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dg2009

So I have the money to pay for this years modules - 90 credits. I won't get it for 2 weeks though so just before the deadline but at least I can continue. Will be working my ass off this year to finish the degree the following year.

Open University

Milton Keynes

Reply 8541

mcbightonbrian

Original post by fuzzyfeet

I would agree with this. I am also studying software engineering and had just applied to a local Uni to study computer science there and I am able to go, but sadly my student finance had just gone through for the OU so I can't switch Uni's till next year. Going to a local Uni is far superior. You get hands on in the computer labs, work placements and so so much more help and access to the IT industry. Also to make friends and work in actual programming groups is vital. OU offer none of that at all.
I think with local Uni you will learn to program a lot better and work on proper projects.
I am literally adding an extra 2 years to my studies just to attend local Uni but it will be worth it in the end as opposed to OU.
An OU degree is still a valid degree and just as good as local Uni's but for comp sci you really need better.
Plus my last tutor for module M250 in software development was useless. Email him and often never got a reply and most of the time his help was worthless.
Once I switch next semester to my local Uni, I will never look at OU ever again.

I am glad I am not the only one who has serious doubts about the quality and value of an OU qualification. I've also had the tutors who just don't even bother to reply to emails and rock up to lectures unprepared and unmotivated. Although they are not all bad and I had one this year in Computer Science that broke the mould. Very helpful and pro active.

I am also committed to doing my final year because of the finical grant but the choice of 3 rd year modules in Computing in IT was so uninspiring. There was a lot of talk in my modules and complaining about the lack of choice and relevance. But also the chaotic and ambiguous way in which the OU discontinues modules and starts new ones.

I think it will be a different world if you go to a local Uni and actually get some hands on experience. I envy you and wish I could start again.

Reply 8542

mcbightonbrian

Original post by knick6

Thanks for that a very nice input from someone who did what I would like to do. What about doing this but also getting things like Microsoft certification and some experience within an IT company ?

Yes you make a valid point however I am really trying to become a programmer so the MS certs are not of much value there.

My OU qualifications so far are not what employers want , despite what the OU you tells you on their web site.

The advice I have gotten over the last month from specialist IT recruitment agencies and Software development houses is having a degree is a bonus but its by no means as important as actually being able to program. The recruitment agencies tell me they do their searches based solely on key word skills (not on Degrees or qualifications) and the employers tell me that even if you say that learnt Java at Uni or your own your own, they are still going to test that independently. So the degree on its own wont get the job.

The problem I have is that with the OU (apart from the quality of the content) and unlike other Unis you don't get any practical experience. There are no work placement schemes or internships. Plus what I have learnt through the OU doesn't give me much to talk about in an interview. It all seems so irrelevant.

If I could start again (and had the money) I would have done what you suggest and taken a multitude of industry specific programming courses, through the companies that make the products. But I would have also done projects on my own so that in interviews I would actually have something to talk about. I know I would have learnt a lot more that way.

But again that's my opinion and its not worth much. I am only venting here because I wish that when I started with the OU I had gotten some independent advice.

Reply 8543

sputum

Original post by mcbightonbrian

Yes you make a valid point however I am really trying to become a programmer so the MS certs are not of much value there.

My OU qualifications so far are not what employers want , despite what the OU you tells you on their web site.

It's an academic qualification and doesn't really guarantee any real-world utility. The difference between studying it and 'doing' it seemed massive (I started OU with 3 IT courses)
and in my opinion there aren't really barriers to doing your own stuff and learning that way.

fwiw I have had IT opportunities from clerical/data entry jobs just from showing a bit of initiative and if I still wanted a job in IT I'd happily take a non-IT job with a suitable firm and go from there.

Reply 8544

dg2009

So I'm officially a student on the K272 module, just paid my fees :banana:

I could pay for K217 also as I do have the money already (set aside for my holiday) but really want to have the other money in my account before I do in case something happens.

Reply 8545

fuzzyfeet

Yes but you do realise that unless you do a degree in software engineering you really wont learn to program that much. Example, before I moved back to the UK i was about the start university in America for computer science and very little of it was programming.
Via OU I am studying software engineering and take Java courses. Which are decent. However you are left on your own to work through it all and that I dislike. One of the main reasons I am starting local Uni next year.

Along with my degree I also have certifications in CCNA, compTIA and Microsoft. I will be adding my Oracle Java certificates too. That is a fantastic cert ot have to your name. I treat a degree as the back bone to these. Degree shows you can work and study on a professional level and have the ability to learn complex material. It also gives you the perspective of software engineering from an academic point and programming is only a tiny fraction of this engineering.
So yes, you can teach yourself programming but you wont have the acadmemic insight into the overall concepts of engineering / computer science and the vast majority of IT companies won't look twice at you.

My Father is a senior manager at a leading IT company and they won't touch anybody who has no degree for the facts about software engineering being far far more than being able to write a line of code.

Go get involved with open source projects, join stackoverflow and work your way up and do all that whilst getting a degree.

note :

DG2OO9.
Quoted the wrong bloody post in this message. Very very sorry, I was talking to one of the posters above you.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 8546

iloveteddy14

im all registered now as student on K118 , just waiitng for my student loan to come through in a couple of weeks and for my student page to open on the 24th September and things should be okay.

