Careers

Employers know the value of our courses – and our graduates. Independent research shows they think of OU students and graduates as ‘self-starters’, ‘adaptable’, ‘diverse’ and ‘determined’.

Learn how an Open University qualification, and the support we offer, can pave the way to a rewarding career and open up your future.

Make studying more affordable with a Part-Time Tuition Fee Loan. You can start studying without paying a penny upfront. You won’t have to pay anything back for up to four years and not until you’re earning more than £25,000 a year (current income threshold).

Explore all your funding options in our Fees and funding in England guide

Careers and Employability Services

The first step to navigating your future

When you become an OU student, you'll get access to the OU's Careers and Employability Services.

96% of students who've used this quality-certified, award-winning service would recommend it to others.
Our team of experienced careers professionals was Highly Commended in the National Undergraduate Employability Awards 2021.

We help a wide range of students at all stages of their working lives achieve personal, study and career goals – all with differing needs and representing all backgrounds, abilities and disabilities, ethnicities, identities and differences. And the employers we work with know that diversity brings great strength.

Our artificial intelligence-powered ‘career readiness’ diagnostic will direct you to a tailored range of tools and support to build confidence and navigate your future, for example:

Discover where your OU qualification might take you with idea-generating software, live workshops, Your Career Planning Guide, and our networking community.
Explore pathways to your chosen area of work with live and recorded workshops and webinars, networking events, downloadable guides, forums, bite-sized on-demand podcasts and videos, current labour market information, and virtual and face-to-face flexible internships and work placements.
Achieve your goals by connecting to employers via our OpportunityHub platform and a range of panel events, virtual site visits and employer and career learning events. Hone your application skills with networking workshops, online interview practice, CV building and review tools with built-in artificial intelligence.
Browse or receive relevant job vacancies that reflect what you can achieve with the qualifications you’re studying, advertised by organisations who want to employ Open University students and alumni.
Progress your personal development using FutureYou and apply your developing skills to volunteering or connecting with charity organisations.

Our team is also available to you for individual consultations from the moment you start studying up to three years after. For more information, visit our Careers and Employability Services web pages.