To try to retrain in a completely new career at the age of 35?

[AnnabelTheAntelope]

And where the hell do I begin?

Posting here for traffic really.

Backstory is that I have been more or less a sahm for the past four years, (but I do some evening and weekend shifts at a local gastropub). Prior to that, I worked in various admin roles and was fairly good at them and would have no major qualms going back into something like that.

But, as I have found out recently, these jobs are very competitive / oversubscribed in my area. I can’t see me getting anything all that wonderful in this field which I could hang on to. I was made redundant from my last job, (while on Mat leave with dc1); admin seemed to be among the first to go, as we were seen as fairly expendable in the industry I worked in.

Also, as things stand, if I went back to work on my pre dc salary, we wouldn’t be able to cover the costs of childcare, so it doesn’t make sense for me to go back into a weekday / admin role now.

Anyway, now we have a second dc (8mo) and we are due to have some ‘spare’ money soon. Not huge, huge amounts, but more than we’ve ever had all in one go iyswim. We could theoretically use (some of) this for me to retrain. I just don’t want to throw money at anything for me then to find I still can’t find a reasonably secure job at the end of it all.

I should also add, if it’s relevant, that I have a joint honours degree in Political Science and a European language from a very good university, but I haven’t actually used much of it at work yet... and I graduated over ten years ago .

Should I bother, or is it a waste of money, seeing as I can’t go back to full time weekday work till dc2 is at nursery, 2.5 years from now? With Brexit looming and the disruption it may cause, would we be wiser hanging on to our money? I can’t decide if this is the perfect time to train as I have spare time, but can’t go to work, so distance learning would be doable, or if it’s a completely stupid time to retrain and I should just forget it for a few years...

Go for it! I went for a complete change of career in my early 30s and am now studying to do a masters at 45

The good thing about considering retraining in health is that you would always find a job. Both radiography and nursing are experiencing shortages and difficulty to recruit. Age certainly wouldn't be a barrier at all on the opposite.

There are downfalls though. With nursing, it is that it has become a very pressurised environment. Saying that, it depends where you work. I have two nurses friends and both love their jobs. One works on an acute ward, the other in a nursing home.

Radiography is propably a bit less stressful but depending on where you live, the opportunities might be more restricted and you might potentially have to commute. Also be aware that it is much less a 9 to 5 hours jobs with hospitals now having to deliver a 7 days service. I had an Mri on a Sunday at 7am on the NHS!

There are rewarding careers in the right environment with options for progression even after 40.

I have three friends who re-trained in their 50's. YANBU

We have plumbers and carpenters round here that specifically advertise as female a student many lone women feel more comfortable having a woman working in their home rather than a man.

I did it/am currently doing it! I'm 35 and in a foreign country My DC are a little bit older than yours though, and my DH now has to do slightly more of the childcare than before as my hours are not compatible with school hours most weekdays...
It's scary, tiring and takes up a lot of mental energy, but I'm so glad I decided to take the plunge (especially as DH is likely to be made redundant this winter and my better wage will allow us to eat!)
Go for it, but choose carefully!

I qualify as a nurse next year at 34, one of my best friends on my course is 50 next week, another was 40 last year and there are several others in their 40s. Still got several decades work in us yet...

Retrain now! You will NOT regret it. Imagine that you don’t and in your mid forties in the same position. In fact I’d tou were 45 now I would tell you to retrain! It is always worth it...

I’m 36 and just starting my 2nd year of a 3 year masters in mental health nursing. You would be able to apply for masters as you already have a degree. Best decision I ever made. My background sounds very similar to yours. I was on mat leave with my second who’s now 2 when I decided to apply. The course is 50/50 split between placement and theory. On placement it’s full-time. There is a certain amount of flexibility though. For example I’m currently on placement on an acute ward and have been able to pick my shifts. I have 2 children aged 4 and 2 so am working weekends so I only need to pay for childcare 3 days.

I started by attending an open day at the university. Found out what I needed to do to apply and went from there. No regrets at all. Can’t wait to qualify. Go for it! I’m excited at the prospect of having a meaningful career.

There are heaps of different healthcare-related professions; have a look at the NHS careers website. The downside these days is that the NHS no longer funds them. That doesn't mean that it's not worth doing, just bear in mind that you'll be losing some of your salary to student loans. Do you still have loans from your last degree? Not sure whether they'd get added together or you'd need to pay them off separately?

I have retrained twice, once at 32 and once at 39. Both were good decisions.

I am - I'm teaching myself to code so I can do web development, though I aim to be self-employed.

My mum did a return to nursing course when she was about this age - she was qualified but as a state enrolled nurse and had never practiced. She is now a deputy ward sister with a nursing degree. So second careers are definitely possible

If you train for any of the allied health professions or nursing you will qualify for a second student loan for full fees and maintenance (although this is means tested. Minimum just over £4000 this year). Also help if you have independents. You won’t pay this back until your current loan has been repaid - assuming you have one from your first degree.
Go for it. I started a PGCE when dd was 18 months and also fell pregnant with ds towards the end of it. Meant I’ve always had a career that pays relatively well and allowed me to work part time.
Hardest thing will be sorting out childcare.
Have you thought about physio. All their placements are 9-5? Might be the same for occupational therapy.
Go for it. You won’t regret it especially as your dcs grow up.

I'm doing this - currently partway through accountancy and tax training at a Big4. There are big advantages to doing something where you can train on the job rather than get into debt for another degree.

