P/T work or benefits

beecher2

Ok, just double check there's no need for a PG qualification. There are quite a few history type jobs I'd like to do but my PG is in information and library studies and it is surprising how specific the jobs can be, ie I couldn't do museum or archive work without further qualifications.

missbiggles1

Cate1976 wrote: »

Due to finances, I need to be studying my degree full time to get the finance to do it. OU isn't possible. To get to Access course, I'm probably going to borrow Mum's car or use the bus, there is a service from where college is to a town 10 miles away that runs till late at night. From where I live, I can get bus to uni and it drops off at the end of the road leading to uni. Last bus at night leaves the city uni is in at around 7pm so that's not a problem. I've researched it & there are jobs available in the career I want to do.

My husband being carer to our daughter & me looking for work is something we are considering doing. If I see a job advertised that fits my skills & doesn't clash with college hours then I will apply for it but no guarantees I'd get it as I do struggle with interviews. It's worth mentioning that I do have Asperger's Syndrome, although it's relatively mild, it does impact on interview skills. It has been suggested that I should apply for PIP but I'm reluctant as that means getting more money from the state. If I go to uni & get a job afterwards, then I'll not only be repaying the student finance but would also via taxes be repaying what we've received in benefits in recent years. If I don't go to uni, then I'd be stuck in minimum wage 0 hour contract jobs the rest of my working life & I'd rather get my degree & earn enough to repay what we've received in benefits over the years.

Where I live there's an organisation that helps people with Asperger's in lots of things including interview skills & the uni I want to go to has a lot of support available as well.

Could I just ask what that job is?

tomtontom

You need to stop considering and start doing. If you can borrow the car for college surely you can do the same for work.

Funding is available for OU - or is the issue that you'll get more money from studying full time?

beecher2

I don't know what the Careers Service is like where you live, but might be worth speaking to them regarding the career you're interested in. Maybe they would know of a different path you can take.

shegirl

Cate1976 wrote: »

Due to finances, I need to be studying my degree full time to get the finance to do it. OU isn't possible. To get to Access course, I'm probably going to borrow Mum's car or use the bus, there is a service from where college is to a town 10 miles away that runs till late at night. From where I live, I can get bus to uni and it drops off at the end of the road leading to uni. Last bus at night leaves the city uni is in at around 7pm so that's not a problem. I've researched it & there are jobs available in the career I want to do.

My husband being carer to our daughter & me looking for work is something we are considering doing. If I see a job advertised that fits my skills & doesn't clash with college hours then I will apply for it but no guarantees I'd get it as I do struggle with interviews. It's worth mentioning that I do have Asperger's Syndrome, although it's relatively mild, it does impact on interview skills. It has been suggested that I should apply for PIP but I'm reluctant as that means getting more money from the state. If I go to uni & get a job afterwards, then I'll not only be repaying the student finance but would also via taxes be repaying what we've received in benefits in recent years. If I don't go to uni, then I'd be stuck in minimum wage 0 hour contract jobs the rest of my working life & I'd rather get my degree & earn enough to repay what we've received in benefits over the years.

Where I live there's an organisation that helps people with Asperger's in lots of things including interview skills & the uni I want to go to has a lot of support available as well.

You can get funding for OU, obviously it only relates to the course itself rather than giving you money to live on like you can get at a brick uni. Is this why you are choosing a brick uni? Sounds daft to me.


Why not go with OU, you then also won't need to do the access course, just get straight on with the degree even if it does take a bit longer part time.


It also then frees up your time and allows better working options and the ability to support yourself instead. Don't be disillusioned that you'll be paying all your benefits back in taxes!


I'll also add that if there is 'no guarantee' of getting a job due to Aspergers and interview skills then that will apply after you have your degree too..If you want to improve those skills you do not need to go to a brick uni to do it

PlymouthMaid

I really think that your husband needs to start improving his skills as an adult with Entry Level English and Maths is functioning at a level lower than most Primary school kids. Suggest he works though stuff on BBC Bitesize and then perhaps approaches a training provider as there is a lot of funding for adults without grade C equivalent qualifications.

Gigglepig

Cate1976 wrote: »

We live in a rural area & he doesn't drive, buses to places out of town are daytime only so he really needs something within walking or cycling distance. He doesn't have GCSE's either but does have Entry Level Maths & English, think they're equivalent to Grade E at GCSE. Our local Tesco was advertising jobs recently for a variety of roles & every single one wanted GCSE English & Maths at grade C. I'm doing Access course in September which will be 15/16 hours week including private study, maybe more. We are going to look for job with more hours for him and I'm planning on going to uni in 2017, career I want to get into has opportunities locally & I have driving licence.

All of these problems can be fixed.
Sounds like he needs to learn to drive, and start studying in his spare time to gain some qualifications.
Have you considered moving to somewhere else with more jobs he could walk, cycle or take the bus to?

