Finally Decided to ....

[Stephen]

... get up off my lazy backside and try to shift my career

I never got round to completing my degree (first child came along and priorities shifted,) but managed to get into my job of choice (programmer) based on my skills and qualifications (4 A-level, 2 maths, physics and computing) and have been slogging away at it for 10 years now.

But the problem is, I'm bored. I'm in a job that rots my mind and I just don't feel the drive to go to work any more. I'm sure a lot of people feel like this, but I've been there for way too long now.

I've had a week away on hols and have come back with a fresh mind set and determination to do something about it. I don't know where or to what this will lead, but maybe that's half the fun?

I've signed up with the Open University (just in time to start before the new tuition fees come into effect) and I'm looking at an open degree, mostly based on physics / astro but retaining some of my strengths (maths) in for the mix.

My first course is Using mathematics (MST121) which looks to be the right sort of level for me, and is also part of the requisites for the open degree. It's also a suggested pre req for some of the astro stuff.

I know there are various threads on OU, but I've not seen much said about this course - has anyone sat it, have any thoughts on it?

[Hypernova]

Good for you and I am sure that your life will be better for making this choice, no harm in in a change in direction and doing something that you are truly interested in

I'll be going with the OU in a year's time to do their 2plus2 course whereby I do 2 years of home study and then 2 years of study at Keele Uni to get a dual honours in Astrophysics and Maths. Little steps though as it a big change for me and I need to get my GCSEs at college this coming year to move forward.

[ronin]

Sorry don't take this negatively but the course options you are doing and the employment history will mean that when you complete you will be ideally suited to programming.

Now I agree that you should do what you are good at, which in this case seems to be maths and physics in one form or another. So to that extent you are doing the right thing.

Other then what you are doing, what is it that you want to do?

Assuming that programming was not available to you what would you want to do in the area that you have the strengths in - lets say mathematical/computational.

Another thing, and it would be useful if people could do it with any accuracy, what will the employment situation be in say 5 years. What skills may be wanted then.

[Stephen]

Sorry don't take this negatively but the course options you are doing and the employment history will mean that when you complete you will be ideally suited to programming.

Now I agree that you should do what you are good at, which in this case seems to be maths and physics in one form or another. So to that extent you are doing the right thing.

Your comments are appreciated so no worries about me taking it negatively

When I am complete I will have a degree (hopefully) in pure science (I am also considering B64 Natural Sciences rather than the Open Degree.)

The maths course I have selected is a "starter." It fits into the optional bracket of everything I am looking at, and also gives me a means of starting with a field I hope I am still proficient in. I suspect it's also pretty necessary to have those skills (still) in any area of Science I aim for.

The next course will be S104 Explore Science - as such pushing the degree in the direction I want it to go, followed by more Physics courses. Unfortunately the pure Physics degree is not available after 2014 and I don't suspect I will be completed by then else I would be on that track.

Other then what you are doing, what is it that you want to do?

Assuming that programming was not available to you what would you want to do in the area that you have the strengths in - lets say mathematical/computational.

I want to do something that interests me When I was in higher education the first time, other than saying I wanted to be a coder I didn't have any further aspirations. This time round I am saying I want to do something in physics / science - that's enough for now.

If programming wasn't available to me now, I'd probably have to go into teaching - that is always a target in whichever area I end up in 5 / 10 years time.

Another thing, and it would be useful if people could do it with any accuracy, what will the employment situation be in say 5 years. What skills may be wanted then.

Who knows One day at a time - try to improve things rather than sink deeper into what I am doing.

[Earl]

Learn Mandarin.

[hayju01]

Great idea Kh3ldar i wish you all the best. I too am stuck in a boring job with no will to go to work, we have been in uncertain times at work for 2 years and it's been going down hill for the last 3. Our company has been taken over and i have no idea what the future holds, I'm not 'worried' about it or even about being made redundant it's the uncertainty that's killing me and my mind. With 16 years at the company and redundancy being a possibility leaving it not an option for me with a wife and 4 kids to support, i just need to sit tight and hope things move forward soon but thats probably not till after Christmas.

