Career advice.. would love to retrain

[stuckinarut21]

Following on from another thread.

I studied Law & Economics at Uni and fell into a job in the finance sector. It's fine, pays the bills but no way does it give me the 'love your job' feeling.

I've had quite a health journey myself and was always interested in medicine but there's no way I could or would go back to studying something as intense as medicine. I saw physicians associate or assistant mentioned on the other thread and it sounds ideal but my degree wouldn't satisfy the entry requirements for the post grad.

I think the main thing for me is wanting to do something highly rewarding and where I am actually making a difference to peoples lives. Social care also strikes me but this is all very vague. As well as counselling / psychotherapy.

Can anyone help come up with suitable options / jobs ? I don't mind going back to some level of studying.

Before looking at PA seriously you need to see what the job opportunoties are like in your area - its all very patchy. Some regions has a great uptake, others not so much.

How much are you willing to retrain? A degree? How much money do you need to make? Or are you supported and you can take a salary break whilst you train? The answers to these questions will likely guide your options.

Note - im a nurse and love it. I retrained to do it in my late 20's.

I would be supported during retraining and not too fussed about the length of time in terms of retraining. Obviously the quicker the better though!

@stuckinarut21

I would be supported during retraining and not too fussed about the length of time in terms of retraining. Obviously the quicker the better though!

I don't know if GP link workers are a Scottish thing but you could look at that? They are almost a gatekeeper in the sense that you see them for some issues rather than seeing a GP and they refer you to appropriate services in your local area. Examples are people I know with autism/ depression/ eating disorders have used them and been referred to specialist services without having to be referred by a GP. Might be worth looking at this

How did you know I'm Scottish??

That sounds good, I'll check it out

A 2 year post graduate course in either mental health nursing or occupational therapy, with a view to work as a band 5 for a couple of years and then applying for a trainee post to become a cognitive behavioural therapist. Something like this:
beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/U0049-21-2958

Occuptional Therapist? Not sure if it's the same in Scotland, but I think you can access funding to retrain as OT from another career - look into it. It could be quite up your street as it combines facilitation of social and medical care, and being somebody from a professional background could make you a really useful advocate for patients. It is also a broad role, so if you want to work in prisons, with the disabled or elderly, in a clinical setting or even in a corporate environment it is very adaptable.

Look into operating department practitioner, I trained in my mid 20's, worked in the nhs for a few years then went to a private hospital where I undertook my surgical assistant course. These course would then be a gateway into surgical care practitioner / physicians assistant. But be warned it not great money, for a lot more responsibility.

If your lucky some trust are bring back secondment / apprenticeship programmes