How much homework per day, realistically?

Realistically 1 to 2 hours a day at the lower levels, 2 to 3 at the higher ones, plus more before an exam week. A remote job alongside is doable but tighter than most people plan for.

What the day actually looks like at level 1 to 2:

- 4 hours of class
- 30 to 60 minutes of workbook and written homework
- 30 minutes of vocabulary, which is the part people skip and then regret
- A short weekly quiz to prepare for

At levels 3 and up the homework shifts to writing assignments, presentations and reading, and 2 to 3 hours is normal. Level 5 and 6 add essays.

So the honest weekly total: about 20 hours of class plus 10 to 15 hours of work. That is a 30 to 35 hour week before you do anything else.

On the remote job, three practical points:

1. Hours are the easy part. A 20-hour-a-week remote job fits into afternoons and evenings if your class is in the morning. It is a full schedule but many students do it.

2. Time zones are the hard part. If your employer is in Europe, their working day starts as your class ends — that works well. If they are in North America, their day starts around your midnight, which is where this falls apart. Check the overlap before committing.

3. Energy is the part nobody plans for. Learning a language full time is genuinely tiring in a way that surprises people, and month one is the worst of it. Arrange with your employer to start light for the first three or four weeks rather than at full load.

Also worth reading the separate question about the legal side of remote work on a D-4 before you build a plan on it — the hours question and the visa question are different questions.

Students who make this work usually protect one weekday evening and one weekend day completely. Those who work every available hour tend to hit the wall around week six.