Anyone done an Open Uni Computing course?

[Goose]

I'm currently unemployed and struggling to find work as i'm only able to go for part-time jobs due to my health. I'm trying to research courses in computing with the aim of working in computer forensics (or something similar).

I have a degree in American Studies which is onbiously no good to me as far as an IT career goes and i've also never worked in IT. I've always been a bit geeky and interested in computers and i'm hoping that will be enough for me to try and make my way in to the industry.

I've been reading about this OU course as it seems the most logical choice and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the OU or any general advice for someone in my position?

Thanks

 

[Goose]

Sorry to burst your bubble but this isn't enough to help you get you into the industry. There's a difference between being a bit geeky and being able to build a PC compared to being good and interested in computer forensics. I think you need to think about it a little deeper.

I have to say, while I applaud you for looking into ways to improve your employability, I can't imagine there are many employers out there looking for part time workers with no IT qualifications or experience to work in some form of IT forensics...

Have you considered looking for any other kind of part time IT role, such as tech support or administration, to see if it's actually for you?

Maybe my OP wasn't worded very well but at no point have I expected to get a job in IT without qualifications/experience. My OP is about advice on getting a qualification (such as the one I linked to) and then trying to get a job or further study if thats whats needed.

Have you considered doing a more entry level IT course before jumping in to do a degree? There's a huge amount out there and some of them could feed into computer forensics if you decide to continue down that route, while making you more employable in an IT support role.

The course i linked to is a postgraduate one year certificate which is about as basic as they get at the OU i think.

 

[Goose]

Hi Goose,

Have you thought of doing a college course? I used this to get onto a computer forensics course a few years back.

personally i haven't taken a career path in forensics, i much prefer network and network security and have gone into a support role, as have a few others that were on this course. If you want to know the sorts of things that are required to do computer forensics fell free to message me

Thanks for the suggestion dude, i'll look in to it. I wanted to send you a trust message but you dont have it enabled unfortunately. I dont know if its an issue or not but i'll be 33 in a couple of months so I might not even be eligible for college courses.

OP check out Coursera, udacity, MIT open courseware, EDx, Stanford online, Stanford engineering everywhere (in fact this one is probably about as good as you'll get anywhere for an introduction to computer science).

You can easily find materials to get yourself some background knowledge.

Thanks for that, i'll google them all and see what i can come up with.