The exams are hard, and getting back into the habit of studying takes effort, but it's definitely not too late.

I was in a career I wasn't enjoying before, earning good money but just didn't want to continue with what I was doing. It was absolutely the right decision to retrain.

I say do it! I’m currently at home, same age and want to retain but can’t decide what to do!

Retrained in a healthcare profession starting with an a-level by distance learning aged 38. I won't say it's all been heaets and flowers, i think at times it's been hard on ds and it was hard on dh too. Perhaps not as hard as me being miserable in my old job though! Best of luck.

Op find a Trust that has Nursing Apprenticeship Pathway .
No fees and you work as a HCSW as part of a team and Uni once a week.
4 years but you are paid as you learn

This is all really helpful thanks all!

My biggest fear is just not being able to find work which pays an alright wage. I graduated in 2008 and had to move about a lot with dh’s job, which meant I never really got my teeth into a proper career. Every time I felt I was getting somewhere we had to move .

I don’t think I can have a second student loan (except for nursing I think) and yes, I still have some to pay off from my first degree, so it will soon stack up if I do a whole new degree.

I have a friend who is studying medicine in her thirties as a graduate and she hasn’t been able to get a second loan. Neither have any of her fellow graduate students apparently.

Nursing really appeals to me, but I wonder how it would work around childcare. We have no family support local to us, so we’d need to find an understanding childminder I suppose.

I’ve thought about a bookkeeping qualification or possibly HR; which I actually have a little experience of as an admin. I just worry I won’t find a job, whereas something like nursing, I know I am more likely to be in demand.

I’m a bit traumatised (dramatic? Moi?) by when we moved near London and I couldn’t find a job for ages. It was really soul destroying and ruined my confidence.

I think my options are:

A) learn a skill where I can work flexibly on a job by job basis; like beauty therapy, floristry etc
B) learn a trade like carpentry / plumbing - not sure about this as I’ve heard this can be brutally competitive... maybe becoming a gardener and working for a big garden where I wouldn’t be competing for business would work?
C) do some evening classes to go back to office work, but in something like HR / accounts assistant / legal secretary or brush up on my language to get to a fluent level, so that I feel comfortable using it at work - my worry about this is that these might be quite competitive jobs and I have no recent experience
D) back to university - nursing / physio / radiography etc - more expensive and harder to work around dcs, but I know I’d probably be in demand

I changed from one totally different career to primary teaching when I was 34. Now I've had my first baby and it's really flexible for how I want my childcare and hours to work. There were people on the course in their 50s and 60s. It can be a stressful job but if you're doing something you want to do then you'll enjoy it anyway. I was really terribly nervous whilst I was making the decision about retraining or not but as soon as I decided to go for it my nerves settled. I also went back to uni for a year and really appreciated it much more than when I attended in my teens

Thanks mrs. Teachers are total heroes to me, but it’s not for me. If I did it, I’d only be doing it for all the wrong reasons!

Just thought as well, that if I want to go back to university to study nursing, I actually probably would be better waiting a few years till the baby is at school...

Some other things I could do at evening classes 🤔.

Look for some of the big hospital careers open events - go find out about more options.

I don’t think I can have a second student loan

Of course you can - if it’s for a Masters degree at a recognised institution in England. Google Government Postgraduate Loans.

You may want to shift your mindset a little, too! There’s no reason for people not to retrain at 60, and many, many people are doing something new in their 50s - not just as a hobby but with serious intent.

In your position unless your DH earns really good money I'd be looking a doing a qualification leading to a job eg nursing, midwifery, accountancy. So my vote would be d).

I'd have thought working as a gardener doesn't pay well unless you own your own business, and I'd worry about doing something that I might struggle to do when I'm 70.

many, many people are doing something new in their 50s - not just as a hobby but with serious intent.

Yeah... I imagine a lot of those people had useful experience to begin with though! My uncle was a pilot his whole life and then went back to university to study archeology. He brought loads of useful experience from his previous career. I on the other hand, have never even got started really, with all the moving about and having babies. And I’m not a power-mum either! No social network nearby etc. Obviously that will come in time. We’ve only been here a few years. I’m not as moany as I might sound here; I’m just setting the scene really. No career, no family around, closest friends far away. I don’t know if that’s even unusual these days, but it’s very different to how I grew up.

So, maybe my title is misleading... I appreciate it’s fine and probably quite common to start a NEW career at my age, but to not have had one at all is maybe less common.

You’re right re loans for masters sorry, but I don’t think I could have one for a new undergraduate degree, which I would need for something like radiography. Not for nursing, but I would need to find a local university which offered this for someone with no experience and a 2:2, (which is what I got in my initial degree).

I refrained at 33. You’re never too old and you’ve got another 30 years at least left at work.

Go for it

That’s true re gardening... I imagine it doesn’t pay all that well when working for someone else. Hmmm.

DH makes a decent salary but is not what I’d call a high earner. We have some savings and he has a good pension. But I still wouldn’t want to put all our eggs in one basket as he isn’t immune from redundancy; far from it! They’ve had quite a few rounds of redundancy at his work over the past few years. If that happened, I think we’d sell up and move closer to my family, where life is relatively cheap.

You still have 35 odd years of work ahead of you so I say do it! After Brexit I imagine skilled jobs and professions would be more valuable than general administration (which, let's face it, can be done by almost anyone).