With all bravado and gusto I applied to do a full time Masters thinking I can just absolutely blast it for the year, and work it out from there. Literally ever since I have been accepted, I have been having these doubts in my mind whether or not doing a full time masters whilst trying to look for a part time job is just too much. Having said that, I am not the most confident of people, and this could just be my crappy self esteem and slight anxiety kicking in.

The reason why I applied for full time masters is because I really don't have time on my side - I'm in my early 30s, I graduated seven years ago and have had nothing but a list full of retail jobs as work experience since. I've recently had to move back into my parents house as I lost my job due to cut backs, and where as they are incredibly supportive of whatever I want to do and enjoy the extra set of hands to help with my disabled brother, I really REALLY do not want to be spending years upon years back in my parents house like some sort of man child (sorry if that applies to certain people, its just not for me).

Here is the kicker too - I will be commuting to University (roughly 80 minutes on the train each way), so thats already chipping into the time that I could be spending working or studying.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Especially with needing to take on a part time job (10 hours would be sufficient) - or is it definitely a viable path to take? Can I (to quote what I said earlier), just absolutely blast it?

Plenty of people have done degrees and masters while working part-time. I have also seen many of them succeed, so things aren't stacked against you. Like everyone you are going to have to manage your time well and you will have to prioritise certain things. The masters can be a chance to start over and your previous history will not affect you as long as you put the effort in.

Also can you not read on the train? I find I can focus on certain activities better on the bus as there are less distractions. So i think you should focus on finding something productive you can do on the train.

You really need to be registered as a full time student in order to get things like rail discounts. If only part time you wouldn't qualify for this.

I'm just about to take a masters as well, and I'll be working part-time in retail. Whenever I've asked people about it, most people say that working up to about 16 hours a week whilst doing a full-time masters is fine, and I found a few who worked 3 days a week and were still fine. It takes determination, but definitely possible! Studying and working will look good on your CV as well, as it shows that you have good time management skills. And like rewt said, use the train journeys as an opportunity to study, I used to study on the train all the time at undergrad and done some of my best work. Good luck! :)