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any worthwhile degrees offered by ou please help advise if there are im desperate

i was hoping to find a science degree to do on the ou but it looks worthless and im not having much luck finding others, here is my situation ill health ruined my chances of going into the navy and i left my science btech to go to work not being able to face education any more big mistake. I am now 28 and have got no where still living at home im looking at cutting my wages to 900 a month going part time hours scrapping my holiday and any chance of ever moving out any time soon as all courses are full time only, and the part time trade courses are worthless without onsite experience to back them up. here is the problem with the OU there medical science degrees talk more about psychology than lab work and the more i look at the business management degree the more micky mouse it seems have i got the course content wrong or do i seriously have to take this hit to move on.

if i come across as angry and shouty its because i am very frustrated catching some incurable disease would be better than this mess i am in

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Original post by posidon666
i was hoping to find a science degree to do on the ou but it looks worthless and im not having much luck finding others, here is my situation ill health ruined my chances of going into the navy and i left my science btech to go to work not being able to face education any more big mistake. I am now 28 and have got no where still living at home im looking at cutting my wages to 900 a month going part time hours scrapping my holiday and any chance of ever moving out any time soon as all courses are full time only, and the part time trade courses are worthless without onsite experience to back them up. here is the problem with the OU there medical science degrees talk more about psychology than lab work and the more i look at the business management degree the more micky mouse it seems have i got the course content wrong or do i seriously have to take this hit to move on.

if i come across as angry and shouty its because i am very frustrated catching some incurable disease would be better than this mess i am in


I doubt very much an incurable disease would be better...

OU do Natural Sciences, or you can do the BSc Open and just specialise in biology/chemistry/physics modules. That's a worthwhile degree, still no lab experience but it is a 'proper' degree.
Student at the Open University
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Milton Keynes
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Reply 2
so i could do the theory on the ou continue to work full-time for now so how do you get the lab experience most microbiology jobs require it
Original post by posidon666
.............


Stop setting yourself up to fail and feel frustrated by putting up barriers that simply aren't true. OU degrees are generally widely regarded, even those where home study means practical work is perhaps less extensive. Contact the OU and talk to them about practical experience. Take a look at the DLHE data and see where graduates of the OU courses you are interested in have gone on to work.

Someone could equally well create a rant that because OU students have completed their degrees while working or in circumstances that mean they have had to be more focussed and determined, they get an unfair advantage when looking for work because employers value their determination and dedication - and that's unfair on traditional graduates. Nothing is 100% when job hunting, and employers recruit for a very wide variety of reasons, and a wide variety of people.
Original post by posidon666
i was hoping to find a science degree to do on the ou but it looks worthless and im not having much luck finding others, here is my situation ill health ruined my chances of going into the navy and i left my science btech to go to work not being able to face education any more big mistake. I am now 28 and have got no where still living at home im looking at cutting my wages to 900 a month going part time hours scrapping my holiday and any chance of ever moving out any time soon as all courses are full time only, and the part time trade courses are worthless without onsite experience to back them up. here is the problem with the OU there medical science degrees talk more about psychology than lab work and the more i look at the business management degree the more micky mouse it seems have i got the course content wrong or do i seriously have to take this hit to move on.

if i come across as angry and shouty its because i am very frustrated catching some incurable disease would be better than this mess i am in


I'm 25 - I was in a very similar situation about a year ago and have had the same feelings of frustration except I'd actually got a degree but it was useless.

My completely honest advise - do not waste your time, money and sanity on any degree unless it leads to a particular job. 90% of degrees don't. If you were 18 then the advice of doing a none vocational degree might wash better with me (not by much) but you're 28 and don't have the time to mess around. You need something solid with a clear end game. Not a degree 'which could lead to X, Y, Z'. You need a degree course which leads to something.


