Open University. Any Good?

[tzijlstra]

5 hours ago, Mr Bloke said:

Hmmm...

... can I just ask Mr Tim, are you a recruitment manager as in a job agency or as in a personnel department?

 

The reason I ask is that if it's a job agency then you will be getting paid for putting forward a target number of candidates to a client and so can't afford to be as selective about where those candidates have got their qualifications.

 

The client however, in my experience, is most definitely interested where the qualifications were obtained.

I am a manager involved in recruitment. Tell me which clients are interested in ‘where’? In my experience the view you have is outdated. What is the area you recruit for?

[Bargepole23]

7 hours ago, tzijlstra said:

I am a manager involved in recruitment. Tell me which clients are interested in ‘where’? In my experience the view you have is outdated. What is the area you recruit for?

Going to say I agree here. I've recruited about a dozen people into companies I have worked at.

Much more interested in skills and past experience than the name of the university on their CV. In fact, that would have been of zero importance. These were for technical roles.

[Albert the Cat]

I work at a major engineering company and the U.K. recruitment advice was brutal. Anything less than a 2:1, don’t even bother applying, the application will go straight into the shredder. Engineering degrees such as electrical, mechanical and materials are always in high demand. Most interestingly, the cycle of degree (BEng versus MEng for example) doesn’t actually make that much difference for graduate programmes at least. 

 

If you go to a Russell Group university with degree in high demand such as engineering then you shouldn’t have much problem finding work. Having said that, employers might as well specify a 1st minimum because the competition can be so great. Also, always take the option of spending a year in industry if your degree allows it. People who say, “I rather finish my degree early and then find a job” is giving terrible advice. You won’t get a job if your competing against people with more experience and had the chance to develop soft skills. 

[Chez2]

I have done Scientific / techncal jobs for the last thirty six years so have seen some changes over the years. My first lot of qualifications were in the 1980s but I went back to study in 1996, finished in 2000 as I did it part time while temping. When I was looking for work for various roles between 2001 and 2008 not one employer or recruitment agency asked me which Uni I studied at while doing my OU degree. Some people back then commented negatively on OU but all employers and recruitment agencies had only positive things to say. They said it demonstrated determination, they knew how much easier it is to attend full time Uni. 

[I1L2T3]

What I’ve seen recently when interviewing graduates is universities have upped their game in the transferable skills arena. Certainly the grads coming off certain courses at our two local unis are very well rounded skills-wise. 

[pattricia]

I’m thinking of applying to do an OU degree in English. Has anyone got a degree from the OU ? What is it like ? Can you do it at your own pace ? Is it hard ?

[ArchieHaynes]

I went to an Open University and it didn't mean that I was going to get less knowledge. Attending an Open University gave me the opportunity to combine work and study. I now work as an engineer, in my specialty, and I wouldn't say that management is embarrassed that I went to an Open University.

[ECCOnoob]

On 15/10/2019 at 20:03, pattricia said:

I’m thinking of applying to do an OU degree in English. Has anyone got a degree from the OU ? What is it like ? Can you do it at your own pace ? Is it hard ?

Knowing someone who is doing it right now I can't really say if it's hard or not. You have certainly got to commit. It is a proper degree which if you're studying it part-time is just spread out over several additional years.

 

OU generally say that people should be committing at least 35 hours week study time for a full-time degree or at least 16 to 20 hours week study time for those doing it part-time.

 

If you are running OU alongside a job and family commitments you have to be disciplined. You sort of can work at your own pace but there are  fixed dates for assignments and exams which need to be met - so it is quite intense.

 

Despite what some of the critics say about the courses, they are a proper degree and not to be put down as just some half assed 6 week correspondence course.

 

Of course the one massive advantage of OU, which is why my mate did it, is the fact that their study fees are about a third of what a bricks-and-mortar uni would charge.

Edited December 18, 2020 by ECCOnoob

[Bargepole23]

6 hours ago, ECCOnoob said:

Knowing someone who is doing it right now I can't really say if it's hard or not. You have certainly got to commit. It is a proper degree which if you're studying it part-time is just spread out over several additional years.

 

OU generally say that people should be committing at least 35 hours week study time for a full-time degree or at least 16 to 20 hours week study time for those doing it part-time.

 

If you are running OU alongside a job and family commitments you have to be disciplined. You sort of can work at your own pace but there are  fixed dates for assignments and exams which need to be met - so it is quite intense.

 

Despite what some of the critics say about the courses, they are a proper degree and not to be put down as just some half assed 6 week correspondence course.

 

Of course the one massive advantage of OU, which is why my mate did it, is the fact that their study fees are about a third of what a bricks-and-mortar uni would charge.

Just to echo the above, I did an Masters through the OU whilst working, very challenging in terms of time demands.

[ArchieHaynes]

1 minute ago, JudeMcLean said:

It's hard to judge education at the Open University. Personally, I had no experience of studying there. But based on the stories of my friends, I can distinguish that most of them were happy about this experience in education. Some of my friends complained about the poor conditions and problems in getting information. They also shared that they used a site https://gradesfixer.com/essay-types/informative-essays/ that allowed them to do their homework comfortably. They used this site to find informative essays examples. I think you should still try it. Perhaps your efforts will yield the maximum results of your studies.

I've never used such sites in my studies. I try to do everything myself as much as possible.