DESPITE her qualms about taking on too much, Mrs Joanne Yeo (main head picture) went ahead and signed up for a part-time degree course.

For the past year and a half, she has been balancing work and married life, with her studies at PSB Academy.

And it is all working out well for the 25-year-old human resources training officer.

She said: "I was quite scared initially, thinking how I would manage all this, but I started anyhow.

"It was tough in the beginning but, after a while, I began to cope better."

After graduating from Bishan ITE, with a certificate in business studies, Mrs Yeo started working in human resources.

She was doing various administrative jobs and felt that her career was stagnating after a while.

"I had a feeling that the knowledge I had was getting me nowhere.

"I realised that to become a high-ranking HR professional, I had to expand my knowledge base and acquire a degree."

After two years of working, she decided to pick up where she left off and joined PSB for further education.

"I wanted to do something in HR and PSB offered me the education I desired," she said.

After visiting another institution, Mrs Yeo chose PSB.

"I was impressed with the counselling it offered me.

"It was a hard decision, but the people at PSB sat with me the whole day and helped me pick a course."

Mrs Yeo did a 14-month diploma in human resource management and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Business Studies awarded by Loughborough University, at PSB.

Currently in her first year of the degree programme, she attends classes two to three times a week and juggles studies with her work at the Ascott group.

"It gets tiring, but it brightens your day when you realise that you are doing something you are supposed to do.

"You have work security. You are studying and you can apply what you learn to your work."

And Mrs Yeo is not alone in juggling life's many roles with studying. Yet, difficult as it may sound, many do it.

Mr Lai Keng Yew, who has been teaching part-time degree courses at PSB for the past five years, said: "It can be quite a juggle for some who balance a lot of things at the same time.

"But they come here wanting to learn something that they can relate to their job, so they are very eager to learn."

On an average he sees between 70 and 80 per cent attendance in his classes and is pleased with the performance of the students.

"Despite having so many things on their shoulders, the students do reasonably well and most of them complete the programme on time," said Mr Lai.

Mrs Yeo said that she usually scores As and Bs.

Motivation

Mr Lai pointed out that one of the key factors in pursuing a part-time education is motivation.

"They must stay motivated from within and must have the urge to learn more," he said.

He attributed this to the fact that part-timers have several responsibilities and may get distracted.

However, he said that most students generally maintain a positive attitude towards learning.

"Even if they miss class, they get their friends in class to take notes for them," said Mr Lai.

Mrs Yeo agrees: "All of us are working adults and we understand one another's limitations, so we tend to support one another when in need."

Time management is key, Mr Lai pointed out.

"Students must prioritise, even if it means spending a little less time with friends and family," he said.

For Mrs Yeo, having time for her loved ones was a concern at first.

"With so many things to do, I was spending less time hanging out with my friends and spouse.

"But they understand that it is for my good and don't complain."