Finishing my BSc while working - asking help to professors and future academic chances I started my BSc (major Engineering of automatic systems, in a world top-30 college) in 2010 and, one 1.5 years in and around 25% done, I left to cope with growing family problems (multiple severe health issues amongst close relatives). It was not a light decisions, I was part of a great student research team and really loved the people around me, but being left unable to concentrate by all the struggles at home I had no other option.

During the time not in college I founded, along with a friend, a startup company out of personal research in the field of HMIs of systems for beta testing and got acquired  by a much larger company and my product is now in worldwide usage within the parent group.
The deal was/is satisfactory from an economical point of view and getting a technical vision that i truly believed in to grow was a fantastic experience but I started to find myself really disliking the corporate job very when, due to company reorganization, I was moved from product development to a more white collar job.

This experience made me realize that what I love is critical thinking around technical problems, so, around 3 years ago, I re-enrolled in college while holding on to my position in the company; at age 26 a strong economical independence is fundamental to me, especially because it allows me a great independence from the problematic family environment and to make one of my childhood dream -flying gliders- come true.

It has been 3 years of exhausting studying 9pm - 1 am 5 days a week and, slowly, I managed to reach around 80% completion of my degree, even if with a low GPA (22/30) and hopefully I`ll graduate within 1.5 years.

Questions time:

My current objective is to pursue a higher level of education, I`d like to know how does such a twisty academical career affects my chances of getting accepted in a good Master program around 2 years from now.

Moreover, I`d also like to know what is a legitimate level of "help" that I could ask for to a professor of a mandatory course that I am finding extremely difficult (e.g. recommending area of focus and exercises to pay special attention to) , since being unable to attend lessons makes it way harder to know what to focus on while preparing for tests.

Thankyou for your help
I`d like to know how does such a twisty academical career affects my chances of getting accepted in a good Master program around 2 years from now.


Overall, the point of the admissions process is finding candidates who will succeed in higher study.  Your ability to overcome obstacles to get a degree, as well as your success in industry, both provide evidence that you will also be able to tackle a master's program.  Overall, your story is a positive one.  Taking a long time to complete a degree won't matter at all under the circumstances.

If there are some slight negatives to your story, they are:


Low GPA this does matter, but how much is dependent on the institution.  Also, your success in non-academic activities may offset this somewhat.
Will you continue to struggle to have time for your studies in the master's program?  This is something admissions committees may worry about.  If the circumstances that caused difficulty are going to change (for example, you will stop full-time employment in order to get a master's degree, or the family issues have now been resolved), then you should be sure to amke that clear.  



  what is a legitimate level of "help" that I could ask for to a
  professor of a mandatory course that I am finding extremely difficult


There is no harm in asking the questions that you suggest.  Your professor can always say no if they don't want to provide the information.  Also consider simply going to your professor and saying "I'm finding this class extremely difficult, are there any resources I could take advantage of for extra help?"