The OU

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Morning All,

Has anyone used the OU?
I have a training budget from work and was looking at Firebrand. However, the course I wanted to do...they dont have enough people enrolled and have no idea when the course will be scheduled in.

Ive found the same course on the OU and have enrolled. Waiting to hear back if I get accepted. Just wondered if anyone had any experience with them.

Thanks

 

Thanks Jim. Ive heard good things!

 

I'm looking at doing the Cisco Dev Net Associate.

It's a 16 week course that looks quite interesting to be honest. If I enjoy it, I will probably look at doing more via the OU going forward.

 

Can you go straigth to that with the OU? I would expect you need to do an intro course first because they are directed more towards bachelors degrees than standalone certs.

 

Its something called the DevNetSkills by The Open University.
I think its supported by the Government.

 

oh that looks really good actually. I've done some stuff with the OU and nobody does learning resources better than those guys.

 

Done a bit of research and the Juniper Dev Ops is 70% of the Cisco Dev Ops so if I can get through the Juniper one, it's a good start.

 

Hey Guys,

So I didnt get on the Dev Net course sadly. However, I am considering doing a BSc in IT and Networking.
Stage 2 & 3 of the degree has you studying for the CCNA which I have already obtained. My CCNA expires in 2023 but thinking it may be worth doing the updated one via the OU for the degree?

Cheers

 

Thank you @Kitkatninja
That does look very interesting. I have a meeting at 11 with the L & D director so I will add that to the list.
Im looking at two or three different courses (All of which contain the CCNA) so when the OU come back to me, I have options of which Degree I want to look at.

Thanks very much,

Ron

 

So work have confirmed that are happy to proceed, however its a big commitment so Ive got a For / Against:

FOR:

• Work pay for me to get a Degree!!!! I literally get a free degree if I complete the course,
• It looks fantastic on a CV,
• I am in the company share scheme. At the moment, shares are valued at about $0.40 per share. However, if I stay for the next three years, I get at least 250,000 shares, plus new shares awarded every year.

AGAINST:

• Im 43, and when I start with the OU, I will be about 44. IF I take the whole 6 years to complete a degree, I will be 50!
• The OU suggest 16 to 18 Hours a week of study. That's a LOT of study for the next 6 years,
• Im in two minds about doing a degree in IT Communications and Networking, or a BSc in CyberSecurity. I had hoped the CCNA would have put me in good stead for some networking roles and that doesn't seem to have helped (Mind you, neither has COVID) so is it worth looking at the CyberSecurity option as well?

OVERALL:

• In effect, I can obtain a £19,000 degree for free! However, I could I be better just carrying on with stand alone exams like CCNP, Linux, AWS, CCNA Dev Ops etc and having work paid for the certs as I progress through the certs. Would a degree hold a lot of weight for future roles?

 

I cant thank you enough @Kitkatninja
That has put everything into perspective. Thanks so much Ken.

 

What's the end goal? More money? Move into networking? Move into Cyber?

 

More money, chance to move into Cyber Ops, make me look more appealing to employers.
My Wife is from NZ and has always talked about going home at some point so if we did go to NZ, Id like something to enable me to stand out a bit more as well.

 

I might have asked this before, but have you considered Cloud/DevOps roles? It's the easiest way to increase your salary at the moment. I've 4.5X'd my salary in under 3 years and done zero certs/degrees in that time.. Just saying.. if you're agnostic about your day to day work, then maybe you should consider it as an option? The market is mental at the moment. I've just accepted a new job that's a 50% increase, and I'm getting recruiters contacting me offering me 50% on top of that. (So 100% more than I'm currently on).

I also find the work very challenging and interesting.

Just saying man, if your heart's set on networking/cyber go for it - but if not, there are a tonne of ridiculous opportunities in the DevOps space once you get your foot in the door.

 

Also, NZ's skill shortage for DevOps engineers will probably be worse than here..