Apparently…..it isn’t a job

[Woodinblack]

7 minutes ago, Nicko said:

I also did an engineering degree through the OU, got credit for my HNC which reduced the number of modules I had to do (I think 300 points after the credit).  I think the only time I struggled with workload was when I did 2 x 30 point credits in the same year which seemed a lot more work than 1 x 60 in a year. To be honest I managed to do most of the learning work and exercises in my lunch hour - only working at home on assignments

 

I did my degree on the OU too, luckily finishing before the government changed, couldn't have afforded it now. My dad didn't believe in going to uni, so I had no other option earlier

I did the full 360, the only year I struggled was doing a 60 and a 30 in the same year, especialy when the 30 which should have been easy was just badly done (Think it was a first year of intro)

 

Still glad I did it and lucky with my timing

[Tim2291]

24 minutes ago, mikel said:

Respect to you. My brother did an OU degree, and masters, while working full time in quite a demanding job. He did it for "Fun" as he has always loved History. Traveling on the train to a meeting or in a hotel he would get his study stuff out and work at it, and every weekend. I was well impressed. I asked how he could work full time and study and he said "I can focus". I think he is on the autistic spectrum somewhere. 

A surprising amount of people do it for "fun" to be honest! It seems like a very pricey hobby... but then again I'm saying that on a forum for people who spend thousands on planks of wood!  

 

[Woodinblack]

3 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

A surprising amount of people do it for "fun" to be honest! It seems like a very pricey hobby... but then again I'm saying that on a forum for people who spend thousands on planks of wood!

 

Used to be a lot cheaper! You have to be pretty well off to do it now.

[Tim2291]

17 minutes ago, Nicko said:

I also did an engineering degree through the OU, got credit for my HNC which reduced the number of modules I had to do (I think 300 points after the credit).  I think the only time I struggled with workload was when I did 2 x 30 point credits in the same year which seemed a lot more work than 1 x 60 in a year. To be honest I managed to do most of the learning work and exercises in my lunch hour - only working at home on assignments.

 

My intention was to become chartered but they wanted me to do another 120 points so that didn't happen.  I got my chartership later through career learning and a few selected academic courses outside of the OU. Most of the engineers I worked with came directly out of uni into a mentored development programme and the entry requirement was a Masters.  I think they worked harder at Uni than I did at the OU, but they also had a great time doing it whereas the OU seems to be all work and no play.

 

I'm not sure whether the OU goes into greater depth - most of the graduates could run rings around me in some areas - but because it's modular I found I'd taken modules in areas that traditional programmes leave out so they all knew the same stuff as each other but not the same stuff as me.  I ended up doing some quite unconventional engineering roles because of that.

 

 

I did 4 x 30 credit modules in a year once... that was tough! I'm waiting for my results which are due later this month but then I will be looking at moving on to the next step whatever that may be, just hoping to get out of technical sales engineering to be honest!

 

OU is definitely a lot of work, but I have met some great people along the way and the residential courses were good!

 

From what I'm told, the maths we do goes in to far more depth and it is a far broader spectrum of engineering, I have focused mainly on electronics but I have also done mechanical, chemical and nanoscale modules so it is very broad. As you say though, I'm sure "brick" uni graduates would run rings round me in each individual area on their own as they specialise on one subject only!

[Tim2291]

1 minute ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Used to be a lot cheaper! You have to be pretty well off to do it now.

I think there are a lot of older people who do it as they are fully entitled to a student loan, yet on a pension, they are never going to pay a penny back!

[Nicko]

1 minute ago, Tim2291 said:

I did 4 x 30 credit modules in a year once.

Do you also whip yourself before bedtime?

 

Respect is due.  If I wore a hat I'd take it off to you.

[Tim2291]

1 minute ago, Nicko said:

Do you also whip yourself before bedtime?

 

Respect is due.  If I wore a hat I'd take it off to you.