Sorry, dont mean to steal you thread just wanted to say I know where you are and sympathise with you.

Good luck with your endeavours where ever they may lead you, please keep us updated on your progress.

Regards,

Justin

[JamesF]

I've worked in IT for more than twenty years (post degree -- I think I've been earning money from doing stuff with computers since I was about sixteen) and I'd love to get out. It's just a question of gaining sufficient financial stability to manage the transition.

An acquaintance of mine believes there's no real reward in IT these days. He says that given the opportunity he'd rather be a plumber -- "the pay is reasonable, people don't expect you to work for free, don't quibble if you charge more for working unsociable hours and are grateful when you clean up their, err, faeces".

I can't honestly say that I don't have a certain amount of sympathy with his point of view.

James

[hayju01]

I've worked in IT for more than twenty years (post degree -- I think I've been earning money from doing stuff with computers since I was about sixteen) and I'd love to get out. It's just a question of gaining sufficient financial stability to manage the transition.

An acquaintance of mine believes there's no real reward in IT these days. He says that given the opportunity he'd rather be a plumber -- "the pay is reasonable, people don't expect you to work for free, don't quibble if you charge more for working unsociable hours and are grateful when you clean up their, err, faeces".

I can't honestly say that I don't have a certain amount of sympathy with his point of view.

James

I too have worked in IT for 20 years and I couldnt have put it better than your acquaintance so very true.

[chemtom24]

I've worked in IT for more than twenty years (post degree -- I think I've been earning money from doing stuff with computers since I was about sixteen) and I'd love to get out. It's just a question of gaining sufficient financial stability to manage the transition.

An acquaintance of mine believes there's no real reward in IT these days. He says that given the opportunity he'd rather be a plumber -- "the pay is reasonable, people don't expect you to work for free, don't quibble if you charge more for working unsociable hours and are grateful when you clean up their, err, faeces".

I can't honestly say that I don't have a certain amount of sympathy with his point of view.

James

having worked with a sparky for 2 years when i was 16, then going into groundworks, and then demolition for 3 years before i decided to go to college and leave that labourous work behind - i can assure you that it isnt all its cracked up to be.

granted plumbing is slightly different but not by a great deal. still a lot of mess, hard work and sometimes some pretty crappy jobs.

ive done work in between uni terms, and i am so so glad ive left that world behind.

To the OP - great to hear you are going to do something about the feeling almost everyone gets at some point about their job, i wish you all the best

[great_bear]

managed to get into my job of choice (programmer) based on my skills and qualifications (4 A-level, 2 maths, physics and computing) and have been slogging away at it for 10 years now.

But the problem is, I'm bored. I'm in a job that rots my mind and I just don't feel the drive to go to work any more.

Software Development jobs feel wildly different depending on what domain and which company you work for. I've had some amazing times as a software developer, and some astonishingly dull times as well.

There's very few jobs that offer such a vast range of different working environments than software development does. I'm sure you've not exhausted them all yet

[Stephen]

Software Development jobs feel wildly different depending on what domain and which company you work for. I've had some amazing times as a software developer, and some astonishingly dull times as well.

There's very few jobs that offer such a vast range of different working environments than software development does. I'm sure you've not exhausted them all yet

A fair point

I think it's quite likely between now and the proposed five years I will end up in another company. You never know, it may spark my imagination once again! The last three haven't however ....

I think one indicator on the way has been my own personal development as a coder. There was a time when I used to read, research, code in my own time as well to improve myself. The mere thought of writing code at home now ......

[great_bear]

The mere thought of writing code at home now ......

Ruby puts the fun back into coding, I find. It makes you realise how much "beaurocracy" in other languages is unnecessary in practice.

[lw24]

I wish you success in this new career route!

It is one I wish to follow (physics/astronomy), just depends on how my GCSEs and A Levels go!

Good luck and clear skies!

