Never had a job -where do I start?

[plugin12]

Yes I find it quite embarrassing to say , but I am early 30's and have never had a paid job. 3 children and had the eldest when I was young (late teens) and have been in the I guess fortunate position that I could be a SAHM for the last 15 years , youngest child will start nursery this year and then on to school obviously.

Now I am thinking what do I do? Just something part time around school hours, some kind of work from home job, do I go to uni? Train in something ?

I do worry about my future once the kids have left after already having so much time at home, which is why I would like to work and make more friendships and enjoy doing something outside of being a mum. I don't know what I like though! Also would be nice to have the extra cash for holidays and savings.

Any thoughts? Would you do if you were starting from scratch?

Thanks!

Maybe lunchtime supervisor at your kids'/nearby school to get things rolling?

What do you want to do?

That's the most important thing, I guess. That then gives you something to work towards.

Hi Op, good for you. Do you have any qualifications? What do you enjoy- being indoors/outdoors? Working with children/the public/colleagues? Animals? A desk job or being active? Are you confident on the phone? What are your interests?

Ideas off the top of my head- retail, school admin or dinner lady, office admin?

I would avoid a WFH job if you’re hoping to meet people.

Yes, you have been fortunate.

If you have neither marketable skills nor academic qualifications this might be a good time to try to acquire some. Whether that’s through a face to face course or the OU or an apprenticeship …

(And you’ll possibly make more interesting friends if you’re amongst people who are working for more pressing reasons than friends and holidays.)

You should find the Mature Study and Retraining board useful.

Same as yourself OP, I have been a SAHM for 16 years now but in October last year I started with the OU, distance learning, studying towards a psychology degree.

I did have a career before but not fit to return to this career again unfortunately. I am studying to expand my horizons for future job opportunities.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Volunteering can be a great way to get a foot in the door, especially a school job. I would drop my son off in school nursery and then read with kids in a Year 2 class for the couple of hours he was there, a few times a week. I was a school governor too and then I decided to train to be a TA so they took me on at school to train on the job. I was already DBS checked and they knew me, so it was really easy for everyone. Ultimately I applied for another school job before qualifying as a TA and I had a great reference and lots of relevant things to talk about at interview.

The same could easily be true for other volunteering openings. You need to think about what examples you'll give for interview questions for your first paid job, so getting involved in volunteering can really help with that.

What would you like to do? What skills do you have?

If you don't need to work right away for financial reasons, I really think you should study for a qualification. You would qualify for a free Level 3 course in a lot of different subject areas:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/free-courses-for-jobs

I know someone in a similar situation who is working towards a certificate in bookkeeping.

What kind of jobs do you think you'd be interested in? What subjects did you like at school?

I agree with volunteering - it will give you confidence, and will be easier to fit in around nursery/school hours at first. Try a few different things at the same time - maybe have three volunteer gigs you do on different days each week - and it will give you different ideas and new connections.

Just something part time around school hours,

This made me laugh - I've been looking for that job for 30 years

Volunteer in an area you think you might be interested in at first.

Once you know the area you enjoy working in, I'd recommend a part time job because going FT after so long at home would be a massive shock to your system and your family.

What would you like to do?
you have years of working ahead if you. (Although I think you should disregard being a doctor or a fund manager.

What about cleaning or childcare SE?
Childcare I wouldn't say earns a huge amount, but some cleaners get a fair whack.

You can choose your own hours and create a client base quite quickly.

create your Cv, with your transferable skills etc
then either look at volunteering for a charity to improve your skills
and or appy for different roles that offer on the job training and little to no experience needed @plugin12

If you buy a newspaper on a Saturday, which section do you read first? Fashion, sport, local news, TV... This might give you an idea of what kind of qualification you might want to look in to.

Also, consider what is most important to you - money/flexibility/social value/meeting people. A wfh job might pay more, but you won't be socializing.

You could also look in to getting a career coach. They will ask you questions to get to the heart of what you want to do, and then will give you advise on how to get there.

Thanks everyone for all the information, some great advice !

To add I did do an access to nursing diploma several years ago now with the hope of becoming a midwife but at the time with my OHs career , children and no family help it wasn't feasible for me to start the midwifery degree and then since I have had many people in the NHS/on mumsnet/ the news make me reconsider that path because of the working conditions, I maybe would like to work within that area though in some capacity maybe a role with less responsibility or even breastfeeding support ?

Definitely a good idea on volunteering , I may see what's out there , sometimes I think I sway towards pregnancy/child related roles as that is all I really feel I know well? and I do need to build up my confidence !

What about one of the allied health professional roles such as OT, physiotherapy, speech and language? It will be a fairly long time training but might be slightly more family friendly than midwife.

Have you been claiming national insurance on the basis of looking after young dc? Has your husband been able to pay into a pension for you?

You could have another 35 years to work so it is worth finding a career which you will enjoy.

I dabbled in all sorts over my years as a SAHM, I was a secretary for a few schools governors, a carer, even ran a catering business from home. I had A-Levels, but no degree, and after years out of regular 9-5 M-F work, I eventually lost my confidence.

My local as-was sure start centre was running free Level 2 courses in English and Maths with childcare thrown in, so I thought "why not?" That led to me doing further courses and eventually an access course at my city's red brick uni. I received a distinction for my year there, which boosted my confidence massively.

Alongside this I got a part time wfh admin role, which was really a jack of all trades type role and as I was learning on the job I eventually realised I really loved a specific field, and wanted to get better at that. Instead of getting a degree, I got a professional qualification paid for by my employer, and it launched me into a solid career.

I really do credit those free L2 courses and access course for helping me gain my confidence - I was a bright spark in school and just needed to get the ball rolling again. You can do it, too. Just get started doing something, however small, and build on it.

Homestart might be good for you to look at for volunteering opportunities, working with families with young children, im my area the breastfeeding support drop ins are delivered by homestart. If you wanted to get into something health care wise you could look for trainee health care support worker posts, from there there's often apprenticeship opportunities on the nursing pathway.

Just to mention that there are more jobs in secondary schools that can be term time but not the usual reception/admin support roles. Such as HR, IT, Finance, Pastoral, Technicians, Data and Exams. I work term times only in one of these areas and I love my job. It also saves me loads of mental load organising holiday clubs and obviously we don't have to pay for these either.

My initial salary was pretty low (and hours part time), but once I proved myself, I was promoted up and have negotiated a pretty good salary.

Good luck with your job search, I hope you find something you really love.