Am I unattractive to employers?

[StillSmiling92]

I'm almost 28 years old. Average GCSE's, terrible A levels, good Access to Higher Education (level 3) qualification and university drop out.

I have a 4 year old who starts school in September and I've mostly been a SAHM living off my partner. I've also been cleaning part time for 1 year now and worked in retail prior to that.

So, being a mother and a university drop out I know that employers would likely throw my application in the bin (childcare and lack of expertise). Not for retail roles, but for professional roles such as accountancy or software development for example.

What can I do to improve my circumstances when I'm not eligible for any training or funding?

Please help

oh and kaggle for data science too

Several people suggesting you don't tell them you're a mum - tbh when I was an employer, a 4-5 year unexplained gap (were they in prison??) or 'not working' (were they lazy, useless, long-term sick or just unlucky?) was more off-putting than a gap listed as 'full-time parent, son now at school with reliable out-of-school care arranged.' Yes, you need to be ready to answer 'who will look after him if he's ill?' as although they are not allowed to ask, some will. But they do not know your personal circs so you could say 'I have a friend who doesn't work.'

Going back to uni is a good idea. If you feel you've lost skills, you'll soon realise you have got them back. Also, if you've been out of work a long time, without uni tutors, you have no relevant references, which makes it harder to find work.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

I agree. I do need to do some research first and try out a few things.

I will look in to futurelearn and OpenLearn. Coursera might be a good place to start too. I think they have data science course on there. I think I have a superficial understanding of most careers, so digging a bit deeper in to job roles might help me decide what I want to do.

I will also try to treat my depression. I have so many "how to overcome depression" books on my shelf. Some I've read more than once, but the toxic thoughts always seem to make their way back in to my consciousness and end up drowning in negativity.

It's tough out there but all of us are unattractive to one employer or another, its part luck, part skill and part hard work. I have a fine art degree but work as a data analyst now. There are plenty of people who go through linear/traditional routes that don't always get that varied backgrounds can be an asset but you probably don't want to work with them anyway. I love that you sound ambitious and determined. I've got myself a few qualifications at no cost over the past 12 months, a few places are offering software development and cyber security courses. A reputable one is tech talent academy, I haven't done their course as too expensive but some people get funding or free places. I've done CISMP with a local provider looking to get more women into cyber security, I did software testing through work but for £150 you can buy a book and do the exam yourself, same with quite a few qualifications (have a look at the BCS British computing society site. ) Microsoft also do a lot of courses, I learned power BI on one which has made me very employable. It's also easy to pick up SQL, you can set yourself up with a dummy server and software and some books will explain how. The 'for dummies' books are pretty good for IT too although not very hands on. You could pick up basics (CompTIA A+) and move into an IT support role, they're junior and not well paid but great chance to learn. Personally I wouldn't bother with accounting. Good luck, I've had plenty of down moments but recently got 3 job offers for data analyst and reporting work. Of course plenty of places aren't keen on young women for jobs too, again, move on. I think not having a degree you also might be eligible for funding towards a degree but I'd only do one if you know where your interests lie. Join LinkedIn, there are some inspiring and supportive people on there. Ignore the doom-mongers they're everywhere. Good luck!

Why not contact the National Careers Service, they may be able to help you?.

Not for retail roles, but for professional roles such as accountancy or software development for example.

I've been doing software development at all levels for 30 years. You need good experience to be able to do the job at a decent level.

I have a role in the kind of field you’re interested in. I got it using a degree (necessary requirement for the role). I got that degree while caring for two children under school age (with childcare to some extent) and also had no access to government funding (as in not able to get a student loan so had to pay out of pocket). My employer was aware when they hired me that I had two young children, they weren’t phased - lots of my colleagues have children, it’s really not an issue. It’s perfectly doable albeit not easy perhaps but I think very few people doing well in a profession found getting there easy. You either want this kind of job in which case you’ll find a way to get the necessary qualifications in order to get it or you don’t.

www.cambridgespark.com

Data science boot camp - expensive but I get the feeling that you want something tailor made like this

Would you consider working as a teaching assistant? You could then progress to a HLTA, and even a teacher after that? It would fit around your childcare needs, and could open up other opportunities too (e.g working in a school finance role for example)

Your local college of further education will have an apprentice placement scheme, to match you up wit a suitable employer and organise your training. You should not mention your children on an job applications, to do so is inviting discrimination.

Accounting is not a great profession to get started in at the moment, vulnerable to automation especially at the bottom level. Data analysts are in huge demand, however, I'd definitely look into that!

