full time psych degree at OU alongside full time work?

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has worked full time and studied full time BSc psychology degree at open university?

I know it may seem a lot but I’ll be working 37.5 hours as a psych hca/social therapist (3/4 days a week) and wondering if it’s doable. I’m now 27 and do not want to prolong getting this degree any longer (I’m limited on time due to other things I need to do in the upcoming years).

Hi,

I did exactly what you are proposing (worked 48hrs pw alongside). It is possible but you will need really good organisational skills and very little social life. If i were you id do the first and second year fulltime but the third year part time. The reason i say that is the third year is worth around 66% of the degree and the dissertation can be tricky. So you would still only be 4 years, and might help you push a 1st if you play it right. Any edge you can get is important, as psychology is very competitive after the degree, and a 1st would be major plus for you.

Take care,

Greg

In the context of people wanting to go for clinical psychology, I have been asked this question a few times over the years. But also have seen how it plays out. In my experience the answer is dependent on the capability (and expectations) of the asker.

The people who have made job + OU work succesfully are usually strong students who are academically minded and already have very good study skills/ time management. They also usually have no other obligations (relationship to maintain, children to look after, carer responsibility, financial pressure to focus on earning). They are able to focus, set boundaries around work and study, and then stick to them. They are aware of the competition and realise the OU degree is basically a ticket to enter the race, but it's what happens around that degree and afterwards that counts more. I think for this group mentoring from someone already in that field can be really helpful, as it maximises time and effort.

The people where I have seen it go badly tended to be those that aren't academically minded or have poorer time management and skills. In addition, many haven't fully thought it through, have lots of competing demands, are not being realistic or are trying to do it on an arbitrary timeline.

"What is the minimum time I can take/ have to do?" is usually a red flag, because their competition don't that mindset. They are up against the mindset of "I will do whatever it takes- plus more." When it comes to sorting through a pile of 100 DClinPsy application forms this mindset really gets highlighted.

That stuff aside, I think the most reflective thing to do is to consider the other things you need to do in the upcoming years you mention, and what level would you would be willing to sacrifice those for your plans in psychology. I am by no means saying you should prioritse psychology btw it's more about what you want and what will be best for you. The decision will be very different if your list goes 1)Psychology career, 2) Marriage, 3) Children, 4) Travel, 5) Buying a house, than if it is the reverse.

Honestly that sounds like it would be very difficult to manage. In principle as the OU doesn't have scheduled lecture times and such, you can plan your academic schedule of when you do your studying and work on assignments around your work time, but you may find you have very little downtime as a result if you want to keep on top of everything and aim for good results in your modules.

Fortunately though the OU is flexible so you can start at full time equivalent credits (120 credits per year) and then scale down if need be to 90/60/30 credits as applicable to your situation/the modules available, and vice versa. So if you start at full time equivalent but find it overwhelming you can carry on with things doing fewer credits without needing to e.g. change degree or restart or anything!

@-Eirlys- did a psychology degree with the OU and might be able to comment on the workload

Thank you so much for your advice Greg! I think that’s a really good idea.

I definitely want to come out with a first or 2.1 minimum so this may be the best option especially as I’ll be financing the course myself this time round (I’ve been to unis before).

Takecare

Double check the financing, as should be exempt for finance as fits criteria as parttime STEM subject.

Good luck,

Greg

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has worked full time and studied full time BSc psychology degree at open university?

I know it may seem a lot but I’ll be working 37.5 hours as a psych hca/social therapist (3/4 days a week) and wondering if it’s doable. I’m now 27 and do not want to prolong getting this degree any longer (I’m limited on time due to other things I need to do in the upcoming years).

Have you considered going to Birkbeck, University of London instead? Its a university that does evening classes, so the classes are from 6pm-9pm. If you’re not close to London maybe look around if there are other universities that offer evening courses, but I feel like this would benefit you more than Open University.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice however I’ll be working 12.5 hour shifts and 3-4 days, I do not have a schedule as to which days I’ll be working therefore this won’t be an option unfortunately also in terms of finance.

Ahh ok. I personally would find distant independent study quite difficult, so thought it would be helpful to let you know there are other options in case you didn’t know already. Best of luck with your future studies!

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has worked full time and studied full time BSc psychology degree at open university?

I know it may seem a lot but I’ll be working 37.5 hours as a psych hca/social therapist (3/4 days a week) and wondering if it’s doable. I’m now 27 and do not want to prolong getting this degree any longer (I’m limited on time due to other things I need to do in the upcoming years).

If you're pretty much free for 3/4 days a week, with minimal commitments or responsibilities, then it's feasible. Level 1 definitely is feasible. It gets a little more intensive at level 2 and 3. Do level 1 full time (it doesn't count to your final degree classification) and see how you manage. If you struggle, do the next levels part time. If you feel it's easy to manage and keep on top of, then try full time. You can always defer a module.

Thank you for your advice, I think I’ll definitely do full time like you said especially for first year, as you mentioned I can defer / ask for an extension

Thank you for your advice, I think I’ll definitely do full time like you said especially for first year, as you mentioned I can defer / ask for an extension

I came here to suggest exactly this. I wish I had combined my level 1 modules into full-time study for 1 year because I found them quite easy. I was also working full-time. From what you've said, I think you should find this manageable. Level 2 modules are slightly more work and more challenging, so you may want to consider. I started these full-time, but found it too much work alongside full-time work, so deferred one of the modules until the following year (I was able to keep the grades for work I had already completed, though, which was good). I definitely would not have wanted to do 2 level 3 modules at the same time, though.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has worked full time and studied full time BSc psychology degree at open university?

I know it may seem a lot but I’ll be working 37.5 hours as a psych hca/social therapist (3/4 days a week) and wondering if it’s doable. I’m now 27 and do not want to prolong getting this degree any longer (I’m limited on time due to other things I need to do in the upcoming years).