without breaks until you get to some level of proficiency.
Make every minute count.
If you feel like you’re still not putting in enough hours into your studying, audit your day. Instead of spending the entire hour of lunch break, you can eat for thirty minutes and use the other thirty minutes for yourself. If you’re on youtube for an hour every night, cut it to thirty minutes only. You save the other thirty. By ‘stealing’ time from here and there, you can end up with another 1–2 hours at your disposal.
Customize everything I said to your personal situation.
I should probably say that the person writing this article is a single 25 year-old guy. Hence I do not have a wife and kids to take care of. However, if you do have a family, then things change. And that is something that is absolutely personal. How many hours can you put after work? How can you balance all of this with your family time? I will not dare to say anything about this because I have not lived it myself. I prefer to speak from experience only.
Thank you very much for reading. Hope it was worth your time. Stay blessed :)
P.S. We can connect on Linkedin.
