So I finally got sacked?

[Sidhe]

I got sacked yesterday for being off sick too much. Asthma, very boring, long story, anyway that's not important. I now have two choices in my life that the threat of unemployment has left me.

I will complete a maths course in September which along with a foundation science course, puts me up there to do a physics course at University.

The dilemma is do I do it at the Open University p/t and stay full time employed(assuming I can get a job) Or do I go to University full time and work p/t?

I have some meagre savings of about 600 pounds so I can afford to be on the dole for a few months. So money is not an issue atm.

I honestly could do either and have till Sept. really to make up my mind? Anyway anyone done both or either, any advice? What would you do. I'm kind of torn really, both would be good but?

University life or work life?

 

[carlosMM]

Quite a personal question: how old are you?

 

[bathsheba666]

You can survive for months on £600?
I'm impressed.

First of all, I recommend extracting £60,000 for unfair dismissal from your employers.

{That should cover you for long enough to get a PhD}

If you can cope, keep on working and take the OU course.
It seems these days, most students have to work anyway, so why not have full employment benefits?

Also, is there more leeway for adjusting the schedule of an OU course?

Potential employers might be impressed that you're doing this.
They might even pay your fees, after you have been with them for a while.

 

[Sidhe]

Quite a personal question: how old are you?

34

You can survive for months on £600?
I'm impressed.

Clear after rent,bills etc.

First of all, I recommend extracting £60,000 for unfair dismissal from your employers.

{That should cover you for long enough to get a PhD}

Actually it was all by the book. They are quite within their rights to fire someone for being ill with a medical condition. So I have no leg to stand on.

If you can cope, keep on working and take the OU course.
It seems these days, most students have to work anyway, so why not have full employment benefits?

Also, is there more leeway for adjusting the schedule of an OU course?

That's good advice actually, but I've always had a hankering for University life, something I was denied by illness in the past.

Potential employers might be impressed that you're doing this.
They might even pay your fees, after you have been with them for a while.

Not in the NHS they wouldn't tight fisted bastards, working in a medical physics dept too. One girl was forced to get a degree(which she didn't need) To keep her job and they wouldn't fund it.

I'm glad I lost that job really though, it was a complete no hoper, dead end, no way to move sideways even. Complete cage. And my boss was an utter tyrant. Still I lasted five years, longer than anyone else, it was a running joke amongst my colleagues actually, no one could believe I had the stamina


Thanks so far anyway. Anyone else got some tip to tips? Life experiences etc?

 

[carlosMM]

hm, uni live is quite different, I was told, in your country from mine. So take what I say with a grain of salt:

I would ALWAYS choose full time studying. First of all, you can then really do it, not just shove some facts into your brain between other important things. Also, studying full time gives you a different mindset within the field you study. I have found that even technical universities produce people with a different outlook from 'academic' universities - this difference is much bigger for evening-studies and so on.

And, to be honest: if you want to UNDERSTAND, not just KNOW, then uni is the way to go. For someone decidedly over 40 or 45, it would be a bad move, because you'd be too old on finishing. But you are well on the safe side of 40, so go to university!

 

[Shaihulud]

You would know better yourself, myself not knowing w3hat are the part-time wages in Britain. I would rather study fulltime and work part-time if given the opportunity of course.

 

[PrinceOfLeigh]

Unlucky on being sacked Sidhe, hope your fortunes take a turn for the better soon.

In so far as your uni question is concerned I can provide a little insight as I've studied full time for my degree, distance learning for my GDipL and Part Time LPC.

I would say that it basically comes down to how good you are with money and whether you like the 'high life'. I personally loved my full time uni degree. I've still got friends from there who are all in high earning jobs now and we still talk about how happy we were in uni and in debt compared to now.

From a learning point of view, full time on campus I've found is better also. Being able to 'nip' to the library for something you need in the middle of a essay is great. You don't have this ease, or the feeling that you are there to learn, on a Part Time degree.

The Distance Learning is bloody awful and I wouldn't recommend it. You don't get a great deal of assistance from the uni and it's a lot of work on your own. That's not particularily a bad thing, but if the course isn't run well, you spend lots of time on points which don't get essay marks.

Part Time isn't as bad as distance learning and if all you want is a degree it's probably the best option. You can also continue to work around learning so the money situation isn't as tight. Problem is, learn is all you do. You don't get the 'student life' feel as much with a Part Time degree. It still kills me each Wednesday walking into Probate Lectures whilst everyone else is getting their glad-rags on.

In any event I've always found uni to be uplifting in that you get the feeling that the world is your oyster. After uni, reality sets in, but it's worth all the debt and time for that feeling.

Good luck choosing

 

[joycem10]

Wow, I finally find a piece of European employment law thats more employer friendly than the equivalent US law.

Just so I'm straight, you were fired from your employment due to taking sick days resulting from Asthma, a recognized disability?

In the US, under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), you would have a pretty nice cause of action. Maybe not a winner but good enough to leverage a decent settlement.

 

[Brighteye]

Bad luck Sidhe.
I've never worked part-time or long distance, and just like PrinceofLeigh, I think it really depends on how much you think you'd enjoy the university atmosphere as a full-time student.

 

[Perfection]

What exactly would you be doing at university and how long would it take?

 

[CartesianFart]

The question should be; what are you trying to achieve in studying in the University?And what is it,money,fame or to challenge oneself?

 

[aussieboy]

Go to University full-time. Then you can get a better-paying job, and the hot chicks... ok, maybe not the second one...

 

[ArneHD]

I'm not old enough to have an informed oppinion on the subject, but I would say University over work, although, as I said, I do not really have any grouding to make an informed oppinion.

 

[Irish Caesar]

I dare you to try option #3.

 

[Mise]

Can you get a better job now that you have significant work experience? I think that at 34 and with so many years work experience on your CV, you'd be much more employable than a 21 year old graduate.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I would reccoment option 3, but if that fails, go for Uni.

 

[Azash]

Go to uni, work p/t. It'll be worth it

 

[GinandTonic]

Perhaps it is for the best.

If you can face it go full time at uni. Drink subsidised beer in the student union and the ladies will expect you to be broke so dates will cheeper.

 

[Urederra]

I am with Mise in this one, well, just partially. Since your health problems already cost you a job, I would study for something you can do from home, something that involves computers and being able to work from home. (It seems that you don't have problems to post in this forums) I really think it is a bit hard to join University at 34 (how many years of study are you talking about, 4?

Pick something shorter and easier and thinking about working from home, study full time for some time and then seek for a tele-job.

 

[Sophie 378]

Savings of £600? Don't make me laugh. Tuition fees are £1300-£3000 per year. Rent is £200-£500 per month. Electricity, water, phone/internet, food, travel, textbooks, stationery, travel, fun, incidentals. The Student Loans Company will only give you a pittance even if you can prove you haven't got any money, and they take half a year to organise it. UCAS is completely evil and insane, and the university admissions process is horrible.

[/bitter cynicism]

University is awesome! Go for it! You might even be able to get money for being disabled if your asthma is bad, and I'm pretty sure there are grants and loans for mature students. Try applying for scholarships or hardship grants.