Cate1976

Thanks for all the comments. I'm not prepared to put on a public forum the name of the town I live in, if anyone guesses from the info in this post, i'm ok to disclose via pm.

He can't learn to drive as his back gives him sudden pains which go down his legs and cause him to collapse. He shouldn't really be going back to work but wants to at least try it.

The problem with OU is that even if my husband is carer for our daughter who's 5 (6 in December) & claims Income Support top up, there's a limit on how many hours a week I can study & OU module at 20 hours a week is over the 15/16 I'm allowed to do even though I'm the partner of the claimant. carer's Allowance which i'm currently getting, the limit is 21 hours a week including both class time & private study.

Also, the uni I want to go to has modules which'll give me experience in the area I want to get into. There are roles within them that I can get into with BA Hons. The areas I'm most interested in are social history based especially Historical research, working in Public Records Office or similar, the eventual goal is archivist, or I'm also very interested in the archeological/landscape area. I was at cadbury Research Library last month looking at some things and asked the lady who I was giving the requests for stuff to about qualifications & she said that to do the retrieval I can do that with BA Hons. The plan is to get my degree, if they're still available when I'm in the relevant years, here's the details of the modules I'd do to gain work experience:

HERITAGE AND PUBLIC HISTORY

Public history is history in the public sphere, whether in museums and galleries, heritage sites and historic houses, radio and television broadcasting, film, popular history books, or public policy within government. The central challenge and task of public history is making history relevant and accessible to its audience of people outside academia, whilst adhering to an academically credible historical method. This module explores the theory and practice of public history in the heritage sector. The module considers questions such as, how is the past used? What is authenticity? Who 'owns' historic sites? The module also offers the opportunity for undergraduates to work on a heritage project with a local heritage partner - the nature of this project varies each year depending on the availability of such partnership opportunities. PLEASE NOTE: The availability of places with partners this year means that the module will be limited to twelve undergraduate places. All students on the module will be required to engage in preparatory reading and writing over the course of the summer break.

FIELDWORK IN LANDSCAPE HISTORY

The field course builds on the landscape archaeology units to provide forty hours of practical instruction in the field. The field course runs for one week in June, concentrating on the recording and analysis of archaeological earthworks, buildings and historic landscapes. Assessment will take the form of a short report and an extended project.

WORKING IN THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT

This module will provide students with the opportunity to undertake a work placement with an employer working in the historic environment sector. A number of placements based on specific projects will be arranged with host organisations, and students will choose their placement from these options. Every student will be expected to attend an informal interview with their host organisation prior to starting their placement. Alternatively, a student may arrange their own work placement but this must be approved in advance by the module organisers. Past placements have been hosted by the National Trust, Norfolk Historic Environment Service, Suffolk County Council and the Peak District National Park Authority. Placements must be undertaken between June and December, and will be followed up by a series of practical seminars in the spring semester. Please note that enrolment on this module will only be confirmed after a short interview with the module organisers.

re my interview skills, I'll be getting help I need via the Asperger's organisation in my county & also the uni will be able to help as well.

For where I could actually work after graduating, where I live I've got the city 25 miles east from where I live, there's a very big town 22ish miles North West of where I live. The absolut furthest if the job was well eneough paid is Peterborough or possibly Cambridge but it'd depend on what times I'd be starting work. There's a town 17/18 miles south of where I live which has people living in it who commute to London by train each day but that would be too far for me.
For applying for jobs now, the furthest I'd consider mainly due to transport costs would be either the city or the town North west from us.

As to how to deal with the short term, the suggestion of my husband being our daughter's carer, claiming Income Support top up and me looking for at least part time work is something we'll talk about if he finds that his back isn't up for him working. The adjustments work have made are that he doesn't have to move furmiture but still has to fill the machine he uses for scrubbing floors, the tank holds 15 litres and a litre of water weighs 1kg, works physio has advised he doesn't lift anything heavier than 7-10kgs. If he lifts our 22 month old who weighs 12kg, he knows about it afterwards.

I'll ask at my interview for Access course about careers advice.

re my husband doing further study, he already has Entry 1 in English which is equivalent to Grade E GCSE. He wanted to do the next one up which is equivalent to grade C but was told his reading isnb't good enough and Adult Education can't give him 1-1 to help him. he applied to do the Entry Maths that's equivalent to GCSE grade C at the college in the city but when they assessed him, they said his reading wasn't good enough and they couldn't provide 1-1 either.

We're not scroungers so if it's come across that we are, then I apologise. The main reason for me going to uni is to gain the qualification which'll get me into the career that not only is what I'm passionate about but also matches the things I'm good at.

gunsandbanjos

I'm sure if you can get into uni to do a BA you can teach your husband to read.

missbiggles1

Cate1976 wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments. I'm not prepared to put on a public forum the name of the town I live in, if anyone guesses from the info in this post, i'm ok to disclose via pm.

