HELP; I need a new career. Please!

[Be1atrix]

Hi all. I feel I've made poor choices and am now stuck in a low paid job despite a good degree and really want to change my prospects. Any help or advice would be so appreciated.

Work history:

Until 23; bar work, nothing long term, travelling, bits and bobs here and there. Nothing I could get a reference for.
23: had baby.
24-28: college for an access course (I got a distinction) then university (a degree in Education- first class honours)

During uni I worked at Tesco. After uni I worked in a call centre as a trainer for 2 years. I now have worked in a school as pastoral staff for 2 years.

I really enjoy my job, it suits me and I enjoy it, and love working term time. However it pays really poorly (£20,000 pro rata- take home around £1100).

What more could I do with my life? I feel stuck. I'd love to retrain but I couldn't afford uni fees + no salary for a few years.

Should also say I can't move up in my job- I'm head of my department but can't go any further, as next step is SLT and can only be SLT if I was a teacher.

L&D in a corporate?

I wouldn’t go to uni agin, look up certifications, professional bodies etc

Publishing? Quite a few editorial/commissioning roles out there if you have teaching/education experience. Maybe browse some publishing recruitment/agency sites.

What do you want to do, what’s important to you?
I wanted more money than I was making (working for a housing association) but didn’t want to retrain. Went into sales. You need a thick skin but the money is incredible.

Honestly I need more money. I feel much happier in jobs that I feel have worth, ie education, but money is a big driving factor right now.

@lastqueenofscotland if you don't mind me asking, what area of sales are you in/what does your job entail?

Sorry for hijacking OP!

Not a hijack, I'm interested too :)

Bump for the weekend crowd.

Try looking at council jobs. Flexible working patterns, pension, less bothered about what your specific degree is, plenty of roles relating to education policy or administration for example.

What about HR - and I don't mean the traditional "policing" role, but one focused on learning, organisational development, culture, engagement, etc. Looks at businesses and how to structure them, and create learning opportunities for people based on this. Look at the CIPD website for more info. If you work for a small or medium sized company it's incredibly rewarding to make proposals and see them through to fruition. Good luck!