AIBU to even contemplate this at 38?

[fourandahalfkids]

I am in a job that I love but it pays peanuts I mean literally peanuts. I work 40 hours a week for around 12 grand a year. I have 4 children and chose to put my life on hold to raise them. I don't regret this in any way. But they are now almost 17, 16, 13 and 10. I never went to uni but got a job straight out of college to start building a home with my then fiance (now dh for 18 years), and then was at home with my children for 12 years (from when the oldest was born to when the youngest started school).
As much as I love my job (been doing it for 6 years), the progression is pretty dead end unless I undertake a degree anyway. Too be honest i have seen too much from the inside, mine is a supporting role in a profession where people are leaving in there droves because of the stress and work load involved. So it is not something that i myself would like to go into.
I am thinking of embarking on a degree to enable me to gain better prospects. I love English and was very good at it way back when and had desires to have a career in a writing capacity.
But dh doesn't have an amazingly well paid job, better than me but we couldn't survive on his salary alone. I have done some research and found out that I can study part time (around 16 hours per week) and I could work at the same time. I should get student loan assistance. Alongside my work hours I currently do a few hours voluntary work a week connected to a group I am part of. Is this too much? I can do this right?

My sister is a child therapist. Qualified in psychology. She loves it and should be quite lot of demand from the NHS if it is something that interests you.

For heaven's sake! Teaching is NOT the only thing you can do with an English degree unless I spent 30 years teaching deluded that I was doing PR and Comms. I certainly didn't notice many kids around and I think I'd have enjoyed the holidays.

I do wish people would stop spouting bollocks.

I do career coaching for Mums and I would say:

1. Work out exactly what you want to do in the way of a job (look at your passions, values etc. and think about what it is you love about English. Research many different job possibilities. It may be that writing web copy or marketing copy would be ideal for you.

1. Find out what you need to do to get into that role. It often isn't a degree. And sometimes you can tweak what you want to do to better fit your qualifications. E.g. I wanted to become a clinical psychologist after my boys but that was a lot of years study, so I trained as a coach which was much quicker but ticked many of the same boxes

1. Check that there are actually jobs out there before you embark on your training.

Your age is irrelevant. You can totally do whatever you want. Just make sure you plan clearly first.

@alsohuman You are right about an English degree leading to other careers but usually that happens when you are young. Much harder to start up with a generic degree when you a graduating in your forties.

Agreed with another poster you need a degree with a clear path. If you like marketing then do a marketing degree or online marketing.
Unless you want to teach which from your original post indicates not.

I am currently studying at the OU you will only get financial support if you have a disability and you can prove to them that it stops you from studying at a regular university. I would honestly go for a university and get financial support you can get almost 12k in finance in maintanance loan, and dependents grants you can also work around university!

Yes do it! It will be a hard slog, it took me 6 years studying whilst working full time to get my OU degree , but like childbirth it's all worth it in the end ! You are only 38. I was 46 when I started and 52 when I graduated. There are loads of modules that you can study as stand alone or count toward a degree. In fact with the OU you can do an 'Open degree' made up from all sorts of subjects.

Go for it! I am... 4 kids like you, but much younger, so looking at childminders, but can't wait!

There used to be a loophole in student finance, where if a child was at university at the same time as one of the parents, then that parent was treated as a single individual and none of the family income taken into account. I remember it, because of a case that was a tad annoying - incredibly rich family, where the mum was doing a fine art degree and entitled to full loans and (at the time) grant, despite the husband being on plural hundreds of thousands a year. Other families, with one spouse doing a degree and young children, got far less, because the working parent's income was taken into account.

It may well have changed, as this was an awfully long time ago, but if your youngest is 17, and is planning to go to university as well, then it may be worth investigating? You could be markedly better off.

I wouldn't do an OU degree, personally. As has been said, you miss out on the academic peer interaction, which teaches you so much in itself. And I'd have a hard think about what you want to do with the degree, at the other end, and what would serve you in achieving that career aim.

@Theoldwrinkley, you do not need an apostrophe for sons, and sentence fragments are not grammatically perfect useage, either. And while your inverted commas around 'sword of Damocles' were redundant, the correct capitalisation of the proper name would not have been.

Many of us are lax when posting on Mumsnet. That need not reflect our ability when writing more formally, as I'm sure you will agree.

God, Op, I was thinking about this too. I kind of went back years ago, but I was having the worst anxiety attacks imaginable. I felt like I just landed on a planet yet to be discovered. My professor begged me to stay, because he like my work (Similarly, to you, I went for CRT WRT ENG) but I just left.

I'm scared now to go back because I don't know how to type very well. I still use one finger. Lousy hand eye coordination. So, I'm afraid that with everything being so technically advanced, I'll just fall behind.

I've always wanted to get a degree though. I was pretty good at it back then.

Anyhoo, don't be like me OP. Go back! You're kids and your DH will be proud of you, if you do. Most importantly, you'll be proud of yourself.

Best of luck to you!

You should definitely go for a degree that will help your career but English won't. Unless you want to do teacher training or something after. If you want to be a writer you have as much chance of succeeding without a degree. You will only be selling your work really, you dont really get employed as a writer....Unless you want to be a journalist, in which case journalism could be a great degree and maybe lead to a job at a local paper.