I heard Oxford is pretty good for data science. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/data-science-short-courses

Not sure why you would ever put that you're a mother on your applications as its irrelevant.

Unfortunately with little more than average GCSEs and little to no work experience in the last 10 years you won't be able to walk into a professional role in accounting/finance. As an accountant/financial adviser.

I'd look at those sort of firms though and apply for admin assistant roles, receptionist, PA and find out how to train from within, you will certainly need to do a degree or higher education in finance or accounting to do either of those professions. Plus lots of exams. Which might be tricky if you've been out of education so long.

I would really advocate going in a the bottom and working your way up. I started as an admin assistant in the NHS band 2 after my degree (2.1 from a great red brick uni in a traditional subject) but couldn't get on any grad schemes etc.
I'm now a band 8b in 7 years having risen through the ranks and worked my way up. Yes it takes a while but anything worth doing is.

Don't write yourself off because you don't have a completed degree or because you've been a SAHM but do accept you need to start doing something now to develop your skill set else, no, no one will take you on!

Best of luck - you can do it

I hope so too. I'm thinking about doing some kind of professional qualification or maybe an open university degree but because of the cost I want to be very sure that I start something that will lead somewhere before I do.

Also op, worth looking for free online courses. Might be a way to find out what you're interested in and what you're good at etc. I've signed up to Coursera. They have a lot of free online courses available, if you pay you get a certificate at the end or there are some available only if you pay I think, but plenty of free ones.

If you somehow can, finish your degree, that'd make a big difference. You could do it with the OU part time or whatever, or ideally find a way to get student loans/some sort of grant or whatever and finish it.

Or, do another L3 qualification in whatever field you want to go ito. That would count a bit as a fresh start to employers.

I'm a software developer. I know several developers without degrees, they moved 'sideways' into the field from previous jobs with the same employer. I haven't got a degree in anything IT related (I did life sciences) but I was trained up by a previous employer. I've got no IT qualifications.
As pp said it's getting that first job that will be tricky. To do this you have to demonstrate you have the skills. So write software at home that you can show them, try and work on some open source projects, demonstrate how you learn new skills. Software isn't a regulated profession like accountancy / law, anyone can call themselves a developer!
What kind of software would you be interested in writing?

See this as step to managing your depression. This post is part of you taking control, thinking about what to do and starting a plan. It won't come overnight, but gradually it will get easier. With each step forward you can look at what you've acheived. Remember many people who seem confident are just good at putting on an act. Good luck

Also British Computing Society have course you can do and good advice - take a look on there.

www.bcs.org

If you managed to complete year one of uni then you have a level 4 qualification - A Certificate of Higher Education. Dont mention your grades for your GCSEs or Alevels other than to say you passed your core subjects. And you didnt drop out of uni, you relocated or were unable were to complete the course for personal reasons like having a family or caring for somebody. It would be a great time for you to take a part time job in a supermarket etc and study with the OU from home if you have a specific thing in mind. They have loads of courses and you can tarnsfer your complete uni modules over and do pretty much any pic'n'mix of modules to make it up to the 360 credits. They cover loads of subjects and you can get funding to pay for the course.

Could you look for a training contract?

@DrDreReturns completely agree. I did go to university back in the early 90s, but I wouldn't do it now.

OP, I would go down the apprenticeship route. You learn on the job and will at some point be working on a proper development project.

I work for a large software and services company and we have apprenticeships in all areas of the business, from consultancy, infrastructure management to software development.

As a PP has said, look at the BCS, they do have some good stuff.

I think AAT is a good start then begin by book keeping?

You cannot become chartered without being sponsored by an organisation.
You can become certified chartered but there is snobbery around that (but it is a good qual!)

Apprenticeships are competitive though. You won’t just walk into them and I don’t think posters realise top quality A level students get them or people already employed.

What do you think might happen now with 3 million unemployed??? Lots of opportunities? I doubt it. There won’t be lots of opportunities but there could well be lots more redundancies. Talking about what firms were doing even last year will gave little bearing on the future. Apprenticeships had reduced greatly anyway! Almost halved from the highest number.

Volunteering will be best.

Apprenticeships are competitive though. You won’t just walk into them and I don’t think posters realise top quality A level students get them or people already employed.

Agreed, I do plenty of interviewing and yes they are competitive, but that's the way it should be, as we all know, that's how you get quality people, or a good bullshitter but they quickly get found out.