Any way out of this absolute panic re life?

[HerORMe]

It’s just hit me from reading another thread where most women are earning 100k plus, that I’m absolutely screwed! Actually panicking at the situation I’m in and am hoping there’s some clever advice on how to dig my way out:

48, single mum to 5 year old
Have not worked since maternity leave
Industry now doesn’t really exist
Moved from London to a town with no work opportunities other than minimal wage
No house
No pension
No inheritance on the horizon (parents already passed away and left me a small amount of money, of which I have about £60k left)

Am intelligent but have suffered with various issues and been in detrimental relationships etc…

Rather than questioning how I got into this situation, how on earth can I get out? I feel absolutely alone and panicked and like there’s no way out

Why did you stop working? What qualifications and experience do you have?

im a single mum but managed to keep my career and my kids are getting older now. It’s not impossible but can be difficult

Could you start your own business? I was stuck wanting to go back to work after having my kids as I couldn't get childcare, so I opened my own childminding business. You have a child who will be starting school, that gives you access to clients- the other parents!

First of all, comparison is the thief of joy. Forgot what other people may earn.

Small steps. Can you find a job in a different sector if yours has closed down and start paying into a pension. Can you invest the 60k in a high interest account + ISA?

Firstly I genuinely dont know any women earning 100k+ (to my knowledge anyway, definitely not high rollers if they do)

We're teachers, civil servants, personal trainers, retail managers etc - decent jobs but nowhere near 100k so forget that noise.

First things first you need to make that 60k work hard for you. Ensure you're earning as much as possible as PP said - ISA & high interest account. if you don't need access to it & it's pension thats worrying you, consider putting sone into a SIPP.

Then you need to try & get back into work. Agency jobs sometimes lead to opportunities?
Is there any retraining or college courses open to you which may help you find employment? My local college was offering various courses for free if you earned under 16k or were unemployed.

There is literally NO work where I am and my child has additional needs which makes childcare around school hours very difficult. No family here etc

My own business is a good idea. My skills are proofreading, account handling for publishing etc. I sometimes freelance but the pay is pitiful.

Good idea re investment. Most is just sitting in an account (for years!) and premium bonds as I may have needed access to it for court proceedings.

Thank you. A course would be great. I actually invested in one last year but am not convinced it’s enough to start my own business from.

Think I need advice re that £60k and pension… I just don’t know if I’ll need it or not which makes it trickier

I concur with @ThreeEggOmlette - I really dont know many women earning 100k +.

I personally would recommend applying for a job at the civil service- I switched from the private sector into it 2 years ago and I work with a lot of women who have a similar biography as yourself. for entry level jobs no experience in that field is needed and there is plenty of opportunities to work upwards. Also would fit in well with your child as its flexible.

@ThreeEggOmlette thank you. I hate that I haven’t got a proper profession to fall back on. Would love to teach but never got a degree so can’t even do post graduate degrees, though I’d be capable

@MV86 thank you - civil service has come to mind before, sounds a good fit. I’m not sure where to start looking for one..?

It depends what you are interested in- If you are interested in teaching etc there are jobs at the “hubs” available- not sure if this is something youd consider but the CPS has some good positions going and it is with the element of seeing how your work pays off. Some of my friends work at the Home Office and enjoy that very much too!

You can get a weekly email of jobs in your area (look on www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi).

I'm just about to start my first job in the Civil Service.

There's a demand for good proofreaders among the Indi publishing community. More so editors if you have the skills. You'd need to build your name but if you have other skills (social media, mail lists, graphics, setting up forms and spreadsheets type things) the romance sector employs many PAs and I would assume other genres do to.

@LightSpeeds @MV86 thank you, very helpful.

Just looking through and not really qualified for any and most are in cities? Have seen some remote ones and I guess my skills might be transferable (with some clever CV writing and on job training?!)

What grade is entry level? And is the pay starting around £30k?

So it depends which department you will
work for but I think some will allow you to work remote but you have to attend the office 1-2 per week.
I think some entry level jobs are better paid than others- I only know re CPS as this is were I work at.

Starting pay is about £24,000 (lowest grade).

Some jobs don't require previous experience. You just have to get through the interview process. (Mine was 3 stage: online verbal reasoning test; short written statement; then interview.)

Your savings seem to be enough for a deposit on a house (once you're in employment)... depending on where you live.

have you got a degree? have you got strong maths skills? if so, look at getting into computer programming / website building etc. If that is your strength, you can do online courses and then wfh and earn well.

No degree, terrible maths skills! Otherwise that would be amazing

My local college has free courses too, might be a good starting point?

there's a Work section here which might give more ideas.

I think the £100k is a red herring though, what % of the population earns that?! I'd forget that.

Ok so you need to sort out a job, even something part time round school hours. Why are you living somewhere where you have no family and no job prospects? If you have £60k of an inheritance left then you had more than £60k to start with, that means you have had more than most people get but you need to use it wisely to get yourself in a better position. What have you done with the rest of the inheritance?

Look on LinkedIn for WFH entry level jobs in good companies

Bit insensitive - I won't really have family when mum's gone and she's not really able to support at her age. Plenty of us have no family.

Most women are not earning over £100k though, it's only on here.

I'm a single parent and I earn £26k. No inheritance, pension or assets. I am trying to increase my earning potential though, that's all I can do. I'm doing well at work so hopefully I'll get there.

I'm doing a personal finance course with Rebel Finanace School. It's free. It explains all of this. Highly recommend. I earn about 40k and am mid 40s. It's not a disaster at all.

A relatively small number of women earn over £100k. Particularly with very young kids.

People are more likely to share info about their income if they earn a lot vs a little.

I think start with focusing on ‘how can I get back into the workforce’.

Please don't believe people on MN claiming they earn six figures OP! Some might but statistically it's highly unlikely that all those claiming to, actually do!