To think I will never go to uni and have a career

[McHappyPants2012]

I can't afford to go to uni, have not got the intellect and I have to work at my crappy cleaning job to get the rent and bills paid

Look into apprenticeships! There are courses in loads of different vocations (including cleaning I think) and you'll get among other things an NVQ and key skills recognition. Pay is lower (usually - though my council pays a normal wage) but presumably you would get extra support because of that? But you'd get nationally recognised qualifications to move on to another job.

Oh, and there are no entry requirements on most courses and lots of short courses and level 1 courses designed for people who haven't studied for years. Having GCSE grade E in anything isn't a barrier to getting a degree, or to allowing yourself a second chance at something you want to do.

My mum left school at 14 with nothing - she's about to retire after working her way into and up a very male-dominated profession, where she is currently ranked 7th in the entire country.

I did do GCSEs and A'levels, but dropped out of Uni three times. My area at work covers Europe, Middle East and Africa in a very techy field.

This really isn't to boast; it's to demonstrate that the right person, given the right chances, with the right....desires, I guess, can never be held back

It is entirely possible for you to go to college, get the standard 5 GCSEs, do an ICT course because you need IT skills just as much as you need writing skills, start getting some temping jobs and begin working your way into a career. It's how it happened for me. I got extremely lucky - I temped, was a data monkey, got a job in a library, got another job that moved me up a tiny bit, and on and on until I'm where I am now. I also thought, I've got and not done much. I have no experience. Temping the first few times was terrifying - I had no experience of office etiquette, I couldn't type a zillion words a minute, I had no idea what I was doing....but somehow it all just sort of fell into place.

Really - get the ICT skills. If you want to work in an office, temping is a great way to get exeprience. But the temp companies will probably test you in Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. Do the ICT alongside the GCSEs. You can do it, you really can, if you WANT to

I second the OU although fee structure is changing from September for new students, worth researching first. It'll be more in line with 'normal' uni fees I think.

I do know people who have a wonderful career without going to uni, and truth be told, its not about a degree these days, in most professions its about the work experience you do as a sideline - internship type thing.

I come from a very down-trodden area, where at school everyone was told they'd never amount to anything, long story short I've achieved things i never thought i would, and I'm on my Sandwhich year, going back to do my third next year!
if i can, anyone can!

Good luck!

Open University? You don't have to have any qualifications to start any of their courses, and you can do a short course to start with if you are nervous about it. Many of the courses don't have exams, just coursework and you don't have to even physically go to college - they send you the books and you email your work to your tutor, who you can also phone to discuss your work. Degrees and qualifications aren't everything though you know. Lots of mega successful people have hardly any qualifications (and lots of highly qualified people hate their jobs too )

i am 26 and been at my current job for 8.5 years.

SubordinateClaws if i had a time machine i would be slapping myself silly for messing around with my education.

i am going to look at those links. will be looking and hopefully i get a job that i will enjoy and show my DC the impotance of education

McHappy - instead of GCSEs how about going the NVQ/HND route and on to a vocational careeer?

Not everyone is cut out for academic study and to be frank you don't sound like you are. Go to your local FE college and have a look at what they have to offer and have a chat with the advisors there.

It is quite possible to go into a vocational field and gradually progress from NVQ to HND to degree level in a career that allows you to carry on working while you do it so you can still earn a decent living and certainly no less than your current cleaning job.

Why the biscuit, bitch?

You can do it. As other people have said, start off small so it doesn't seem too daunting. English and maths GCSE will be good as that always seems to be a good basis and then from there maybe an A Level or 2 and after that who knows? I did a Level 1 with the OU before my degree and it was a real help. It wasn't much harder than A Levels but helped to get me "back into" academia before I started at university.

I never did a degree either - feckless father left my manic depressive mother with 4 kids, so I went out to work....

Went to a H.Ed college part time and did a practical course qualifying in electronics - ended up as a computer network support manager in charge of 20 blokes.... on £35k 15 years ago - then went and met someone - had kids and gave it all up to be a SAHM and now a dinner lady whilst studying for a maths degree with OU - my feeling being tutors and maths teachers will ALWAYS be in demand....

Life can be full of opportunity - if you want to grasp it GO FOR IT.

Doesn't need to be totally academic - look at where people will always be needed - computing, maths, yes they are academic - but caring, early years nursery, service industries, waste recycling, security...... you do have to study - but part time study should fit round work to pay the bills and you will FEEL GREAT by empowering yourself to achieve the best you can - whatever that may be.

