which profession is screaming out for people?

[Wilfredohoney]

So that's my question.
I've been sahm ing with periods of self employment (niche thing requiring skill and no transferable qualifications) for the last decade.
More a decision based on necessity rather than reluctance to work.... Husbands job required several international moves and lots of periods away. I tried to be the one area of stability for the children .
My circumstances have changed so that this is no longer a viable option for me (time, childcare, changing industry ,etc). Now in a fixed place.
Going to university to retrain is too expensive, I don't want to do it.
I have had enough of self employment for all sorts of reasons , the admin, the hidden expenses, the 'never being able to switch off' feeling.
I have loads of energy, am organised, well presented, capable, love people, perfectly happy to get up at ungodly hours. Happy to travel anywhere, can speak bits of other languages.
I'm mid thirties.
So which industries are screaming out for people? ideally I just want to go to work. At this stage I'd (happily) do bricklaying, shit shovelling, most stuff . I just want to go to bed at night tired from an honest days work.
Suggestions?

@countfosco it isn’t that I have no intention to study. It’s that I don’t want to take a 3years to study @9.5k a year, + childcare for little ones + transportation costs, + sustaining my ordinary life because I can’t exactly move 5 kids into halls and live on beans.
And it really isn’t that there’s a plethora of amazing graduate positions.... so many students are leaving uni to intern on far less than minimum wage.
For what it’s worth I have grand designs to just walk into a job with no qualifications. I’m asking for creative suggestions to the fairly unique position I find myself in. I have no ‘typical’ qualifications, the ones that get your CV through HR . I am highly skilled in my chosen specialism though.

@countfosco a degree doesn’t qualify you in any of those things they’re all post graduate

@ Ladygaladriel
Absolutely I think about this every time I get my shellac !

@Wilfredohoney I just provided references from family worker/ any charity stuff I had done / seniors in childcare related stuff for my nhs references. Had been out of workplace for 3-4 years.

@controlledremote what do you mean by family worker /seniors in childcare related stuff? Can you give examples?

a degree doesn’t qualify you in any of those things hmm they’re all post graduate

Are you in the States? In the UK all those degrees can be done straight out of school as well as a PG qualification.

@countfosco but to do a degree and then a postgrad in the Uk is massively expensive , especially the postgrad bit

Following this! I am in a similar situation and need to get back to work next year (when my youngest starts school). I have got to figure out what I’m doing by then. Open to any suggestions!!! But my only criteria is that it has to fit, somehow, around school hours. Before and after school clubs are an option but I have no extended family support network and DH is often away with work.

I’m lost- how does a degree qualify you to be a lawyer? You have to do a post graduate diploma to qualify. The professions you list all require additional post graduate study/ training in order to be qualified.

And postgrad specialisms with extortionately priced modules.

Pre-registration B.Sc degrees in many health fields qualify you to practice on graduation. E.g physio, OT, nursing

Paraplanning! Huge shortage in properly qualified, sparky and knowledgeable paraplanners.

The easiest entry route is to start off as an IFA administrator and find a firm that will pay for your professional qualifications with the CII/CISI and professional memberships (most decent IFA firms will). Improve your knowledge ‘on the job’ and from studying in the evenings/weekends and if you show some willing, you can easily progress from administrator to paraplanner. There are a fair few work from home type paraplanner roles available too.

Which I could get on board with if I had a degree 🤔but I don’t .
So I don’t just want to walk into a job as a surgeon.
But it’s totally naive to think that these careers are the only ‘good’ ones that pay well.

@uncomfortablebadger thank you, that’s really informative and it’s much appreciated.

My sister is looking at applying for working as train manager /ticket inspector whatever they call it. She ran her own business for 20 years but also wants a leave the stress at work job now.

It might be more of a thing to think of what industry /sectors you want to work in. Or are big employers near you. Even if you get quite an entry level job if you are capable and committed you will build experience soon move up through internal vacancies.

Thanks notmenono. I totally ‘get’ your sister!

@Wilfredohoney so I asked my family worker for a reference. Also a staff member from the local children's centre I had attended. That type of thing. Only band 3 but still, it's a start! You have to start somewhere.

I just hired a lady with no degree or experience as a pa in an investment bank because she was amazing at interview. PA roles come up a lot in banking.

If you want to fit work around family commitments and are happy selling why not look at companies like Pampered Chef or Stella and Dot. I think there are relatively small set up costs, then the world is your oyster to make 'pocket money' or a full time wage to live on. It depends how self motivated you are and how much time you can reasonably commit. I'm sure there must be loads more similar companies. Good luck ... I'm currently doing an online diploma, so that's a thought too (cheaper and can fit around kids). You could do this alongside the ideas above?

Ah ok @controlledremote thanks. Was it recently? NHS refused to accept any references from school teachers, nursery workers etc in my area.

Thank you @kidsnowteenagers123. I’ll take a look :)

Data science and analytics
Massively in demand globally and will be even more so in the future.
Not enough folks coming out of university to meet demand so many firms are paying their existing staff to cross-train and reskill.
If you are numerate and logical it would be a great area to self study to develop your skills.

@cherries101 in what way was she amazing?

@botanica.
I’ve seen lots of moocs in data science and analytics.
But do you think something more specific?

Student loans aren't real loans though, you don't pay back until you earn above the median salary and then you pay a percentage of that salary which is taken out of your pay before you get it. It doesn't count towards your credit rating. After 30 years the remainder is written off. It's a graduate tax in all but name.

Most of those degrees can be done as an undergraduate or as a postgraduate, it's not both. And those are the classic professions, there's lots of other jobs that require a specific degree to get into them as well. It might be difficult to get a graduate job if you did Medieval Latin at the University of Stoneybridge but plenty of graduates have marketable skills and work experience.

But I understand that you want something that rewards quicker than doing a degree which is fair enough in your circumstances and lots of people have given good suggestions. Have you considered an apprenticeship? We (I work in Pharma) take on people post A levels and they do 4 days a week with us and 1 at Uni and get a degree in 5 years but have their fees paid and a salary during that time. A levels would open up your opportunities a lot so worth considering studying PT.