Care work

[Catmum52]

Hi there, I quit my job as a care assistant after 6 months. Absolutely hated it!!! Not being funny but I'm better than this, I have a law degree but after having my son, realised a career in Law wasn't for me.
I love education and I love working with children, I'd like to be an Early Years Educator but at 52 am I too old?? I feel like I don't know what to do with myself anymore. There we are I've vented.

I've also been swore at, had things threw at me etc.

But I make a difference to my service users lives.

I work with people with learning difficulties OP and i find the wording off your post incredibly offensive .I have been bitten ,head butted etc but I have done it for years because i care and i am good at what i do because i care .I give families a well deserved break and i give emotional support and i make a difference to the people i support. I will leave it there ...

Actually, I learnt more in my years working in care with children then later the elderly that enabled me to get a job in mental health. I don't have a degree but I know I'm incredible at my job & the people I've met along the way who have educated & inspired me both colleagues & residents have helped shape me to this point in my career.

So yeah...you do have to do some jobs you don't like sometimes, but take some positive from it or at least try & learn from it.

Sod off. I care for a girl with complex needs tonight I have
Suctioned her 9 times to stop her choking while under pressure as sats were falling. Had to administer oxygen as sats got dangerously low
Drew up and Administered 12 lots of medication though a peg (if I get it wrong this could kill her)
I had to give physio every 3 hours to clear her chest

Had to give 2 injections
Had to administer emergency seizure medication
Had to correct insulin dosage when it went to high and then give glucose when it plummeted through the floor.
I have to check she has all her life saving equipment to go to school with tomorrow.
Oh yes and I have changed her soiled pad.

I spend my shifts basicly keeping a young girl alive. If anyone on here thinks that would be beneath them then sorry you are twats

Carework isnt for everyone and it is poorly paid, but i love it. Knowing that i am enabling an elderly person to stay in their own home till the day they die gives me enormous pleasure. I have met some fascinating people and have learnt an awful lot about not only my local area but also first hand accounts of being a child in london during the war.....or there is the one gentleman i look after who landed on Sword beach on D day. I seriously love my job, my dc are proud of what i do. (they love doing the birthday cake visits)!

Also I am of the opinion that those who say it’s beneath them either couldn’t do it in the first place or didn’t do the job properly when they used to do it.

A big thank you to all the wonderful people who work as Carers. Much more than thanks you deserve a hefty pay rise and a decent pension which reflects the skills, knowledge and experience you have . In more than 20 years caring for my son with complex medical needs I came across many paid Carers who were Intelligent, compassionate, innovative and articulate people. Many had degrees and quite a few went in to nursing.

been thinking a bit more in this. If on the very rare occasion we were sent a Carer who did not have all the attributes I listed above they were not kept on. Supporting someone who has a very unstable medical condition is an extremely high level of responsibility , their life can depend on the decisions of the Carer

Early years work and care work is very similar at the most basic level. Both involve a lot of intimate care for the most vulnerable people in our society. Both are sadly very low paid too.

Even if you have a degree you’ll be unqualified to start with and need to build experience before doing any teaching and our teacher changes just as many nappies as the rest of us. The only major difference is you’re caring for people who are developing rather than regressing (in a physical sense).

I've always said, I applaud care workers as they do an absolute great job but it's a job I know I can't do (I'm not skilled enough) and I wouldn't say I'm better than the job, as care workers are super amazing 👏 degree or not!

I have a degree and PhD. I am retraining to be a veterinary nurse. Before that i was a cleaner at the same vets. I wanted more hours! Never considered myself "better than this"

I Couldn't do care work and i have nothing but respect for those who can.

In the OP's defence though, i get where she is coming from. My job is one that is looked down upon, both professionally in terms of pay and conditions (id earn more doing care work) and by public perception. I have struggling with that mentally, however if people choose to believe that all i am capable of is cuddling puppies and cleaning kennels. I would like to invite those people to come and have a go if they think their hard enough. Yes i cuddle puppies, yes i clean up shit (soooo much shit) but there is so much more to my job that keeps me challenged and i love it. It is also emotionally draining. All for just above minimum wage it wont increase much when i qualify. So no, im not better than my job (or other people that do it) but i am certainly better than the level of respect my job doesn't get!

@Driftingthoughlife - What you do would take me some time to adjust to. Absolutely take my hat off to you. Caring for a child who requires so much just to stay alive has always been something I feel would be very challenging emotionally. 🌹

Not being funny but I'm better than this

Of course you are, dear.
I work in healthcare, always have done, and am a registered nurse. The healthcare workers and support staff where I work are beyond amazing They are kind and compassionate, and work hard to ensure the patients are settled, comfortable and content, meeting physical needs as well as psychological and emotional needs.

Not being funny but you need to stop thinking you're superior to others. You're not.

I think what is expected from care workers on minimum wage is ridiculous.

I must admit though when I did it I was frequently exhausted, miserable and tearful. I quit saying something similar to the OP. It is a soul destroyer of a job in some places.

Unfortunately one of the reasons some people think care work is ‘beneath them’, is because the jobs are often advertised ‘no qualifications or experience needed’.
By the way, my DP worked/works in care as a regional trainer for a large care organisation and before that was a Support Worker/Team Leader in a resedential home. A lot of the parents of the Service Users (that is what they are called in many organisations) treated the staff one of two ways, with total and utter contempt as if they were beneath them or with huge respect - there appeared no middle ground from what DP said.

Wow how rude

To all care workers on here thank you for the amazing job you do
Takes someone special to be this selfless and to be able to cope

I’m an early years educator. Level 3 qualified. 2 years training. I get paid £19000 a year. Work really really long hours, often stay late, sometimes go in on weekends just to catch up on paperwork. It’s a tough job for really bad money.

Personally if you start training at 52 years, realistically you will begin working with very little children by 55 years. I work with little ones as a teacher and older children, all I can say it is the most exhausting age group to work with, I am in my late 50's now. I am shattered at the end of each day .

"Better than this". Excuse me?!
Unfortunately all the degrees in the world can't teach you empathy, kindness or people skills. Caring is not beneath the majority of people, the majority of people would be rubbish at it because they don't have those unteachable skills. (I'm.not a carer before anyone assumes). Caring is bloody hard work and extremely worth while.

Awful attitudes on this thread.

Care work IS important. Imagine needing full time care yourself. It'll be important to you then.

OP, I'm glad you quit. They deserve to be cared for by someone better than you.

Personally I think care work may not require a Oxford degeee BUT it is one of the toughest most compassionate jobs there is. They are choosing to care for people who can no longer care for themselves- much like a child. By undervaluing care staff your actually saying “being a parent isn’t that tough either”. But for care workers it’s a choice to do this for someone they have no relation to.

From my point of view care workers also have to deal with the fact that they may go in and find a patient having passed as well.

So to all those who work in that sector, I for one am truly grateful.

I don't think it is ever too late to change career.

I was a carer for years and now am a trained AHP. The difference in the way you are viewed and treated is stark. I felt i was treated like shit as a carer by senior staff. I loved it and found it rewarding but was a crap wage to live on and didnt match the work involved.

Care assistants are the hardest workers but the lowest paid and status. Often working short staff and with poor resources. All careers should be paid well and respected with access to training and promotion.