He can't learn to drive as his back gives him sudden pains which go down his legs and cause him to collapse. He shouldn't really be going back to work but wants to at least try it.

The problem with OU is that even if my husband is carer for our daughter who's 5 (6 in December) & claims Income Support top up, there's a limit on how many hours a week I can study & OU module at 20 hours a week is over the 15/16 I'm allowed to do even though I'm the partner of the claimant. carer's Allowance which i'm currently getting, the limit is 21 hours a week including both class time & private study.

Also, the uni I want to go to has modules which'll give me experience in the area I want to get into. There are roles within them that I can get into with BA Hons. The areas I'm most interested in are social history based especially Historical research, working in Public Records Office or similar, the eventual goal is archivist, or I'm also very interested in the archeological/landscape area. I was at cadbury Research Library last month looking at some things and asked the lady who I was giving the requests for stuff to about qualifications & she said that to do the retrieval I can do that with BA Hons. The plan is to get my degree, if they're still available when I'm in the relevant years, here's the details of the modules I'd do to gain work experience:

HERITAGE AND PUBLIC HISTORY

Public history is history in the public sphere, whether in museums and galleries, heritage sites and historic houses, radio and television broadcasting, film, popular history books, or public policy within government. The central challenge and task of public history is making history relevant and accessible to its audience of people outside academia, whilst adhering to an academically credible historical method. This module explores the theory and practice of public history in the heritage sector. The module considers questions such as, how is the past used? What is authenticity? Who 'owns' historic sites? The module also offers the opportunity for undergraduates to work on a heritage project with a local heritage partner - the nature of this project varies each year depending on the availability of such partnership opportunities. PLEASE NOTE: The availability of places with partners this year means that the module will be limited to twelve undergraduate places. All students on the module will be required to engage in preparatory reading and writing over the course of the summer break.

FIELDWORK IN LANDSCAPE HISTORY

The field course builds on the landscape archaeology units to provide forty hours of practical instruction in the field. The field course runs for one week in June, concentrating on the recording and analysis of archaeological earthworks, buildings and historic landscapes. Assessment will take the form of a short report and an extended project.

WORKING IN THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT

This module will provide students with the opportunity to undertake a work placement with an employer working in the historic environment sector. A number of placements based on specific projects will be arranged with host organisations, and students will choose their placement from these options. Every student will be expected to attend an informal interview with their host organisation prior to starting their placement. Alternatively, a student may arrange their own work placement but this must be approved in advance by the module organisers. Past placements have been hosted by the National Trust, Norfolk Historic Environment Service, Suffolk County Council and the Peak District National Park Authority. Placements must be undertaken between June and December, and will be followed up by a series of practical seminars in the spring semester. Please note that enrolment on this module will only be confirmed after a short interview with the module organisers.

re my interview skills, I'll be getting help I need via the Asperger's organisation in my county & also the uni will be able to help as well.

For where I could actually work after graduating, where I live I've got the city 25 miles east from where I live, there's a very big town 22ish miles North West of where I live. The absolut furthest if the job was well eneough paid is Peterborough or possibly Cambridge but it'd depend on what times I'd be starting work. There's a town 17/18 miles south of where I live which has people living in it who commute to London by train each day but that would be too far for me.
For applying for jobs now, the furthest I'd consider mainly due to transport costs would be either the city or the town North west from us.

As to how to deal with the short term, the suggestion of my husband being our daughter's carer, claiming Income Support top up and me looking for at least part time work is something we'll talk about if he finds that his back isn't up for him working. The adjustments work have made are that he doesn't have to move furmiture but still has to fill the machine he uses for scrubbing floors, the tank holds 15 litres and a litre of water weighs 1kg, works physio has advised he doesn't lift anything heavier than 7-10kgs. If he lifts our 22 month old who weighs 12kg, he knows about it afterwards.

I'll ask at my interview for Access course about careers advice.

re my husband doing further study, he already has Entry 1 in English which is equivalent to Grade E GCSE. He wanted to do the next one up which is equivalent to grade C but was told his reading isnb't good enough and Adult Education can't give him 1-1 to help him. he applied to do the Entry Maths that's equivalent to GCSE grade C at the college in the city but when they assessed him, they said his reading wasn't good enough and they couldn't provide 1-1 either.

We're not scroungers so if it's come across that we are, then I apologise. The main reason for me going to uni is to gain the qualification which'll get me into the career that not only is what I'm passionate about but also matches the things I'm good at.

I'm so sorry to say this but you really need to look at wider options for careers as yours is going to be incredibly difficult to achieve, particularly given the disadvantages you already have.

In your position, if you want to do degree level study to gain a decent job, you really need to be doing a vocational degree with defined career pathways rather than the unrealistic route you're looking at currently.

I'd get some unbiased career guidance (not the college!) before you invest 4 years of your time and energy into your current plans. https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

Apologies again.:)

ETA

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/archivist_entry_requirements.htm