To be so confused about the career I want!

[BlueNeighbourhood]

Ok, so a bit of a backstory. I'm 33 now, however when I was 18 I'd been accepted to every Uni I wanted but turned it down because my boyfriend at the time ran away from home and I was compelled to stay with him in a council house we'd found till I was 21. Finally realised I was wasting my life away, so never had the option of Uni.

Right now I'm a Senior Recruitment Consultant, I've been in recruitment in some form or another for about four years now. I'm good at it, it's a safe job but I'm fed up of the younger club rep types trying to stamp some form of sales patter on everything. I'm more quiet, serious and very methodical and some personality types really rile me (which is terrible to say when I work in recruitment!)

I don't know what I want to do at all, but I also know time is running out to get to the point. I wanted to be a prison officer for a while, then work as a nurse and then now I'm onto account management and on site recruitment (another safe choice)

Does anyone have any idea of where I can go for careers advice at my age? I feel like life is just passing my by, my DP is a Merchandiser for a major clothes chain and loves the job. Listens to me moan every night and I need to turn this around!

[HipsterHunter]

Would HR suit you?

Have you got friends in a varity of jobs? Or can they put you in touch with any friends of friends?

[BlueNeighbourhood]

I can't do HR, my little sister made a very successful transition from recruitment to HR around five years ago and has just completed her PhD now. Manager of over 400 people at age 31, I would be forever compared to her by family. Which as much as I love the HR side of things, it's just ruled out from day one.

I talk to my DP, my family all the time about it. I think it's more that I'm one of those people that need the change now, rather than years of studying. I'm so unhappy in my current role I'm dreading each day at work, and only come alive at weekends right now.

[mumtomaxwell]

nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/

There's skills questionnaires on here that might come up with more ideas.

The national careers service also has careers advisers who you can make an appointment with.

[LuluBellaBlue]

I found mind mapping and a life coach incredibly helpful for this.
With the mind map I wrote all the skills I had, things I enjoyed, what was important to me (salary, commute etc)
Life coaching was great to have someone else help find those answers that were all inside me anyway, then plan in logical steps how to get there - I only needed 2 sessions!
Oh and the free online personality type questionnaires also might help? They just confirmed to me that my personality does suit what I do, and that it was the right direction :)
Good luck, it's never too late to try something new!

[RunRabbitRunRabbit]

A few hours with a life coach will be money well spent.

[Heychickadee]

Might you still be interested in healthcare? I worked in sales, and then 3 years in recruitment. Didn't fit in, I was too methodical and didn't like the whole recruitment atmosphere. Trained as an ODP (briefly considered nursing) and love it. Funnily enough I'm agency now so talking to recruitment consultants almost daily 😆.

[joojoobean99]

I worked in a prison for 10 years and it was the best job I ever had. Different things happening all the time so no one day was ever the same. I really regret leaving there. If you're in or around London, I know they're crying out for prison officers at the moment so the starting salary is higher than it was 5 years ago, and the overtime is almost unlimited, so the earning potential is relatively high. It's quite a dangerous job these days though, but if it's something you were once interested in I'd definitely take a look at it if I were you.

[StillDrivingMeBonkers]

If you want to go into HR, why would it have to be a competition with your sister?

[user1497480444]

It makes no sense to say you want to go in HR but are afraid of being compared to your sister.

So what? Who cares if you are or are not? Why, as an adult, is sibling rivalry the deciding factor in your career choices?

To be blunt, so infantile, that I wonder if the real reason you haven't changed jobs is because you are too immature

[andintothefire]

Have you considered working in business development for a large organisation rather than specifically HR? So a marketing style job, but perhaps with more focus on strategy and pitching on their behalf.

[user1497480444]

why don't you go to university now?