 

There's a joke there about the wife doing it for me or something

[Nicko]

8 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

A surprising amount of people do it for "fun" to be honest! It seems like a very pricey hobby... but then again I'm saying that on a forum for people who spend thousands on planks of wood!  

 

I'm amazed that they can charge the fees that they do.  It was always an expensive option but because you could work and study it wasn't too bad - and if you did something work related you could get your employer to contribute.

[Tim2291]

1 minute ago, Nicko said:

I'm amazed that they can charge the fees that they do.  It was always an expensive option but because you could work and study it wasn't too bad - and if you did something work related you could get your employer to contribute.

Unfortunately when it was decided that universities could charge up to £9000 (or whatever it is exactly), they all will, so the Open Uni also raised their prices in line!

 

I remember it was originally that Uni's could charge up to £9K if they felt they were worth it... yeah which Uni is going to devalue themselves like that!

[Nail Soup]

Lots of coments about OU.... just started a topic in Off Topic:

 

[mikel]

31 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

A surprising amount of people do it for "fun" to be honest! It seems like a very pricey hobby... but then again I'm saying that on a forum for people who spend thousands on planks of wood!  

 

Agreed. I personally never felt the need to learn or study something unless I could put it to almost immediate and practical use. Hated school and acedemia. 

[ezbass]

10 minutes ago, mikel said:

Agreed. I personally never felt the need to learn or study something unless I could put it to almost immediate and practical use. Hated school and acedemia. 

I hated school too (well, I hated primary and tolerated secondary). Weirdly enough, my last job before retiring was teaching primary school children, which I can state categorically was the best and most rewarding job I’ve ever had (the politics, however, can go and do one).

Edited October 6, 2022 by ezbass

[Tim2291]

3 minutes ago, mikel said:

Agreed. I personally never felt the need to learn or study something unless I could put it to almost immediate and practical use. Hated school and acedemia. 

I love learning things to be honest! Hated school with a passion but always love learning new things, no matter how irrelevant it may be. What I don't understand is spending nearly £6000 a year if you aren't planning on using it for anything useful!

[Tim2291]

Just now, ezbass said:

I hated school too (well I hated primary and tolerated secondary). Weirdly enough, my last job before retiring was teaching primary school children, which I can state categorically was the best and most rewarding job I’ve ever had (the politics, however, can go and do one).

 

I think the best teachers can sometimes be those who are reluctant to be at a school, they understand that the kids don't want to be there! 

 

A lot of people I went to school with are now teachers, most of them complain non stop about it, and to be honest from what I have seen, went in to teaching as a "backup" because they couldn't get their degree to work for them in any other way! There are some incredible teachers out there who do it because they enjoy/love it and it sounds like you were one of them so well done!

 

I've been contemplated teaching bass to boost income as we have a baby on the way, but I always come to the conclusion that I don't know enough or feel that I'm not good enough! 

[mikel]

3 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

I love learning things to be honest! Hated school with a passion but always love learning new things, no matter how irrelevant it may be. What I don't understand is spending nearly £6000 a year if you aren't planning on using it for anything useful!

Don't get me wrong, I learn stuff, but more by ozmosis. I read lots of books because I enjoy them, not to learn, but you pick up stuff by default. I simply never saw the appeal of quiping in Latin or quoting Shakespeare. 

[ezbass]

3 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

I love learning things to be honest! Hated school with a passion but always love learning new things, no matter how irrelevant it may be. What I don't understand is spending nearly £6000 a year if you aren't planning on using it for anything useful!

Given the cost of a university degree, I’ve long been touting the idea, to anyone who’ll listen to my ravings, that businesses, etc should sponsor degrees and you pay them back by working for them for a number of years. The amount of folk I know who have degrees, some of them doctorates, and are doing nothing vaguely associated with their field of study, perplexes me.

 

4 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

 

 

I've been contemplated teaching bass to boost income as we have a baby on the way, but I always come to the conclusion that I don't know enough or feel that I'm not good enough! 

