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Open University - thoughts on doing a degree mid-life?

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 Escher 22 Oct 2014
I'm shortly to be made redundant and I am not sure what I wish to do in the future but I am at a time in my life where I could do something completely new and much more fulfilling (hopefully).

I did A-levels but chose to work rather than go to University. I wasn't particularly interested in studying then, I am not sure whether I am up to it now and whether I could handle the workload. But I guess if I don't try I'll never know. I didn't find the subjects I studied at school at interesting, I hope I will be much more motivated doing something that interests me (I do have an idea what that will be).

- Anyone done it part time while trying to start a new career (not necessarily in the same area)?
- What is the workload like?
- Can you do this without having an a-level in the same subject?

Not sure what else to ask but I find myself at a crossroads wondering what to do next. If not now then when? I keep asking myself. Any insights gratefully received.
 DaveHK 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:
Not done a degree but did a 60 credit module in History so that I could teach that as well as Geography. It took 6 months.

I was surprised by the workload, not in terms of the amount of reading as you can get by on much less than they suggest but the amount of writing. My 60 credits worked out at about 14,000 words over 6 TMAs (Tutor Marked Assignments) and an end of unit assignment.

I was also surprised by the lack of flexibility within units - you can take as long as you like to do a degree but each individual course needs to be finished by a certain date. You can't postpone them other than for the usual sort of medical / family issues.

I was working full time at the time but I don't have kids so it wasn't massively burdensome.
Post edited at 15:25
 Clarence 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

I did a Humanities degree (heavy on Classics and Archaeology) while re-training in accountancy. It can be done but you have to be prepared to put your social life on hold at times especially when TMA (essays or project work) deadlines loom. I reckon that for a 60 point course over a year I was doing about 2-3 hours a day Monday-Friday plus about six hours on a Sunday. Most of that was reading so if you can speed read you might knock a fair bit off that time. None of the OU courses require any previous qualifications at level 1, you will quickly get up to speed. One thing is vital though, choose something you are really interested in, otherwise the workload and deadlines can become incredibly depressing - you have to have some spark of passion for the subject to get you through the bad days.

What are you thinking of doing?
 Clarence 22 Oct 2014
In reply to DaveHK:

> I was also surprised by the lack of flexibility within units - you can take as long as you like to do a degree but each individual course needs to be finished by a certain date. You can't postpone them other than for the usual sort of medical / family issues.

I don't think that is true, unless they have completely changed their structure since last year. Most courses have a last presentation date but they are usually replaced by a similar course. My first course was A103 Introduction to the Humanities which was replaced by A104 with the same name but updated content. When it came to my degree my A103 pass was fine, it counted the same as A104/A100 etc.
 iksander 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

I occasionally think about this - the issue I come back to is whether I could afford/ stomach to go back to the bottom of the salary ladder. Even Masters level jobs in something "interesting" seem to start at about 1/2 of my current salary. If you can afford the time off, and can afford to pay the premium for doing an interesting job - then I'd say go for it.
OP Escher 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Clarence:

Thanks both. I'd like to study psychology, not for a career but because it interests me. I studied the A-level syllabus when I was at school but I did it on my own and didn't take any exams. A friend was doing it I and read all the materials she got as it was much more interesting than anything I was studying (maths, phys, chem) and I've continued to read a fair bit on the subject since.

I guess doing a foundation course would be a good idea as my ability to be diligent is a bit of an unknown as the last time I studied anything it bored me to tears! But that was a long time ago and I would hope that a subject I was interested in would make me a little harder working.
 Quiddity 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:
The OU psychology course is great - I recently rebooted my career and did an undergraduate degree (PgDip, so just levels 2 and 3) with them. I've since done an MSc elsewhere and am currently doing a PhD in cognitive neuroscience, and think that what I learned on that degree compares favourably with other the degrees that others in my lab and at my uni have done. I highly recommend it. You don't need an A-level in psychology - I didn't have any kind of a psychology background, and started with DSE212 (Exploring Psychology) and was a really good overview of different branches of a very broad subject. I felt it was an ok entry level assuming you already know how to eg. write an academic essay or revise for an exam, if you are not sure about those then starting at level 1 (Discovering Psychology, I think it's called) might be a softer entry level. Most of the modules at even level 2 assume no prior technical knowledge - statistics etc.

The course is quite highly structured and you get a lot of guidance on what you need to read and when. At times I had trouble keeping up with the reading - there can be quite a lot to take in, some of it can be skim read but some of it you need to go through in detail and take notes on to really take it in, which is time-consuming however you do it. You do get some face-to-face tutorial support but I think tutors are quite limited in terms of how much time they can give you - it can feel a bit like you are on your own with it at times. I found the quality of tutors was a bit variable, but think I generally got quite lucky with mine.

