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

I don't have any qualifications (for reasons that were beyond my control) and I'm on track for a 2.1.

@MyrtlethePurpleTurtle I would agree with you there. A brain scan may prove otherwise but I can honestly say that at 52, I'm as cognitively with it as I ever was!

I started English Lit with Creative writing last year, part time, at the age of 52. I have 7 GCEs and nothing else and that's part of why I decided to do a degree now. I didn't have parental support when I was a teenager so ended up working 6 days a week in menial jobs to pay the rent, instead of continuing my education.
So, why not do a degree now?! I applied for a student loan and got one.
Studying was a steep learning curve to begin with, just learning how to construct an essay after decades out of education.
For my first essay I got 65% which I was a bit gutted with, but I kept going and my final assignment last year, I got 89%! 😳My first 2 assignments this year have received marks of 85% for both 😳.
You won't avoid Sophocles though I'm afraid, because we studied the play Antigone written by him last year! (it was what I did my final assignment on and got the 89% 😳) We've just read Jane Eyre and Twelfth Night this year.
Before I started studying last year, I completed a free course called Being an OU Student which gives a flavour of what it's like to study with the OU, so I'd recommend you have a look at that. If you want to do it though and have the time, go for it! Why not?
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/being-ou-student/content-section-overview?active-tab=description-tab

@Turtletunes well done to you!

Err how DO you construct an essay out of interest? 😀 I'm decidedly out of practice too

@Turtletunes I also looked at the English lit with creative writing but decided against it as I'm not sure how good I'd be at the creative writing bit

Do it by all means, for your own self development. But I wouldn't expect a flourishing well paid career from it when it's finished. You will be nearly 60, and there's no way on earth that you're going to forge a new career then. Some posters on here will say 'yes do it! You're so YOUNG!!!' You're not. You're not OLD, but you're not young. Starting a degree at 52 should only be for your own pleasure or for your bucket list.

Why not? Go for it!

I finished a professional qualification degree at a London Unlast Summer age 59 and deferred my dissertation until this summer. It was tough studying, commuting, placements and getting the dissertation done. I'm now 60. I have five kids with three teens still at home in GCSE/ALevels. Anything is possible if you want to do it. I loved every second of it, even the bad bits, and contemplated a Master's in a specialised field, but my partner felt I needed a break from studying, and SFE was only available until I was 60, so I did a private post-grad qualification that would give me well-paid part-time work instead. I intend to retire in less than five years. I did this for me

Utter nonsense; I could walk into a well-paid career at 60 if I wanted to.

Not at all ridiculous.

My husband recently completed a law degree. He is in his 70s.

My mother also did a degree in her 70s (art history and Italian)!

Enjoy

When I started uni at 22 I was worried about being ‘old’!

I did a general art/design degree at a teacher training college, (minus the teacher training) There were two women in their 40’s, one man in his late fifties and one in his sixties on my course, and nobody thought anything of it.

I’m 53 now and absolutely would do a course now, if I fancied one and had the time and inclination, which I don’t. I say go for it, 100%. It doesn’t need to be prep for a career, do it for yourself.

@LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway if you read my opening post - and subsequent ones - you'll see I make no mention of using an English literature degree for a 'flourishing well paid career'

I have my own business. Money isn't an issue for me (which I'm very appreciative of)

I've long accepted a proper career isn't on the cards.

However I now feel kinda ... ancient .. after your uplifting words 😀

Lovely hobby for them, and great for personal development and to keep the mind active. No way anyone could start a brand new career at that age though (with a degree they did aged 60 plus...Or even 54-55 plus.)

Employers want younger people. If a 61 y.o. goes for a job, with their shiny new degree that they have been doing since 54 y.o. and a 27 y.o. is going for the same job; 100% guarantee the 27 y.o. is going to get it. No-one is going to employ the 61 y.o. for a post-grad professional job.

It's not offensive or rude to say this, it's stating facts.

.

DO IT! I took up oil painting at age 56 after failing my Art O' Level when I was 16. Was inspired by Grayson Perry's Art Club which was on TV during Lockdown. I can't tell you how happy and fulfilled it 's made me. It's opened up a whole new world and I feel like I've found a part of me that had been missing for all those years. You're at an age where life can be much more about fulfilling your passions and if you think it would enhance your life then I say go for it. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. Life is short xxx

@MaliceInWanderland

..... if you read my opening post - and subsequent ones - you'll see I make no mention of using an English literature degree for a 'flourishing well paid career'

Well, that's all right then isn't it?

@SweetGingerTea inspirational! Good for you. Sounds great

I think if you have the means and you're not aiming to make a career out of it then absolutely why not!

@LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway well, yes.

I'm not entirely sure why you're being rather unpleasant but hey, it's the internet and we encounter unpleasant comments from time to time

This! ^ Glad someone else said it!

Just to clarify- I'm not saying that due to your age op! I did an English literature degree when I was 19 and loved it, but it's not like other degree paths where it'll lead in a straight line into work, it usually leads to a pgce in teaching or a qualification in journalism or something alongside! I don't see age being a barrier to that necessarily!

Oh for goodness sake. 🙄

Point of where I been unpleasant exactly...

You will have a difficult job doing that, because I haven't.

I have just been honest. I said (and other pps did) that yes go for it, but don't expect to get a career out of it, because you will be 60 when you finish your degree, and employers will favour much younger people. Just because you never mentioned getting a career out of it, that doesn't mean people shouldn't be allowed to say something about it. (In case you were thinking of it. Some people may be under the illusion that no matter what their age, they can do a degree and start a new career.)

And as much as people don't care to admit it, age can be a barrier to a new career. If you finish your degree at 60, of course someone 30+ years younger will be favoured over you.

I can see I am upsetting you and have hit a raw nerve by posting facts, so I will leave it there.

@LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway

My husband and mother had both retired by the time they did their degrees (or I should say their second degrees, as they both did their first ones at a much younger age).

They had no intention of using their second ones for work, they were purely for personal interest. It sounds that the OP is thinking of doing her degree for the same reason.

Many people would do it at 62... so do it now. You could be doing a masters at 62 or researching your PHD?

Good luck

I wish i had the time to do something similar!

So you're in a strong position.

Go for it

I've done Open Uni Humanities with Lit and Creative Writing MA loved them both

I loved my English literature degree as a mature student so much, in doing my master's and planning a PhD!