Is 32 to old

[Hmmmm88]

I have recently turned 32 and am desperate to start a career.

At 17 i was studying health & social care to become a social worker. Unfortunately i suddenly became very ill and was given 18 to 24 months to live so my further education and my dream went out the window

Fortunately i responded very well to treatment and i now live a symptom free life but have regular check ups with specialist and take medication daily.

At 20 i was still very poorly but slowly recovering i met my now DH. He has 2 boys who are now 14 & 16 so i have spent the last 12 years looking after them and my father in law who was diagnosed with dementia 9 years ago.

Now at 32 my DSS don't rely on me much these days and my FIL is happy and settled i have a good routine with him and i am now itching to fulfill my dream of becoming a social worker for the elderly and vulnerable.

There's not much in life i would say i am particularly good at but i know in my heart that there is no other career i would want. I would put 110% in daily to help those people and i feel it's something i would be good at.

Is 32 to old to try for this career? I only have GCSE'S as i couldn't finish my course so i feel I'll get laughed at

Go for it! I'm 49 and have just started my 3rd career. I was very nervous about going back to school, but I held my own. I just really had to re-learn how to study.

I'd really prefer working with a S/W who'd had some life experience, personally!

Go for it! Make some happy plans!

@madcatladyforever i hadn't thought about having maturity on my side but that is a very good point. I am glad to hear you have a career you love

Not at all! I career changed at 32 and it was the best decision ever

@DamnYankee very inspiring 😁 i was so nervous about writing this post but now i am so glad i did

Go for it! Some Unis allow distance learning on Social Work degrees

All these replies are truly appreciated and are very inspiring. Thank you ❤

32 is too old to be 31. And that's it. It's so young

Ps my sister, with no qualifications trained as a social worker at 40. 15 years later she's still amazing at her job.

I teach social work students, and many of them are mature 30's and 40's. Social care is vastly understaffed and would welcome mature people. Many social work degree applicants do an access course as they lack A' levels. Before you dive in to a serious commitment, it would be worth getting some voluntary placements (post-pandemic, of course) that improve your application. Having suitable work experience is highly valued at the recruitment stage. In local authorities, it is a required to have had supervised work placements before you take up a role as a fully qualified social worker. I know some of my former students have struggled with this. One tip is that when you are a student, try to get placements in local authority settings as opposed to the private or voluntary sector. It is prioritised at the job selection stage if you choose to work for a council in the future.

In addition to the above, have an honest conversation with yourself about your fitness to work in this sector. It is an incredibly stressful and challenging job with a huge amount of juggling paperwork and real casework crisis situations on a daily basis. If your previous health concerns might relapse from working in such a role, there are plenty of professions allied to social work that may suit you more and allow you contribute meaningfully. Burnout rates in social work professionals in tip top health are staggering. Good luck wherever life takes you.

Nope not at all too old! I worked in health and social care before having my babies. I got a level one qualification at 29 and the person that hired me had no biases to age whatsoever. In actual fact, as I was working and occasionally handing over clients to other Carers, I observed that a lot of the employees were middle age, had kids, and I strongly believe that mature people are favoured by employers for these positions because you have more life experience and possibly more knowledge and determination.

On another note, one lady which I cared for ended up asking my boss to stop sending a certain carer to her house, because they were 'too young' and the client didn't feel confident about their potential lack of experience. (That carer is still my friend and we laugh about it).

So sorry for the rambling post, I get carried away I just think you should go for your dream.

Yanbu. And I'd say the same if you were quite a lot older than that too.
Look out for some fast track routes, there may well be some for mature students.
Good luck and good for you.

@scoobydoo1971 that is excellent advice thank you very very much

I'm 28 next month and doing an access course, starting Biomedical Science at King's in September! Definitely not too old!

@idblowJonSnow & @SuckingDownDarjeeling thank you

Nope. I'm just finishing a degree at 35.

Do an access course - they're brilliant for getting you back into learning and preparing you for uni. Then do whatever degree you want. It's never too late.

Go for it!

@StudentMummy20 & @QuestionableMouse thank you and congratulations to you both ❤

You are not to old at all! I am 33 and have just been accepted to study mental health nursing steadying in September! My mum got her phd at nearly 50. I had my son young, and have raised him alone, he has additional needs so this is the first time I've been able to concentrate on me. I was told my life experience will be invaluable, so I am sure yours will be too.

Go for it, and good luck!

I think that you sound perfect for a role like this. You're clearly very caring and I'd imagine after all that you've been through, you'll have a lot of empathy for others. 32 is not too old. I didnt start my new career until I was 31 and I was as desperate (for want of a better word) to do it as you.
Good luck to you xx

No,not in any way are you to old and you sound like a lovely person and it sounds like you would be of great benefit to that job and the people that you would go onto help.

I went to college when I was 30 and a single mum to 4DC(I could have stayed on at school and gone on from then but my parents made me leave school to get a job at 15)and it was honestly the best thing I ever did for me.

Good Luck

I have worked in social care for 20 years and I would prefer to work with a newly qualified 30 something with some life experience than a newly qualified 20 something who knows nothing about anything ( although we all have to start somewhere)
Go for it! And good luck

70% of my year at uni were over 40.

Some of them had no qualifications at all so did an extra year before they started the degree.

www.ucas.com/ucas/after-gcses/find-career-ideas/explore-jobs/job-profile/social-worker

Not too old at all. The above gives you advice on how to get there, you could probably do an NVQ3 in health and social care full time in 9 months-1year. Then your degree will be approx 3 years. Remember you've been given a second chance at life for a reason lovely, use it! X

You sound like the perfect candidate for a role like this. Definitely.not too.old at all.

Go for it. If every there was a career which values and requires maturity and a bit of experience of the world it is social work. I think your age is an asset rather than a negative

@madcatladyforever are we allowed to know what your NHS career is now?

I'm partially disabled so I gave up nursing to do podiatry as I can sit for most of the day.
I started off as a nurse but I've also been an airline stewardess and for several years worked in medical insurance as a medical advisor so I've had a few career changes.

Different career but similar, but my friends mum became a widow at age 50. She went back to school and studied to become a nurse and had a successful 30 year career in nursing!! It's never too late!