Open University reputation?

CruelCoin

Hi all,

I'm looking to continue on and get a masters, and have settled on the following: http://www.openuniversity.edu/courses/computing-and-it/msc-in-computing. Attractive to me thanks to its online learning base.

Question being, i know the Open University is well regarded in the UK, but how well is it received in Ireland?

For example, if two identical candidates were to apply for a job, but one with a MSc from OU and one from DCU, would the employer have bias towards the DCU candidate?

Thanks for any and all advice,

CC.

bpmurray

CruelCoin wrote: »

would the employer have bias towards the DCU candidate?

Yes, there would be a bias, if there was a choice. However, the reality is that there's a shortage of people, so if you can sell yourself, you've got a job!

threebagsfull

CruelCoin wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking to continue on and get a masters, and have settled on the following: http://www.openuniversity.edu/courses/computing-and-it/msc-in-computing. Attractive to me thanks to its online learning base.

Question being, i know the Open University is well regarded in the UK, but how well is it received in Ireland?

For example, if two identical candidates were to apply for a job, but one with a MSc from OU and one from DCU, would the employer have bias towards the DCU candidate?

Thanks for any and all advice,

CC.

I am studying with them and to be honest I think it depends on who's interviewing you. Some of them will know of the OU and some will be completely ignorant and think you paid for an online "degree" that you can get in a weekend or something.

They would probably prefer a local University degree, but then some employers admire the worth ethic it takes to study on top of a full-time job (assuming you're working). Some are of the opinion that it takes more self-discipline to study via distance as noone's checking up on you, but actually in reality I found with all the information and support they give you, and the fact that you have a tutor group, it's just the same.

Manach

Responding to the pasta-headed OP, personally I'd rate high the Open University. I've taken a number of tech-oriented courses there, very high quality with relevant course work and tie into industry with the added bonus it would be a more international facing qualification.

bpmurray

Manach wrote: »

Responding to the pasta-headed OP, personally I'd rate high the Open University. I've taken a number of tech-oriented courses there, very high quality with relevant course work and tie into industry with the added bonus it would be a more international facing qualification.

I think the OP was wondering about employers: they do not rate online courses as highly as bricks & morter, and the idea that it is better received than these internationally is ludicrous - it's not on the University rankings list (Trinity 71, UCD, 139, etc.) so it just doesn't exist in international eyes!

I don't mean to say they're bad - far from it. The OU is excellent and their reputation here and in the UK is very good. I have no doubt that your experience of them is top-notch too, but that's irrelevant from the point of view of a hiring manager.

Manach

I take your point. But based on feedback from job interviewers doing OU courses (albeit not ones that lead to a Msc) and keeping a full time job were deemed positives - my 2c only. As for internationally, the OU does has a wider reach of alumni as well as being well perceived (again AFAIR based on their own webpage) & rated in the UK.

Tom Dunne

bpmurray wrote: »

I think the OP was wondering about employers: they do not rate online courses as highly as bricks & morter

But that's totally dependent on the interviewer, isn't it? I have heard it argued before that a person who juggles a full-time job while studying part-time demonstrates key attributes such as work ethic, multi-tasking etc. that employers look for.

In terms of reputation, the OU is highly regarded.

bpmurray

Just to clarify my points: we hire over a hundred developers every year and there's definitely a bias towards the "better" Universities, but, and it's a big BUT, since it's so difficult to find folk, any reasonable education establishment will do, and that includes pretty much anything other than the buy-a-degree places. Your history and portfolio also carry a lot of weight, so it's not just the degree that matters. Doing a part-time masters definitely indicates commitment but the ability to deliver quality results is the most important aspect.

The idea that it depends on the interviewer is not really correct: interviews are carefully designed to be objective, with formal corporate interview plans, and filtering happens at the point of receipt of CV anyway.

Berserker

bpmurray wrote: »

Just to clarify my points: we hire over a hundred developers every year

Crikey, your company is expanding at an incredible rate or you must have a very high turnover of staff.

bpmurray wrote: »

The idea that it depends on the interviewer is not really correct: interviews are carefully designed to be objective, with formal corporate interview plans, and filtering happens at the point of receipt of CV anyway.

Tell me about it. I interview quite often within the sector and the interviews are planned to the last.

bpmurray

Berserker wrote: »

Crikey, your company is expanding at an incredible rate or you must have a very high turnover of staff.

Not particularly - it's the biggest dev organization in the country and the turnover is average (5% of 2000 = 100), and it's expanding.

fergalr

CruelCoin wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking to continue on and get a masters, and have settled on the following: http://www.openuniversity.edu/courses/computing-and-it/msc-in-computing. Attractive to me thanks to its online learning base.

Question being, i know the Open University is well regarded in the UK, but how well is it received in Ireland?

For example, if two identical candidates were to apply for a job, but one with a MSc from OU and one from DCU, would the employer have bias towards the DCU candidate?

Thanks for any and all advice,

CC.

- Have you an undergrad in CS? From a university? First off, if so, I'm not sure whether a lot of employers would give any material preference to the MSc over the undergrad.

- In general, things like experience, portfolio, communication, social skills, interview performance will outweigh university 1 vs university 2 considerations.

- I'd imagine that some (mediocre?) Irish tech companies would prefer DCU; its just something they'll have heard of more. They'll wonder why you when to the OU instead. But, meh, whatever.

- I work in a pretty good company in SF, and we have brought in candidates who have got their qualifications through distance education, and have considered it no penalty at interview - the 'this candidate must be self motivating and driven' balances out 'this is a good traditional university' (which, honestly, is often just a proxy for social advantage) - assuming the candidate were a good fit in other ways.

- FWIW I personally regard the OU highly, having had contact with very good people who spoke highly of their experience with it.

bpmurray

fergalr wrote: »

- I'd imagine that some (mediocre?) Irish tech companies would prefer DCU

I suspect that addresses some of my comments: I better explain that I'm talking from the POV of one of the largest multinational computer companies in the world. And your points about experience are definitely true - once you're a couple of years out of education, the parchment is just another piece of paper.

Evil Phil

I don't think it makes a difference. In the UK the OU might be preferable to an Irish university simply because they'll know it, but a qualification is a qualification and as has been said, holding down a full-time job and doing a MSc is quite an impressive feat (*ahem* and I should know as I've done it :pac:).

Just as an aside, I did start an MSc with the OU and move to another online course as I found the OU unchallenging, but the structure of the course and how it's run was very good. My MSc was key in getting me into my current position and my previous one too, so it is worth having.