In my opinion, for people in your situation - NHS funded courses are the way to go. They lead to a particular job and those jobs are easy to find and apply to (Occupational Therapy/Physio/Nursing/Radiography/Speech and Language Therapy etc). With a degree like Physics you're in the same pile of graduates who are applying for generic grad schemes for a whole host of different type of grad jobs ranging from science based roles all the way to Government jobs and retail management. There is no specific job at the end of such a degree. So if you choose a non-vocational degree then you need to know what career you are chasing before you even sit in your first lecture. You need a clear vision of what exactly you are trying to achieve and you will need a lot of specific solid work experience throughout the degree in order to get a particular job at the end of it.

So if you do a non-vocational degree - you need to know why you're doing it otherwise you're just stalling and you'll be more frustrated and angry at the end of it than you are now when you cannot get a job after all that hard work (I speak from experience).

My advice then, is either figure out what career you want at the end of a non-vocational degree and be bloody minded about getting it - i.e. top grades, strong work experience, extra currics, networking, leadership etc etc.

OR choose a vocational degree which leads to a specific job and get work experience before applying.

Don't just go to uni and expect it to change your life - because if you choose the wrong degree and/or you don't know what you're expecting to get out of the process then you'll be in an even worse situation than you are now.
Reply 5
i work in a hospital at the moment and wish to work in the hospital labs doing microbiology or radiography, micro biology also has plenty of work in the food industry believe me i am hell bent that whatever degree i do will get me a good job at the end. However to get these courses (NHS funded) you need to have done a access course or similar, and competition for placements is fierce so good qualifications are needed. i am a hospital porter at the moment and due to a host of reasons and being subcontracted to Sodexo unable to get subconded for nurse training or similar. so i am looking at the ou for my science degree before taking drastic action and cutting my hours to 15 hours on weekends.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by posidon666
so i could do the theory on the ou continue to work full-time for now so how do you get the lab experience most microbiology jobs require it


You have to find it. ALS Food and Pharmaceutical often take people on for work experience, also a company called Biograd who offer a microbiology practical course. Most microbiology jobs also ask for a specific microbiology degree, or at least a specialised module in microbiology which the OU don't offer. But there are masters programmes etc.

Why microbiology? Also why not a 'normal' university degree which includes lab experience if you haven't been to uni before?
Original post by posidon666
i work in a hospital at the moment and wish to work in the hospital labs doing microbiology or radiography micro biology also has plenty of work in the food industry believe me i am hell bent that whatever degree i do will get me a good job at the end, however to get these courses you need to have done a access course or similar and competition for placements is fierce so good qualifications are needed. i am a hospital porter at the moment and due to a host of reasons and being subcontracted to sodexo unable to get subconded for nurse training or similar. so i am looking at the ou for my science degree before taking drastic action and cutting my hours to 15 hours on weekends.


Why are you looking at the OU and not conventional universities? The drawback with the OU regarding science degrees is that there is you get very limited lab/practical experience. It is essential to a science, particularly if you want to make a career out of it.
Would it be possible to go to a university in person and get the loans to enable you to move out for the duration of the course. If being at home is bothering you that much then maybe uni could be used as a ticket to get out.
Reply 9
Original post by posidon666
i work in a hospital at the moment and wish to work in the hospital labs doing microbiology or radiography, micro biology also has plenty of work in the food industry believe me i am hell bent that whatever degree i do will get me a good job at the end. However to get these courses (NHS funded) you need to have done a access course or similar, and competition for placements is fierce so good qualifications are needed. i am a hospital porter at the moment and due to a host of reasons and being subcontracted to Sodexo unable to get subconded for nurse training or similar. so i am looking at the ou for my science degree before taking drastic action and cutting my hours to 15 hours on weekends.


Try Open uni, assuming that you'll pay it yourself so will avoid debt and the interest that comes with it. I'd say that their degrees are very worthwhile, especially when they're specifically for skills such as languages and the sciences. They also do engineering as well as other BSc degrees.
Original post by SuperCat007
You have to find it. ALS Food and Pharmaceutical often take people on for work experience, also a company called Biograd who offer a microbiology practical course. Most microbiology jobs also ask for a specific microbiology degree, or at least a specialised module in microbiology which the OU don't offer. But there are masters programmes etc.

