bi22le
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| posted on 4/3/12 at 04:58 PM |
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Open University experience and thoughts.
Hi all,
I have a HNC in electronics from a local collage and now work in a manufacturing \ design \ mechanical role and do very little electronics. I may be
able to convience my emplyer to fund further studying but I know they wont allow day release.
So I was thinking of doing OU and upgrading my HNC Electronic engineering to a Diploma in Mechanical engineering. This will help me with my work in
terms of relivence and also future proof my career if I do decide to change jobs. I need to check with OU with the possibility of being able to do
this and I want to only study (all be it hard) for approx 1 year.
My questions:
1) Has anybody studied with OU, if so what did you study? What was your experience?
2) Generally it seems that employers deem OU qualifications as reputable and worth their effort. Do you agree?
3) Are there any other options in distant learning other than OU?
I am essentially doing this for the knowledge and certificate so it needs to be a certificated course. Needs to be in design \ mechanical
engineering.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Biz
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Not Anumber
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| posted on 4/3/12 at 06:07 PM |
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Go for it. I did a couple of course units with the OU many years ago before the family appeared and intend to carry on when time allows. Support is
available via local tutors and study groups. They often have study meetings at local colleges, i never went to these regularly due to work
committments at the time but others said they found them quite useful.
Quite a few of the courses in my day had residential summer schools as part of the course. Personally I'd rather have given this a miss as it
was compulsory to attend but didnt actually count towards the course marks. Not sure if it has changed since then.
People at work seemed to regard it very favourably.
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v8kid
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| posted on 4/3/12 at 06:52 PM |
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I did mechanical engineering, design and material science and got an honours BSc.
Cannot speak highly enough of the OU. One of the best experiences in my life.
Only thing is if you choose a less popular subject and live away frI'm the population centres you may struggle to get a tutor with specific
knowledge.
Well regarded? I applied for two PhD's and was offered. Oth of them complete with good salaries.
Check with OU for specific accreditation the ImechE can be a bit wired at times.
Cheers!
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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BigMac
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| posted on 4/3/12 at 07:09 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Not Anumber
Go for it. I did a couple of course units with the OU many years ago before the family appeared and intend to carry on when time allows. Support is
available via local tutors and study groups. They often have study meetings at local colleges, i never went to these regularly due to work
committments at the time but others said they found them quite useful.
Quite a few of the courses in my day had residential summer schools as part of the course. Personally I'd rather have given this a miss as it
was compulsory to attend but didnt actually count towards the course marks. Not sure if it has changed since then.
People at work seemed to regard it very favourably.
+1 From me
I'm currently studying towards the BSc in Economics and Mathematical Sciences. The courses are very good, the content is valuable and the
resources they provide are very useful (text books are the norm but a 'course website' gives you links to loads of other useful stuff, as
well as a forum).
The size of the tutor groups I've normally been in were 10 or so students to a course. When you consider that some students won't turn up
to the study days, you normally have a much better pupil to teacher ratio- I've been to a session before where I was the only one there!
The only downside is that you may have to pay the new fees I think? Best check, but if it helps- get on a course now and make sure you're
studying into 2013, then you will be eligible to carry on learning for the original fees, rather than the new ones (there's a fair difference
I'm led to believe).
Feel free to give me a shout via PM if you want to know more!
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lsdweb
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| posted on 4/3/12 at 09:51 PM |
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+ 1 from me too.
I did a BSc (Hons) (Maths & some other bits) whilst working full time - I wasn't the ideal student as the only time I ever saw a tutor was
to hand an assignment in!
It's tough alongside normal life and full time work but we didn't have our son then!
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 5/3/12 at 08:58 AM |
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You may find that if you have a high enough qualification (HNC may be enough), are old enough and have plenty of experience in the real world the OU
may let you do a Masters degree.
I started a MSc in "Computers in Commerce and Industry" when I was 40-ish, and I only had a mish-mash of industrial qualifications (my top
qualification was a City & Guilds Full Certificate!). It was backed up by over 20 years in BT, with regular training courses so I knew how to
study. I was already past the management grade that required a BSc for new entrants, so there was no benefit to me there. I'm very glad I did
it, as it looked very good on my CV when I became a self-employed contractor, and later on when I looked for a permanent job again.
My son did a similar thing after being in permanent employment for a couple of years as an industrial chemist. He had a HND in chemistry, and did a
chemistry-related MSc course with the OU when he was around 25 or 26.
The major thing to remember with the OU is the amount of work you will have to do at home - between 10 and 15 hours per week. I was lucky in that I
was commuting into London at the time, so had 2 hours per day of study time, 5 days a week. I also worked 10 minutes away from the British Library,
which was a MAJOR benefit!
Also, the cost of each module is going up significantly this year, due to the general cutbacks in government expenditure on education. The total cost
of the course will be significant, so make sure that you understand that before you start. My son was sponsored by his employer, but I wasn't
so lucky.
Finally, you may have to use up some of your annual holiday allowance on summer schools - worth checking that before signing up for a course.
Even if you can't get on a MSc course, the BSc is well worth the effort and can only help your CV along.
I enjoyed doing my course, and I think my son did too, but it does take over your life for a while!
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bobinspain
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| posted on 5/3/12 at 01:18 PM |
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On topic but off the point--
I did three credits beginning nearly 40 years ago, all with accompanying, residential summer-schools They were absolutely wizard, with a certain
laissez-faire, not to say Bohemian attitude adopted by female attendees 'let off the leash' for a week. 
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nick205
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| posted on 5/3/12 at 01:46 PM |
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I studied with the OU a few years ago. I started self-funded and studied a level 2 course on the environment out of personal interest. I really
enjoyed the learning and also the 1 week residential course at Bath Uni.
My employer then agreed to fund further study if relevant to my job (electro-mechanical design engineer at the time). I went on a did a level 2 then
level 3 course which combined to give a diploma in design and innovation. Again I really enjoyed the learning experience and met some great
people.
You have to be realistic about the time it will take to study, but if you're studying something which interests you it should come relatively
easy. There's a lot of support available including local tutorial groups every few weeks which enables you to meet fellow students and discuss
things.
If you've a mind to do it then go for it!
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