English literature degree at 52. Absolutely ridiculous?

[MaliceInWanderland]

I've been thinking about it for a while now and am almost decided on taking the plunge via the OU.

Part time so it'll take approximately 6 years which just makes the whole thing even more ludicrous

I have no qualifications really - a handful of GCSE's and that's it. I've always loved literature though and I'm at a point in my life where I'm looking for a new challenge

I work part time, my children are adults / almost adult and I can certainly spare the 12 or so hours of study a week

But is it just a really big self indulgent ego trip? A waste of time? Not like I could then use the degree (if I even manage to get it!) for anything as I'll be even more ancient than I am already!

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Well… I am planning to do an OU degree when I finally have the time and money to. I am currently 46 with teen/tween so will probably be at least 52 when I finally do. I fancy English too. No desire to use it for a career. Just think I’d enjoy it and feel happy.

So I say go for it 😃

@LoreleiG 'enjoy it and feel happy'

That's a very good point! Something for me to ponder on. And I hope you go for it too.

I think it sounds like a lovely idea and I wish you all the best. I have a student about your age who's learning Greek with me and she is a fantastic student, so rewarding and smart and hard-working. Older students are my favourite!

Personal growth, achievement, having something to reach for and keep you engaged, are NEVER going to be ludicrous. How could it be?

Not everything needs to have a purpose. Some of it is just creating the joyful, learning, uplifting journey.

I did consider doing something that could perhaps lead to a career, as I'm not entirely stupid but decided I'm just too old and I lack qualifications.

@VeryQuaintIrene wow, Greek! I can't even imagine how challenging that must be. Good for her. Sounds like she is well on her way to succeeding too

Definitely not a waste of time! Just manage your expectations in terms of what work prospects it might bring you, but that doesn’t sound like it’s your motivation.
I say go for it.

@Mydahliasareshit thank you. I like that way of looking at it.

When I did my English degree in Hull back in the 90s, one of my best friends on the course was a woman in her early 50s who lived locally & was doing it simply because she wanted to.

If she could do it then, you can do it now! Have fun.

Oh no I would definitely do it! I did my Humanities with English degree with OU from 31-35 years old. I bloody loved it! I then went into teaching. I am always musing whether to take a full English lit or history of art degree now in semi-retired as I especially enjoyed those modules.
Go for it OP and good on you!

If you can afford it and will enjoy it (rather than just finding it an expensive source of stress when writing assignments), then why not? It's not really any different to other hobbies.

If it will bring you joy, fulfilment, satisfaction, opportunities to connect with people who share similar interests, a sense of achievement... who cares what you do after it?

Is it 12 hours per week or 16-18 though? Will you be happy with the study cycle in terms of when you will/won't be studying throughout the year and how that fits into your life and motivation to continue for 6 years?

The modules that only take 12 hours per week usually only have 2-4 break weeks out of every 52, whereas the modules with 16-18 hours you would have 3-4 months of breaks in a 12 month period.

You're all very encouraging!

I've not even told my husband yet

And yeah, I know I could not compete with someone half my age job wise but I don't think that's my motivation. I'm not entirely sure what my motivation is tbh.

I don't feel 52, I don't act 52 (whatever a 52 year old is supposed to act like!) and I've never had a career (just my own business) but a little voice is nagging away saying 'it took you an hour to work out the modules / points system .. that doesn't bode well '

Do do a degree but if you love literature don't do an English degree, in my friendship group more people were turned off books for life than discovered joy in studying them.

I did an English Degree (Winchester University) in my early 50s just for fun. I love learning new things!

There is nothing wrong with a bit of self indulgence - go for it!

@atticstage I will look more into the weekly hour commitment, thank you - you could well be correct!

I also wasn't sure what English degree to go for so plumped for just the straight forward English lit. There was quite a few. All I know is that I do not want to do creative writing alongside it!

My mum did her humanities degree at 53, and loved it! She has zero need nor desire to use it for her career, but who cares? What’s better than something that will improve your knowledge and confidence and bring you joy?! Bloody go for it lady! I wish I could do a degree at some point too (just need the kids and work to quieten down first!)

I agree Eng Lit is one way to kill off your love for Eng Lit, but the amazing thing about OU is how flexible it is. You will start your course with an introduction to the Humanities course that will touch on all sorts of different subjects and you can either progress in a linear way towards a degree or you can get an Open degree which is points-based.

It's been a while for me, i have a certificate of Higher Ed which was maybe 150 points? (Can't be arsed going to look, sorry!). I did intro to humanities, two history courses and then a brilliant module in creative writing which I adored. Will go back in the future for sure.

@NormalAuntFanny yes, I can imagine that could be the case!

I've not read a huge amount of the classics so I was thinking this may encourage me to do so.

I'm almost certain English is where I would need to be concentrating efforts - history was also a contender but I'm quite particular about what periods actually interest me so that's probably a no

@HelloMyNameIsElderSmurf thank you for that.

So... I could go for other modules then? Chop and change a bit? And then , if I did this, would my degree be just described as an OU degree?

Do it! I did mine in my late 20s (joint English and Women's Studies) and I loved it. Oldest English student was a retired eye surgeon in his early 80s! I'm mid 50s now and very tempted to go back as I got into history a year after graduation.

Two hours reading six days a week sounds doable. Go for it!
I don’t think studying literature will put you off literature.

Work on your self worth. Doing something you love and which is at no detriment to anything is hardly ‘a big ego trip’. Learning is always worth it

That's a fair point.

Op, if you decide to explore other options to get your literature fix, I really rate some of the short literature courses the WEA offers. Some great tutors and I got to explore books I never would have felt confident to read (or understand!) alone.

They haven't listed their autumn 24/25 courses yet so it's not the best time to look just now, but I think they'll start appearing on the website from the second week of July.

https://www.wea.org.uk/

I did an English lit degree and totally disagree that it kills reading for pleasure, btw. I did an English lit degree and reading is still one of my greatest hobbies. Definitely never too late to learn something new. Similar to a pp, my granny decided she wanted to learn Ancient Greek in her 70s: not a full degree tbf, but she loved the challenge.