[Macavity]

I think the GREAT thing is a positive attitude. One should (ever) "do a degree", mostly for it's own sake - Albeit keeping an eye on prospects, financial viability etc. But things were much easier in my care-free student-ing days... <gasp wheeze>

But I sense "academia" in no passport to job satisfaction. Some of my (Particle Physics) bosses made Alan Sugar look like "Bo Peep" (LOL) and, out of sight of "normal" work-practice, there's as just much (more?) skull-duggery and (REAL!) craziness...

Being early-retired has no(!) mundane benefits - Occasionally, I miss the challenge of Physics, (later!) Programming... the company of the like-minded etc. BUT, if I only "last" a few years more, I am glad to have finally indulged my amateur astronomy, and not-least the occasional "anti-scientific" frivolity. Tho' don't tell Brian Cox.

[bish]

I sat doing the same type of job for many years and kept thinking about doing something different. The last company I worked for closed down and we were all made redundant. Now I work for myself and whilst the finances can be very up and down I wish I had made the break years ago.

[Vicky]

Hi Kh3ldar,

I've done a few OU science/maths education courses, (twenty since 2001, alongside S282, 'Astronomy' on the go) graduated two years ago but am still going as I really enjoy doing them and they keep my hand in, so to speak.

I did MST121 after I graduated with a view to perhaps teaching maths (although my true love is science/chem). I didn't really enjoy it as its very different from school maths- which I would love to teach. Its got elements similar to A'level. To be honest it just isn't my thing, I think science suits my interest and learning style much better, not to say its not a great course- just felt dull to me. With MS221 I could then go onto maths PGCE but I think I'll stick with my chem instead, much more practical and it excites me. My mum did MST121 a few years before and loved it but chem/astro puts her to sleep

I chose not to go for the named degree in the end. I'd secured the grade I wanted as an Open honours degree and didn't see the need to do the project course in order to make it a named qualification. I have named diplomas and certificate and also for teaching the name is less important than the content. My whole degree is either S or M/ ME courses so for science PGCE/GTP it seems adequate. To be fair my degree was weak on the physics side of things hence the post-degree astro studies just to bump up that side of things.

OU can be tough, it does require discipline and organisation but on the flip side almost everyone is keen and interested and the tutors will <mostly> go the extra mile to help. The OU is very good at helping and advising on course choice and if there are any issues.

My top tip is to attend as many face to face tutorials as you can as they are fantastic. There are usually tips for the assignments and exam/eca but also its great to meet people in the real world who have the same ideas/questions and concerns about the course as oneself.

I hope this helps- if I can do it anyone can Feel free to either ask here or pm me with anything else you'd like to know.

Best wishes for the future

Vicky

[Stephen]

Thanks for all the info Vicky. Sounds like MST121 is just what I need to get started.

I don't think I will be taking MS221 as it just doesn't seem to fit in what I want at the moment. My second year (level) couse of choice for the maths side would be MST209 Mathematical Methods and Models.

It is suggested there is a "bridging" document that can fill in the gap from 121 to 209 if 221 hasn't been taken.

At the moment the most confusing bit is fitting it all together to form the semi-final course list / plan. Doesn't seem to matter which way round I juggle them, there's always suggested requisites that are missing!

360 point degree? Hah, more like 480 I've fired off a few emails to the enquiries desk to get their feedback on it all.

[Vicky]

Its good to plan but to also bear in mind that some courses might change/end while new ones start. I suppose I never had a firm plans as such but plans for perhaps the year after next seemed to change a few times. Before I did S103 (old S104) I was pretty sure I would go the maths route afterwards but S103 made me realise how much I love chemistry and that was my next plan. But a particular third level chem changed everything again.

In the end it was a bit of mix and match (with enough chem to secure me a PGCE place for when the time comes). In the end I chose courses I liked the look of (with a strict national curriculum basis) rather than do courses to fit within a named degree. But it is personal choice and I appreciate for some it is more important than it was for me.

