Post by jessPost by James GregoryI know I'm the worst person in the world to be asking this question
(started a job as a cleaner a couple of days ago...), the doomsday
question is of course "what do you want to do in the future?", "where
do you see yourself in 5 years?", etc. If you really, genuinely want
to stay in Wales with your parents, and have no particular ambitions
or wish to go and meet new people from other parts of the
country/world, then maybe you should just get a job. Or maybe even
look into doing some sort of vocational training so you don't end up
with a job as shit as mine.
i think you misunderstand my situation.
i have a job, which is in the career i want, which i do not need a degree
for. i know exactly where i want to be in five years, and how to get there.
however, i am also interested in studying a degree just out of interest. as
cardiff doesn't do any part time evening courses, the ou seems the best
option for me, so therefore i was asking if people here had any experience
of it.
i don't want to stay living with my parents. that is why i *don't* wish to
go away to uni, as like i explained to toby, i would still be living at home
during the holidays. instead, i wish to stay in my job, save up a bit more
for my deposit, and then get a flat/ house in cardiff.
staying in wales doesn't prevent me from meeting new people from other parts
of the counrty or world.
Post by James GregoryMeanwhile, if you're just in a bad mood and actually you would quite
like to meet new people and try new things, go do a degree in English
or something, sure in the knowledge you'll only need to work if you
want to and you can spend most of your life for three years
socialising and stuff.
i don't think that i can justify getting into at least £9,000 of debt just
to socialise.
this question is not just to james: what would i get out of stuyding a
traditional degree that i wouldn't get out of an ou degree?
I don't have any experience with the OU, but I'm currently halfway through a
two year distance learning law conversion course. In terms of mode of
study, its pretty similar to the OU - six weekends a year of (intensive)
tuition, and working at home from books and videos the rest of the time.
I've also done a three year maths degree at Warwick.
I'm getting much more out of the distance learning course than I ever did
out of the full time course. I don't think that has anything to do with
Warwick - which is a fantastic university - but more to do with the fact
that I never quite learned how to approach studying at degree level, and
with hindsight I think I struggled with the lack of spoonfeeding athough I
didn't realise this at the time. In the end, I only got a third, and that
was due to the university being kind to me as I technically failed my third
year.
The third has never been much of an issue, as I've since applied for and
been offered a number of jobs where the advert said that a 2:1 was
essential. I see no reason that I wouldn't have been offered those jobs if
I didn't have a degree at all, so as others have said I think a starting a
degree course would be pretty pointless if it was solely to get a better
job.
Academically, I find the distance learning approach easier to cope with.
When I was at university I had a tendancy to compare myself unfavourably to
other students and come to the conclusion that I was never going to
understand anything anyway - its impossible to do that when there is nobody
else around! Without the pressure to keep up with lectures, it is also
easier to decide you are interested in some random part of your course and
go away and learn about that for a bit. Obviously you then get greater
perspective on the examinable material.
You will get to meet new people doing an OU/distance learning course, and
you may find that most of them are *far* more committed to their course than
your average university student. The excuses and apathy mentioned by some
of the lecturers who contribute to this newsgroup do not tend to be issues
on DL courses. Even our lecturers have said that DL students are much more
willing to participate in seminars than full time students tend to be.
My current boss believes that distance learning promotes time management
skills and a whole bundle of other things that she likes to put on appraisal
forms. That makes it easier to tick the boxes that result in you getting
pay rises and promotions - a bonus that the traditional degree is unlikely
to give you.
I know you asked for the advantages of a traditional degree, and I've just
given you the ramblings of a failed university student about the benefits of
distance learning, but I hope some of it is helpful anyway!
Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
Laura.