At times it is a bit of a grind and you do need to treat it a bit like a job, it helps if you are really into the subject matter. making it all the way through a full bachelor's over eg. six years does take a degree of long-term dedication, I don't know the statistics but get a feeling the dropout rate is quite high.

Sorry I can't comment specifically on the workload, I did mine full time (ie. 2 modules in parallel) over 2 years, which I think is a significantly different experience from doing it part time alongside a full time job - I think the latter is probably harder to maintain momentum and keep life from getting in the way. Why don't you give one module a go and see how you get on?
Post edited at 17:05
OP Escher 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Quiddity:

Thank you. that's very useful, especially your last sentence. What have I got to lose.
 Thirdi 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

> I'm shortly to be made redundant and I am not sure what I wish to do in the future but I am at a time in my life where I could do something completely new and much more fulfilling (hopefully).

I started a part time degree in 2008, whilst working part time. I went to a local college that was affiliated with Liverpool Hope University two evenings a week from 6 - 9pm. The subject that I really wanted to study wasn't available so I opted for something that I had an interest in and hoped would be worthwhile. Within a year of starting it I was made redundant so I was glad at the time that I had started it and hoped that having a degree would be beneficial in pursuing a new career. The bad news is that It hasn't been up to now, but part of the reason for this is that my personal circumstances meant that I couldn't commit to some of the roles that were available to me. I had no family support and was a single mum to two fairly young children. However, I'm still really glad that I did it, and it does feel like a personal achievement and I still hope to utilise it in the future.

> - What is the workload like?

There was a lot of work to do and it seemed relentless at times, I pulled many an all-nighter to get an assignment finished on time. However, I am not particularly organised and had quite a lot of pressure on me at the time so under different circumstances I don't think the work load would have seemed too bad to be honest.

> - Can you do this without having an a-level in the same subject?

Yes you can, as a mature student, if your only qualifications are G.C.S.E.s from way back then you will probably have to enrol on a one year Access Course, which is a pre-cursor to higher education, it involves an intense course where you choose three main subjects to study and also Maths and English if you have not already got these qualifications, I had Maths and English G.C.S.E.s which I was so glad about because there was already a lot of work with the other three subjects!

> Not sure what else to ask but I find myself at a crossroads wondering what to do next. If not now then when? I keep asking myself. Any insights gratefully received.

I would definitely encourage you to go ahead and do it, yes it is hard, and at times you will want to give up, but along with anything worthwhile in life you get out what you put in. When you have finished it you will feel really proud of yourself. Also it could open new doors for you in the future, I would say make sure you choose a subject that interests you because if you have no interest it will feel like double the amount of work and you will be doing it for 3 - 4 years!

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me privately and I will do my best to answer them. Good luck x
In reply to Escher:

My Mrs is now a psychologist. She had a few relevant credits from her first degree but basically did most of the OU degree before going on to a masters and doctorate elsewhere. She absolutely loved the course and the style of learning, but she is very good at learning independently. Like you, I did maths, physics, chem at A-level (followed by an engineering degree) and have an interest in psychology. When I was looking over my wife's shoulder at her psychology studies I found the ambiguity and contradiction very frustrating coming from my academic background. After years of talking to her and other psychs I've come to understand it better, but if I were learning it formally I'd want a lot of contact time with tutors and other students. The OU seems to be good at this whilst other institutions who are not distance learning specialists can sometimes somewhat abandon you.

I recently completed a postgraduate qualification and for the first time in my life had to write academic essays. I was fortunate to have access to a lot of expertise to help me get it right, but this may be something you'd struggle with and need plenty of support.

That said, it's important to have an objective when you're redundant and you've only a few hundred quid to lose on a first module so good luck.

 KellyKettle 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

I'm currently doing a job relevant OU course, whilst also working up to 65 hours a week, It's hellish in terms of time management for me, mainly because I can't control my work schedule, meaning the OU stuff often has to be done at the end of a 14 hour workday...

The last module I did was in a subject I find both difficult and uninteresting, and that was frankly hellish... But it's a required part of the course.

I started the course when unemployed and at the time it felt rather easier than conventional uni had, as I became employed, and then got promoted to greater responsibility and hours... It reached a point somewhere in there when it went from still easier to very much harder.
 toad 22 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

Tim Chappel of this parish is an OU big potato - often appears like Mr Ben's shopkeeper on these threads
OP Escher 23 Oct 2014
In reply to all:

Thanks all, really appreciate your thoughts. Very helpful.

