To ask what

[Foodfoofer]

Job I can do?

At the moment I'm working a minimum wage job, part time but long days. It's physical, hard work and exhausts me. However it's the only thing I'm qualified to do.

I have no A levels or a degree or much other experience apart from the job I'm in.

I also sell on EBay as a business but that doesn't really make much money after costs.

I don't mind retraining but would probably need to keep working at the same time. I've always thought about accounting but don't know if I'm clever enough.

I do like aspects of my current job but can't see me being able to carry on doing this in another 30+ years, I'm 35 now. I want something that pays enough so I'm not constantly scrimping and saving.

Any ideas?

Shameless bump.

Same here, watching with interest.

What do you do now Rabbit?

What are your current interests? Can you think of something you can see yourself doing longterm where you can see yourself being employed, e,g accounting as you said, then check local colleges for nightschools or online courses you can do evenings/spare time?

Distance learning, open university, part time at local FE place??

There's no job really that stands out for me, I've never worked in an office so don't know if that's what I want either to be honest.

I will see what courses are available.

any hobbies you can apply? example if you like girly stuff like make up nails etc train in that field if you like mechanical type stuff train as a mechanic? bad examples i know :)

I don't really have any hobbies. Don't really like girly stuff.

I think if I did accountancy I'd have to resist my maths gcse, I think I got a D but I can't really remember. I've been checking online and it's around £300 for a gcse.

What skills does your current job require?

Maths, managing people, customer service, cleaning, administration, production, cooking, training people, making something etc?

A friend of mine is a beautician. Own business, works out of her own home, exactly the hours she wants. She charges about £30 per hour depending on treatment. All her costs are is a massage bed and a few products. That's a good job I reckon.

What do you currently do? I'm in hospitality, at base level it's minimum wage but there are opportunities for apprentiships. I'm a manger, I'm on above the average national salary now and I get live in accommodation too.

Our local sixth form runs GCSE maths and English evening courses for £40 each (and you get £20 back if you get a C or above!) So it might be worth looking round for something like that.

Little point trying a maths based career if you failed the gcse unless there are extenuating circumstances - better to retrain in an area you enjoy/are good at

I'm working in a nursery currently.

My mum was terminally ill during my gcses and I was caring for her so I didn't do as well as I think I could have.

I will look around for a cheaper gcse option. I need to find out my grades somehow to make sure I did get a D in maths, all I can remember was I got 5 c's and a D.

Childminder? 5 children at £40 per day is £2,000 a month.

Do you have DCs or a partner's shifts etc to take into account? That was the major factor for me, something to fit around my dcs so I didn't have to pay for child care.

I ended up registering as a childminder, I only look after year 1 and above, so none of the early years education stuff to worry about. I run a small online business during the day and also do some voluntary work, and then I have 2-6 kids here for 2-3 hours each day after school, then all day for two or three days in the holidays. It works well for me, I have some flexibility and a reasonable income, topped up with maintenance and tax credits.

However, I couldn't have done this while my ex lived at home because of the impact it would have had on him on his days off etc, he wouldn't have wanted extra children around all the time. If I didn't have my own DCs to worry about I'd love to be an estate agent or someone who does up houses but until they are older this is ideal for us.

There are different types of accountants and the intensity of studying will depend on what type you want to become. Book keeping might be a best place to start as there are more opportunities of being self employed.

I got into accounting through doing a minimum wage bar job in a large hotel with an internal accounts department. Ask if you can get some experience, if you do a good job they might consider you if a position comes up. The AAT qualification is a good place to start, if you're gcse's aren't strong, you need to sit a basic maths module rather than a resit. Good luck!

I think my house is too small to be a childminder, but I may look into it.

I've got two Dc's, youngest is 9 and a self employed Dp that works different hours every day.

I'm thinking maybe doing a basic bookkeeping course to see if I like it and if my brain is still working.

I know two people who have dcs and have done book keeping in the evenings and they love it. It's interesting and not so hard according to them. One is now working in an accountancy practice. She loves the job variety and it's not bad pay

I'm about to study maths GCSE for free alongside an Access to Higher Education course at my local college. Apparently the government want everyone to have maths, English and IT GCSEs so are offering free courses (although you'd need to check whether that only applies if doing it with another course).

Foodfoofer, like you, I didn't know what I wanted to do as no career stood out. What focused my mind was doing some short free online courses for fun via MOOC. I enjoyed one so much that I've decided I want to pursue it as a career and start my education next week!