WIBU to do an online course?

[MissionItsPossible]

Sorry to shoehorn in an AIBU but was hoping the traffic would see a lot of replies on this thread.

Has anyone done an online course before? Was it worth it and do you think it helped you find employment or go further in your field of work? Just been thinking about it for a bit now but didn’t want to waste time and money if they are not looked upon as ‘real’ qualifications.

If anyone is an employer I would also be interested in whether you’d consider someone who had a degree from studying online or whether the C.V would go straight in the bin in favour of someone who studied Full Time.

Thanks in advance.

I think the key is to find a credible organisation. I did my food hygiene training online, (catering manager, but a voluntary position, not paid employment), and for me the key was looking for an accredited course that was accepted by the EHO. The one I did was brilliant, and covered everything I needed for an EHO inspection a few months ago.

In terms of degree level study, I think a lot of employers appreciate the level of discipline and organisation required to obtain a degree from part time study. I used to work for the OU, specifically with employers. The ones who had chosen us as a learning provider were certainly very complimentary about the quality of the learning materials and the calibre of students, but I think some are still a little nervous of 'online' vs face to face delivery.

The Open University is very well regarded and most red brick universities offer distance courses. Have a look at London, Liverpool, Manchester etc.

Thanks for the replies both. To be honest I haven’t a clue in what I would study at this stage but want something I can build a career upon and something that will keep my interest.

What are you doing now? What type of things do you like doing? Vocational, practical, problem solving, office based, healthcare, working with animals etc? I appreciate that you might not want to out yourself but there's not much information on your current circumstances for us to give you real advice.

I'd try to figure out what your passion is before looking at the mode of study (although it's important).

If money was no barrier, you had all the time to study you needed and everything was "perfect", what could you see yourself doing? What would you regret not doing on your deathbed, do you think? What could you not imagine living without doing?

I'm studying that thing with the OU. It's my second degree and studying around family and adult life commitments is FAR harder than being at uni full time as a 19 year old, single person with no kids. I'm not sure I could get through it if I wasn't dead certain of why I was doing it. It's hard and there are many sacrifices. It's also worth it because I couldn't imagine not studying this, nor not working in this field later.

As for how the course through the OU is viewed, I can't answer for certain yet but I hear favourable things. Incidentally I was looking at doing a post graduate diploma and then masters at a non-red brick uni (because it was faster, and therefore cheaper) and mentioned it to my GP. She advised me to go for the OU as the quality is known to be good and would be better regarded then my alternative. So I did!