Do employers respect open university qualifications ?

[S_rank]

I'm 23 at the moment and am looking to expand my horizons and my current job I am slowly hating more and more and I really don't want to do it for ever . I'm thinking of doing a open university course in BSc (Honours) Economics and Mathematical Sciences . I think I am too old to go to university where I stay away and at least with the open university i can stay where I am and keep working if it doesn't go according to plan .

So the basic question is do employers respect open university qualifications ? Anyone with any experience of having a open university qualification and going into the job market I would like to hear from you, and have you faced any discrimination ?

[ETC]

Go to Uni best thing you will do its a great 3 years. I did mine when I was 21 and it was fine there are people on the courses of all ages. As to your question I work in that area and we class them as the same. They are the same as long as the course is 360 credits its a honours degree programme and employers should not see an Open University degree any differently than one from Oxford or Cambridge

[S_rank]

The problem I have is I don't have any A levels so most university need you to have A levels . I was one of those idiots at school that spent their time messing about not studying and not caring .I don't want to have to go back and study A levels as it will be like another 2 years before i can get on track to uni. Its not till recently my mind has started to focus i've been suffering from bad depression for a few years and mind my has been really cloudy but my mind seems to have reshaped itself of late after a lot of self reflection I feel like a laser beam now that i know what I want to do i've been studying a lot of mathematics in my spare time so i think i will handle it .

The course is 360 credits with honours.

[NW2013]

My sis didn't get any A levels (or GCSEs for that matter!) and she's doing a foundation course at Uni this year before doing the proper degree so it is possible.

What do you want to do with your degree? Is there a particular job you have in mind? The title of the one you suggested sounds a bit wishy-washy.

[S_rank]

I'm not really 100% sure what I want to do probably something in the line of finance of being an economist .

[charlesr]

what do you do now? What do you like about it? What bits don't you enjoy? If you could do anything at all, what would that be?

[FelixofMars]

You could try looking into a HND that might have lower entry and if you do well you can transfer onto the second part of a degree.

[S_rank]

what do you do now? What do you like about it? What bits don't you enjoy? If you could do anything at all, what would that be?

I’am a plaster for a living at the moment ,

The bits i enjoy are doing a good job leads to satisfaction, a fair bit of freedom ,do things always in different areas .

I don't like job security is just ridiculous at the moment the supply of workers is far outstripping the demand for plastering work , Massive variable in wages prices per m2 of work has pretty much been collapsing on site the last few years they are lower than they were about 15 years I have been told and that is without taking into account inflation .

I'm not 100% sure what i would like to do i just want to challenge myself with this if I fail I can always full back into my trade but I am now determined to succeed .

[NW2013]

Economist is a bit of an odd one. Worth doing some research about how many actual jobs there are in the field and how you get into them. I'd imagine in the private sector it will be the sort of position for a senior person with many years of experience. In the public sector/NGOs/think tanks it's probably down to who you know as well as experience.

[Neon Ignition]

Uni is the worst option to take, these days a degree carries little to no weight with many employers due to the high number of low paid or unemployed degree holding candidates out there not mentioning the high debt it will get you in. Experience is king in the current market and any form of voluntary or short course experience will serve you far better than a degree.

[Brad]

Re: Do employers respect open university qualifications ?

All employers are different. Some will require a degree for some positions still. I don't know how respected ou degrees are. Again it will vary from employer to employer.