Any question answered...

Excellent post

So I sponsor someone who doesn’t give a fuck about the field, and that makes me feel better about myself? I admit I’m unclear on how this works.

No, you sponsor someone who does

And this will then help me to get a visa for degree only countries?

It's the sort of thing that could get you an honorary doctorate in the future....

Are honorary doctorates accepted as a recognised qualification by say New Zealand?

Despite my intentions not to be it is of course a glib suggestion as the logistics of actually doing that would be stressful enough in itself. Who do you let people know you’re willing to do that? How do you fairly choose? etc etc

I got a bursary from a rich dude who went to my school when I was at uni. £100 in the first year, £300 in the second and £1k in the final year. Administered by the school board, given to ten students I think. Made a big difference to my time at uni.

(Yes, there are other reasons which I didn’t realise it was necessary to outline originally, but LFGSS).

Ah, if you do need it for visa reasons then that’s a different matter

I guess either that sort of thing appeals to you or it doesn't, and if it doesn't you're not going to change your mind.

You can do an open university degree part time, to fit around your job, doing modules to your own timetable, as and when you can fit them in. You could also look for an MSc, distance learning, where your employment experience would count as qualifying qualifications.

Do I have to be a UK resident? As I am not.

It's not easy to say publically that sometimes you you feel like a failure, so kudos for that.

Definitely worth exploring your reasons for doing it more deeply as its a bigger commitment later on in life both financially and personally.

E.g. You might think about the people in your life that mean the most to you, work, personal life etc. How much does them having or not having a degree feature into how important they are to you?

E.g. You could ask where you're going in your career and would some kind of development / education enable this.

Pursuing a degree might still be an important outcome for you. One of these maybe related to the fact that many employers are considering the future and how their industries and colleague skills will change in the face of AI...

In which case there's a few options.

Ask if your employer would consider sponsoring you directly (many templates online for writing to your employer)

You could also ask if they'd consider supporting you (time and money) for a degree apprenticeship where you study part time to grow appropriate skills for the organisation. They may already be contributing to the apprenticeship levy, but this is not a requirement for supporting apprentices.(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-take-on-an-apprentice#using-the-apprenticeship-service)

Otherwise you could spread it out over time with someone like Open University. Or take a persoanl development loan if you want to jump in with two feet.

I was thinking Open University too. For a 6 year degree course, you're talking just under £22k.

My brother was agoraphobic in his youth, missed doing A-levels, let alone a degree. He managed to get into a really good career with an employer in IT, who also paid for him to obtain an HND with 1-day release study, but his obsession was maths. So, later on he studied and got a degree in Maths through the open university.

Is it just me or does the Royal Mail postbox finder not work for other people too? I've tried multiple devices (desktop and mobile) and browsers and after entering my address nothing happens.
https://www.royalmail.com/services-near-you

You are a clever grown up, an undergrad degree will be too basic for you, they don't give you anything more than you can get just reading the textbooks, but done part time will take years and years and cost silly money. A masters will be quicker, cheaper, more interesting, and probably meet whatever visa requirements you need? Being more advanced they are also maybe better for self esteem? And assuming you are an experienced professional, you will be able to get onto a masters course with that as your qualifying experience, instead of an undergrad, assuming you pick something related (ish) to your field

Appears to be working here.

You can study at OU from anywhere in the world

Cheers. Seems my broadband breaks that site, works fine on 5G. I wonder why.

Does anyone know of a fireworks display happening in Waltham Forest at NYE? Hoping to avoid the more hectic Southbank / Alexandra Palace kind of setup.

Seems like I'm having the same issues with it. We're both on CF, right?

Yep. I'm running my own router so must be something more fundamental, weird.

Map doesn't work for me on Community Fibre either.

I'm getting a 502 error on the request to this RM service - https://www.royalmail.com/capi/rml/bf/v1/locations/branchFinder

I need to buy a postage label for a parcel that is in the US, to be posted to Singapore.

The parcel is 3lbs and 14x11x5”.

I got a quote from FedEx and it was $300.

Are there cheaper options that people have used? $300 is just under the value of the cranks themselves.

Shop and Ship has been excellent for me. They quote £20 for that package.

US to Singapore?