to ask if you were going to retrain, what field / industry would it be in?

[scottishtreehugger]

I have just turned 40. My background is in law. I find high street private practice deadly dull and boring and would like to retrain. There are LOADS of things I am interested in, but would love to hear ideas about what others might do.

i feel really restricted now childcare and location are an issue.

I switched a year ago to work in AI research after spending twenty years doing banking-related things. Loving it so far!

I would retrain to be a solicitor.

I'm a lawyer and really would love to be a physical therapist! I like helping people and not sitting at a desk all day, plus my friend is a PT and makes good money (don't know about the UK but it's a decently paid profession in the USA). She also doesn't have work on the brain all the time or have take work home with her. Sadly it's not realistic to go to school and retrain at this point.

I'm in law and much happier in house than I was in private practice. My dream job would be running the office of a custom motorbike shop or running a rock/biker pub. Given how specific that is and the fact that I bang on about it so much, that is probably really outing but hey ho!

I watched a lot of Quincy when I was a young kid and also wanted to be a pathologist but I'm not sure I could cope with dead bodies. More realistically I'd do accountancy and forensic accountancy work in particular, my job now is a healthcare scientist and although it pays reasonably well doesn't set my world alight

I am a qualified teacher working as a TA, I love my job but the pay is rubbish. If I had my time again I would love to train as a speech and language therapist, working with children. It would cost too much to retrain now though. And I feel too old at 42, my brain has gone rusty!

I want to develop and run a large networking based website for a specific demographic, no idea where to start though

Well I started off in naval architectre (droppedout of degree)
Did computer programming - found out I was really good at crashing computers - should have gone into testing/development but didn't
Then admin/civil service & banking
Retrained for childcare at 35
did a systems analysis degree at 40
Then my EYP
Now I'm unemployed and need a job- any suggestions?

I think I am really good at going in to an organisation and creating/altering systems - streamlining paperwork, creating records for audit type purposes....but I don't know what one of those is called!!

I'd love to retrain but really really need a job

Not so much a retrain, but I wish I'd known how much I'd enjoy the area I work in. Had I known that I'd have trained as a pharmacist. Instead I fell off the rails, learnt a lot working for a supermarket and ended up marrying an abusive bastard. But I love dispensing, I love working in a community pharmacy.

Scottish, east London, are you close?!

Although I daydream of trading it in for a small holding in Sussex where I'd swap printing out attendance notes for looking after chickens and growing vegetables.

I'm a psychologist but burnt out thanks to dysfunctional nhs. I'm struggling to think of alternative career options but love seeing the results of working with my hands and am increasingly enjoying gardening.

Ideally I want to do something to help those in need, but haven't figured out what yet.

I'm a lawyer for a trade union. Would like to own a tea room somewhere pretty. :) if I was 18 again, I'd do something medical. Maybe nutrition. Maybe a doctor. I did have a place at nursing college but went to law school at last minute. My heart belongs in a hospital but I do have a nice job which pays well so all's well I guess.. for now.

Oh Misti really? :( I'd imagined it would be easier to be part time/move around areas in psych. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to still get in!

I've seen an Elsa workers job I might apply for but it's very low pay. Still helping people but on a much lower level.

Part time work is definitely available and when you say move around areas do you mean client group? The nhs trusts are so big these days that it can be tricky to find jobs as we're relatively expensive to employ. Morale is at rock bottom and I became burnt out by witnessing overwhelming levels of need but feeling pretty powerless to help (6 month waiting list etc). Also the level of dysfunction in huge nhs trusts is depressing. And doesn't leave you with many options if you'd rather not endure it...

onwego - about as far away as you can get [grin}

Currently sahm, initially a teacher but more recently a TA (the pay cut was very much worth it). Ideally I'd retrain in zoology or something animal care related, but I have allergies. Seriously considered radiography for a while, would live to do xrays & mris. On antisocial days I think I'd like to do something like accountancy or coding or something similar which means less interaction with people than a TA has.

Realistically, I'll TA until DD is in secondary - the holidays are too convenient for us unfortunately.

I work in business and it's stressful
BUT after a weekend of garden and redecorating I have fucked my back up

I seriously need a desk job till I die as I sadly could not do a physical role

Having back pain makes me feel so compassionate for people in very physical roles (construction , gardening , painting , nursing , carer , cleaner) etc

I'd really like to be a photographer or writer. But if I was going to retrain I'd probably look at something medical like physio or in arts, maybe arts management..

I am an in house lawyer though ( another ex partner) and agree that it is much better than private practice. With the interest in politics would the civil service br of interest. Scottish government recruit lawyers on a regular basis and it's well paid

I'm about to start training as a Quantity Surveyor.
Always wanted to be a midwife but life got in the way of that.
Anywho, I'm very excited! Total maths nerd

Architecture and interior design.

I was a media manager for the past 5 years but am now a SAHM to a 3-week-old baby boy ☺️ Planning to start some online courses once he gets slightly less dependent (i.e. when he's no longer cluster feeding and I can actually put him down for 5 minutes or more so I can read some of the course material 😅)

Ladies, loving your replies, thanks for the inspiration.

Congrats, Butterflyfree!

I'm having this conversation with myself at the moment. I used to work as an optometrist, but never really enjoyed it. We've lived overseas for a while (where I've not worked due to the difference in qualifications, I've been a sahm), but are moving back to the UK soon so I'm trying to decide whether to re-register as an optometrist, or whether to retrain to do something else.

I'm a bit stuck as to what to do though. I have considered something medical such as radiography, mental health nurse or something since I have a background in allied health, but I'm not sure I'd be any good at it. I feel a bit stuck with indecision at the moment.

Counselling would be an area I would love to work in but money isn't as good as I'm on. The other thing is becoming a solicitor or legal executive but I need to find the money to retrain and do this around shift work which is almost impossible.