Why microbiology? Also why not a 'normal' university degree which includes lab experience if you haven't been to uni before?


Also a few brick universities and science societies run lab/research training & experience out of term times for undergrads, who don't necessarily have to be at that uni and OU students can apply.
Original post by posidon666
i work in a hospital at the moment and wish to work in the hospital labs doing microbiology or radiography, micro biology also has plenty of work in the food industry believe me i am hell bent that whatever degree i do will get me a good job at the end. However to get these courses (NHS funded) you need to have done a access course or similar, and competition for placements is fierce so good qualifications are needed. i am a hospital porter at the moment and due to a host of reasons and being subcontracted to Sodexo unable to get subconded for nurse training or similar. so i am looking at the ou for my science degree before taking drastic action and cutting my hours to 15 hours on weekends.


I currently work full time as a carer and I've applied to an NHS funded course this year and received 3 interview invites - I don't have an access course or science A-Levels and I don't have the time or money to do them quite honestly. Instead, I've taken one module with the OU which I'm completing over the course of a year in my spare time and the unis have accepted this as a relevant qualification. You don't have to take conventional routes. Don't rule things out until you've exhausted all avenues - do as much research into this as you can because your future will depend upon it.
Reply 12
currently i earn 18k after tax to go to a normal universty i will be looking at 5 years 2 doing the btech 3 in uni many thousands of pounds of debt and cutting my salary to about 9k after tax making saving for a house very difficult. i am exploring options before taking a massive financial hit, i am also waiting to find out if i have a place on the Btech course.

as for Microbiology because i find that area of the lab at the hospital very interesting and enjoy biology and human physiology more than physics and chemistry.
Original post by laalNick
Also a few brick universities and science societies run lab/research training & experience out of term times for undergrads, who don't necessarily have to be at that uni and OU students can apply.


Have you got any links or names of universities? I'm desperately searching for these at the moment.
Original post by SuperCat007
Have you got any links or names of universities? I'm desperately searching for these at the moment.


There are a few. I just Googled "Summer lab placements universities UK" then you could narrow down sciences/area based on what you are specifically looking for and what is being returned.

Example the Royal Society of Biology has:
http://www.rsb.org.uk/get-involved/grants/undergraduate-studentships

If dig further there will probably be similar things out there for other areas. But for now for me it's lunchtime!
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by somethingbeautiful

My completely honest advise - do not waste your time, money and sanity on any degree unless it leads to a particular job. 90% of degrees don't.


I don't think we hear this enough to be honest. Thank you for actually saying it. :smile:
Original post by posidon666
currently i earn 18k after tax to go to a normal universty i will be looking at 5 years 2 doing the btech 3 in uni many thousands of pounds of debt and cutting my salary to about 9k after tax making saving for a house very difficult. i am exploring options before taking a massive financial hit, i am also waiting to find out if i have a place on the Btech course.

as for Microbiology because i find that area of the lab at the hospital very interesting and enjoy biology and human physiology more than physics and chemistry.


Why don't you find a uni/course you like and ask if there are any OU qualifications you can do to help you get into it? Then you can work whilst you get your qualification. Also BTEC isn't the only way in you could do an Access course and work alongside. Be aware that with the OU route you can only spend 1 academic year with the OU before you start eating into your full time funding entitlement.
Reply 17
somethingbeautiful that is interesting and might be the best route forward can i ask what module you are doing and what training you are going in for with the nhs, i was under the impression you would be at a disadvantage to someone younger with the relevant a levels as competition for placement's is fierce
Reply 18
another good idea super cat I actually did not think of that seems something beautiful is doing similar i will get on to LSB and ask them about it.

i have to go part time to do the access course the btech is not only worth more but you cover alot more practical and therory, so puts me in a better place to do well at uni also can open some doors on its own and let me straight into the work place.

i dont think the thing about it leading to a job needs to be said at our age we have enough life experience to know that by now
Reply 19
2700 a year on the ou spread out into payments i can fund that my self no problem

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