Hey, my name is Jordan and I’m a first year at the Open University studying a diploma in data analysis. I thought that a good way to start the blog would be to explain why I chose to go in the direction of data analysis.

I've always been interested in logic. At school I always seemed to find an interest in subjects that would have a clear answer that could be worked out by an equation or an algorithm, mainly being maths and computing. Through primary school I was always near the top of my class in maths but always struggled with English. Pretty ironic that I’m now writing a blog. I continued to love maths through high school, and got an A at GSCE which was my best grade out of all my subjects. I'd always loved computing because as a child I was always on my computer playing simulation games such as Rollercoaster Tycoon in which you would build a theme park and had to make sure it would turn over a profit.

My mental health always struggled since my parents divorce when I was 11 but during A-Levels my mental health was at its lowest. While I got fairly good GCSE grades, I came out of sixth form with one A-Level which was only a C grade. When I finished school , I came out feeling lost with no clear path in life, so I just went to full time in my retail job. In summer last year I met my amazing girlfriend Bobbie and slowly since then, she seen helping me feel happy and more self-confident. Before I met her, I thought I would always be working in retail and while I still am, I am working towards a brighter future for myself. Don’t get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with working in retail, but to me it’s a very physically challenging and unrewarding job.

At the start of the year I started looking at my options for a better career and started applying for jobs within the computing industry. I struggled to get any luck as I think I aimed to high with all the jobs I was looking at requiring at least a year’s work experience or more qualifications such as a degree. I then studied a certified course in software testing but realised that it was more revolved around paperwork than actual maths and problem solving.

I then considered signing up to the Open University. It’s a long-term commitment so I asked my girlfriend about it and she agreed that it would be a good idea. I chose to do a diploma in data analysis as it looked like a lot of fun and as it’s a diploma, it would take me 4 years to study part-time which means that I will finish at a more similar time to when my girlfriend finishes her degree. I have only been studying this course for a couple of months so far, but I am really enjoying it and just handed in my first big assignment last week. All in all, life is great at the moment. I have a full-time job (I am currently furloughed due to COVID-19 but I'll talk about that in another blog), I am in an amazing and loving relationship and I am studying and preparing for my future. This is the happiest I have been in a very long time and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I hope you enjoyed my first blog.

<3 Jordan