Full Time OU While Working Full Time

[Mason-]

Has anyone done this?

I start a new job on the 11th of September. It's a 37.5 hour a week salaried position, like most contracts these days it stipulates that when required it is expected that you do some unpaid overtime. Some companies enforce this more than others. As such I'm going to hold off from starting my OU course until the February intake as then I will have more of a feel for the demands of my job.

I'm planning to study Mathematics, this will be my second degree. It's something I've always wanted to do and regret taking the degree subject I did previously. As of right now I do want to go further with it, Masters and potentially a PhD. But that's quite some way away.

I will be commuting 1hr 10 minutes each way to my job, so that's 2hr 20 gone. As well as the 8 hrs at work. Add another 30 minutes for 'other stuff' that's 11 hours in my weekdays gone. Which leaves 5 for eating/studying/relaxing. On the weekends I could treat it as full time i.e. 9-5 on sat + sun.

This is a subject I know I will enjoy so it shouldn't be too arduous to motivate myself to study it, I study it in my own time as it is.

I'd just like some experience of people who have done OU while working full time.

Cheers.

 

[Mason-]

Just some answers to some other questions. My commute is by car so I can't study while commuting.

Yeah I am cutting it fine with time - I'm single but yes there are other things that 'pop up' so maybe full time isn't the way to go.

The naturally gifted at maths question, when I was at school I was told I was. I got 100% at GCSE with no revision - but I tried that tactic at A-Level through stupid arrogance and funnily enough it didn't work that time. I got a B in Maths and a D in Further Maths. I studied computer science, at a 'not great' university that didn't even require A-Level maths to get on the course. There were bits of maths in my degree but really not much. My university was much more focussed around gearing you up for industry rather than classical Computer Science, not that that's a bad thing.

well you could certainly study on your commute, why not do 90 credits per year and complete it in 4 years?

I guess another option is to do 120 credits for your 1st year modules, same again for your second year modules and then split the third year into two years as the difficulty level ramps up.

The thing with the OU is that the first year modules will be a bit easier than at a regular university as there are no entry standards for the degrees, this means the second and third year modules then need to play catchup so you'll likely find the difficulty level ramping up rather quicker.

Previously for an OU maths degree I think there was only one compulsory 30 credit 1st year module the others were optional if you needed them, so you could actually make up the required 360 credits for the degree with additional 2nd and 3rd year modules. These days, due to funding changes, you're forced to take 120 credits at each level so can't do this anymore... I guess therefore that you perhaps could risk doing the first year full time (especially if you have the relevant A-level) as it isn't really even degree level or at best perhaps overlaps slightly with 1st year at a regular uni, basically it should be revision and as it is maths, if you know it, then it doesn't need to take up much time.

Yeah they have some test on their website for one of the first year modules and the first question in the test was something like how many metres in a kilometre. And then another test for one of the other modules which was more like A-Level maths. I think I'll be fine in the first year but like you say it may ramp up a lot in the 2nd/3rd.

I think I'll do 90 credits a year, seems like a good balance.

Thanks for the input guys. Ultimately I'm going to see what my work load is like. It would also benefit my career so I might be able to ask them to help out a bit. But I don't want to start asking above and beyond within my first 6 months of work.

 

[Mason-]

Cheers for the input guys.

I did see that I could apply for credit transfer, however it's been quite a while since I've done some things so I wouldn't mind going over them again that's why I'm reluctant to do a credit transfer.

 

[Mason-]

Thanks Jack, if possible I wouldn't mind doing credit transfer to skip the two modules in the first year: http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/qualifications/q31 - Discovering Mathematics (this module is clearly for people who haven't gotten more than a GCSE in maths) and the Stats one.

I guess I'll just do 60 credits a year (with 60 from transfer) and see how that goes, that's 5 years which isn't all that bad.

I want to do Essential Maths 1 + 2 even if it is going over stuff I did at A-Level. It was a while ago and a lot of it I haven't used in a while.

I do know what subjects I'd like to study.

In stage 2 I'll do the 2 60 credit modules. Pure Maths + Mathematical methods, models and modelling.

