Open Uni. Clever enough?

El_Rey

bristol_pilot wrote: »

By all means go for it for your own satisfaction, but don't expect PPE from the Open University to be useful in the job market.

Which degrees from OU would be useful in the job market?

vaporate

bristol_pilot wrote: »

By all means go for it for your own satisfaction, but don't expect PPE from the Open University to be useful in the job market.

Stupid comment.

It can only help, but I have to say it is pricey for what it is, any degree even.

JOHN1982

lfcsja wrote:

Roughly how many hours per week are needed to complete a 60 point course?

The OU state that;

Credit points measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a study programme or qualification – one credit point represents about 10 hours of study. At the OU, you’ll be awarded credit points after you have successfully completed a course. For example, if you study a 60-point course and successfully pass it, you will be awarded the full 60 points, never fewer than this. This usually represents 600 hours of study over 9 months, which is equivalent to about 16 hours per week.

(From here)

Sammyantha wrote:

Unless you have the spare cash and are doing it purely out of interest, I wouldn't recommend a degree. Just a waste of money. Nothing to do with your level of intelligence though - a degree does not constitute IQ

bristol_pilot wrote:

By all means go for it for your own satisfaction, but don't expect PPE from the Open University to be useful in the job market.

I'm just wondering if these comments come from personal experience?

The OP hasn't expressed that he wants the degree for any job prospects.

If I were interviewing candidates for a job and had two people with identical experience who both interviewed really well, but one of them had displayed the discipline to gain an OU degree I know which I'd end up picking. It shows you possess a massive range of skills, not just those of the degree you've picked either.

What if a company is only looking to interview graduates?

Going through a 'proper' university as a 'proper' student for certain degrees nowadays is a waste of money.

As you're paying for it as you go along I've never thought of the cost. With a OUSBA account you can pay monthly, so no student debt! :T

bristol_pilot

I recruit graduates, so I do know what I'm talking about. Open Uni are proper academic degrees and ought to be highly regarded by employers but the fact is they are not. I have known absolutely loads of people doing support type roles who have done Open University degrees on their own initiative thinking that they will then be promoted to professional-level jobs etc at work - without exception, that has not happened. They stay exactly where they are. Employers simply do not want late starters who suddenly decide to do a degree in their 30s or 40s.

There are no jobs in PPE because it qualifies you to do absolutely nothing - unless you went to Oxbridge, when it is the fact you went to Oxbridge that gets you a top job rather than the subject studied.

It is the easiest thing in the world to advise someone on a forum to 'go for it', especially for someone with no knowledge of the graduate employment market, but it could be setting up the OP for a disappointment to raise false hopes.

If you want to do a degree mid-career and make it count job-wise, it is essential to be employer-sponsored - with a commitment to a promotion on completeion of the degree. The subject studied will therefore be something of relevance to that employer. Not many employers will do that these days, but the OP may be lucky.

Sammyantha

JOHN1982 wrote: »

The OU state that;
(From here)





I'm just wondering if these comments come from personal experience?

The OP hasn't expressed that he wants the degree for any job prospects.

If I were interviewing candidates for a job and had two people with identical experience who both interviewed really well, but one of them had displayed the discipline to gain an OU degree I know which I'd end up picking. It shows you possess a massive range of skills, not just those of the degree you've picked either.

What if a company is only looking to interview graduates?

Going through a 'proper' university as a 'proper' student for certain degrees nowadays is a waste of money.

As you're paying for it as you go along I've never thought of the cost. With a OUSBA account you can pay monthly, so no student debt! :T

Personal experience in my case. In the 8 years since graduation, my degree has not come in handy in any situation. In the 1 job I went for that asked for a graduate, 2 non-graduates were also offered a position. Every job I have worked in has paid more than the average graduate starting salary.

If your employer requires you to undertake a degree as part of the job, or there are many positions open to that particular degree (i.e. nursing, marine biology etc), or you're rich enough to do it purely out of interest, then a degree is simply not worth it.

15k PLUS worth of debt (a lot more now of course due to the rise in tuition fees), a grand total of around 15 hours spent actually in the classroom/ lecture theatre, no guarantee of a job at the end of it (in fact less jobs now than ever for graduates), competition with better qualified MSC grads for even the most menial tea-boy jobs, and the fact that the majority of grads are not actually working in their chosen field up to 9 months after graduating, makes a degree not only worthless, but a bad investment. Other than one chap who did his computer science degree through his employer, I don't know a single person from my university (Liverpool) that actually uses their degree almost 10 years on! Those earning good salaries are managers (having worked their way up in unskilled jobs), or in sales & recruitment (average salaries 17 - 28k pa, neither of which require a degree).

The OU of course is somewhat different in that you can pay and learn at a rate which is flexible. However, I stand by my assertion that a degree is not "needed". Employers value experience, work ethic, and willingness to learn above anything else.

I'm not knocking degrees done out of interest or employer request, just those that are forced upon us by popular opinion, in the misguided hope that it will improve job prospects.

eamon

The OU has many "named" degrees as well as "open" degrees. But like all degrees from all Universities they will in themselves not get you a job/career. Bristol_pilot is mostly correct in so far as graduate employers are also looking primarily at the 21 to 24 yo range. Just the right age to be further trained and groomed. The typical OU graduate will likely be 35+. On the other hand enlightened employers will see a mature person that is sufficently motivated to juggle full time work, childcare, pay bills, study, perform to deadlines etc.

ceridwen

Uncertain wrote: »

For science subjects at least the OU has some excellent online self assessment tests. These coupled with their questionnaire about your available study time give you a good idea about what level of course you can reasonably consider.

I assume they have something similar for arts and humanities.

That sounds like a good practical "whether its possible or no" suggestion:)

Does anyone have any useful links to the self-assessment tests generally?

....Come to think of it - it would also be useful to know what year these self-assessment tests were set ....just I know that personally I would want to know a "genuine" idea as to whether I was up to standard (ie the standard that would have been expected BEFORE qualifications got "dumbed down"). Thats just my own personal thing - ie I would want to know whether I would have "passed" okay back in the 1970s or would only achieve a 2010 level pass or....perish the thought...no darn pass at all....

...but, like I said, it is a personal thing there that I would want proof that I was "up to standard" in any era...and that may not be a concern to anyone else...

*************************

THE thing to bear in mind - for anyone - when it comes to whether to do a course of study like this is whether one is the sort of person that likes "study for study's sake" (in which case - go for it - as the experience of itself will be enjoyable/valuable) OR in the category of people who only ever do something because there is a good chance that it will prove useful (in which case a totally different decision might be reached). We will all have our bias as to what advice we give on this based on what sort of person we personally are in this respect - so my own bias is that I dont do things unless there is the good chance they will prove useful. But a "natural academic" will give totally the opposite advice...