open university full time course and working?

[SnapAndFartAllDayLong]

hi,
I'm hoping to start an open university course soonish… I currently work about 28 hours a week in an unrelated field.

Has anyone done the full time course and worked along side it? I also have a Dh and 3 DCs, is this possible? The part time course takes 6 years, that's whats putting me off doing PT.

I cant afford to lower my hours atm.

Am I being completely mad or is it doable?

thank you

Might be doable depending on dc's age. If they're school age and you're a very organized and determined person with a dh who is completely on board might be doable.

If you can't afford to reduce your hours, I suppose a cleaner is out of the question? Are the dc old enough to take on a lot of the chores along with dc? Also how are you going to pay? - they're not the cheap alternative they used to be unfortunately.

Open University is usually very clear about how many hours are expected for study on each module, so check that and see how you could incorporate them into your week.

*along with dh

My kids ages are 6, 11 and 15 so only 1 at primary school. I'll be paying for it in monthly installements or I think can get a grant/loan as my DH is classed as disabled and cannot work. May try it and reduce to part time if I can't cope?

I am just about to start my 3rd year full time OP. I work 20 hours and have 3 DC 14, 11 and 10. It's hard going but I almost find it acts as a bit of an escape. Some time that is just for me x

Can you do it so modules are staggered but overlap a bit? So start one in October then another in January? Not all the start dates will work out like this. It's definitely doable as I found the hours needed were far less than what they advised. Also, its easier to study multiple modules earlier on in the course when things are easier, although I doubled up right at the end.

You can also get student finance regardless of income OP. I get a part time tuition loan (it's called part time regardless of full time hours) and both me and DH work.

I’m just about to start my nursing through the OU in October, I will continue to work in my role and then go on placements elsewhere 3 times in each stage. It’s over 4 years and my youngest has just started primary (3 DC - 11,7,5) so will report back this time next year

I have done intense online study while working and being a mother. It is difficult. You have to be committed not just motivated. The family have to be on board.

You have to take care of yourself: eat right, exercise, sleep, no drinking etc, because you have no wiggle room. Any bad days due to being ill, unfit, tired will hurt you and the family more than normal.

How much of the course will you have to complete before you could reasonably get a job in that field? That immersion will help you get through the study more easily.

I did my BA part time online (not OU, a brick uni) one 20 credit module per trimester while working full time and found the pace quite slow. I then did an online masters through the same university and I doubled the pace to 40 credits per trimester alongside my 9-5 job. It was absolutely brutal, requiring me to work most evenings until 9pm plus a full day at the weekend. I did my dissertation (15000 words) in a single trimester and had it not been for lockdown and working from home, I don’t think I would have finished writing up on time. I don’t have kids and if I did, I’m not sure I’d have managed the course at that pace.

Thank you! I'm looking at HR related courses. Or history I can't make my mind up 🙄🙄 my head says HR as good job opportunities but my heart says history because I love researching and learning about history. Can't think of any jobs in that industry except teacher and I'm def not teacher material lol.

Just started a level 2 certificate in HR and employment law online course from Groupon to dip my toes in

I'm starting a part-time course with them in October.
I'll get a grant for this as my personal earnings are below 25K as I only work part-time.
The reasons I have chosen not to do it full-time are...

1. After 6 years the DC will be either well into high school or nearly finished it and will be able to be left home alone, So any job I go for I can commit to fully without worrying about holiday/illness childcare
2. I want doing this degree to be something that enhances my life, Not something that adds stress to it.
3. I'm 40 and left school at 16 with barely a standard grade, So I'm not all that confident and I want to give myself more than enough time each week to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

Obviously these may not apply to you at all and if you think you can commit to 35/40 hours per week of study as well as 28 hours of working, I would go for it.
I would imagine it would encroach pretty heavily on your weekends/days off and three years is a long time without a break.

I think they are pretty flexible so even if you started off FT you could always change to PT later on.

Either way, Good luck.

Thank you! It's so daunting isn't it! Just looking online now at open university and other options too

If you are thinking of progressing with HR then you need to find somewhere that offers CIPD qualifications - these are the most recognised in the UK. Link below to the CIPD and who the use for online training.

www.cipd.co.uk/learn/training/online-qualification-centres

Re the CIPD (Good advice), if you do it at your local college it can be covered by an Advanced learner loan

It'll be tough fitting it all in but not insurmountable. I work 35 hours per week, and do part time OU over 6 years. It's hard fitting it all in at times. I use the break weeks to catch up rather than take a break.

