Tell me what you do for work

[Lindor2828]

I'm planning my escape from nursing, I just cannot imagine spending another 30 years of my working life working in such an environment.

Would anyone be keen to share with me what you do for work and what qualifications you needed? I would be willing to retrain, but if there are similar roles that I could get into with a nursing degree that I might be interested in then even better.

I just don't know what's out there anymore, and I feel like I've forgotten what I even enjoy too, so open to lots of suggestions, thank you!

I’m on leave at the moment but I’m an actuary, you just need good maths skills which you will have as a nurse, there are now well paid apprentice routes into it.

What are the main things you dislike?
Before you realised nursing doesn’t work for you, which bits of the job did you enjoy?

I'm a teacher.

There's a big shortage at the moment and you can train on the job through routes like Teach First which means you get paid a (reduced) salary from day 1.

Teacher. Don't do it.

I wouldnt jump from nursing to teaching... depending on why you want to leave I imagine you'd be in the same boat as those leaving teaching...

Have you thought about OT? That's a path I wish I'd looked at but cant do postgrad training locally and would take too long. Your nursing skills would be useful.

Or other areas within nursing? Or leap into health visitor or similar?

I'm an HR Business Partner. I work with some Occupational Health nurses - might that be an option? I believe there are specific OH qualifications though I don't know anything about it.

Very interested in the replies! I am also looking for a way out.

In the spirit of the thread - I am a secondary teacher. You need a degree in a relevant field then training at masters level in a pgce (the route I took). I fully don't recommend it, but some people do adore teaching.

Civil servant. These days all you need is a degree and overconfidence in your ability.

You can come in at mid-level with no experience despite the rest of us having to work our way up from the bottom for 20yrs.
Bitter? Me? Never

Personally I'd have loved to have joined the police, but I'm pushing 40 and too unfit for it to be worth a go.

My DP is a firefighter and that seems pretty difficult to get into, but would benefit from medical experience as they frequently get stuck with patients due to hospitals turning them away. He's just done a 5hr interview for a small promotion though so it all seems a long winded process to me.

The allied health professions? Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, speech and language therapy, radiology. All require extra training though.

Special needs teacher. Best job ever

Procurement/buyer. Mcips /cips qualification. Can be done remotely. You can fast track in 2 years.

I'm a practice nurse. Stressful, but not life and death stuff and great social hours. One in four practice nurses due to retire in the next few years (myself included!). You may take a pay cut as GP's are not tied to Agenda for Change, but worth it for the hours IMO.

I’m a chiropractor. It’s bloody awesome!
You would need to retrain and it’s a 4 year degree but as a nurse you should have no problems with it and have a good grounding in patient communication and management.
The pay is good, flexible hours usually self employed and the job satisfaction is fantastic.

I too am a nurse and am seriously considering what else to do. I am gutted as I loved the job and thought I would always do it. I am considering the AHP roles quite interested in dietitian or SALT, PT looks good also they always seem to enjoy their roles. I just can't imagine leaving the NHS 😢.

Clinical perfusionist. Increasing number of former nurses are applying (I came from another healthcare profession). It's very competitive to get into but a clinical background is definitely an advantage. You do a 2 year training program alongside an MSc, great career opportunities once you qualify. I absolutely love it.

I’m a teacher and used to be a nurse. I really enjoy it, it will never be as stressful as my nursing days which helps with perspective sometimes.

I work in regulation. You only need a degree or equivalent. Maybe you could look at something with the NMC?

I'm a software engineer. I really like it, it's interesting and you get to learn new stuff all the time.
In terms of qualifications you don't need any qualifications but you will struggle to get your first job without any qualifications iyswim. You either need qualifications or experience. Personally I haven't got any IT qualifications (I have a life sciences degree) but a previous employer trained me so I do have a lot of experience so I've never struggled finding work.
If you are not interested in computers it's probably not for you!

Probation officer. You could begin as a Probation Service Officer (PSO) then apply for the in-house training programme to complete the PQuip and become a Probation Officer (PO).

Alternatively, watch out for the external PQuip recruitment campaign and join the training straight off.

PSOs begin on around £23/24k.
Qualified POs begin on around £30k

Interesting and varied. Never a dull day and there can be job satisfaction to be had with the wins. Also an incredibly challenging role and you need internal resilience on many levels, along with ability to be very adaptable.

The service is short staffed at the mo which puts pressure on the front line (which service isn't though!) but overall I would recommend it as a good employer and place to work

Senior carer in a dementia unit, working nights. I'm so close to giving up, short staff, over worked.

What about training as a psychological wellbeing practitioner? I think it starts as a B4 apprenticeship and on qualifying it is b5. Looks a nice job.

Crown Servant. Not well paid and lots of red tape

I’m a civil servant - good pension, family friendly. At the grade I entered (EO) I needed A levels but I don’t think there are minimum qualifications now. If you’re keen you can work your way up. Never had to miss a sports day or nativity as I work flexi hours and they are very family friendly. I run a team of 50, but there’s so many departments to work in, hoping to move to another government department soon and perhaps go back to Westminster to work. I definitely recommend it, my salary is decent and I can definitely progress further if I put the work in.

I’m a teacher in an alternative provision. Lots of therapeutic practice going on (including OT work, SALT, loads of mental health support) and not all staff are qualified teachers, which means we get loads of incredible people with a wide range of skills. I absolutely love it, but the pay is shit.

What about a school nurse or a private nurse.?

I’m a youth worker. I don’t have any formal qualifications in it but had lots of voluntary experience working with young people. It’s not very well paid and more of a vocation than a career but I love it.