"Could you retrain" - but in what?

[CouldYouRetrain]

I see this comment all the time on Mumsnet - "could you retrain to earn more" - but what is actually feasible with young children and swiftly leads to a job with a higher salary? I posted about it previously under a different username and just got suggestions of minimum wage roles I could apply for (& I already have one of those).

I just this comment of just retraining to earn more so frequently (& often in scenarios where people need to earn more ASAP, not years down the line), so I feel like I must be missing something?

I know the real answer is probably don't have kids until you have a solid career. I thought I had one but postnatal depression with DC1 scuppered it; I've worked part-time admin for a while but am now on maternity leave with DC2 and would love to retrain and increase earnings, but how?

Unless you can go and do a pre-registration health care course (although with the recruitment freezes even they are looking like a good option now, & they usually require shift work so only an option if you have flexible childcare or the funds to pay for it). Teaching often gets suggested but the hours during term-time are long & the teacher mums of very young children I know have all reduced to part-time due to this (not an option while training of course!).

I've looked at lots of the .gov resources and funded online courses but I can't see how they would actually lead to a better paid job (although they may help with securing a minimum wage or thereabouts role - and I already have one of those, I'm looking to earn more).

DH did further accountancy courses (aqa?) on line in the evenings that enabled him to get a better job - so working at the same time - only works with two of you though as someone needs to feed the kids and you need to pay the fees

one of my colleagues did a computing masters course again part time whilst still in work and this gave him a huge boost - again you need to pay fees and you need an understanding partner

look to see if any qualifications are mentioned on job ads you are interested in

Maybe look at it the other way around? Start by imagining what you'd like to do (because no job is worth extra money if you hate it), or what you think you'd be good at. Then investigate ways of getting qualified to do it.

Swimming instructor - there is a shortage and you can qualify fairly quickly. You don’t have to be an amazing swimmer but it obviously makes it easier if you are decent. The pay is not stellar but certainly significantly higher than minimum wage. The main disadvantage is that the majority of the work is 4-7pm. You can earn well with private clients and if you get experience with SEND. You can also qualify as a lifeguard, which takes a week. That is a minimum wage job but you could do it while you are building up your portfolio of swimming lessons.

Further training, or retraining can be time consuming and difficult as well as expensive. But I made a pros/cons list and did a cost benefit analysis (cost of MSc versus target for increased earnings) and it really helped. DH and I discussed it and he was supportive, I was already doing a lot of travel for work so always did coursework on the go. It’s tough - but for me it paid off massively and it’s only whilst you do the training that it’s super tough. Just keep the end in sight.

Other careers where I think there are shortages - electrician, plumber, cybersecurity, software development . But all these would take a few years of training. It might be worth it on the long run?

An apprenticeship would enable you to earn while you learn and they aren't just for trades now.

@CouldYouRetrainperhaps you’re not aware of the dedicated Mature Study and Retraining board on MN? It’s here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

Of course it depends on the person, what they are good at and what interests them.

Could be teaching or nursing or accountancy. Solicitor. Could be a trade - plumbing, electrician, gas fitter, gardener. Counselling, therapy. So many choices.

I retrained as have a few of my friends. I think the key thing is accepting you can’t have it all ways, it’s not likely you’re going to be able to retain while working part time with lots of flexibility for the kids. When I was retraining I understood something had to give and I accepted it meant paying through the nose in childcare (no family around) and being tired and not as flexible for the kids. We also had to take a bit of a financial gamble and borrow money for the qualification I needed (which also took time in my home life)

Worked out in the end as I got a much higher paying role and a lovely flexible job by the time my kids were school age which is when I found it to be much more beneficial. But it didn’t come without sacrifice (predominantly short term financial and time).

Finance is what I'm running away from. I have the ICAEW Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business but I feel like my brain melted after having DC1 and my manager made it clear I was shit at it, hence leaving to do school admin.

DH works in Cybersecurity but I don't think I'm smart enough for that any more. Maybe something else...

I was looking at radiography but its a 3 year degree, and it seems very hard to find a role on qualifying now due to recruitment freezes.

I don't really feel passionate about anything. I'm probably still depressed but coping; on antidepressants and had the NHS 6 week CBT course but there's not much else they can do. It's hard to devote time to finding a passion/interests with young children.

This looks interesting, I've been looking at job posting but it seems it's mainly self employed or zero hour contracts, or a few hours here and there - so while the hourly rate is good, it would be hard to find childcare for the baby (as most nurseries want you to do regular days, & most finish at 6pm) that would work with a flexible contract where the most demand is 4-7pm. Plus I'm not a good swimmer so would need lessons myself first!

