I am a regular poster but have name changed for this as I am concerned it will be identifiable! I know there is a work board but it is quite quiet over there and I thought I might get more responses over here!
I want to change career and I don't know where to start. I am 40 so I am aware it is quite late in the day to revolutionise my life! I have a 2:1 degree from a Russell Group University, in Psychology and at the time I had no idea what I wanted to do, I loved my degree but to progress in the field further study is necessary and I needed a break and to make some money. I drifted into a low paid job, worked up to a middle management role and I now deliver training within the same sector. I worked for our local authority for 7 years but was made redundant several years ago and have continued to do what I was doing there on a freelance basis. Up until last year it was brilliant and at its best I was making between 5k and 7k a month. Government cuts in the sector now mean I am making around 2k a month, which I have to take expenses from and pay tax on which leaves me with very little. A salaried job within the sector would pay similar so this is not a viable option. I am still working almost as many hours as I was before but the expectations are so much higher and there is so much more expected for the same money which takes hours and hours longer than it used to. There is also a lot less work available, I am happy to work 16 hours a day if it brings in the income it used to, but there is not the work out there at all! It is soul destroying remembering all the things we used to be able to do and now we are struggling to pay the bills every month let alone have holidays, days out etc.
I do enjoy what I do, less than I used to as the expectations are currently difficult to meet, but helping people develop their skills and knowledge and driving up the quality within the sector is so rewarding. I like anything mathematical and scientific as I have a logical brain. I like things that are clear cut and clean like maths! I can't retrain in accountancy or anything linked to this as I have been bankrupt in the past and I think this excludes me from what I have read. I love research and learning new things and judging things against set standards. I am confident in public speaking and teaching a class and also teaching one to one but my experience is with adults. I would love to do academic writing or policy writing or perhaps a quality management role but I have no idea where to start with any of these. Whenever I try to research academic writing all I get is the websites that do people's degrees etc for them and ethically I could not work for a company like this. I would love to remain self employed but would go back to a paid role for the right salary. I am open to retraining and starting at the bottom and working up if I could do this relatively quickly as currently I am making less the minimum wage anyway.
Can anyone give me any advice about the kinds of roles that might suit me and how to go about getting into these? I am more than willing to start again and work hard but I am financially driven and am looking for a role with well paid prospects! Sorry this is long!!