Brick Uni or Open University

[Hazelnutwhirl]

Having never been to uni and being stuck in low level jobs, I have been thinking of going to uni for the last few years. My interest is ecology, which seems to require a degree. My dilemma is do I go to my local brick uni or the open university and do I self fund or get a loan?

can anyone advise?

Do you have the finances to self fund? Do you have the time to attend a full-time university course?

Why not look into working at the environment agency or natural england and then doing professional / degree apprenticeship qualifications through them. You can enter at fairly low level admin roles and then move relatively easily once in.

I've done the OU it's great at what it does if you just want the uni experience though and student life go to a brick one.

It would be worth looking into any local RSPB or Wildlife trust for voluntary conservation work to get some field experience.

You should also know ecology and conservation jobs don't tend to pay well, if you want to be in the field most I know of are around £30k, above that you move into the office and a more strategic role.

I would have to do Open University as I would have to work pretty much full time. But the local one could be good if you have the time.

I would get a student loan to pay the tuition fees. I don't think there is much advantage in not doing so.

First time went to a brick uni now OU. OU is fantastic in my experience but if you have the time, money and qualifications to go to a brick uni then go for it. It will be a much more social and interactive experience., But if you need flexibility then OU will be excellent.

Get a loan because you don’t have to pay it back unless you earn over a certain amount and even then it will be low unless you earn ££££.

If you want to work in ecology then there is quite a lot of practical elements to it so I would do an in person degree. Might be worth looking at a horticultural type college and then you might not even need to do a 3 year degree, they have shorter courses.

I am not working full time at the moment, as I plan to study.

The brick uni has the course I want, but not sure I have the credits. I also feel a bit anxious about fitting in with people twenty years younger than me, although getting involved with the mature student scene is appealing.

I did an OU introductory course last year and it was very good, and I could choose when I studied, but it doesn’t have a ecology degree but does have a natural science degree.

I have worked in admin most of my life but have never progressed, so not sure working for the environment agency would be worth while, as have wasted too much of my life trying to get somewhere in admin.

i have done a few courses and volunteered for local wildlife groups, I don’t think it’s enough to get me a job in the sector though. I temped at an ecology agency and they only seemed to hire people with degrees.

Also aware the money is necessarily great but compared to admin it’s pretty lucrative and similar to many other jobs.

Aren’t student loans crippling though, that’s what they always make out in the media. Plus being older, I worry about spending my senior years paying it off , when I will need the money for housing or health care. I do have some savings so wondered whether it’s better to pay it all now.

As a mature student I'd be low in expectations about the mature scene/social side.

If you are say mid 20s and living on campus then yes it will be good.'

If you are a lot older, then most people commute/have families to get home to. Plenty of people for coffee post lectures (though I was luckily on a degree aimed at older people doing second degrees-so most mid 20s, I wasn't hanging with the 18 year olds much)

Brick would be full time and hard to work around lectures, unless you have a very flexible employer (I did) or you do minimum wage work. Open university you can do far more work options as less fixed things to attend.

Student loans aren't crippling, the amount on the statement is eye watering but what you pay back isn't. I earn £32 k and pay back £50 a month and I've been to uni twice so my debt is hefty. You won't spend your senior years paying it off. Once you retire it's written off and you only pay 7% ISH after you start eating over a set amount (I can't remember the exact figures). Very hire earners are the only ones that will pay it off fully, and with the best will in the world working in ecology won't put you up there.

I meant join the EA in an admin role and then move across to a field role, there is loads of internal movement and a totally normal thing to do.

Before studying and incurring debt, have you checked that there are likely to be jobs available which are suitable? I imagine it's a highly competitive job market

I know there aren’t lots of jobs in ecology, but feel it’s likely to become more necessary over time, especially considering the continuing impact humans are having on the natural world. It also might help me get other jobs as in my experience, students with degrees seem to be able to get higher paid jobs than those who have no further education.

I wasn’t worried about paying off the loan after I retire, but as a single person I need every penny I can save to help pay for the cost of living.

I really don’t want to go back to admin, unless you really stand out or have a degree, you just get overlooked.

If you specifically want to do ecology, I would check what field trips are offered for each course, because practical experience in surveying is likely to be key.

The Environment Agency are having a big recruitment push on water regulation at present. Maybe have a look at what they are asking for, for environment officers. They don't seem to specify a degree, but it would probably help.

https://environmentagencycareers.co.uk/water-industry-regulation-transformation-programme/?sType=ea_landingpage

If you want to work at the EA, or one of the other environment agencies, it's worth doing a course that has some focus on water, because the majority of their work is on flood mitigation.

Just to add, for environment officer it says:

What do you need:
Essential:

• Full UK manual Driving License.
• GCSE Grade A-C or equivalent in Science-related subject or have equivalent work experience
• Experience of working with customers.

Ideally you will have previous regulatory experience and/or scientific background, but if this is your first role or a career change, we would expect you to draw upon previous scientific knowledge while going through relevant training. The most important thing we are looking for is a passion for environmental improvement and resilience to succeed.

So there is on the job training...

I suggested admin at the EA as that's what I did, entered in a admin role, then 6 months later took on an 18 months assignment in a different department and am having a level 4 qualification paid for despite already having 2 HE qualifications, after my assignment I'll apply for a permanent role in a team I'm interested in or I can go back to my original role it gives you the opportunity to try roles before you commit to that career stream. It's totally normal the EA is big on internal moving and professional development they encourage you to follow your own career path and will pay for you to do the course or support you on an apprenticeship and it allows you to earn and learn and get relevant work experience. If you go via the OU and work you are looking at 6 years at getting where you want to be. Natural England will be very similar as both public sector however I believe there pay scales are slightly lower.

I loved my time as a mature student at a brick uni- I made some good friends both from my course (older and younger than me!) and through the mature student society. I enjoyed being on campus, the lectures, the library.

I don't worry about the student loans! Around £50 a month repayment on 30k sounds about right, and they get written off at 65.