I was looking at dog grooming but the overheads for business premises are quite high and I don't have space for a home salon.

I was looking at MPH (masters in public health) but then a lot of people said it was impossible to get a job without previous experience. I can't afford (in terms of money or time) to invest in something which doesn't lead to a better paid job so this put me off...

Proper apprenticeships seem to be few and far between. A lot of companies advertise them but it mostly seems like a way to legally pay a lower wage, without actually leading to a job/career. The government website isn’t really much help either.

Do you really need to retrain? Maybe you would benefit more from some mentoring to recover your confidence in your existing career where you already have knowledge and experience before you were hit by PND and (by the sound of things) a shit boss. Are there any "returners" mentoring schemes for women in finance that you could take advantage of once your maternity leave is over?

This is unfortunately what I have found - lots seem to be office junior or customer service type roles with qualifications of questionable value.
I've struggled to find traditional apprenticeships leading to skilled trades etc. The ones that do exist - British Gas etc - often involve staying away for blocks of training which doesn't really work with a baby.

What did you retrain in?
I thought that was the case but see "just retrain" on here so often, even in scenarios where people have kids and are already working, I thought I must be missing something.
I was hoping for something I could do on maternity leave (during naps/evenings), or potentially give up the part-time job and use some childcare to study a couple of days a week - but its only really feasible if I can get a better paying job afterwards.
I keep looking at options and then seeing that so many people have done the qualification and cannot get a job afterwards; I can't make the sacrifices (and ask my family to support me by making sacrifices) to then be unable to actually get the better paid job.

I retrained (not to advance higher but to make a sideways move into a career that interested me).

It involved self-study in my free time and a £250 qualification. I was already basically knowledgeable about the area, and spent 3-4h a week training for about six months.

I also did a second free qualification that gave me a L3 cert in an associated area, again done in my own time over 3m.

It wasn't just the qualifications themselves that got me the job. Doing the qualifications helped me reframe my existing experience to support my new career. Identifying the transferrable skills was a lot easier once I'd learned the new ones! It gave me a lot to say in the application and interview process.

Browse qualifications and free courses - they might give you ideas about what might help. Even browsing job applications for relevant qualifications would help.

I work with someone who trained in lashes (I assume extensions?), eyebrows and Botox while on mat leave. That said, she didn’t get a job out of it in the end. Not sure why.

I was made redundant nearly 10
years ago now. DH offered to buy me a shop if I wanted to do nails and beauty. It just wasn’t practical as I’d have had to train for 1/2 years to get qualified. Plus, there are so many nail places/beauticians where I am that I’d have struggled to build a clientele.

You mentioned dog grooming, it can be a good earner, but check locally. It seems everyone and their uncle trained in grooming/dog walking in lockdown round here. We now have almost as many groomers as hairdressers (a lot!).

I worked in admin too OP and took a sideways step into HR where there are more progression opportunities.

I did my CIPD qualification from home around the kids and working part time. It took me about a year and halfway through that I found a part time HR Administrator job that helped link the coursework with my day job. I was doing Level 5 but you could start with Level 3.

From there I got a job as an HR Advisor, then a Senior Advisor etc and moved up that way. I've found it a great career as a part time working mum as it tends to be predominantly women. I now earn more working three days a week than I did working full time as an office administrator.

I was also going to suggest this. It’s great if you want to work part time. I have a 2 year old and 8 year old and work 8:30-1:30 teaching parent and baby swimming classes and the 3:30-6:30 teaching primary aged children. It’s exhausting but I do it two days per week and use the funded nursery hours and pay for after school club. I had to do an additional qualification to teach babies after the level 2 swim teaching course. I make £18 an hour but have made up to £25 an hour at other swim schools.

If you have a background in Finance I'd recommend doing the Microsoft Power BI course. It's used in lots of companies now for financial and business analysis and seems to be a skill lots of employers value.

It would take about 6 months part time to complete.

Obviously it's not going to set your soul on fire, but it's an easy win to get you back on the horse with a marketable skill.

I was a Primary School teacher, retrained as mat and reformer Pilates’ instructor , after having a child.
I instruct classes that fit around my son’s schedule. Currently, earn more now per hour than I did as a teacher.

Pilates has always been a passion of mine, been practicing since I was a teenager.

There was a programme on last night about ozempic- it included a seamstress who sold wedding dresses in NY but she also altered them to fit and since ozempic became available dresses are needing complex alterations, saggy arms mean sleeves must be added etc -she said if this continues there would never be sufficient seamstresses to alter all the clothes. I expect you’d have to be near a large city to get sufficient work but if you are interested….

Thank you - I'd incorrectly assumed I'd need to already be in a related role to study CIPD so will definitely look into this more!