FAO Rich.... Here's the REAL punchline....! At THAT point, the computer branch I was in was privatised, and I worked myself onto the Service Desk - the main job of the new company then was providing computing services BACK to the Civil Service in N.I.! - and I sponged up as much PC and networking information and learning as I could. THEN my old boss left, and his position was advertised... Said boss, who had become a firm friend, had been a year behind me at the same high school! He left at the end of 5th form, and while I beavered away through sixth forms, and uni...he went up through the Civil Service career path until he too was in the same department that got privatised! He'd got the service desk manager job a few years before on one of the other criteria sets - that of experience in that particular workplace! I.E. same job...without needing the degree! If I had left school too, I'd have been JUST as far along without those years spent at uni And a year ahead of him....
the same department that got privatised! He'd got the service desk manager job a few years before on one of the other criteria sets - that of experience in that particular workplace! I.E. same job...without needing the degree! If I had left school too, I'd have been JUST as far along without those years spent at uni And a year ahead of him.... CISD?
Said it to you before, O - I still reckon you'd enjoy an OU degree given your wide poking about in history in general - something sort of fun about learning new ways of looking at things and joining 'em all together. Can't afford it old chum. Fee: What you pay is based on the number of credits you study in a year and this depends on the modules you choose. Most OU students will study part-time at 60 credits a year. So, for study commencing in academic year 2012/2013 the fee will be: £2,500 if you study 60 credits in a year. £1,250 if you study 30 credits in a year. (The OU's full-time equivalent fee if you study 120 credits in a year is currently £5,000.) The OU has not yet announced its fees for academic year 2013/2014. History degree standard pathway Qualification Pathway - Q01 BA (Honours) History - Open University mmm well I suppose I could.... Ways to pay: In England, there are up to 5 ways to pay, making study much more affordable than you might think: Part-time Tuition Fee Loan – Available to students of any age, the government pays your fees, and you repay in affordable monthly instalments. There’s nothing to pay until April 2016 and repayments start at just £30 a month if your income is £25,000. And you’ll pay nothing at all if you earn below £21,000. Pay as you go – With an OU Student Budget Account (OUSBA) the annual fee is calculated and spread out in monthly instalments. Typically this costs just £214 a month, depending on how many credits you’re studying for.
In my firm, the educational aspect breaks down by age. For those of us in the 45-60 range, there is a hodgepodge of degrees in Engineering, History, English, Anthropology, Geography and in my case, Environmental Biology. Those under 40 all seem to have the requisite business degree(s) and there is very little opportunity for anyone with a non-business related education. Interestingly, we recently rejected 2 well qualified applicants, for the very first time, for objectionable content found on social media. Apparently a Masters in Business Admin does not provide guidance on keeping certain opinions, habits, biases and proclivities private!
I hesitated before making comment because I personally never did the "University scene" having left school at the tender age of thirteen and rushed back to work once I was demobbed at the age of twenty-four. I did however "see" two daughters through Uni (one of whom took History and Archaeology) and they in turn have seen my five grandchildren through this well documented rite of passage. At the risk of stating the obvious, any subject of study, if taken seriously, imposes self discipline at a very critical age and in addition teaches the individual how to manage personal resources to his his/her advantage. This, quite apart from the lessons that are learnt on survival outside the family circle. As already stated I left school early and the consequent gap in my CV always embarassed me to the extent that in the box that held scholastic achievement I once wrote "left school at the age of thirteen but has continued education ever since" I realise that the particular subject of History is appropriate to this thread but I would opine that most degrees, for the reasons that I have already given, are of immense value to their owners. ps Just remembered that I did a year's Open University on "The Fundamentals of Computing" but that's another story Ron
You can also go for a commission in the US military. They'll pay off your student loans, and send you to interesting places in the process. (Unless you're Army, in which case you'll have to walk to those places.)
Canuck.. Dunno about an MBA hiding opinions- I got one of them there at age 45 surrounded by 22 year olds and I don't care who knows my opinions.... Cheers
Canuck.. Dunno about an MBA hiding opinions- I got one of them there at age 45 surrounded by 22 year olds and I don't care who knows my opinions.... Cheers The world has changed Tom. Political correctness rules and these 'kids' seem to think that they have immunity from posting some toxic content on social media. If you're already employed, you better really know your audience. I can tell you that the workplace isn't nearly as much fun as it was 15-20 years ago.
