Moving to Masters

by Kieran

Before I got with Amanda my plan for the future was to get my degree in Computer Science and then move onto a masters in SE.  That plan fell through as it would have conflicted with our lives and plans for the future.  I didn’t regret making that choice but neither was I happy that I had done it as education is an important, and interesting part of my life.

I had been looking at various options of education in the future and the most significant was the Open University as I had studied with them roughly three to four years ago and had a very nice experience for the duration of that course.  Thus, I have decided to go back to the Open University to move onto my masters degree in SE which I will be starting in November of this year.

I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to study just yet (you can find the courses offered at pgcomp.open.ac.uk) but I’m making sure I have a decent look around.  Of course there are many compulsory courses that must be taken.

I decided last night also to take it quite slow, one course at a time for now to accommodate for newly married life.  The courses are quite expensive and for me they could go up to £1200 each.  The only footnote to this is that the diploma must be finished within four years so I must study at least two courses every year which are split into "semesters".  The first semester is May to October and the second being November to April, or vice versa.  That basically means I can complete the diploma in four years by doing one course a semester which is a nice workload, but I’d like to move up from that after the first course I take.

I received permission to do so today from my new employer hence why I’m only just making this blog post now ;)

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2 Comments

  1. Good luck with it!

    I originally intended to do a masters and did a couple of postgrad courses over the period of a year (aced them ;)) but ultimately put it aside when I started my business - there just wasn’t enough time to do it all, and to be honest after a couple of courses I couldn’t see how a technical masters was actually going to directly help me *that* much, interesting though it was. The problem was a) that it wasn’t covering anything much beyond what I was learning anyway just by working in the field, b) a masters is surplus to requirements for most jobs locally, and c) even if it did, I don’t need a new tech job anyway, I need to build a business. I’ve thought about doing an MBA or something which may help me in areas I wouldn’t otherwise get so much exposure to, but they’re outrageously expensive. A luxury item later perhaps ;)

    You’re younger though and will have a lot of spare time though compared to what you’re used to, and probably intend on being employed for a good while yet, so it will be a good way to invest your time so long as you enjoy it.

    #1 Steve

  2. Yeah I remember you saying that you had stopped doing it ages ago. As you say, I’m still young which is a reason why I want to do it. Not only that, but I can spread it over five years which means I’ve still got a lot of spare time.

    Sure, I’d love to get more industry experience, but if I’ve got the chance whilst I’m still young to do the masters, then I can’t see how it’s a problem (although financially it’s not great, and will end up costing in excess of £10,000).

    With the Open University you have to complete the diploma within four years, and the degree is just made up of a 13 month course. You probably knew that already though.

    Plus, I hate not having something to challenge me, and I want to keep busy outside of work/family life :)

    #2 admin

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