Never feel like that. I learnt more by teaching some things than I ever did studying it (I suppose I was studying, just not in the traditional sense).

[mikel]

5 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

 

I think the best teachers can sometimes be those who are reluctant to be at a school, they understand that the kids don't want to be there! 

 

A lot of people I went to school with are now teachers, most of them complain non stop about it, and to be honest from what I have seen, went in to teaching as a "backup" because they couldn't get their degree to work for them in any other way! There are some incredible teachers out there who do it because they enjoy/love it and it sounds like you were one of them so well done!

 

I've been contemplated teaching bass to boost income as we have a baby on the way, but I always come to the conclusion that I don't know enough or feel that I'm not good enough! 

Go for it. If you can pass on your love for an instrument and inspire someone to play and improve, it's a gift in itself. 

[Tim2291]

9 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Given the cost of a university degree, I’ve long been touting the idea, to anyone who’ll listen to my ravings, that businesses, etc should sponsor degrees and you pay them back by working for them for a number of years. The amount of folk I know who have degrees, some of them doctorates, and are doing nothing vaguely associated with their field of study, perplexes me.

 

Never feel like that. I learnt more by teaching some things than I ever did studying it (I suppose I was studying, just not in the traditional sense).

 

It is shockingly common now, I know countless people with all sorts of degrees that don't use them in anyway, law graduates managing supermarkets etc. I got an HND in music straight our of school, about half went on to finish the full degree, and out of the entire HND class, 2 of us still actively play, most have got rid of their instruments altogether!

 

One thing I would say about studying a degree a little later than is traditional, is that it makes you look at opportunities differently, and helps to reinforce the drive and determination from when you're younger! I am definitely more focused in every aspect of my life having done my degree, so in that respect if I never ended up using it for its true purpose, it has still helped me hugely!

 

9 minutes ago, mikel said:

Go for it. If you can pass on your love for an instrument and inspire someone to play and improve, it's a gift in itself. 

 

Thank you guys, I will explore the idea further !

[Woodinblack]

49 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

Unfortunately when it was decided that universities could charge up to £9000 (or whatever it is exactly), they all will, so the Open Uni also raised their prices in line!

 

They didn't raise their prices in line, they were a government created institude made after the war to answer the problem that most people unless they were well off didn't have a chance to get to university (not just the fees, the need to work), and as such they were subsidised. That subsidy was removed in 2010, so the masters I was doing had to be abandoned, as they had to charge what they charge now. So my degree cost me 6k. Now it would cost over £20k. I would have never been able to do that, I felt guilty enough taking that much money from our income at the time.  Still, handy pensioners still have access, its a shame the 'people like me' never will.

Seems like modern life is very much about doing something, pulling the drawbridge up so the next generation don't get that oportunity and wondering why kids are moody and don't want to do anything.

 

 

[Daz39]

24 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

They didn't raise their prices in line, they were a government created institude made after the war to answer the problem that most people unless they were well off didn't have a chance to get to university (not just the fees, the need to work), and as such they were subsidised. That subsidy was removed in 2010, so the masters I was doing had to be abandoned, as they had to charge what they charge now. So my degree cost me 6k. Now it would cost over £20k. I would have never been able to do that, I felt guilty enough taking that much money from our income at the time.  Still, handy pensioners still have access, its a shame the 'people like me' never will.

Seems like modern life is very much about doing something, pulling the drawbridge up so the next generation don't get that oportunity and wondering why kids are moody and don't want to do anything.

 

 

Which is why the common retort is Ok Boomer. My parents, who I did think of as sensible, rounded people, are a bit like this now in their 60s. "In my day..."

 

I work in FInance - and at least training contracts for Accountancy Qualifications: AAT, ACCA, ACA, CIMA, etc. are common place, whereby studiers of any age and stage can get the high cost of study material, classes and exams covered, some places even give study leave too, in exchange for staying for several years after completion.

