To be clueless on such an essential subject

[Littlemuster]

My DM and DF did not attend secondary school. DM has been on benefits her entire life. DF worked very hard for many years in a labour heavy night time job, fell ill and has been on benefits ever since.
My older sibling dropped out of school around 14, had a brief job and claimed benefits ever since.
My DM took me out of school at 12 years old although I wanted to attend. She told the LA authority she was home educating me although really she bought some textbooks and gave them to me to read.
I've tried really hard to teach myself enough to fit in socially and actually think I would have done incredibly well in education.
I'm now early 30's - was pregnant with my eldest at 15 - have been on benefits for 15 years but really want a different life. Desperate for it.
Where do I even start? No education, no experience.

“Talk to your local further education college.

If you have no level 2 qualifications (GCSE), English and maths courses are free. “

Came on here to say this!

Fairly sure that Maths and English gcse can be done at your local college for free. It's an adult literacy policy. They are a priority. However, depending upon the age of your children you may well be able to enrol on a college course that will allow you to get more qualifications. Many have foundation courses that you can do if you don't have the entry requirements.

If you have an idea of the field that you would like to work in ie catering/clerical/hospitality/medical etc if you have an idea of what you would like to do then you could go and see the local careers service and ask about training opportunities.

It is never ever to late to change your life, you just have to want to do so.

Most city's have adult learning schemes run by the local authorities for people exactly like you who have not been able to access education or had it interrupted. Some of them might not be appropriate like learning to read but they might be a good way to help you into education and the facilitators should be able to help you assess where you are and support you onto the next steps like access courses at college and gcse courses.

Why should being an obstetrician be out of reach? The world is your oyster. You can gain qualifications for free. Go and do a degree. You can be who you want to be.

mimibunz she left school at 12

If you enjoy photography and are good at it that sounds like a possible career. Could you look into getting Eng, maths and photography GCSE for a start.

While obstetrician is probably out of reach would nursing or even midwifery be completely out of reach? Also imagine your story if you went from leavingg school at 12 to becoming an obstetrician though, wow.

I didnt know about the free adult GCSEs but that's definitely a place to start. it will also give you an idea of exactly what grades you can expect and therefore what careers are accessible.

Op, if you like photography I don’t see why not having a qualification should be a problem, not if you’re good at it!

I remind myself that Delia has no cookery quals, just self-taught. She did alright..

Everything hinges on English and Maths qualifications. You should be able to study them for free and thereafter your choices should open up.

If you left school at 12 and write the way you do, I'd say you're very high ability and should set your sights accordingly.

I would contact your adult education service.
I missed lots of senior school and recently went to my local community centre and did my maths level one then i did level two. Took one year to do both. You could do english too. You may need to do entry level first.
Once you have these they help get on to lots of degree access courses.

Of course, if obstetrics interests you most, then why not research it, if you’ve not already?

I’ve recently gone back to college myself ... I’m sitting my science GCSE, but they also do English & maths.
My course is funded as I’m currently on ESA, so depending on your situation this may help.
I know for the science GCSE you have to sit it in a college due to needing the practical side of he coursework. If you sit the exam as a private outside candidate then the charges are quite high, you would be better off going via a college as if you are on benefits they will pay the course fees and can also pay the childcare costs - if you needed them. X

A lot of places do 'access' courses where you don't need any qualifications to join, but completing it means you've shown a commitment to furthering your education. They're usually fairly low cost, or free for people on benefits. It's a way of easing yourself back into education without it being too daunting.

YY to other people who've suggested volunteering too. I've not been able to work for over 8yrs now, but have been involved with a few local projects as a volunteer, gradually building up knowledge and skills as a result. Not outing myself, but I've just been asked to do something that means I'm considered to have a better understanding of something than people who have a PhD in the subject - because I haven't approached it from the normal career route, it's just something I have a huge interest in, so I've quietly gotten on with it. I won't get paid for it, of course, but it will boost my profile in my chosen field enormously.

Short online courses could be a way of testing how you feel - I think the courses offered by future learning is reasonably well regarded. Free courses, online, only need up to 2-3 hrs a week study for about 6 weeks, but it could help ease you back into something that was taken away from you.

Fucking go for it, OP! You don't have to follow the conventional route to get to a place where you do what you love, and it pays.

I don't live in UK any more so can't give you any practical advice - though loving the posts that are doing that.

Just want to say OP, you are amazing!

I stepped up to being a daunting stage manager type role on a massive theatre production for DD

With that kind of mindset you will go far! I take my hat off to you!

Absolutely go for it OP, I agree with going for GCSE in Maths and English as they are the basic qualifications that you will need for anything, and do something that interests you, eg Photography, then see where it leads you.
Ask for help and break the cycle for the next generation.

