I have had two sons - DC1 is 5 and DC2 is 1 next month. I've become aware during the course of this period in my life that I'm no longer happy in my job, and that I need to take positive steps to change my career, to do something that actually fits with the person I have become during motherhood.
In some ways, being a mum has been such a massive transformational experience that it's taught me lots about myself - what I do like, what I don't like, what my limitations are. But when I start to research careers that would interest me I feel very daunted by the task ahead - I would need to undertake more study and commit to a decision, which in itself frightens me as I worry that I will make the wrong choice and not enjoy the work.
I've been out of study for over ten years, and I've lost a lot of work-place confidence in the last decade, whilst raising the children. The thought of going for an interview terrifies me. The thought of sitting a competency test terrifies me, as does the whole idea of actually joining a new team, starting afresh somewhere else and the general fear of workplace change.
I've been in my job for ten years, and it's been solid and dependable, enabling me to have the children. But long-term, I don't see a future there. AIBU to feel nervous of stepping away from the safety net? I worry that I'm too old for employers to want me, that I won't be skilled enough for study, that others will be better-placed than me for any job vacancy. I have lost so much professional confidence I don't know where to start.