Canuck you may very well be right as I left business 25 years ago as it was getting very obnoxious - the cruncher was when I submitted an invoice to a new boy in a bank who objected that he could also get a hand made cabinet in Ebony - delivered 400 miles away by two men- and settled in situ - with an overnight stay for 80 GBP's from a local do it yourself store when my invoice was for 800GBP's- I listened to this idiot for two minutes then went to his boss for my cheque - I sold the business and retired that same week .... Cheers
The world has changed Tom. Political correctness rules and these 'kids' seem to think that they have immunity from posting some toxic content on social media. If you're already employed, you better really know your audience. I can tell you that the workplace isn't nearly as much fun as it was 15-20 years ago. Amen to that! If I had to return to a 'normal' office I would be walking on eggshells the whole time!
History as a hobby is fun. Would it lose that fun element by taking it too seriously ? Probably not, it actually enhances the fun if you can make a few more connections. But, and it's a medium-sized but - there is the inevitable 'Study of History' module/course to get through fairly early on. It's where you're taught the basic core skills, and can be a tad dry, though it is essentially one of the most important bits of the degree itself. Disliked it at the time, but thinking about it, it might actually be a lot more interesting going through it later in life, with a slightly more engaged head. Got a feeling the OU condenses a fair chunk of the business into that introductory module people do for the Humanities though, and most people seem to enjoy that as it's so well put together.
...I said I wish I'd done a history degree ... I know what you mean. Sometimes, I wish that I had done even if for no other reason than to be taken more seriously by some in certain aspects of my job. (The fact that I have no degree and didn't go to university has certainly closed various doors to me in which, though far more qualified through experience and knowledge than many of those in the various roles considered, the lack of anything on paper has been much to my detriment). On the flip side, however, I find that some of those who do have the degree (or are otherwise 'university trained') can sometimes be far too analytical in their approaches in certain aspects and invariably miss the bleeding obvious (the 'can't see the wood for the trees' syndrome)... I recently had to do some (WW1) research work for my old O' Level history teacher and his head of department (also for the head of the entire school who is a self-professed 'historian' too) - all of whom (I'd hope anyway!) have history degrees - and came away dispairing at the basic misunderstanding of this period of history by them all (though I seem to remember thinking that when I was 16 too!). They all knew the techniques, granted, but the glaring facts seemed to repeatedly escape them all totally - even though I basically smacked them in the face with them! Dave
History as a hobby is fun. Would it lose that fun element by taking it too seriously ? It can do (and, to an extent, certainly did do for me), yes. However, that's me talking about it as a job and not just taking a course in it. I have an uncle who used to actually engage in degree courses as a hobby (or so it seemed... tons of courses and qualifications, but never worked in his life!!!), so that itself could be classified as 'fun' (to some) I suppose! Dave
History as a hobby is fun. Would it lose that fun element by taking it too seriously ? When I was a high school teacher, I advised kids who worried about whether or not they were signing up for the "right" university course, that it was not a big deal if they tried a year of it and decided to switch to something else. All knowledge makes one a better person, in my opinion... and while I have degrees in education and music, I have not always taught music... I've been a farmer, a ledger keeper and so forth... and I absolutely hated history whilst in school myself, but once I got to direct my own learning, I found I loved it.
When I was a high school teacher, I advised kids who worried about whether or not they were signing up for the "right" university course, that it was not a big deal if they tried a year of it and decided to switch to something else. All knowledge makes one a better person, in my opinion... and while I have degrees in education and music, I have not always taught music... I've been a farmer, a ledger keeper and so forth... and I absolutely hated history whilst in school myself, but once I got to direct my own learning, I found I loved it. I can't disagree with that approach. It's often difficult for an 18 year old to decide on a direction in year one. Despite my previous posts, I've often second guessed not taking the history degree that I was talked out of by the 'guidance councillors'. The current trend for girls is to take Early Childhood Education. I'm amazed at the number of them who take that 4 year program, accumulate $40k+ in loans and then complain that the job only pays $30k tops. Supposedly bright kids have trouble with the concept of ROI.
Hopefully this fits into thread topic ... The techies on here may find the UWO History Department's digital lab of interest. I don't have a clue what a lot of these devices are used for, but it seems they are well equipped. If anything it demonstrates how the study of history is seeking new ways of presentation. History Department Digital Lab - University of Western Ontario
I gained a History degree from Aberystwyth. After being told by my careers advisor to take a year out and 'find myself' (not particularly helpful and considering the amount of student debt I was in, not very sensible) I decided to find myself something. 11 years or so on I'm now a director in a PR agency. Certainly the discipline needed to undertake a dissertation alongside the obvious need to be able to communicate clearly in written and oral forms have done me very well over the years. But like others on here I don't think the degree really matters. When employing graduates here we tend to look for a 'good' (generally a humanities or science) degree, and not anything specific. Indeed, we tend to shy away from those that have undertaken a specialist degree in PR or marketing - which probably says more about the industry than anything else...!
