To ask if you would find these jobs hard?

[Boothybum]

I am thinking of a completely changing my career and want to go back to college.

I have always wanted to be a midwife or a paramedic. When I mentioned to my DH that I was thinking of going back to uni to retrain he sat me down and gave me his concerns about how he would worry that I wouldn't cope with the role.

He said that as I am quite an emotional person he would worry how I would cope with seeing people dead, babies dying etc. I said that surely anyone who trains for that role gets upset but he is worried I will go through all the training and realise it's "too emotional" for me.

So my question is to mumsnetters that work in these professions or similar, do you find it hard to cope with the emotional side?

Not my kind of job, but I know people who do these jobs. I agree there is shift working, day and night working, long hours, seeing things that some people will never see. However, you will probably do a job that would enjoy and make a difference to other peoples lives. I would start with first aid courses, volunteer as a first aider.

People adapt. You would not have the energy to cry at every baby. I can see where he is coming from, but if it's something you want to try, don't allow being an empathetic person to hold you back! I'm sure you would get stronger, it could be good for you. Anyway, empathy is a very good quality in a nurse/midwife. (And not a quality I was able to find in either of my midwives...) Go for it.