Re-training...help

[Nikx85]

Hi all, not sure if ive posted in the right place but really need help /advice. I'm 32 and stuck in a rut. For years ive thought about re training but always put it off. Now I've had enough of every thing and decided im going to go for it..BUT I dont have a bloody clue where to start. I left school with poor gcse, have done 2 nvqs (business admin and customer service). I dont use either of them. My current job is a dead end (no progression and not something i want to be doing for the next 30+ years)

I want to re-train in a physiotherapist/sports injury type role. I just dont know where to start. I've looked on all the uni website and well, it's scared me and confused me. I cant find clear cut advise on how to get to my end goal. Im not scared of hard work but the only options i see are going to college doing gcse, then a level, then on to a degree. It there a simpler route? How do people afford to do this? Where do you find this information. What the hell are uscas point and how do i find out how many (if any) I have?

I'm in the northwest with 2 primary age children, dh works shifts and my hours at current job are very child friendly. Looking at what i want to do, i dont get how other people do it, and survive and have a family. Has anyone done similar can anyone point me in the right direction? At the min ive confused myself so much and finding very little help/advise that im on the verge of giving up.

Please be gentle with me x

it depends if you mean physio or sports therapy

sports massage courses tend to be short course and cost money

Physio is a long degree with huge competion

you could also consider things like occupational therapy, sports science...

I would look at local colleges offering access courses - maybe an access to science course? this would allow you to apply to uni for science based careers such as nursing HOWEVER before committing I would check with local Uni's if it's accepted for Physio - it tends to be AAB min at A level

explore other areas using the NHS careers website maybe?

so for example Birmingham have the following requirement:

Access to Higher Education: Access to Science, Health Science or Physiotherapy: a minimum of 60 credits overall including 45 at Level 3, all with Distinctions. 36 Science credits at Level 3 (with 18 in Biology). English and Maths at GCSE grade B or above.

(Credits are what you get from your access course - so it's asking for a very high level of 'pass') plus your GCSE's

I wouldn't get into working for the NHS again for all the money in the world. No way, no how.

Why not start by retaking a few key GCSEs? Then you can see how it fits around family.

I have mainly looked at physio so far. But the whole degree thing is really scary atm. Considering the amount of time i have been out of education.
I have a strong interest in sports/martial arts etc so i think im going to look down sports massage route.

I have looked at other areas of nhs such as HCA apprentice as a gateway but the shift patterns/availability to work are ridiculous and i can understand why people are leaving the nhs! Ie. Local Advert for apprentice HCA state " you must be available for any shift on rotation 7 day basis. Notice of 6 day's in advance. If you cannot commit to being available for any shift (ie you cant work ANY day/night ) do not apply. " i get that health care is 24hrs but this upset/annoyed me. Dh job is shift work aswel although he mainly works nights. There is 1 night a week where i already have a long standing commitment. So on this basis i cannot apply. I can work any day mon-sun and possibly a couple of nights but they are not interested in this. You have to be able to commit to any shift pattern. (It doesnt help we really struggle for child care as it is)

I guess im just annoyed at how complicated it all is! And sacred of making the wrong decision. I know im BU for expecting there to be an easy way to retraining and change careers but some.of the hurdles they throw in your way are ridiculous.

Briechoncheese is it that bad?

Sadly yes. It's as bad as you can imagine.
I really wouldn't retrain to end up in the NHS, I don't know anyone who doesn't want out of it.
I left pretty much as soon as I could and wasted my life studying medicine. The NHS broke me.

Maybe try a sports massage weekend and see how you feel about it? (I did one a few years back with NLSSM)

Thanks for the ideas. Walnut was it worth it?

I guess i just want a job with semi decent prostects. (I also love it to pay thousands nd work around children but i know thats just a dream). i kind of accidently wound up in my current role, and did enjoy it at the start but with un fulfuilled promises of progression and training oppertunitues (due to budget cuts n lack of funding)I feel stuck and bored. There is no sense of achievement or satisfaction at the end of the day. Even with training i could only move up 1 position within the company ( IF my boss was to leave) and truth be told, i really dont want to and there is no chance of me getting that position anyway without further training. Which they dont have the money for and even if they did they don't see the need. Vicious circle.

The whole going to college is scary, I have never done anything like this. Its a big jump for me to make and the relvant info is, i find, quite "jargony". But like.i said its been along time since I've done any real formal education.
I guess im.just going to have to think this over a bit longer and weigh up a few more options. And try wrap my head around funding/cost/childcare and life! Haha.

Thanks ghostly the points now make sense (ish). Do you know how i would find out what i have? I took Gcse around the millennium.

At the end of the w/e we could do a basic whole body massage. Massage is way more physically demanding than you expect (something you'd need to take into account if you wanted to pursue it as a career). The w/e course was a good opportunity to speak to tutors and other students about their experiences/plans.

I am retraining at the moment,in a hop role a degree 50% theory 50% placement.
I am 35, 3 children and a husband who works shifts.
I did an access course at my local college and then got accepted onto the degree.
The college were great when I approached them in helping me think about where I wanted to go and how to get there.
Phone them up.

I'd start by looking at access to health courses, these will allow you to gain the qualifications/points for university entry. Most also want GCSE maths and English, however many will also accept GCSE equivalents which the colleges usually run and can be done alongside the access courses. I believe you have to pay for the access course now but i also believe that you can take out a student type loan to cover the costs and if you start a degree within a certain time frame from completion of the access course the loan is cleared.

The access course is great for helping those who have been out of education for a while get back into things without being too intense. My DP recently graduated from university at 32 and thought he would struggle with the course work but he's done absolutely fabulous so don't let that put you off.

NHS degrees are hard work especially balancing coursework/ placement and home life however if it's something you really want don't let that put you off. Three years goes by so quickly and once you get your first job after you qualify you soon forget about the stress and upheavals from the previous three years.

As for PPs opinions on working for the NHS each to their own, I love working for them and I've also worked in the private sector and I know which I prefer.

Go for it, follow your dreams otherwise you'll spend a life time wondering what if.