Career Change

JHeaton

JHeaton

JHeaton

Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2009
Posts
2,669
Location
Lancashire
Yes, it would appear that I'm jumping on the bandwagon here as these threads are quite popular at the moment so I apologise if you're getting sick of seeing them, however I find that a lot of people here are quite helpful so at this kind of time it's the best place I can seek advice :p

Basically, I'm looking to get out of IT support and in to programming/software development, which I'm hoping could lead to emigration (no, it's not a case of zomgthiscountrysucksbrokenbritainineedoutrightnow). I already received some tips from Dj_Jestar (I think) but I'm looking for a lot more now as I'm taking it much more seriously, because I want to kick off the process as soon as I can. As a result, I have a number of questions to ask. Some are specific to the job-type, others aren't, so hopefully I can get a few answers.

First of all, I don't want to go to university, partly for financial reasons and partly because full-time studying like that isn't for me. I much prefer to work on learning in my own time, where I can dictate the pace and get the absolute best out of myself. Open University would be an option, since it's distance learning and I could continue in my current job, but my question is how do employers look on an OU degree compared to one from a 'regular' university? Would that degree be looked on less favourably than others? Additionally, how would employers in other countries view it? Would it be recognised like any other degree?

Would it be wise to continue to accept any training offered by my current employer or to turn it down? Obviously, this could potentially interfere with any other learning that I'm doing that focuses on making the switch, rather than covering support topics. I know that accepting them would give me a backup plan, but I worry that if I was to take on an OU degree, I simply wouldn't have the time to do a load of training from my current employer as well.

When it comes to programming, is it better to be very good with one language and know a bit about a couple of others and be good at picking new things up, or to be fairly competent with a range of languages and technologies?

Finally (for now, at least) how does the software development job market compare to others at the moment? Are there a good amount of opportunities or would I be likely to face a huge struggle once I reached the point where I was employable in that field?

Thanks in advance for any replies. Any information I can get would be helpful, particularly regarding the first two questions.

Cheers.
 
Started doing my first OU course going to get at least a diploma out of it eventually, I'm not sure if I'll do a full degree yet going to see how it goes. The materials and tutors I've had so far have been fantastic. I'm not sure if it's the same for all the subjects, for the language course I'm doing you get a lecture or workshop roughly once a month (they're optional but they are helpful).

I don't see why an employer wouldn't regard an Open University degree the same as any other, they show discipline and general hard work I guess.

Just wondering, what subjects were you thinking of doing?
 
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Been looking at Computing and Systems Practice, which seems to fit. However, I'm not sure how much longer it would take doing it in addition to my current job when compared to full-time study.
 
JHeaton said:
Been looking at Computing and Systems Practice, which seems to fit. However, I'm not sure how much longer it would take doing it in addition to my current job when compared to full-time study.
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With the OU its:

240 Credits / Foundation degree is 4 years
360 Credits / Full degree is 6 years
At this rate it's averaged at about 15 hours study per week.

You can complete it faster but you would have to double up the units i.e. do two at the same time which they don't recommend.
 
Lakeland said:
With the OU its:

240 Credits / Foundation degree is 4 years
360 Credits / Full degree is 6 years
At this rate it's averaged at about 15 hours study per week.

You can complete it faster but you would have to double up the units i.e. do two at the same time which they don't recommend.
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I see, thanks for that. In theory, I have the time available to double that and do 30 hours a week, but I understand that it would be quite difficult to take on two units at a time. Six years is quite a lot of time, though. Obviously, OU isn't the only option, but having a degree would be a bit more of an advantage than not having one.
 
This doesn't really answer any of your questions and isn't really applicable in your case, but I'd say that the jobs market is not somewhere you would want to be right now!

/pointless reply.
 
JHeaton said:
I see, thanks for that. In theory, I have the time available to double that and do 30 hours a week, but I understand that it would be quite difficult to take on two units at a time. Six years is quite a lot of time, though. Obviously, OU isn't the only option, but having a degree would be a bit more of an advantage than not having one.
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I'd suggest phoning them up :) I have been in touch with a silly number of people over the last few months and speaking to the OU was like a breath of fresh air. The first person you speak to knows just about every option open to you and they bend over backwards to help. I've only heard good things, some of those things being that OU is well regarded due to the commitment required.
When I was talking to them they said doing double units is fine if the time is available. With my job doubling up is just impossible, depends what you do at the moment? I work 40hrs a week and have lots to do when I get back to prepare so I'm going to struggle with the 15hrs. Suppose it depends on the course and your experience of the subject and your experience of higher education.
 
Had a look on the website..

"C47 - Certificate in Information Technology and Computing", this has two 30 point courses still relevant to the degree you want should you choose to continue. Could be a good start to see what it's like?

Why are you not keen on the training your employer is offering?
 
physichull said:
This doesn't really answer any of your questions and isn't really applicable in your case, but I'd say that the jobs market is not somewhere you would want to be right now!

/pointless reply.
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I'm not looking for an immediate change, so hopefully by the time I come to actually moving in to the area I want, the job market will have at least improved a little.

alex_tank said:
Any universities near you that do part time degrees?
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Yeah. Bolton offer a part-time degree in Business Software Development with a timescale of 4.5 years, however I'm not sure I could fit that in with my current work situation. I don't think I'd be able to easily drop hours (although in fairness, I've never had a reason to try) to accommodate the course. Could be worth a try, though.

