Study online: How to make a career change into a reality

Jacob Smith

Master of Teaching (Primary) online student at University of New England

Studying online is an increasingly popular choice for students who also have family and work commitments to juggle. But what makes someone like Jacob Smith decide to make the plunge back into study when he already had so much going on?

Jacob dreamed of becoming a teacher at school. However, a combination of good marks and youthful adventure led him out of his hometown of Bathurst into a Commerce/Law degree at the University of Wollongong.

He graduated and took fun jobs for Hockey NSW and Australian Sailing, but a later role as a compliance consultant at a big accounting firm was less fun. It took a further five years and a pandemic for Jacob to finally make the move to teaching.

'I quite enjoyed my most recent role in compliance for a private health insurer. However, during COVID it became clear that I wanted to change careers,' he says.

Jacob's wife Madi was the deciding factor. She'd already made the switch from a successful law career to become a high school teacher.

'She loved it. Seeing what she was doing, I knew I’d love it too,' says Jacob.

Why Jacob chose online study for his postgrad degree

While the decision to change careers was exciting, it presented a few practical challenges for Jacob.

'My wife and I were in the position where we had to work full-time, had two young kids and had knocked down our house,' he says.

Those commitments meant that part-time study was the only option, preferably with 100 per cent online learning to avoid a campus commute.

Cost was another factor. Jacob learned that getting a Commonwealth-supported place (CSP) would be the most affordable option. CSP courses are subsidised by the Australian Government, so Jacob added this criterion to his search to save money on fees.

He applied for two online teaching masters degrees with CSP fees and was accepted to both of them, taking up an offer at the University of New England (UNE).

Advice for career changers

While many of us harbour dreams to change careers, how do those juggling work and family commitments make it happen?

'Studying starts after the kids go to bed,' Jacob says. 'I work for an hour or two each night to get through assignments.'

Now in the final two months of his course, Jacob describes his workload of two subjects a trimester as 'comfortable', allowing him to care for his two children and keep up with full-time work as a casual teacher.

Although UNE offers flexible deadlines for its assignments, Jacob's steady pace has meant that he hasn't needed to use that option to date.

'I'm very satisfied that I get to work in an interesting and diverse job that helps develop young kids,' says Jacob. 'Having 12 weeks' holidays is great too!'

'Just take the plunge; I'm very glad that I did,' he says.