I'm set on starting a new OU course in the next few months - before the tuition fees jump. I can't choose between a Science (probably Physics) or an Engineering (possibly structural) course...
I'll be doing it purely for reasons of personal development- i have a career already - and i would enjoy both of these subjects. What are people's experiences here?
I have no experience with either (excepting school), so i'd be starting from scratch!
Opinions would be greatly appreciated!
Depends what you are interested in. Engineering will teach you some physics back, how things work, standard methods of solving engineering problems, standardised technologies, maybe some management stuff too. A good engineering course should also show you the limit of the models and abstraction which they are using.
Physics will show you the back ground of all the engineering stuff to but none of the applications, but you will get to learn more areas including particle physics e.t.c. if you want. You should have the knowledge to learn the engineering if you are interested in a particular area but it will take you some more personal effort.
My personal choice would be physics as it allows you to learn more areas and and the ability to learn the engineering if you choose, it also allows you to see the limit of the abstractions used.
I think they're very different - oceans apart really in terms of mindset. It's not like you're weighing up biochemistry and molecular biology or similar closely-related disciplines.
So it's really up to you. Maybe one way of approaching it is to think about your attitude to research - do you relate to the idea of scientific research, asking big questions about how the world works? Or do you prefer engineering research, which is a bit of an oxymoron, and involves...I don't know, something to do with pipes? In any case, it's clearly different and can be a good way of separating the two disciplines into things you like and dislike.
Undergrad level may not involve research, depending on the course, but it is fundamental to the thinking and structure of the subject and to how it is taught.
i did mech engineering thro ou really enjoyed my course and they were really great when i had problems half way into my 2nd year they allowed me to come back and re do some of my course work so which ever one you pick have a great time and enjoy.
I finished my bsc before they cancelled all of the named courses...its a bit more complicated now. If you choose science its more open ie the first year course will cover all science subjects, also science is more interest driven and less vocational than engineering.
I did a masters in mech eng. It was pretty much geared to 'this is how you can work out X or Y as part of a job'. I imagine a physics course (tho I await to stand corrected' is more like 'this is how A and B work - isn't that interesting'.
I'd do physics, esp if I didn't want to become an engineer (I didn't anyway but that's a longer story).
Edit: Just to clarify, I did my degree at Surrey rather than OU.
Agree with whats been said so far, i did Civil and Sturctural Engineering and its definaly more vocational, geared at creating people who can go straight into the work place.
Not sure if thats what you want if its just for your own personal development.
Im very tempted to do an OU in meteorology, but now is not the time for me to get back to heavy study.
If i had my time again i would probably have done either a Mechanical degree or more probably Naval Architecture, as i love boats.
Good on you for doing it.
I'm currently studying for my BEng with the OU (after 20 years away from the books) and am thoroughly enjoying it at the moment, although I am an Engineer but need my degree to move onwards and upwards.
I looked at OU a couple of years back and I can't say their engineering courses really looked that attractive to me. (Electrical / Electronic). Harder to get to the specifics of what I wanted and too long. I went part time to my local for uni a year (RGU at the time) and it was pretty good. I have since moved back to England and none of the local courses seem to be much good, shame. In conclusion I'd rather do distance learning / part time at a real uni.
physics at higher levels = maths. Don't know about engineering.
I'm currently studying for a degree in maths with OU, and I'm enjoying it for the most part.
Both physics and engineering will require you to be reasonably good at maths, so I'd recommend starting out with one of the introductory maths modules MU123 or MST121, whilst you decide whether to go for physics or engineering.
There are introductory maths quizzes to see what level of maths you would want to start at and some taster packs of course materials available on OU Maths Choices
If you're able to get to an OU centre then they will have pretty much all the course texts available for you to look at, and regularly have open days where staff are available for you to discuss courses.
Thanks for the info, chaps!
I think i'm leaning closer to Physics, at the minute. If the Engineering courses really are vocational, then that's pretty much a show stopper.
@fluffykittens - I didn't even know there was such a thing as an OU centre, so i'll look into that!
Thanks again!
Engineering definitely won't teach you any physics.
And I too would say structural engineering would be very good for job prospects.
I did some OU Physics stuff a few years ago. Although I found some of the '2nd/3rd year-type' course-work very challenging, it was very rewarding and enjoyable.
FWIW, I have a BSc and PhD from a 'normal' Uni(not Physics, but materials science related). IME, the OU course content, the way it's taught, and tutorial support of the OU was leagues ahead of the 'proper' redbrick Uni that I was at - even though they'd got 5 star ratings for teaching and research.
Personally, I'd go for Physics as it'll give you great foundations for lots of other science-ey things that you might fancy studying in the future.
Best of luck 
physics for intellectual curiosity. engineering for vocational prospects. one can however get CEng status from the Institute of Physics, but not vice versa.
disclaimer: BSc and PhD in Physics, but was probably an engineer in a previous life!
Thanks for the input, chaps!
Having done some careful consideration, i've enroled on S104, due to start in Jan! I've been talking about it for long enough - if i don't do it now then i never will!
Now i know there are a couple of Doctors on here, i'll come hunting for you when i get stuck! The Science i'm not too concerned about, but the Maths i'll struggle with... Better start practicing!
Thanks again!
Better start practicing!
This, maths is all about practice! If you struggle, practice more! If you can't understand, try find a different description of the same thing, some people's minds work differently. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ is your friend.
Get yourself a Big Boys Book of Maths (nearby uni secondhand book store a good bet), choose something thick with a lot of variety that they have lots of (it's probably been a course text, so decent). Then you have a handy reference, and some exercises to work through.
do you relate to the idea of scientific research, asking big questions about how the world works? Or do you prefer engineering research, which is a bit of an oxymoron, and involves...I don't know, something to do with pipes?
garry must be a scientist?
i would say that scientific research would be a tiny focussed area of abstract science unrelated to you or i whereas engineering would be related to a real world issue.
all perspective really 
I did a load of 2nd and 3rd year Maths courses with the OU (about 8 years ago) and really enjoyed them - excellent course material. I then signed up for their Maths MSc and that was uber hard - also the course material was non-existant ie here's a text book - go read, we'll examine you every couple of months on it - just scraped a pass but barely understood any of it eg this course was the hardest stuff I've ever done: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/course/m832.htm
My favourite course was Complex Analysis: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/m337.htm
Would love to do a course, but not sure I've got enough time available to do one - realistically, how much time did you spend per week on the course? And how many modules did you study at once?
, how much time did you spend per week on the course?
The OU suggest around 16 hours per week - they also suggest that each point represents around 10 hours of study (a degree is 360 points)
Although i've heard from many people saying they needed much less time that was suggested - and a few saying they needed much more...
i'm starting s104 in january too. looking forward to it, but i am hoping that i do need less than 16 hours.
@Duffer
I'll probably be able to give you a hand with some of the maths if you get really stuck - you just need to sort out a way of me getting in touch with you
I did the OU science foundation course a few years back, just for interest (I'd originally gone to uni to study Chemistry but switched to computer science for my degree). I thought that was pretty good, quite interesting as it covered a lot of ground.
@ fluffykittens - thanks for the offer! Send me an email to my gash email account, and i'll send you my propper email address:
beckingham_diehard at hotmail dot com
@ Duffer
ygm
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