Lakeland said:
I'd suggest phoning them up I have been in touch with a silly number of people over the last few months and speaking to the OU was like a breath of fresh air. The first person you speak to knows just about every option open to you and they bend over backwards to help. I've only heard good things, some of those things being that OU is well regarded due to the commitment required.
When I was talking to them they said doing double units is fine if the time is available. With my job doubling up is just impossible, depends what you do at the moment? I work 40hrs a week and have lots to do when I get back to prepare so I'm going to struggle with the 15hrs. Suppose it depends on the course and your experience of the subject and your experience of higher education.
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Thanks. I don't have much going on at the moment and won't for the foreseeable future, so I'm basing my time estimates around that. I could probably put in the 30 hours (maybe more) without much of a problem, but of course then I'd be risking becoming a recluse, so I'd have to be careful. I'd want to take this seriously, so not overdoing it would be important.

alex_tank said:
Had a look on the website..

"C47 - Certificate in Information Technology and Computing", this has two 30 point courses still relevant to the degree you want should you choose to continue. Could be a good start to see what it's like?

Why are you not keen on the training your employer is offering?
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It's not that I'm not keen on them as such, but I want to get out of this role and in to something different, where what I'm being offered (not all of it, but some) may have less relevance. I wouldn't want to risk a less-relevant piece of education to interfere with one that I really need to get right for future prospects.

As for those two courses, you could be right. It would certainly give me experience of what I'd be up against without getting too involved too early and risking a fair bit. Thank you for that :)
 
JHeaton said:
Open University would be an option, since it's distance learning and I could continue in my current job, but my question is how do employers look on an OU degree compared to one from a 'regular' university? Would that degree be looked on less favourably than others? Additionally, how would employers in other countries view it? Would it be recognised like any other degree?
Click to expand...
It's my impression that employers consider an Open University degree very highly. They take considerable dedication.

In fact, in my last interview the interviewer was more impressed with my OU certificate than my (full time) Bachelors degree.
 
Just remembered, they suggest you do year 1 at the normal pace, then step it up if you're comfortable in year 2. And if you decide to double up and don't like it you would only have to finish that unit off and then you can drop back to the standard pace :)
 
meghatronic said:
It's my impression that employers consider an Open University degree very highly. They take considerable dedication.

In fact, in my last interview the interviewer was more impressed with my OU certificate than my (full time) Bachelors degree.
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Really? Well that is interesting and good to know, thank you. Out of interest, what did you study?

Lakeland said:
Just remembered, they suggest you do year 1 at the normal pace, then step it up if you're comfortable in year 2. And if you decide to double up and don't like it you would only have to finish that unit off and then you can drop back to the standard pace :)
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Ah, that sounds like it would be a good idea. I think I'll get in touch and see what they think of what I'd like to do and what they recommend.
 
meghatronic said:
It's my impression that employers consider an Open University degree very highly. They take considerable dedication.
Click to expand...

Yup, most employers are very impressed by OU degrees. They show a level of organisation, self-motivated and discipline that is attractive to employers. You'll still meet some throwbacks who'll gaffaw about "not a proper degree" though.
 
Mr Jack said:
Yup, most employers are very impressed by OU degrees. They show a level of organisation, self-motivated and discipline that is attractive to employers. You'll still meet some throwbacks who'll gaffaw about "not a proper degree" though.
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In those few cases, how big of an impact is their opinion likely to have on whether or not they think it would be suitable-enough for the job? Like..would they opt to take someone with a lower grade from another university over a higher one from the OU?

Thanks.
 
JHeaton said:
In those few cases, how big of an impact is their opinion likely to have on whether or not they think it would be suitable-enough for the job? Like..would they opt to take someone with a lower grade from another university over a higher one from the OU?
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Who knows? You've got to remember with recruitment that a huge amount of whether you get a job or not at many companies (especially smaller companies) is entirely down to the whimsy of the people in charge of recruitment.
 
First of all, I apologise for bumping such an old thread, however I finally submitted the first part of my registration for the M150 course. Waiting on them sending all the necessary paperwork for it and for the financial support application, but I'm quite excited. It's a big step for me, hopefully it will be of great benefit.

I'd like to thank everyone who replied to this for helping me come to this decision. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and I decided that I am ready to go for it. I'd buy you all a beer/cup of tea but it's unlikely that you're in the area, so have an e-pint (of either) on me. :)

Regards,

Joel.
 
Nice to hear you've took the plunge :) Do you mind me asking what sort of funding/bursary they gave you?

The course you've chosen looks very interesting, what job prospects are there going to be at the end of the course?
 
Well, all things are pointing towards me qualifying for the maximum level of funding, although I'm not 100% sure what that is.

Fee grant and course grant

From the information you have provided it appears that you could be eligible for the maximum award which would be:

* Your fees paid up to a value of £1230 for courses of at least 30 points totalling up to 90 credit points or more.
* A course grant of £265 to help with study expenses.
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In terms of job prospects, I guess it opens a number of things within IT that are currently hard/impossible for me to get in to. The one I'm really looking at is software development, though. :)
 
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