If you have the motivation then you should be able to do it. I put myself through uni as a single parent by working 2 jobs, it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and it meant I really didn't have a break for four years and my DS grew up not knowing that places like Disneyland existed.

It was worth it though, I met my DH at uni, and we are both now teachers. I may even take the DCs to Disneyland this year.

Open university?

Think about what sort of career you would like before you invest in training. Otherwise you may waste a lot of time and money doing GCSEs for example, only to find that what you needed for your dream job was a vocational qualification like an NVQ. The academic route is not for everyone, as MoreBeta points out, but that does not shut you out from opportunity.

Maybe do level 2 Literacy and Numeracy qualifications (often free whereas GCSEs are expensive at FE colleges) Get a move on though as I think these qualifications are being pulled in August, not sure what they will be replaced with. You don't have to go the uni route, depends what you want to do.

There are NVQs in everything from Care to Advice and Guidance etc and these will qualify you for many interesting positions. I think you do up to level 3 and then level 4 in service.

Of course, once you have got yourself into a career you enjoy you can embark on an OU degree just to prove that you can. I would say it would be hard to motivate yourself if you haven't got yourself into a day job you like though. Unless you do something vocational like social work etc the job prospects after doing a degree aren't great.

Good luck. I worked in adult education for a few years, in a guidance role, with people who, like you, wished they had paid attention at school but it's never too late.

I would second that a level 2 IT qualification would be useful too.

i think i will have to have a hard think about this.

i currently work in a hospital as i do enjoy the hospital life , so i think something along the line of nursing or theatre staff

FYI. They may do this at your local FE college:-

www.pronurse.co.uk/benefits/articles/669-access-to-nursing-courses

Don't put yourself down

Half the degrees out there are useless anyway as they are too specific and don't facilitate a wider job market.

Was having a random convo with sons friend yesterday - three years at college getting all manner of bits of paper - and when was the last time you asked a plumber/carpenter/decorator to look at his BTEC certificate? Doesn't happen does it? you ask a mate who did their building/bathroom/fitted kitchen and whether there have been any problems etc then go by word of mouth. So formal qualifications aren't the be-all-end-all.

If you have aspirations, then research what you want to do; the best route for you to get to where you want to be. Categorise it in bite sized chunks so you can see yourself achieving that path in life.

Everyone should have a dream and the ambition to fulfil it

the access to nursing course sounds great :)

starting to feel like there is a way out of my current job

Agree with troigarcons not to put yourself down. In your OP you say about not having intellect but intelligence comes in different forms. I have friends with PhDs who have zero common sense and family members who left school at 14 but have a lot of general knowledge, and qualities such as kindness, patience etc.

For nursing, you will obviously need to know certain things (these can be learned though) Things like patience, kindness etc are also very important so think about the skills you do have rather than the ones you don't think you do.

You're only 26. You could be a qualified nurse by the time you're my age (32) and have 35 years of fulfilling work ahead of you.

You do NOT need to go to uni to have a career! Vocational qualifications are far more in need at the moment, I tech undergraduates and there are so many who are clearly miserable, will never do much with their degree and would be so so much better off in a job earning money and not stressing about coursework and exams. Also so many courses now are learn by rote rather than be exploring the subject as students learn at school that the 'right' answer is important rather than learning to explore the subject which I what's needed ti go ontti further degrees.

My bil and sil went back ti uni when their DCs were at school, they all had fab long holidays, they all did their homework together each night and I really think it has left my nephews and neices with a respect for education.

You've some great advice ^ so see how you get on following those leads :-)

I had a breakdown aged twenty, and now I'm twenty-five and I'm in my final year of university. It can happen. It can work. For NHS careers, qualifications are nothing without work experience, so perhaps search do-it.org.uk for NHS opportunities in your local area?

if you are already directly employed by the NHS in the hospital you should, I think, be able to access some training to advance your career- there was the skills escalator concept in the NHS, at least a while ago, and the aim was exactly to promote ambitious, capable people like you currently in unskilled work "up the ladder" as it were into more skilled work via training. can you ask your HR department/line manager? It may even be free that way! if you're employed by an outside agency, you could STILL ask at the hospital, get some info from HR, check their website. You might like to look at training towards being a Healthcare Assistant as a step towards being a nurse.