OP you come over as being both intelligent and driven to succeed against all the odds. It's a shame you didn't have all the opportunities you should have had, but it says a lot that you're so determined to break the cycle FWIW as it sounds like your eldest is about 15, have a look at the widening participation schemes on offer at your local universities - they're designed for bright kids from backgrounds like yours to encourage them to go to university and demystify the whole process.

I'd echo the advice to approach your local further education college and get on the English and Maths GCSE courses that they run for adults (and science if you want a healthcare related career). Once you've done that, if you want to go to university, the next stage would be to do an Access to HE course, which is designed for people who have been out of education for a number of years and want to go to university.

I know someone who had a similar story to yours. She did an access course to get to college and completed her GCSes and A levels. She then went on to University and became a qualified teacher. Eleven years after starting all this she became Head Teacher of a small local primary school. Now she is a Department Head in a very large local comprehensive.

She did amazing things, and so can you. It took courage, ambition and determination and it sounds as if you have all those. Oh and she had two children during her time at college/uni!!

I would look into access courses first at your local further education college.
The university I taught at took many students who had passed the one year,access course. They were of all ages and often had no previous qualifications such as GCSEs.
They were generally very motivated and did very well.
I wish you the best.

OP, if you don’t have your sights on a particular field I will recommend you do the same as I am, and only because it seems like it offers the best prospects, try and get into construction management. I would never be able to earn the sort of money Ive just been told to aim for. I do have a little experience and some qualifications but only last week I was told bloor homes are offering their trainee SMs £25k a year, going upto £50k as assistants and £75k a year as senior SM. I find that the construction industry really really supports those who are willing to put in hard work but may not have pen to paper type of qualifications.

Bloors come with the additional positive that you don’t even require a CSCS card for their sites.

Most resources for GCSE-level are available on line now. Good luck!

I'm not clear if you're thinking of teaching yourself out of textbooks, but if you are, don't. You really need teachers to take you through the course, help you with things like essay and exam techniques, etc. With so much available for free you'd have to be mad not to take it up.

You might start by taking a look at MOOCs, definitely. Coursera.org is a good place to start and I think they do have a short course on photography.

I also agree with checking out what your community adult learning programs have available.

You might see about getting aptitude testing done. An employment agency may be a good place to get this.

Most colleges and universities now have web sites that provide details on their programs and requirements. Some even have programs that are taught solely online.

While becoming an obstetrician may not be an option for you, might you consider working as an obstetrical nurse, midwife, or doula? (A doula is a professional birth support coach. Her job is to provide emotional and physical support to the mother during labour and birth, as opposed to providing medical care which is the responsibility of the nurse and provider.) These would take far less time but still provide you with an opportunity to work in that field.

If it was me I would take a photography course to really get to know my stuff, start taking pictures and build up a portfolio, and try to get a freelance career going. Freelancing is always slow to get started because you can't magic business out of nowhere, but you're in a good position for that because you're in no major rush!

Is obstetrician definitely, totally out of reach? Are you above the age range a medical degree would take?

I don't mean to suggest that you just need to try and it will all fall into place, but you write well and you clearly have some drive and try to educate yourself. It may be you can get up to speed much faster than you think. And if, after trying, you find you don't quite make the grade for medical school, you'll still be on a path that can lead to more education and/or be turned into another career.

As others have said, there are resources for adults who don't have GCSEs, access courses and night-classes and plenty of resources on the internet (though I don't recommend you try and do it without some in-person support if you have no experience of secondary education). Poke around. To see what you'd need to aim for to be considered for medical school take a look at this Medical Schools Council doc, especially the bits about widening access.

If you decide there's no way (and it's scary to aim for something so big, but also exciting and amazing if you achieve it) then there are still lots and lots of options for improving your academic schooling which can be quite traditional (like taking some A levels and applying to a brick university) or less traditional (like trying one of the OU access courses and then a distance degree with them or someone else) and all sorts in between. Education is a journey, you can change things about as you go, you just need to keep moving forward.

Agree with contacting the local Further Education college (level 3, does A levels and equivalent) if you have one.
Do the courses that you can for free, and then move on from there.

An idea for you - have you considered radiography/ultrasound? especially ultrasound? Covers your obstetric longings and also makes use of your photography skills (ok, that's slightly tongue in cheek because you don't need photography skills for either of those things) but it means that you'd be marrying up the things that you already do and want to do.

Lots of online foundation courses in sciences (and other subjects) are available out there as well, not just from the OU.

You have the drive, you have the motivation, you CAN do this.

I can understand that you're terrified that your family legacy of dropping out of education may be Extended to your children, but I think you are obviously clever enough for this not to be a realistic worry.