On the bottom of the course descriptions pages it says when the course will be available until, it may be worth having a look at those for your plan. Also sometimes they change presentation dates- S283 was changed from Jan-Oct to Nov-June this time- they do tend only to shift the once and seem to be moving to the more popular Sept-June format. The different dates can have an effect too. It may mean no breaks (a 12 month study period) or sometimes an enforced break of a few months, so thats worth thinking about too.

When I started it used to mainly be Feb-Oct courses (and only 30/60 pointers). To be honest I found that after the exam it was great to have a break to do other things but by Feb I was itching to get going again. I've had two years more or less straight through this time and I'm going to be glad when I have my exam in October. Admittedly I'm starting their online 10 week photography course (T189) in November but hoping that will be less taxing and more about getting out with the camera

Where do you want to end up at third level? I know I'd quite like to explore their physics/astro courses myself after this 2nd level but it looks like the 60 pointer physics and maths (S207/209) are required and I really don't fancy a sixty pointer.

[Stephen]

Physics/astro absolutely. I agree about the S207/MST209, and 209 is already in my "list" - thought I will take on board what you said about planning it out too much.

Just can't see how to squeeze 207 in! Maybe dropping S283 Planetary Science and the Search for Life will help as I've read it's a lot of geology/vulcanism/biology - have you sat this one?

Current Lvl3 is

SMT359 Electromagnetism (though I'm strongly tempted to change it to SM358 The Quantum World)

S382 Astrophysics

S383 The Relativistic Universe

plus

SXP390 Project : Radiation and Matter

The more I look at it the more I'm starting to think it makes more sense to drop Planetary Science for S207 even if it means changing a 30 pointer for a 60.

[Vicky]

I just got my results for planetary science today- I'm a happy bunny

I thoroughly enjoyed it so would recommend it for that reason. That said its probably more useful to do S207. Perhaps you could get the books for S283 and go through them yourself? I got them before deciding to go for the course. With S282 I don't think I would be as engaged just reading vs doing the course- I feel its much more intense, but I know others felt differently.

The other thing is you could 'drop' investigative science and do S283 instead. I hadn't realised that in a way, to do any third level physics you have to do more than 120 at level 2. That's barmy! I was going to suggest you drop the SXP288 one but having been to Majorca myself this year I'd say keep firmly hold of that one if you want to experience OU residential schools (they're wonderful).

I suppose wait and see what an advisor says but that seems a good plan to me

I also wonder if you might like SXR103. I know you've got more than enough credits in mind but this residential is brilliant and a great grounding. I appreciate its not always possible to take a break to get away for a week (I postponed my first one for a few years) but if you could they really are brilliant.

Its tricky... maybe after S104 (and maybe SXR103, if you did both together) you will be more focussed on which way you want to go. Maybe you wouldn't need to do MST209 if you find S207 (and the maths) is ok. I'm only saying this as I went from 90 second level chem credits to third level biology courses and didn't have a problem.

Let me know how you get on

Best wishes

Vicky

[Stephen]

Congratulations (I assume?!)

If I stick with my "named" degree, both Investigative Science and SXP288 are mandatory (well there's choices, I have to do something in those blocks from a list, not open.) SXR103 is the alternate for Investigative Science.

207 for 209 could work out well ........ I think I'm coming round to accepting I have to do it anyways

It is certainly barmy how it all seems to pile up on Lvl2

Feel I've confused the thread somewhat, I'll drop you a PM if I come to any conclusions. Thanks for the help!

[Vicky]

Thanks, yes I got what I wanted. Feel free to drop me a pm whenever and good luck!

[Stephen]

Well may as well update this. I am registered and on S104 starting in October. I've decided to start with the science rather than warm up with the maths I've laid my plan out in the other OU thread so I won't go into it again.

The first lot of material arrived today. I was a bit shocked ......

Apparently more books come in the new year!

[shaunster]

Book 1 - Global warming? Ouch...

[Stephen]

Book 1 - Global warming? Ouch...

They pick up thankfully

Global Warming

Earth and Space

Energy and Light

The Right Chemistry

Life

Exploring Earth's History (Not delivered until Feb?!)

Quarks and Quasars

Life in The Universe