I lost my job. What industry should I retrain in?

[FatimaTheBallerina]

I was in the arts. What is actually a good or growing sector to move into? How would I get into “cyber”, for instance?

I completed an IQ test recently and came out with a score of 45. Or thereabouts. Which is lower than that of an Alsatian.

I think I would struggle intellectually to be a fish-fryer, @LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett

I'm sure it was a very clever Alsatian @DrSpot

Sorry DrSpot but that’s really made me laugh!

For anyone who is looking, I saw these figures on a retail jobs site I follow:

Aldi: 200+ open roles
Argos: 83 open roles
Asda: 151 open roles
Boots UK: 122 open roles (NEW)
Co-op: 274 open roles
John Lewis & Partners: 140 open roles
Lidl: 274 open roles (NEW)
Marks and Spencer: 134 open roles
Morrisons: 100+ open roles
Next: 2,404 open roles
Ocado: 100+ open roles
Sainsbury's: 95 open roles
Specsavers: 1,036 open roles
Superdrug: 289 open roles
Tesco: 3,405 open roles
Waitrose & Partners: 337 open roles

Around here there is a major shortage of trades people of all sorts, builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians. My Dd is retraining to be a refrigeration technician. There is a major shortage so her earning potential is much higher than her previous qualification ( degree in tourism management)

Thanks for taking the time Taz.

Gosh I love the idea of a refrigeration technician , good to have a skill that is useful to lots of people and does that mean she can fix your fridge for free or is that not what it involves ?
A local paper to us says the following are in short supply in the U.K. at moment : archaeologists, cyber security specialists, vets, pharmacists, nurses, paramedics, secondary school teachers for certain subjects, architects, social workers, artists, some classical dancers and musicians, meat hygiene inspectors, electricians, mechanics and fishermen.

Get into cyber. Its booming at the moment. What we really need are User Researchers and Business Analysts. A background in the arts is fantastic for these roles. Its about ways of thinking. I have a fine arts degrees and an MSC in computing. The top seven people on the MSC course of fifty were all women transferring from arts careers. That was 15 years ago. Today, there is so much online to train, learn, follow. Given lockdown and WFH, tech is a growing area to work in again. It's not just technologists. We need normal people too

I think recruitment in some firms is being delayed at the moment because its hard to train someone up in to a job while remote working - certainly true for my business. We're non-essential office based in Scotland and rules have been work at home since March. But we've got pent up hiring we want to do...

Thus my advice is to target local businesses that you fancy working for and proactively tell them how you'd make the remote induction work :-)

Procurement.
There was a steady turnover of staff in our procurement dept (public sector) and no shortage of opportunities elsewhere.

Also agree with trades! Good joiner or kitchen fitter is like gold dust. Learn that. Or gardener that will do some hard landscaping - everyone wants their outdoor entertainment space sorted

I’m trained in cyber and it’s hard to get a job in that sector. Even with a full degree, work experience etc etc

I’m looking to retrain too

The gov careers quiz suggested brewery worker 😂😂

Teaching if you have a degree. One years training and NQT following year.
NHS
Amazon
Retrain as a nurse
Programmers and software development professionals.
Human resources and industrial relations officers.
Medical practitioners.
welfare and housing associate professionals.

Some of these are shown on the data for hard to fill and skills shortage lists.

If you have a redundancy package could you use money for training and tide you over whilst doing so?

Badger have you looked into ballet? Or maybe other forms of dance?

@FatimaTheBallerina 😂 I’ve been getting dance lessons from Teresa May.

DH works in tax and payroll. He is incredibly busy at the moment as every few weeks the government comes up with some new odd scheme. Tax takes a few years and quite a lot of money to qualify but working in payroll at the moment seems like a good idea.

What did you do op? I work in the cultural sector. So have a good idea of what's involved in different jobs within it. So might ba able to suggest something suitable using the same skills.

@Specialgodson she probably could mend our fridge, but her work is on an industrial scale, food manufacturers, supermarkets, abatoirs, even fruit growers all need refrigeration and if they break down the whole food chain breaks down.

Badger think you’re sorted for life then!

Isthisannoying musician?

MPs are always guaranteed an excellent income. Lots of subsidised luxury food and drink too

The additional benefit of being an MP is that the lockdown rules dont apply to you.

I work in Cyber Security - BSc / PhD in computer Science / CISM quals with 12+ Years in IT Security within Gov / Private sectors

It's a very buoyant industry and the salaries are pretty good - however like every domain, there are very different places you can train within security..... Access Governance / Penetration Testing / Governance / Vulnerability Management / Training and Awareness / 3rd party risk / SOC and SEIM / Incident Management etc....

I'd suggest NOT going into Pen Testing - you have to be extremely technical and have a real passion for it. If you've not got any experience, then it is possible to get into, but will take a LONG time - Python is your friend and you can find various websites to support you in regards to coding. Crest Registered Tester (CRT) or OSCP is your friend in regards to qualifications as a first step...

Other areas, regulatory / ISO 27001 is 'easier' to get into, but still requires a lot of knowledge (albeit less technical). Gov sector very different to private Sector, there are different frameworks that companies adhere to (NIST as opposed to 27001 and there are loads of others) so totally depends on the company as to what they need / want.

What do you enjoy? What are you passionate about? I am happy to try and point you in the right direction if you let me know 'what makes you tick'

Procurement.
There was a steady turnover of staff in our procurement dept (public sector) and no shortage of opportunities elsewhere.

I second procurement. There is a real demand at the moment both in public and private sector. A lot of employers are looking for CIPS Level 4 accreditation, which can be done part time or remotely.

I was advised by that career switch website to consider becoming an officer in the Marines.

I am physically wholly unsuited to becoming a Marine but perhaps as a ballet dancer you might be fit enough?

If you've got customer service experience then food retail is the obvious answer. I've worked in retail in the past and really enjoyed it - all human life is there. Plus there's usually a staff discount scheme. Worth having with food prices increasing and likely to go higher after the end of the year.