Teacher/nurse/midwife/paramedic/social worker

[Niffler29]

I am looking to go college/university next year. I am nearly 30 and I am a single parent to 11 year old DS. I have always wanted to return to education as my current job, as much as I love it, offers no progression and is poorly paid. I just don’t really know 100% what I want to do and any friends I talk to in the above professions don’t sound very happy there 🫣.

I know they all come with extreme difficulties but there are a few for each that concern me slightly more:

• Teaching - I’ve been reading online that newly qualified teachers are struggling to get permanent positions are their first year and end up having to relocate. This wouldn’t be an option for me and I would be worried about working my ass off for years to just not be able to get a job at the end of it.

• Nursing - I’ve read and heard a lot about bullying in the workplace being really common which is the main thing that puts me off.

• Paramedic - Friend’s have advised me that in the beginning when you get a position your shift pattern can be all over the place as you will almost be covering colleagues holidays until a permanent shift pattern opens up.

Can anyone who works in those professions shed any light on their experiences? I want to find a career where I am helping people in need, something that I can be proud of doing and that will make my son proud of me but preferably something that doesn’t destroy my mental health at the same time. If such a thing exists! Thanks in advance for any advice.

I think the availability of teaching jobs depends very much on what type of teaching and where geographically you are.

My understanding (but this may be wrong) is that teaching jobs in primary schools can be hard to find in certain areas (like NW England) because staff turnover is very low. In secondary there are shortages in many subjects so the availability of jobs would depend on that and no doubt there are geographic factors at play too.

My daughter qualified as a teacher last year and found a job very easily in the SE. She is teaching 6th form only and absolutely loving it.

Paramedics are increasingly being used in primary care which offers more family friendly hours. Out of all those professions I think that would be the route I would be heading for personally

There is supposed to be a recruitment drive for ODPs for the moment if it takes your fancy. It is basically the same level as nursing but your specialising in operating theatres. (You work alongside theatre nurses in the same role)

In my area there are plenty of apprenticeships available which means you get paid to train which is a massive bonus.

I have worked in theatres for years and love it. In my role in Anaesthetics we work in main theatres but also Obstetrics (labour ward) and also form part of the Resus team covering a+e and the rest of the hospital.

All very different roles and tbh, I think you'd have to have a real passion in your chosen area to be satisfied in your work.

I am rn trained and then did rm on top. Midwifery is my passion. It is hard, working conditions are awful and I often feel sad at the state of services and provision now.

Shifts sound brutal, but surely paramedics pay tax at the exact same rate as the rest of us?

Those are only jobs you can and should do if you are passionate about them. The training for all of them is hard and the careers are all tough going.

I’m a midwife, have been since I was 21, trained at 18. I love it, I really do. I hate the politics, the lack of funding, the lack of staff, the lack of equipment to do my job properly. It’s definitely not a career you can go into unless you really want it

Primary or secondary teaching?
And if secondary, what subject?

@KarenPiriesTankTop no, the tories class overtime shifts as 'secondary employment' in order to justify taxing them more. It makes me incredibly angry. Some of dh's wage slips make me want to cry & paramedics everywhere are working themselves into the ground.

Could you teach in an FE college? Some of them offer Animal Management courses which it sounds like you'd be able to teach

@Niffler29 are you a VN. There are a number of VNs retraining as VSs. I know there are nurses in every year of the vet med course at one vet school. If your passion is still animals then maybe consider it? Good luck :)

Have you considered a Healthcare Science degree such as Cardiology or Audiology (there are many). The degree is sometimes Government funded depending and the hours usually give you a better work/life balance and are more family friendly.

I wouldn’t recommend teaching to my worst enemy.

All of those jobs have a lot of unhappy people in, OP-I think I’d look further afield. Does job satisfaction matter to you?

What A levels do you have OP? Would something like physio suit better?

So they class overtime shifts that everyone does the same way, no? Not negating how shit it is, but if OP picks any job with overtime payments her overtime will be hit the same way. Paramedic overtime tax will be as bad as nurse overtime tax, etc, so she should weigh all overtime up.

Social work is good in terms of being generally 9-5 and lots of options. Are you near various local authorities? Depending on where you live you may not have that many employment options in commutable distance.

There was a recent thread where people recommended the Civil Service - flexible hours etc
My advice to anyone is don't go for a 'woman's ' job. As on the whole they are poorly paid.
What about coding?

Have you thought about other healthcare professional roles, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist for example? There is pressure like all health care profession,s not enough staff, too much work etc. but the upside is less unsociable hours.

I’m an RMN. You need a passion for nursing, it’s tough and it often feels that ‘helping people’ is more of a HCA role than nursing.

Of course we are helping people but as a Band 7 nurse, I have minimal direct patient care for instance. I’m a manager but the ward nurses do meds rounds, ward reviews, care plans, risk management, discharge planning, all sorts but often not actually being with patients.

I always fancied being a paramedic but reading these posts, maybe not….

Have you thought about OT? Certainly in mental health they have more direct patient contact and targeted interventions. Plus the hours are often better.

If you can, you need to try these jobs out to see if they are for you. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I was younger and had a very similar dilemma about which public sector job to go in for I spent time working in a hospital as a healthcare assistant and that was enough for me to rule nursing out for me. I then spent time as a social work assistant. I think this is the only real way to see what clicks for you before committing years and money to retrain.

Nurse/midwife for the best part of 40 yrs, DO NOT CONSIDER NURSING OR MIDWIFERY ! The guilt I feel about the missed xmas/bdays/events etc. If I had my time again I would have considered optometry. And don't even get me going on bullying in midwifery!

Have you considered a dental career? So much more family friendly hours than a lot of the roles you have mentioned. Whilst I hate the lack of access to dentistry for patients at the moment I find it very satisfying helping people and think dental hygienist, dental therapist or dentist are great career options that you can work pretty much anywhere in the country once you qualify.

There are so many health professions out there so have a look at the NHS careers. Think about what you like and don’t like and where your skills would be best suited. Maybe get a job or some voluntary work with people in a caring setting to see how you get on. Same with helping out in a school - give it a go as you might really love it.

Anything you do earn you lose an eye-watering amount in tax.

That is literally the same for every job @bakewellbride , not just paramedics!

I wouldn’t recommend midwifery unfortunately due to an ever increasing staff shortage. The best job in the world when there are enough midwives on shift to provide safe care but those shifts are extremely few and far between. If you want a job that won’t be detrimental to your mental health then it isn’t this.

I've been a nurse all my life and don't regret it. I'm a nurse educator now. My students don't report bullying to me and it's not a significant issue coming back from the student cohorts so not sure where that's coming from.

I also have paramedic friends, most of whom now work in GP surgeries