So after writing in one of my early articles about how once you've found a company that you consider a home that you should invest your time wisely and take advantage of the company's tuition reimbursement benefits, I decided to take my own advice, eat my own dog food if you will. Starting this semester, I enrolled in Drexel's continuing education program for computer science. I thought I would relate some of my experiences in doing this, and juggling work, teaching, and home life.

First, as far as going back to school is concerned, online is the way to go. Blackboard is used to keep track of classes and tests, and it provides a week by week breakdown. Each week module has the lecture, assignment and quiz due for that week. Grading on tests in Blackboard is instantaneous.

You have all week to work on the assignments and have until the day before the next class to complete the quiz. This was great for me because I found that half an hour into the lecture my eyes started to slam shut - even for lectures that I was really interested in. I have the same problem in meetings, I get really drowsy after a half hour. So I was able to break the lecture up into half an hour viewings where I was completely present and really get the most out of it.

That's another reason why online is so useful. There's no way I could block out an additional night or two out of my house. I already teach two nights a week in addition to working full time all day. Two more nights out of the house and I only see my kids on the weekend. But being able to watch the lecture online I could access it when is convenient for me, specifically when my kids are in bed.

What I didn't expect was just the sheer amount of reading that each week would require. I enrolled in two classes, one about micro-controller architecture and the other about western philosophy, and between the two I need to read roughly two hundred to three hundred pages a week. That means I have to fit in reading on the train (instead of napping) and in the evening, every night.

That's not necessarily a bad thing though. At the end of each week I feel like I've squeezed productivity out of almost every last bit of each day. Initially I felt myself rushing, trying to just get through the material as quickly as possible, but I had to remind myself to slow down and savor and absorb what the class was presenting me with. Once I did that I really enjoyed the experience of it.

So while it's something that definitely takes commitment to do, if your company provides the benefit and you feel you've found a home that you can invest time into, I absolutely recommend taking the time to do it.

Read more from Tom Barker.