Learn and earn: How you can study housing whilst earning at home

Whether you work in the housing sector or not, taking on the extra workload of studying for a qualification while working full time can be challenging. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for it—you just need to ensure you’re fully prepared before you start. The CIH Housing Academy is here to help, so we’ve come up with some tips to get the most out of working and studying at the same time. 

Organise your time 

Possibly the most important piece of advice we can give is to plan your time. It might feel counterproductive to spend a few hours going over your schedule instead of getting on and studying, but figuring out a detailed plan that works will save you time in the future. Block out the non-negotiables like work, family time, and assignment deadlines first, then pencil in some study sessions. Depending on the level of your qualification, your recommended weekly study hours will be different, so make sure you’re setting out a realistic amount of time for this. At the CIH Housing Academy we also offer live Study Skills support sessions, usually over lunchtime, on topics such as returning to study and time management, which will help you stay organised. 

As well as adding everything into your calendar, it’s important to leave some empty space. If you’re a housing professional, you’ll likely sometimes need to decompress from the everyday stresses of your day job, and time spent resting and recharging is just as valuable as time spent working. Having a bit of free time here and there also means you can move your study sessions around when life gets in the way of your schedule. 

Get clear on your priorities 

As a busy professional also studying a housing qualification, there’ll probably always be tasks that need doing in one area of your life or another. To prevent getting overwhelmed, it can help to be clear on what takes priority. This will be completely individual to you, but it might mean making sacrifices in less essential areas. If you’re struggling to focus on one thing at a time, try assigning different tasks to different locations. For example, you could set a boundary that you’ll only do your job when you’re in the office instead of coming home and working overtime on your laptop, or you might decide to only study at the library so you can focus on housework and family time when you’re at home.  

Making study part of your existing daily routine can also be helpful, whether that’s listening to the CIH Podcast in the car or reading through pages from our Knowledge Hub while you’re on the train.  

Speak to your employer  

Achieving a qualification is a brilliant personal milestone, but it’s also great for your employer. For housing providers in England, it might be an integral part of their plan to meet the Competence and Conduct Standard requirements, and for employers in other nations, it’s a chance to boost the professionalism of their workforce. Be transparent with your employer about your needs while studying—they’ll want you to succeed as much as you do. 

Your manager or HR department might be able to help you out with adjusting your hours if you find it easier to study at certain times of day—you might even have set aside CPD hours to take advantage of. 

Speak to the CIH Housing Academy support team 

As your qualification study centre, we want to make the learning process as smooth as possible. You can contact our learner support team about any reasonable adjustments you need, or with any other queries you have about studying with us while you work. 

If it’s study advice you’re after, have a read through the blogs and articles for support on how to make the most of your qualification, as well as stories from those who’ve already achieved qualifications with us.  

Studying and working simultaneously can be hard, but the rewards make it completely worth it. As long as you plan your time out properly, take breaks when you need them, and lean on your employer and study centre for support, you’ll be fine. To learn more about our qualifications, view our listing page here.