Open University?

[piskieinboots]

oooh this is getting me in the mood for some learning - but gawd it's so expensive!

[julesapple]

The list of subjects has rendered me completely indecisive. Social History...Italian...I just don't know. I think I'll have to look into the Open Degree little further.

BH wants to do Geography, but that's not a simple decision either. I thought geography was just geography, but no....it's much more complicated than that. No2 Son will be taking Geography with Archaeology and Forensic Science in October......so it's not just the colouring in of maps I did at school any more!

[northepaul]

Can I be a devil's advocate here?.....I did a BA and finished 3 years ago, when I was 41. I did it with the belief that it would help me change direction career-wise and be a great learning experience, as I couldnt go when I was younger (having children very young etc). At the time of making the decision, I was working as an accounts manager on reasonably good money and I could have literally gone from job to job.
I didnt find it helped me careerwise, infact it had the opposite effect, and I have not really found proper work since I finished. I didnt really enjoy uni (I went to a physical one) that much, as most of the students were younger than my elder children and I definately felt the generation gap.

So - and i know obviously you arent actually going to a uni - but if those are some of the reasons you are thinking of doing a Degree, then please be asolutely sure its the right thing to do, otherwise you could just end up in a lot of debt and wishing you'd done something else.

However, if you are just doing it for fun, and money isnt an issue, then I wish you all success.

[SarzWix]

oooh this is getting me in the mood for some learning - but gawd it's so expensive!

The funding change really has made a massive difference. £700 per 60 point module before the change, and there was a grant/financial support system in place too. Now, it's student loans. But, as I said, you have to be earning more than £21,000 before you have to begin to pay it back, so for thosr retired or low income it works out the same as a grant.Jues, the Open Degree is great, you can just follow your whims Thea, if you do OU you don't have to give up your job, that's one of its selling points. And employers tend to be impressed that people have studied independently and had the drive to see it through at the same time as learning. Although, it's not an issue for Jules because she's looking at it from a non-career perspective

[SarzWix]

Apologies for appalling spelling and formatting, I'm on me mobile

[northepaul]

Thea, if you do OU you don't have to give up your job, that's one of its selling points. And employers tend to be impressed that people have studied independently and had the drive to see it through at the same time as learning. Although, it's not an issue for Jules because she's looking at it from a non-career perspective

Yeah I can see that you dont have to give up your job to do an OU course, but its certainly NOT true that employers are impressed with you doing a BA! As I said, I found it to be the exact opposite.

However, as you rightly point out, Jules is doing one for fun, so thats a totally different ball game.

The reason I pointed out the follies of doing a Degree was incase someone else was thinking along the same lines as Jules, but with different motives....if you get my drift....

[taff]

shame, i was considering doing an engineering one, just because I hate my job and the fine art degree doesn't really help me get a different one unless I want to teach... which I don't.

[SarzWix]

I didn't say employers were impressed with you doing a BA, I said employers are impressed when you manage to study, and work, and raise a family etc, because fitting it in between your ordinary life shows ambition, drive, initiative, time management, on top of the usual skills associated with getting a degree. Employment rates for OU graduates are excellent.