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Career change/Retraining and age

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm not really sure where this is going, but think it might be helpful to get it off my chest before my head pops.

I've hated my job for ages, but I've come to the conclusion this week that it's not just my job I hate, but the entire industry, and all my future career prospects are along the same route, and from here they're looking pretty gloomy. Since I graduated I've had a couple of jobs in copywriting and editing, and I applied for them because I knew I could do them, rather than because I wanted to do them, which doesn't really make for much job satisfaction.

There are a couple of things I'd really like to do (at least I think I would, I'm so fed up at the moment that anything sounds good), but they'd mean starting again from scratch. And I don't mean applying for junior jobs scratch, I mean first year of uni scratch. I know I wouldn't exactly be the most mature of mature students, but it's still quite an unnerving prospect. I'd be 30/31 at the earliest when I qualified, and it's not that that's old, it's just a dodgy age for me. I'd probably have to work a couple of years to get my foot in the door before thinking about kids, but would that be too late? I planned to have them before then. Might it be a better idea to trudge along in a crappy job, pop out a wee family and THEN retrain? I don't know.

And there's the money issue. I'm not exactly flush at the minute, but how would I feel about going back onto a student's income? Argh, I don't know.

I'm not really sure what I wanted to come of this. Just wanted to get it out, I think. Has anyone else totally retrained at my age? Or any thoughts? I don't know, I'm just fed up, and I guess I kind of feel a bit trapped.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Have you thought about doing a part-time course? Would take a bit longer but you could still work while you did it. You never too old to change career but you have to be a bit more flexable about how you do it when your older.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, I've thought about it, but am unsure about the whole deal. Plus my local uni only offers a full time degree in the subject, so I'd have to travel further afield, which isn't ideal.

    It's deffo something else to look into, though :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What sort of stuff are you looking at doing? Do you have to go back to uni to do what you want? or is there another way into it, for example doing work experience?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    1andonly wrote: »
    What sort of stuff are you looking at doing? Do you have to go back to uni to do what you want? or is there another way into it, for example doing work experience?

    I was looking at some medical type jobs. More on the therapy side that hands in insides, but still needing specific qualifications. I could do a related assistant-type job for a while and then think about part time degrees, but at some point the degree would still have to be done.

    On the bright side, it would mean that the NHS would pay tuition fees and you get a bursary (although not spectacular, definitely helps), so coupled with temporary work in the holidays it would make it a lot more financially feasible.

    I'm not really sure at all atm, I'm just sounding out outside of my head.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh i was thinking something similar as well because a) my job will be really hard to do once i have children and b) because of changes in my sector - which are all definately for the best - i might not have a long term future.

    Anyway I've been toying with the idea of re-training as a doctor as two people i was at school with have done thier first degrees realised that they carrear they went into wasnt' for them and then had a giant carrear change. Its obviously a massive comittment as its a whole 5 years before your even really out there - but neither of them seem to be regretting it.

    However i rememberd that i almost applied for Fast Track NHS Managment when i was at university so I may consider re-applying for that - especially as my current job involveds planning and managing health projects only overseas instead of in the UK.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What about an online/home learning course?
    totaly flexiable, works around your current work, and most (depending on what industry you're interested in going too, and the company) the learning materials are free, just you pay for the exams.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't imagine the nhs do many home courses as a lot of the work will be placements, at some stage at least. People do train/uni when they have children though so I wouldn't let plans for a family put you off, especially with two parents to split the responsibilities.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yes i have two friends who've been on NHS related courses whilst having babies and they have been very flexiable
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have a friend who has already had one baby while on the course and is currently pregnant with another but she actually isn't getting any official maternaty leave, only because she isn't taking it. It is avaliable though and this is on a nursing course, it just means you drop back a cohort. My friend is due the second week in august exactly when our summer holidays start so is using the 6 weeks off as her maternity leave.

    The NHS are trying to phase out the bursery and the diploma courses that offer them. I know that intakes being taken on are having to do degrees and any bursery they get, if they are even entitled to one, are not that much. Less than the basic £500 a month diploma students get, so it would be worth checking any changes to the courses.

    You can do some NHS training part-time which can work out better for families but do take around 4/5years to complete.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aye, I've had a root around the info for the bursaries, and in my situation I'd be entitled to about £4,000 a year, which obv is not that brilliant. But I reckon with part time/holiday work that could get up to a reasonable figure. And i'd get a little more if I had kids, so maybe having them while training is not the worst of ideas?
    katralla wrote:
    I don't imagine the nhs do many home courses as a lot of the work will be placements, at some stage at least.

    Yeah, distance learning isn't an option. At the uni I'd be applying to, it's full time degree, or nowt. Even the part time one isn't currently available. I can kind of see why though, not least because of the placement thing.

    Thanks for the input, I feel a bit more positive about the whole thing now. There's an open day at the department this weekend so I might pop down and have a chat to them. If I were to do it I think there's a good chance I might need to study something in the meantime, cause I haven't got a science A level and the uni like you to have studied to a higher level in the last 3 years. Graduated in 2004, so not sure I'll get away with that!

    Wyetry - you should totally do it! I'd love to be a doctor, but I doubt I'm cut out for it. That said, it sounds like you'd walk into the management thing too, with that kind of experience.

    I wish I'd had more bloody foresight when I was choosing all my options :grump:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Olive wrote: »
    Aye, I've had a root around the info for the bursaries, and in my situation I'd be entitled to about £4,000 a year, which obv is not that brilliant. But I reckon with part time/holiday work that could get up to a reasonable figure. And i'd get a little more if I had kids, so maybe having them while training is not the worst of ideas?



    :


    Thats nearly what I get a year, the burserys are shocking though :rolleyes:
    I have a part-time job which gets me about £280 a month extra on top of my £500 bursery which I can live on well, but I don't have to pay rent and the like. Many NHS courses will rant on about how having a part time job is not advisable but ignore them I do full time nursing and manage to work a full day sunday and do 5-9 on a tuesday nights, most placements are accomodating with it and understand you need to money. Bank work at hospitals, learning disability houses, community care assistant agencys are all really flexible and the pay can be really good especially if you are willing to do nights/sundays.

    I think if you have kids you can get up to an extra £300-400 a month which is always an added bonus :thumb:

    Alot of colleges offer access courses or just key skills courses which top up maths, english and IT GCSE's if needed and are recognised by most uni's.
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