BSc Top-Up!?

[waverider]

I'm currently studying for my FD (deck) and I'm seriously considering completing my top-up to BSc when my studies have finished. I know there are two options (11 weeks and 12 months to complete the project or 12 months at LJMU). I am sponsored by Clyde Marine who will not sponsor my top-up.

I would love to hear from anyone who has completed the courses who can provide me with any information on the following:

1. Funding, how did you fund? Sponsored or not?
2. Content, what is the content of the courses? Quality of the course?
3. Employment afterwards, what kind of jobs did you get? Improved probability of employment?
4. BSc top-up or employment?

Hope someone can help!

[Ducki52]

Posting in my capacity as ignorant land lubber here, but why would you want to upgrade to BSc which esentially makes you no more qualified to go to sea as an OOW than an FD, or even a HNC/D? You're better off using that year at sea, gaining experience in the job, which as we all know is actually more important than another degree and no experience, and make yourself ?20k better off, not ?20k worse off and lumbering yourself with student loans etc.

[GuinnessMan]

Posting in my capacity as ignorant land lubber here, but why would you want to upgrade to BSc which esentially makes you no more qualified to go to sea as an OOW than an FD, or even a HNC/D? You're better off using that year at sea, gaining experience in the job, which as we all know is actually more important than another degree and no experience, and make yourself ?20k better off, not ?20k worse off and lumbering yourself with student loans etc.

As the shoreside person who has dealt with recruits in the past, a degree does not hurt your application at all. Experience is good (and generally the over-riding factor), but if you have two candidates with equal amounts of experience then you would go for the one with the degree as they have studied at a bit of a higher level. It don't mean much, but hey, thats the way the world works. It also doesn't hurt your chances when coming shoreside either as most other nationalities require their seafarers to have degrees.

A piece of advice I was given was "do all your education when your poor because when your working, you'd miss the money too much to go back and study".

[mak]

i was thinking about trying to do a BEng for exactly the same reason, i reckon i'd never do it otherwise and i'm sure it would come in handy, particularly on shore.

[Clanky]

Posting in my capacity as ignorant land lubber here, but why would you want to upgrade to BSc which esentially makes you no more qualified to go to sea as an OOW than an FD, or even a HNC/D? You're better off using that year at sea, gaining experience in the job, which as we all know is actually more important than another degree and no experience, and make yourself ?20k better off, not ?20k worse off and lumbering yourself with student loans etc.

Continuing to degree level qualification will open up opportunities for you in the future whether they are within the shipping industry ashore or outside the industry altogether. Most adverts for superintendents positions list either a degree or a chief's / masters ticket and experience in senior rank as a pre-requisite.

[GuinnessMan]

You don't require either of those to be a Superintendent, but as we've said, it doesn't hurt to have them and whatever boosts your CV doesn't hurt at all...

[waverider]

"do all your education when your poor because when your working, you'd miss the money too much to go back and study".

This seems to be the general consensus when speaking to lecturers/maritime professionals...

[GuinnessMan]

This seems to be the general consensus when speaking to lecturers/maritime professionals...

Funnily enough it was a fella with two PhD's that told me that....