Another question: is it possible to do a couple of months studying using books and paper only? I hope to be able to go away for a month or two just after my current job finishes and the start date of the next course would begin before that. I expect that it will require a lot of online resources but thought I might ask. Otherwise I will need to start at another time, which might be a much better idea anyway.
 DaveHK 23 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

I'd imagine that would depend on the course. I got printed materials which were most of the reading material needed but the assignments are all submitted electronically.
 Quiddity 23 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:
> Another question: is it possible to do a couple of months studying using books and paper only? I hope to be able to go away for a month or two just after my current job finishes and the start date of the next course would begin before that.

It would depend on whether you need to submit assignments in that time. Certainly when I did the course 4 ish years ago, you could do all the reading/studying using paper, but assignments needed to be submitted online. If you needed to submit something in that time (and I think it's likely that you would be looking at one, possibly two TMAs in two months) and you took a laptop with you that you can write an essay on, you wouldn't need an internet connection other than to make the submission.

You might need to check the course content, though, for some of the modules you need to do experimental work with a small number of actual human participants (eg I think I did 4 participants on TMA 2 of my level 2 module) and while that didn't need any equipment more sophisticated than a colour printer and a stopwatch, it would have been quite difficult to do while travelling. Some TMAs, and some entire modules, don't require you to collect any data at all, however. So it's difficult to say without having a course schedule in front of you.

In general the learning style is very well geared to studying while travelling (I did a surprising amount of work while on trains/busses/climbing trips) - this is one of the things that is really good about the OU. However, the flexibility is not unlimited - you can plan in advance if you know you are going to be away, and complete reading/TMAs early. While it's more difficult to do that at the start of a course, I seem to remember that they send course material out to you well in advance of the start of the course (ie, perhaps a number of months) so if you are prepared to make a start on your reading/assignments before the course officially starts (and there's no reason why you can't) then you could probably plan for taking time out later by getting a head start on your assignments. The only suggestion I would make is to avoid falling behind the suggested schedule (especially with the reading) if you possibly can, it is hard enough to keep up anyway without taking a month out thinking 'I'll catch up when I get back'.

It's worth checking course presentation dates, BTW, when I did it, most modules only ran once per year - eg. if you missed a January start, you needed to wait til the following year to start it.

Hope that helps.
Post edited at 11:04
 Clarence 23 Oct 2014
In reply to DaveHK:

Dave, I owe you an apology. On re-reading the thread I realise you were talking about flexibility within the study of a single unit, deadlines, finish dates etc. I have to admit that this idea of flexibility never occurred to me so please ignore my previous reply, sorry.
 peter-l 23 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

I have just finished an OU degree (Geosciences) and found that more and more OU modules are going down the online route....you would have to check the course description to see if the course materials come in a paper format (though my last module offered something called 'print on demand' at extra cost).
 Rob Exile Ward 24 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

Not quite comparable but I found myself without a job in the early 90s. Doing a higher degree - with a view to possible employment in the NHS - was an itch that needed to be scratched so I enrolled on a part time self funded 2 year MA.

At the same time I brushed up some skills and developed those to the point that I was having too much fun and earning too much at the end of the two years to consider changing! Completing the course and getting my MA became an (expensive) hobby. But it was enjoyable, the itch was scratched, so no regrets.
 Toerag 25 Oct 2014
In reply to Escher:

You have to ask yourself what will a degree gain you. Yes it will probably help you get a job, but in your line of work is experience more useful?
abseil 25 Oct 2014
In reply to Toerag:

> You have to ask yourself what will a degree gain you. Yes it will probably help you get a job, but in your line of work is experience more useful?

That is a very good question.

My wisdom (ha! ha) on the topic of doing a degree (BA, MA level only) is:

1. 99% of people do not regret having done it (PS I have no figures to back this up).

2. The older you are, the harder it is to get back into study habits BUT that absolutely doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It means you have to remember that, and be prepared to make the change. Being older also has advantages.

3. It's obviously a major investment in time and money, and needs commitment plus discipline to finish it. And you mustn't start unless you're determined, and able, to finish it.

To the OP, wish you the best of luck.
Tim Chappell 25 Oct 2014
In reply to toad:
> Tim Chappell of this parish is an OU big potato - often appears like Mr Ben's shopkeeper on these threads


Well, a moderately sized spud, anyway. I can recommend our Philosophy courses

What does "appearing like Mr Ben's shopkeeper" consist in?

To the OP: sorry to hear your job is going. Call this a vested interest talking if you like, but I do strongly believe in education that isn't vocational--education that you do not to train for a job, but just to widen your horizons and open your eyes. And I do honestly think OU Humanities courses are a good way of doing this once you're past the time of life where going to university is the conventional thing to do. They are hard work and they aren't that cheap (though a lot cheaper than conventional universities' courses) but they can be life changing.

Long before I started working for the OU my mother did an OU humanities degree; I think it really fired her up to go back to teaching after kids.
Post edited at 13:34

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