If you have no GCSEs what job do you do?

[popstarsally]

Genuine questions. I have rubbish GCSEs ( all E,F etc) and I work in a shop. Just keen to know if anyone has done anything more exciting than me?

You can usually do English and maths for free at a local college in the evening if you don't have them and then you have a lot more options open to you when you pass.

If you’re a mature student there are other routes into education. Otherwise an apprenticeship or set up a business? It very much depends on what your goals or interests are?

I left school with 2 grade C GCSE's and the rest were d,e or f's. Between the ages of 16- 23 I worked in cafe's , bowling alley and as a receptionist. I then went to college part time as a single mum and did b tech in Math and communications which was equivalent to English language. I chose to go back into education as the jobs I had been doing were not enough to support me and my children and I went on to do a degree aged 28

My other half has no school qualifications. He started in a logistics company as a fork lift driver and studied for professional qualifications and ended up as transport manager there. That job came to an end and he and I started our own gardening business. It had been a hobby of ours for years and we turned it into a business. He had a rough upbringing and school was wasted on him really but it didn't mean he couldn't do anything he set his mind at later on.

I scraped grade C in maths & English & an E in Geography & worked as a Civil Servant for 27 years.

Train Driving Instructor

@GabrielleLegs my partner was exactly the same. Deprived upbringing and disconnected from education in his early teens. Did a few unskilled jobs after leaving school then discovered gardening. Worked for our local council in the horticulture dept, then did a City and Guilds and set up on his own. 35 years later he's in much demand, long standing clients, well respected. Even now however he regrets not succeeding at school.

Two of my kids have rubbish GCSES but good work ethics now. Both WFH, one for a call centre and the other in customer service for a local IT company. Both started answering the phones and now managing and training. The one working for the call centre gets paid less but finds it easy. The other has done quite a bit of training and has had regular pay rises.

Both now have transferable skills they could now do better, but they're happy where they are.

I left school with decent O' Levels but not much else and did OU degree when kids were little and then did a PGCE. Would recommend OU, but only if you are self disciplined. I transferred to a uni to finish my degree and found it much more enjoyable.

The kind of sales where you earn commission; they don’t care about qualifications so long as you can meet and exceed your targets!

I’m a nurse, went as a mature student. Never sat one exam at school.

jobs that needed 5 gcses A-C including maths and English 🤦‍♀️ they never checked and I managed fine so nobody has ever suspected . Mostly admin work , PA work , etc .

@Samphiredragonfly What a success your partner has made of life. You must be so proud of him.

@GabrielleLegs you too !

I left school with no qualifications. Had basic office jobs and a bit of temping. I started night school whilst working full time and completed a Btec in business and marketing. Then continued night school to do a marketing degree. All this took several years. Leaving school with nothing shouldn't define you. I really disliked school but absolutely loved night school/college. I've worked as a company director for the last 20 years and recently taken early retirement.

My husband has no GCSEs but runs his own business

Finance and customer service administration. But I'm almost 50 and built up experience. I daresay that it will be very hard if I ever want a different office job as I'll be ruled out due to lack of GCSE's.

@megletthesecond I bet you wouldn't struggle to find another job if you need to. You must have loads of skills gained over the years that other employers would be desperate to grab.

@popstarsally you may find the Mature Study and Retraining board inspiring!

If you want to gain some qualifications then check out your local college’s website. You can usually do a qualifications in maths and English, and even having those under your belt will open doors. Local colleges can also do lots of other adult education classes you might find interesting and worth thinking about. It is harder now to get onto the career ladder without qualifications that it was 30 years ago - simply because far more people now have qualifications - so any qualifications are better than none. Would your current employer be interested in putting you through a course relevant to your occupation? That way you could start building up your CV.

I am outside the UK but am in education/apprenticeship area. The problem is there are a lot jobs where you need the lower secondary qualifications to actually even secure an interview now - even more so than even 5/10 years ago.

Have you a local Further Education college where you could go and talk about your options. Throughout Europe there are facilities to recognise prior learning this means parts of your learning on your job may count towards a qualification. Is there apprenticeship routes to you - that way you can earn and learn.

While you may secure a job the problem may be further down the line if you wanted promotion and the GCSE becomes a barrier again. In Ireland we have a lot of upskilling government projects - basically offering free fees to adults who want to re-engage with education I am sure there is similar in your jurisdiction.

Wishing you the best.

My cousins have no GCSEs (well, a few very low ones for some, none at all for others) and are a hairdresser, roofer, pub landlady and shopkeeper. My siblings have no GCSEs at all and are a villa manager (in Portugal) and a tattooist. I have friends with no or very few qualifications who are jewellery makers, carpenters, builders, electricians, hairdressers, beauticians, artists, dancers etc.

I don't have GCSEs but went back to college as an adult and got the qualifications needed to go to uni and ultimately get a professional job (lawyer). If you're interested in a career that requires qualifications/a degree, you could look into access courses - this was the route I took, and I found that I actually had a really natural aptitude for academic learning despite having absolutely zero self confidence! Alternatively there are loads of more practical NVQ courses or similar that could give you the skills to achieve a great career in a trade (eg plumbing, woodwork etc) or in careers such as hair and beauty. Do you have any idea what might interest you or you might be good at? There are usually careers advice services available through your local further education college which can help you narrow things down - the amount of different options and courses available can seem overwhelming initially!

Best of luck 😊

I'm a TA

Friend of mine left school without a single GCSE to her name, she didn’t sit her exams due to bereavement. She’s had a successful career as an estate agent.

Didn’t sit a single gcse exam. I’m a rework technician on payee and owner of a small business.

I did go to college and get a btec in a totally irrelevant study that I’ve never used.

I also wanted to add that (assuming you're female!) there seems to be a really high demand for female tradespeople as women can often feel safer/less likely to be patronised or ripped off by female builders/electricians/roofers etc. Not saying that's the right view but it's certainly one held by many women! My female friends who work in a trade can charge higher end prices and still have big waiting lists and no end of demand for their services. Maybe worth consideration if you think you could have the skills necessary for that kind of job?