Free course

Returning to STEM

Free statement of participation on completion

Welcome to the free badged course, Returning to STEM. This course is here to help you get back to work in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics. The course is intended for anyone who wants to get back into STEM work after having a break, whether to care for family, because of redundancy or for other reasons.

Watch the following video in which Dr Sue Black OBE introduces the course.

Transcript

There are case study videos placed throughout the course to show you how other people have navigated their own unconventional careers. Importantly, you will hear about how they have got back to STEM employment after a career break.

Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.

Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation – which also displays your Open University badge.

This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office . It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.

Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey . Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey . Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.

This course is supported and recommended by STEM Returners , a programme that helps to facilitate a start in or return to STEM careers.

Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete this course! The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing the course and passing the quizzes.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

identify key experiences and attributes, and know how to use online tools effectively to be visible
identify long-term goals and create an action plan and CV to achieve these
know about future trends in STEM employment and where to find STEM jobs online
identify mentors and networks that can help with returning to work
understand work–life balance solutions and know more about different types of flexible and agile working.

Enter course

First Published: 24/02/2016

Updated: 10/05/2024

You can start this course right now without signing-up. Click on any of the course content sections below to start at any point in this course.
If you want to be able to track your progress, earn a free Statement of Participation, and access all course quizzes and activities, sign-up.

Course content

Introduction and guidance
- Current section:
  Introduction and guidance
  Welcome to the free badged course Returning to STEM. This course is here to help you get back to work in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, and is intended for anyone who wants to get back into STEM work after having a break, whether to care for family or because of redundancy or other reasons.The course lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week there is no problem with ...
  - What is a badged course?
  - How to get a badge
- Acknowledgements
Week1Week 1: The story so far
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In this course, you’ll learn about new and inspiring employment opportunities and trends in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), see how other people have navigated their careers and, most importantly, how they have made a return to STEM employment following a career break. Throughout the course, you’ll be given challenging and thought-provoking activities to help you define your next steps.Watch the video to hear Professor Sue Black OBE introduce this badged free course ...
- 1 What this course can offer you
  - 1.1 Why STEM?
- 2 Reflections on your working life
  - 2.1 Your career lifeline
  - 2.2 Telling your story
- 3 Identifying your career drivers and values
- 4 Managing your digital footprint
- 5 Strategies for returning
- 6 What do you want to get out of this course?
- 7 This week’s quiz
- 8 Summary
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 1 practice quiz
Week2Week 2: Presenting yourself
- Current section:
  Introduction
  One of the most important aspects of getting back to work is thinking about how you will present yourself to potential employers – or customers and clients if you plan to be self-employed.Last week, you had an opportunity to look back at your career and working life, and to reflect on what you have done so far. In this week’s activities, you will work on re-emerging into the world of work and presenting yourself to potential employers or collaborators. This will involve reflecting on who you...
- 1 Presenting yourself online: LinkedIn
  - 1.1 Why LinkedIn for STEM?
  - 1.2 About LinkedIn
    - Privacy and security
- 2 Making the most of LinkedIn
- 3 Creating your online profile
- 4 Creating a network
  - 4.1 Building connections
  - 4.2 Expanding your LinkedIn reach
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 2 practice quiz
Week3Week 3: What’s going on in your sector?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Returning to work in STEM sectors can be daunting. The rapid pace of scientific and technological change means you may feel that many of the skills and experiences you have are out of date, and there are new jobs and new areas of work that didn’t even exist when you first entered work. Be prepared for the possibility that when you look at the changes in different employment sectors you might want to rethink previous assumptions about which sector you may return to work in. It may be ...
- 1 Employment trends in STEM
- 2 Skills shortage – where will the jobs be?
- 3 Creating a CV
- 4 Good places for women to work
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 3 practice quiz
Week4Week 4: New ways of working
- Current section:
  Introduction
  My father had one job in his lifetime. I will have six jobs in my lifetime. My children will have six jobs at the same time.Robin Chase, founder of ZipcarLast week, you looked at trends within STEM industries and the types of careers and job opportunities that are likely to be growing in these fields. This week, you will be exploring the changes that are happening in the way people work and, in particular, reviewing new ways of flexible and agile working that are becoming increasingly ...
- 1 What is a career?
- 2 Being flexible: what it means in the workplace
- 3 Working for yourself
- 4 Flexible working: the employer perspective
  - 4.1 Steps to returning
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 4 compulsory badge quiz
Week5Week 5: Work-life balance
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Deciding to return to work or, alternatively, to change direction is just the first step – once you start on your new path your life will become different and there will be changes that affect both you and those around you. This week is aimed at helping you think through what your priorities are and the kind of balance you want to achieve between your work and other aspects of your life.Work–life balance does not just mean managing and juggling your caring responsibilities. It is a much ...
- 1 Changing priorities: the ABC model
- 2 Where does your time go?
- 3 Creating the work–life balance you want
- 4 There are only so many hours in a day
  - 4.1 Time management
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 5 practice quiz
Week6Week 6: Getting support
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Don’t think you can do it all by yourself – ask for help! Get as many people on board as you can – family, friends and colleagues as well as support networks … They were great at telling me where I could go for help and constantly updated me on what was happening next.Patricia McCalla, building control surveyor and career break returnerLast week you looked at work–life balance and, in doing so, you may have identified areas where you will need to get support.This week, you’ll be finding out ...
- 1 Getting back your confidence
- 2 Mentoring
  - 2.1 How can a mentor help you?
- 3 Networking
- 4 This week’s quiz
- Summary
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 6 practice quiz
Week7Week 7: Finding your STEM opportunity
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Last week, you looked at how networking can help you to tap into the hidden job market, and how you should make sure to give as much time to this aspect of returning to work as you would looking for advertised vacancies.This week, you will be practising and developing skills in locating, and applying, for work, and hopefully also finding some valuable information sources that you can use in the future. Who knows, while practising these techniques you may just find the job you are looking ...
- 1 What’s out there? Finding job vacancies
- 2 Getting the job
  - 2.1 Improving your CV
  - 2.2 Your amended CV
- 3 Covering letters and speculative letters
  - 3.1 Speculative applications
    - Drafting a speculative letter
- 4 Interview confidence and preparation
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 7 practice quiz
Week8Week 8: Planning your next steps
- Current section:
  Introduction
  This is the last week of the course, but rather than viewing it as an ending you should consider this as the start of the next stage of your journey and a new phase in your career development.This week you will develop a powerful action plan that will help you move forward with your return to work. You will start by identifying your long-term goals and ambitions, and then outline the steps required to get there.Before you go on to creating your own unique action plan, you’ll look again at ...
- 1 Strategies for returning to STEM
  - 1.1 Reviewing your progress
- 2 Where next?
  - 2.1 Update your skills or study for another qualification
  - 2.2 Volunteering and returnships
- 3 Setting your goals
- 4 Creating your action plan
  - 4.1 Goals as SMART objectives
  - 4.2 What if I don’t succeed?
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
  - Tell us what you think
- Take the next step
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Week 8 compulsory badge quiz

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