Starting either an OU/college course without knowing future career plans.

El_Rey

I am currently considering a return to education either at my local college or through OU. My problem is I have no idea what sort of career I would like to have which makes choosing a suitable course difficult.

Another concern I have regarding a return to education is completing a course and then finding that there are limited/ no job opportunities available in my chosen sector.

Has anyone ever been in a similar situation? Can anyone offer any advice?

lisamummytoarchieplusbump

im in the same situation as you, i am thinking of going to college but have no idea what course i want to study yet.

if you go on direct. gov and look at the education bit there is a careers advice page and you can book and appointment of speak on the phone and they will discuss your interests and skills and give you options. there is also a questionaire that is meant to help pin point a suitable career for you but when i done it, it came up a list of loads of jobs that was completely different so didnt really help me decide. but might give you inspiration

heres a link for the site. if you scroll down that page theres a link called stamford test which is the questionare thing. but theres another one floating about on there but i cant remember where it is a i was clicking backwards and forwards on that site.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/DecidingWhereToStudy/DG_4017740

hope it helps

lisa

El_Rey

Thanks Lisa.

Good luck, I hope you find what you want.

brians_daughter

what type of course are you looking to do? a degree or a levels etc?
I would be looking at what experience i have already, what i enjoy doing and then making some informed choices on economy guestimates. ie if research shows in x years there will be a shortage of 'whatever' can you see yourself persuing that career? is there a general course ie english, maths etc that will allow you to do this? By doing english or a simular subject you are not limiting your choices but obviously if you went and did a plastering course then you are stuck with plastering lol!

If you have no idea where you want to be then i would speak to the careers team at your college they will help, if they can't they can put you in touch with ppl who can

El_Rey

brians_daughter wrote: »

what type of course are you looking to do? a degree or a levels etc?
I would be looking at what experience i have already, what i enjoy doing and then making some informed choices on economy guestimates. ie if research shows in x years there will be a shortage of 'whatever' can you see yourself persuing that career? is there a general course ie english, maths etc that will allow you to do this? By doing english or a simular subject you are not limiting your choices but obviously if you went and did a plastering course then you are stuck with plastering lol!

If you have no idea where you want to be then i would speak to the careers team at your college they will help, if they can't they can put you in touch with ppl who can

Do you know the best place to find out about economy guestimates?

brians_daughter

lol, there are lots of indexes out there that show shortages or projected shortages within industries within the next x years. For example 3 years ago we knew that RE teachers were in short supply- to compensate this some uni's offered special incentives to steer ppl into that field - such as automatic acceptance onto PGCE courses via partner colleges and unis upon completion of certian religion based degrees.

I have somewhere some releases of info re shortages, i will try and hunt it off my works laptop and post / PM to you.

It is always worth once you have found something you may be interested in doing actually picking up the telephone and speaking to ppl in that profession and the professional bodies associated with that industry for help advice.

Again local unis can offer advice as to what shortages we are facing esp in your local area.

Oldernotwiser

lisamummytoarchieplusbump wrote: »

im in the same situation as you, i am thinking of going to college but have no idea what course i want to study yet.

if you go on direct. gov and look at the education bit there is a careers advice page and you can book and appointment of speak on the phone and they will discuss your interests and skills and give you options. there is also a questionaire that is meant to help pin point a suitable career for you but when i done it, it came up a list of loads of jobs that was completely different so didnt really help me decide. but might give you inspiration

heres a link for the site. if you scroll down that page theres a link called stamford test which is the questionare thing. but theres another one floating about on there but i cant remember where it is a i was clicking backwards and forwards on that site.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/DecidingWhereToStudy/DG_4017740

hope it helps

lisa

You can also book a face to face interview with a Nextstep Careers Adviser.

El_Rey

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Brians daughter - If you could PM me that stuff I would really appreciate it.

Melissa22_Mum

Hi,

I've just finished a 30 point course with the OU (don't know the result yet though ) Anyhow, I've also completed and passed (yey) 2 10 point courses, all of which were roughly to do with the environment. I'd have loved to be an environmental health officer but you need all sorts of A levels and qualifications, I just know I don't have the inclination quite honestly to do as I know I'll get bored and want to leave it.
(I'm 26 by the way with a 4 year old and live with parents) The OU course was free and they can even pay for a massive chunk of the fees even if your on a high wage .

I've also done a course and I'm expecting another soon with vision 2 learn, online courses that are free you can even do them if you are employed to supplement your job. I did Hairdressing at college and passed GNVQ2 in that but I don't want to do it as a career. ---Sounding a bit like a CV here lol.

Anyway, I digress. I'm doing an open degree with OU so you can do all types of courses and they can count towards it. This means you can do courses that interest you whilst not being tied down to a set syllabus. Of course there are a good few hundred courses you can choose from but I'd start with what interests you first. If you choose to go with the OU you've got flexibilitywith your learning and there's great support from other learners to. (Sorry it now sounds like an advert as well :rolleyes:)

Well, It came out a little more long winded than I expected but then again my posts always are

Hope my waffling helps a little!

xx

angel13

just go for a course you will be interested in and enjoy. i have a computing and maths degree which i got becuase at that time there was a huge shortfall in computing/business analysts especially women. well i was an analyst but now thats not a full time career option as things can change so quickly.

lisamummytoarchieplusbump

hi melissa im interested in doing a science type course from the OU.

i was looking on the website but was getting confused about all the info.

im on benefits so is all the courses free or just selected ones or just discounted on cetain ones?

im going to do basic ones with lifeline which are free and
was suggested by the job center, ie first aid, health and safety.

i will give vision to learn a look aswell

thanks lisa