Reply 8547

HurdlesToJump

Original post by iloveteddy14

im all registered now as student on K118 , just waiitng for my student loan to come through in a couple of weeks and for my student page to open on the 24th September and things should be okay.

Wow you are the first person i've found that's doing k118 lol I'm doing that and k101 eek so excited but yet so nervous!!! X

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Reply 8548

Leanney

Original post by bblace

Hi Slinden, I'm also thinking of doing that degree (or BSc Forensic Psychology, can't decide atm but luckily both start with same compulsories) starting in October. Are you thinking of doing DD102 and DE100 together as that's what I'm wondering too? Hoping that the workload won't be too tough for level one courses :smile:

Please let me know if you get any ideas on how to go about it as hoping to apply tomorrow since SAAS apps finish on Monday.

B

I've chosen DD102 and DE100 as my first two modules together too! I'm also hoping the workload won't be too much as I have a part time job as well, oh well no rest for the wicked eh! :wink:

Reply 8549

ashkent

Original post by Leanney

I've chosen DD102 and DE100 as my first two modules together too! I'm also hoping the workload won't be too much as I have a part time job as well, oh well no rest for the wicked eh! :wink:

Hi, how have you managed to select both these modules together? Have you done a previous module with the OU. I emailed them and was told I can't do DE100 until I've done DD102.

Reply 8550

Miss RaaRaa

Original post by ashkent

Hi, how have you managed to select both these modules together? Have you done a previous module with the OU. I emailed them and was told I can't do DE100 until I've done DD102.

I also got told this :frown:

Reply 8551

Leanney

Original post by ashkent

Hi, how have you managed to select both these modules together? Have you done a previous module with the OU. I emailed them and was told I can't do DE100 until I've done DD102.

Original post by Miss RaaRaa

I also got told this :frown:

Oh I have no idea! I just chose both of them and it let me do it :s-smilie:

They did email me saying that I should consider doing them one after the other as the workload may be too much but they didn't say I couldn't do it D: Maybe you guys could phone them and say that I am studying both of them, and they may let you do it too then?

And no, this is my first ever time studying with the OU so have no idea what to expect!

Reply 8552

ashkent

Original post by Leanney

Oh I have no idea! I just chose both of them and it let me do it :s-smilie:

Leanney, are you studying Q07 BSc (hons) Psychology? Is DD102 and DE100 your first modules?

If so, would it be possible for you to post a screenshot of your registration for both modules (obviously with your personal details removed) as I would like to present that as evidence to the OU, arguing my case to do both modules.

This is the email they sent me when I queried it...

[INDENT]Thank you for your email.

The qualification you are registered on, BSc (Hons) Psychology, does restrict students to part-time study in their first year. As such, you will only be able to undertake 60 credits of study in your first year.
The reason for this is that the modules which make up the first stages of this qualification are designed to be studied one after the other, not concurrently.

If your circumstances allow, you could increase your study intensity in later years to complete this qualification in a minimum of four years.

If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Student Registration and Enquiry Service.

[/INDENT]

Reply 8553

Leanney

Original post by ashkent

Leanney, are you studying Q07 BSc (hons) Psychology? Is DD102 and DE100 your first modules?

If so, would it be possible for you to post a screenshot of your registration for both modules (obviously with your personal details removed) as I would like to present that as evidence to the OU, arguing my case to do both modules.

This is the email they sent me when I queried it...
Thank you for your email.

The qualification you are registered on, BSc (Hons) Psychology, does restrict students to part-time study in their first year. As such, you will only be able to undertake 60 credits of study in your first year.
The reason for this is that the modules which make up the first stages of this qualification are designed to be studied one after the other, not concurrently.

If your circumstances allow, you could increase your study intensity in later years to complete this qualification in a minimum of four years.

If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Student Registration and Enquiry Service.

Oh no! Sorry I'm doing the Open Degree! Thought I mentioned that sorry :frown:

Reply 8554

al_habib

Original post by Yasmin25

Have any of you who are signed up to start S104 in Oct also doing the free 4 week maths and numbers course that starts on Monday?

Here's the description of the module copied from the site

Basic Science: Understanding Numbers

This course explains how you can use numbers to describe the natural world and make sense of everything from atoms to oceans.

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i am planning to do maths and finance/physics am not sure i want a combination coz i like maths if i do separately i might get bored. so is it possible to pay tuition fees by cash/upfront so that i don't have to repay when i get a job.

Reply 8555

Rum Ham

Got this year's worth of materials through today. It doesn't look like a lot but don't let that fool you! Lol

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1409313722217.jpg97.5KB

Reply 8556

Rum Ham

Original post by al_habib

Sorry I'm not too sure about how funding and paying for the course fees would work for you. Best calling up OU and asking them directly.

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Reply 8557

BestProfileName

Original post by Yasmin25

Got this year's worth of materials through today. It doesn't look like a lot but don't let that fool you! Lol

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Hi Yasmin. Which books are compulsory for S104? I read that there has been a change. Something about 3 books being optional - 5 through 7, with 8 no longer being assessed.

Reply 8558

Rum Ham

Original post by BestProfileName

Hi Yasmin. Which books are compulsory for S104? I read that there has been a change. Something about 3 books being optional - 5 through 7, with 8 no longer being assessed.

As far as I know, all the books are complusory from S104. I done most of that module last year but deferred the rest of the module until this Oct and was told all books are compulsory. Maybe its different now. Best calling up OU and asking them.