I am currently studying full time with the OU alongside a 40 hour a week job. I have a DH, a dog and a DD who is 3. In all honesty, it’s nearly impossible. I do 2 modules a year, one starts October and the second in Feb so there is an overlap of about 3 months. I had just started year 2 of 3 when I had to take a break during covid because of work (HR in the NHS) and I am dreading restarting next month.

I love learning and enjoy the work and the topic but I’m have a high stress job, and it always comes first so I’m not really disciplined enough. I always end up writing assignments at the last minute up until midnight which is beyond stressful. I do a lot of the heavy lifting with my DD as DH is self-employed but she has had 2 illnesses over assignment deadlines and it’s a huge ball of stress.

If I wasn’t so keen to pass I’d honestly give up and I am not a quitter. It needs a very, very, very set amount of time to dedicate every week without fail. As soon as one week slips it’s impossible to get caught back up if you are working.

My work are funding it and I am so grateful but I honestly wish I’d done CIPD in half the time so it would be nearly over.

This is quite an old TED talk now but I think it might speak to you when deciding between HR, history and whatever else is floating around your mind.

www.ted.com/talks/scott_dinsmore_how_to_find_work_you_love

I got my degree today, worked almost full time and it was an absolute nightmare most of the time. You'll need to be really organised and dedicated to doing it, I found most of the time I was so tired from the stressful job it was hard to concentrate, there was lots of mad panic at the last minute. It's a great feeling to have the degree though, and employers will look on you very favourably if you can do a degree at the same time as working.

Have you already applied? If you’re hoping for a September start you might have already missed the cut off date fort this year.

Registration closes 10/9 for the October start, but start the process of registering soon as there are some delays at the moment.

It doesn't have to be all full-time or all part-time - you might do 60 credits one year and 120 credits another year. The first two modules start in both October and January, so one strategy would be to start one in October, see how that goes, and decide whether or not to add the other in January. They'd overlap Jan-May.

Some people do manage full-time study plus part-time work plus kids, but others do end up dropping one module or giving up altogether (if you start full-time and regret it, it's usually possible to defer one module). You need to work out when you will fit in the study, and book that with your family too - so maybe there are nights when you don't do bedtime and other kid-wrangling so you can get stuck into study straight after eating.

On the whole, better to take six years and get a good degree and still have a good family life than to run yourself ragged trying to do it in three.

I did my OU degree at full time rate (3yrs) by overlapping modules like other people have suggested. I worked 30hrs a week at the time and genuinely didn't find it too difficult. You do have to be very organised and I built in 1-2hrs a day of study but I condensed my 30hrs of work into 3 long days giving me 4 days off which worked well.

I'm currently working 33hrs and doing my 2nd degree through a brick uni on a Modern Apprenticeship scheme. Work give me 1 paid study day a week but it's sooo much harder this time.

Thank you for all your advice. So I've registered my interest for the History degree starting in Feb 21!! Just applied for finance so fingers crossed. Had a little research last night and didn't realise how many different industries I could get into with a history degree. I love history and researching so think I'll enjoy the history course more. Urgh my aniexty is already through the roof but I won't let it win!! 💪💪

I did my degree over 7 years part time while working 50h week. The max I did was 60 points at a time which was 16hours a week. 16h was very realistic and most people needed that. Could you really manage 32h a week for study? You need try block out your week and see how it would fit in. I used to do 4h on Saturday and Sunday 3 lunch breaks a week and then two evening session.

Do you have two full days off a week where you could get solid 8h in? Then even with a weekend full day you would still need several evening session. IT is possible but everyone in family needs to be aware that you are studying and you need that time week in week out. You will be absent from many family things and that will have to Be a sacrifice personally I was glad I did it over more years and was able to do other things rather than than work study and nothing else.

Amazing! I finished my OU History degree when DD was 2. I found the hours actually needed to be much less than advised and did two at a time to speed it up. I wasnt working at the time but had DD full time so squeezed the work into evenings and weekends. One word of advice is maybe consider which courses are exam assessed and which are coursework assessed if you have a preference. The level 1 modules you could definitely do x2 at a time. My OU degree opened doors for me career wise and I am now studying for a postgrad. Good luck.

If you are going to do the degree faster then the time to do that is at the beginning. Two level one modules is doable especially if you have education beyond A levels or write quite a bit in your current life. Level 1 is essentially setting the scene, developing essay writing skills, referencing, developing study skills etc. The marks do not count towards your degree, you only need 40% in order to pass. For level two the workload is more demanding and the marks count towards a third of your final mark. At level three the marks count for two thirds of your final grade and the work is harder again. You will probably get a higher mark if you plan to do at least level 3 and possibly level 2 over two years per level. The Feb presentations tend to be more available at level 1, so it is possible to take an oct and a feb presentation at level one but then the level 2 often just start in October.