Don't do a journalism degree - they're not highly regarded if you want to get into journalism. Local papers are in rapid decline too.

Go for it!
I’ll be 48 when I start Uni in September this year.
I can’t wait.

Born but what are you going to study? That's the debate.

Several things spring to mind on reading your thread.

You want to spend several years doing part time studying, at the same time as all of your children are coping with their own studying and exams, plus your youngest child is about to go up to big school, with all the associated stress that may occur.

If you continue to work and take time out at the weekends or evenings to spend time studying, where is the time to spend with your husband and give your children, the attention, they may individually need.

It also depends on the company as too whether they see a part time degree through the OU as a valuable degree or not.
Some see it as a good indicator of your abilities, others do not and often seeing it listed on a CV puts employers off giving interviews.

Some people see the OU degree as a very low level, done over a long period and does not prove much in terms of a proper degree qualification and employers might question your commitment levels.

Also if you do a OU degree, you have to be prepared to do some study days often on a Saturday, which requires travel and would encroach on your weekend time with your children or husband.

Much as it might suit you to do it, I would be concerned at the commitment needed when you have the husband and family to consider and as others have said, what your long term career goal is, after achieving it.

I'm also 38 and studying part-time. I did my Masters when I was 34-36 and now I'm doing a doctorate. I have one child the age of your youngest and work 20 hours a week. It is really full on and I have no time for anything else. I have stopped all my volunteering, sports, socialising and anything else. I work, I study, or I look after my child, nothing else. I have an evening off once every two-three months. [I'm only currently on MN because I'm waiting for DD to get changed!]

I love my subject and I really enjoy studying, but I wouldn't do it if you're not passionate about the subject. I couldn't even begin to imagine doing it if I worked full time. I'm sure it is doable, I'm just trying to be realistic about what it would entail.

Go for it love. Do it and live your dream.... and show your DC that anything is possible.

You absolutely MUST do it! I’m very excited for you!
I love studying. I would collect degrees if I was rich, alas I’m not and can’t afford the qualifications I have.... but they got me where I wanted to be and I’m chuffed with myself- the latter is worth it alone.
Do it!!! Good luck lovey xxx

I worked in marketing for 10 years, left for 8 years and then tried to get back into it and couldn't. I found that in those 8 years things had changed so much, so much more of a focus on online/Twitter/Instagram etc all things that were hardly on the radar when I left, that no matter what experience I had writing copy etc I just wasn't competitive like the twenty somethings who know all this stuff instinctively. Not saying that it isn't possible, but I also did a language degree and if I could go back and do it all again I would only do a career focussed degree. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I did an OU Eng lit degree when my DC were babies, and it was fab. HARD work, but I'm so glad I pushed through. There was plenty of support from being able to contact tutor and attend the odd group sesh in person. Be prepared for lots of deadlines though! I think some people are under the false impression that it's done 'in your own time' as in at your own pace, but there are lots of essays and deadlines. I say go for it!

I started my first degree in my early 30's (no tuition fee's) then got a paid job in my late 30's that involved on the job training and a degree (paid for by employer), nearly 10yrs later I'm still working in that industry but am looking to do something else, maybe like a portfolio career, so current industry part time and something else part time. I guess I'm trying to say go for it OP, it will give you a new perspective, renewed confidence and may open windows of potential opportunity that you don't even know exist yet. I know I was lucky not having to pay tuition fees so it's easy for me to say, but sometimes you have to shake life up a little!

Also I forgot to add that if you're nuts and don't need sleep you can do two 'years' simultaneously (I did this while pregnant with my DS and with a newborn DD...I have NO IDEA to this day how I pulled that off!) so you can cut down the 6years if you want.

OP go for it. Before you know it you will be 48 and if all you’ve done is think about it you will seriously regret it. You don’t get the time back.
Nowadays it’s very common for people to retrain and for good reason.
I went to university straight from school and got a degree and professional qualification and then later went back and got another degree and qualification for a change f track. I can honestly say that study as a mature student was much more enjoyable and I’ve never regretted it. Retired now and wishing I could turn the clock back and have a go at qualifying for another career that interests me.
Besides which you will be a great role model for your DC.
Good luck

If your not 100% what you want to do have a look at the open University's future learn platform. Courses are free unless you want a certificate. It's how I found my subject passion (I've completed more than 10 of these courses so far!)
I'd also suggest look at the turn2us benefits calculators. They have one for students, which shows a prediction of the loan/any grants you would get for full-time study. It predicts that I would be financially better off!
Look at courses with a foundation year (yr0), this would be the same as doing an access course at college.
So I have applied and am starting university full-time from September in a science based degree.
Good luck whatever you decide.

I'm in a similar position. Work 30h/week as a TA, single parent to 3 DC, and started a BSc last year at 38. It's part time and was advised it would be about 20hrs per week and it definitely does! So it's hard, hard work to fit everything into my day, but I figure it's worth it in the long run. This degree will take me 6 years and the masters afterwards equally long, but it's my plan for the future. I have a BA in something that I'll definitely won't go back to, so I'm highly motivated to see my current course through.