[Crusoe]

15 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

Just to offer a balancing point or two to the "my career teacher tried to kill my dreams" posts.

Firstly, the comments from successful Musicians, footballers, astronauts who were told they couldn't do it etc suffer from selection bias. Those people are maybe more likely to comment.

Second, I think it is OK for a careers advisor, along with helping you to find the route to your desired career, to also give you information about success rates and so on. All part of making an informed choice.

 

Personally, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do, but eventually drifted into what suited me.

So, you enjoy your job as a careers advisor, then? 😄😉

[Tim2291]

22 minutes ago, Daz39 said:

Which is why the common retort is Ok Boomer. My parents, who I did think of as sensible, rounded people, are a bit like this now in their 60s. "In my day..."

 

I work in FInance - and at least training contracts for Accountancy Qualifications: AAT, ACCA, ACA, CIMA, etc. are common place, whereby studiers of any age and stage can get the high cost of study material, classes and exams covered, some places even give study leave too, in exchange for staying for several years after completion.

Those like myself looking for a career change but who aren't lucky enough to have backing of a company, are fully entitled to a student loan as well! Degrees are accessible for everyone, I have a student loan from my HND, I think I pay about £50 a month despite earning well in excess of the threshold! I earn far more than that a month from gigging so I have to say it is money well spent!

 

Whilst in a perfect world, education would be free for everyone at all levels, the issue with that is the pre mentioned graduates who don't go on to contribute to the field. 

[mikel]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

They didn't raise their prices in line, they were a government created institude made after the war to answer the problem that most people unless they were well off didn't have a chance to get to university (not just the fees, the need to work), and as such they were subsidised. That subsidy was removed in 2010, so the masters I was doing had to be abandoned, as they had to charge what they charge now. So my degree cost me 6k. Now it would cost over £20k. I would have never been able to do that, I felt guilty enough taking that much money from our income at the time.  Still, handy pensioners still have access, its a shame the 'people like me' never will.

Seems like modern life is very much about doing something, pulling the drawbridge up so the next generation don't get that oportunity and wondering why kids are moody and don't want to do anything.

 

 

Well possibly, but that is the way it was back then, can't blame the students. You could blame the government of the day for removing the funding though. Education used to be free, my wife did a librarianship degree back in the day, you need one to be a librarian, and it was free, and you got a grant. Without the grant she would not have been able to study. Apparently now we can't afford higher education, so it's become an industry. I believe employers should be training their staff, as they will benefit from it. 

[Daz39]

1 hour ago, mikel said:

Well possibly, but that is the way it was back then, can't blame the students. You could blame the government of the day for removing the funding though. Education used to be free, my wife did a librarianship degree back in the day, you need one to be a librarian, and it was free, and you got a grant. Without the grant she would not have been able to study. Apparently now we can't afford higher education, so it's become an industry. I believe employers should be training their staff, as they will benefit from it. 

CFO: Look at this training budget? It's so high. What happens if we train all these staff and they leave?

CEO: What happens if we don't train them and they stay?!

 

I started Uni in 1995 - I think I was pretty much the last year's entry of zero tuition. And the same for grants, which part paid my accomodation. My Dad took out some War Bonds (remember those?!) and the ridiculously generous 12 1/4% interest paid for my food and the rest of my rent. I took the maximum loans (which I only finished paying off 2 years ago at fairly low interest) and never had to work during Uni. I had it easy!!

 

I remember those careers quizzes - we had a whole morning to do one with hundreds (probably not that many) of multiple-choice questions. Mine told me to become a Teacher or an Accountant. School and Family basically pushed me into Finance. I hated it, and would much rather have done Geology or Marine Biology or something fun. 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, mikel said:

Well possibly, but that is the way it was back then, can't blame the students.

 

Not blaming the students, blaming the governments, although the governments of the day and the people who vote them in are often the people who benifitted from those things.