In stage 3 I'll do:
Further Pure Maths (60)
Complex Analysis
Optimization

 

[Mason-]

Speak to the course team. It looks like you're looking at the 'gentle pathway'. There has always been a normal one too, which is: EM1/2; M140; Free Choice (30 creds). Like Dowie said, there's once a time when you could whack a level three or even a postgrad module as your free choice options, but now it's more restricted on named degrees (before 2008/9, I think you could even do an MMAth degree; alas it only survives in bits and bobs and the MSc now, see my note about L3). If you want more freedom in your choices, the OU now recommends doing an Open Degree. There are pros and cons to it, namely you'll always have to explain what you have done to whatever admissions you'd be facing in future, unless you wish to go on to the OU's MSc, in which case it would be fine.

Your choices are fine too. Deterministic and Stochastic Dynamics and whatever is replacing Graphs, Networks and Design would also be fun. Although that Optimization module would work equally well with any other analytical course covering PDEs/ODEs, and as it ties in numerical analysis, it'll have discrete and continuous parts as they appear in applications. For me the great shame is the lack of options in modern abstract algebra and probability beyond the necessary prerequisites (which I'm hoping nerfing GND in favour of a more focused combinatorics course would at least partially address), but you can't have it all (from what I've experienced over the years, hard modules with high failure rates get merged or cut eventually). Still, you can cover any slight gaps via MIT's open courseware for a very rounded education. (Even elite American universities start on the whole one year behind their UK counterparts (most people don't take honours classes, etc), plus they act a lot like sixth forms in the earlier/general years; hence their resources are quite a boon to an OU student! Example: http://ocw.abuad.edu.ng/courses/mathematics/ [get the degree pathways from the departments website, so you know which codes to look up for which course/level])

You may also want to consider doing EM1 + MMM, and then EM2 + PM, to leap a year, but I wouldn't push it with 90 creds beyond that unless you're flying through the material and find its retention - alongside work - straightforward. Again, doing 60 creds per year is what both the pathways and materials were designed around, so you'll encounter the least stress/friction by going down that route. You will find some early review on either the PM or MMM course, as these modules serve as standalone core maths units on their various pathways, and only really appear together on the general maths degree which you're thinking of taking, so there is some overlap, with most people finding MMM easier and more computational (ie more problem solving vs proof). But, whichever route you choose, good exam prep is key. I think if you can balance it right, do some maths for enjoyment outside the syllabus and notch up those early modules as easy wins, you'll enjoy it more than a harried cram run! Tutorials can be fun, if you can make it to them. They are crammed for basic science, but for Maths, especially in latter years, you'll often find yourself in 1-to-1 lessons, as people drop out or don't turn up. The Maths soc is worth a shout too: http://m500.org.uk/. They do regular events, one of which is dedicated to revision.

The free choice doesn't appeal to me. I've done a degree, I had a 'free elective' on that. I don't care for anything other than maths, especially as I'm funding this myself now I just want to do what I want to do. I have been studying a bit in my spare time. But it's going in and out of things and never too much in depth. I've watched quite a few of the MIT lectures, they're a fantastic free resource.

I do plan to do the Masters afterwards. I didn't do a masters the first time around in my degree so I can (I believe) still apply for Student Finance for that. I might take a year out and study my masters full time and hopefully at a good uni if possible. After that I like the idea of doing a PhD, whether I will or not is another question. The optimization module and the methods module in year 2 seem quite related to my work so it would be beneficial. I'd like to get into Formal Verification via Formal Methods (hardware, not software), currently I do Verification without the Formal . As of right now though Number Theory is the thing that interests me the most. But I haven't formally studied it other than what I've read online and some videos I've watched.

I wasn't aware you could mix L1/L2 modules. That might be something I consider. But I feel as though I haven't used so much of the maths that I haven't done now for 4-6 years that I really should go back to basics somewhat. I should nail those modules really.

 

[Mason-]

Cambridge would be ideal as my new job is in Cambridge haha. Maybe my company has some ties with Cambridge that could help? I think they hire a lot of people from there.

Wishful thinking!

Thanks for all the advice, a lot to think over.

Also have you read Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, I wanted to read up on Number Theory. I read around and people say it's a great place to start. It is expensive though. I'm probably already sold on it... but wondered if you'd read it?