To ask what profession I can retrain in at 35?

[HairyHermanetta]

I say profession, i.e. something you study for a particular career e.g. teaching, nursing, accounting, etc?

What career can I enter and not be seen as too old/too much of a late starter. I have messed around for years, got half a floaty degree that trained me for nothing in particular. I wish I had put all my efforts into making a decision in my twenties to train for a career but here we are....am I too late?

What do you like though OP? What are your interests? Are you creative/adept at languages or are you more logical/mathematically minded? There's no point suggesting things that you would have no interest/aptitude in.

What ignites some passion in you?

It’s a bit misleading to say ‘anything.’

You don’t have the same options at 35 as you do at 18. OP will not be able to do a lot of things.

That’s not trying to be doom and gloom but practical.

Public sector jobs tend to be different but given that most do obviously involve working with the public and OP doesn’t want that, that’s a tricky one!

Software development is always touted as a good career to switch to but it’s not as easy as people make out. A masters conversion course will not equip you with a high enough level of skills to be able to work as a software developer. The course will probably include several programming modules, each teaching a different language. So if you’re hired to program a specific language you likely only have one modules worth of knowledge on that language, which is approx 12 weeks for maybe 4hrs a week? You won’t be able to hit the ground running with that amount of knowledge - you’d need an entry level job which offers further training, and those are few and far between. Many companies (especially small companies) want to hire someone who can already program, not someone who needs training up. This seems to be unique to the software field - unlike other fields such as accountancy where they expect to hire a trainee who needs to learn the job, in software they tend to want you to be able to program from day 1.

I felt like you at 35 and got an admin job in local government. I kept an eye on jobs, switched teams and have been promoted several times since and am now loving it. Hoping to do an apprenticeship later on. Planning to do a masters at some point but in something that just interests me.

How long are you wanting to spend getting qualifications before you start training for the job?

A lot of the suggestions here would require a degree (Some of them would require specifically a BSc) from a red brick uni at 2.1 or higher to even get onto the training schemes. But that is achievable if you have time and money.

A lot of professions require a degree so we'd need to know what your school qualifications and best subjects are e.g. you're not going to get into an Engineering degree with Alevels in English, french and history!
Or would you rather something that's an entry level job with training on the job?

I'm 31 and about to start training as an accountant (through the Civil Service Fast Stream, Finance scheme). It's a four year programme, they pay for a professional qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA-CIPFA) and the salary is £28k to start with.
I have an unrelated (BioMed) degree, which I did as a mature student. There are definitely people starting who are older than me and not recent graduates too.
www.faststream.gov.uk/

I went to university when I was 42. Loved every minute of it and was so much more prepared because of the work/life experiences I'd had before.

I decided to look into book keeping and have found I have an AAT training centre really close to me which would work well around the kids schooling. I can afford the courses. My question is to those who are book keepers .... do you need to be very academic? I would say my intellect is distinctly average. Secondly what is the entry to to the industry? Obviously my plan would be to be part time and self employed but to start out would I be working for a company?

You can become a lawyer with any degree.

To clarify having read a bit more, if you have any degree in the UK then you can do a one year course that qualifies you as far as a law degree would. So, if you apply to law firms, they'll pay for you to do the conversion course (the GDL) for one year and then the LPC which takes another year (or seven months if you do the accelerated course). I know you can study both the GDL and the LPC online or evening classes or whatever too so that would be good to work around childcare.

@Blueberryham I'd be careful with the Open University. I know a few people who did a degree through them and then applied to become teachers - they were rejected outright because they don't like the Open University. I know some people who have been fine too but I wouldn't risk it to be honest. Plenty of more reputable places will do online courses.

I'd echo the warning about Open University in relation to teaching. I'm a teacher and it's entirely possible to pass the degree with flying colours and be utterly useless at the job itself. The employers want people who have spent time working in actual schools.

Fascinated by this thread...I'd love to retrain in a few years. I'm good as a teacher but I'm starting to feel burned out.

Following with interest. Is there any (hmm...relatively well paid) job you can get into by just studying max. 2 years? For instance can I get a software developer/accountant/whatever job after studying for 2 years? I really don’t want to study more than 2 years, help!

Podiatry
It's interesting an ongoing
And it is a career where it's an advantage to be a bit older .

I work with some newly qualified Pods ( maybe 22 yo) and patients do tend to be mistrustful .

You can work until your poor haggard body pegs out basically .
And potential for earning in Private Practice - can be lucritive .

I did look into podiatry actually when it used to be funded. But you have to do long hours in the hospital at the beginning of your career and that just wasn’t possible for me due to childcare limitations and my location.

Sorry to hijack too.

Radiographer is interesting to me @radness75. What do you enjoy and not enjoy? What sort of personalities do radiographers tend to have? I'd have to do an a level biology to do the 3 year degree (have english math geography A level and a business/accountancy degree), while kids at primary. Are there mature entrants, is it family friendly? Hard to progress?

This is a really interesting thread. I'm almost 35 and looking for a career change after having DC (youngest is 2 so childcare is an issue right now) I used to do magazine design and have been advised that Admin may be a good path to go down. I just don't really know what I want and definitely don't have the time and money to go back to college.

In Software development most true programming trainees are hired in India. The roles in the UK tend to be more technical management orientated - so you could use existing experience to retrain as a manager within your existing industry. This often gives you an in to programming / testing / design etc training and experience as once hired you can often try to gain skills on the job.

Another option is risk / compliance management. Risk and compliance managers are needed in every industry and it is pretty much a guaranteed career. Even when you retire you can often consult.

Following with interest. I’m in my 30s but never had a career only low paid jobs. I do have a degree but in a useless subject.

I might look into the fast stream scheme, might be a stupid question but are the jobs all over the UK? I live near a city in the Midlands but wouldn’t be able to relocate if the jobs are elsewhere.

My husband was 39 when he chose to change career and I supported him all the way. He left school with no qualifications and has dyslexia, he was stuck in a job he hated, so after some discussions between us, he did a couple of entry level courses at Open University. This gave him the boost and skills he needed and with the credits he earned there, he got accepted to all 3 brick university he applied for.

He did an Environmental Science Bsc(hons) degree, lived on campus for 3 years only coming home every few weeks to see me and ended up winning a few awards and ended up with the highest score in his year at university at the end. I was difficult for both of us but worth it as he now in his mid 40`s and has a good paying job, and he is a changed person, a lot more intelligent and open minded.

As for his funding he claimed, student finance and lived of his grant, with no support from me as I was looking after the home. There are some wonderful jobs in the environment sector and with climate change etc I think it will become a really valuable area to get into.

Thanks for your questions about radiography bowchicawow! I have been a radiographer for 25 years and love it! I am a cross sectional specialist radiographer which means i mainly do CT/MRI scanning but if i work a nightshift or a weekend then i also do xrays as well. I love my job and i dont think there is anything i hate. We get to see most patients that come into a hospital and make a huge difference in diagnosing what is wrong with them. No two scans are the same and i get to deal with trauma as well as forensics too. The hours can be gruelling at the moment but i have a good work/life balance even though i work full time. I see may different personalities in radiography. A lot of us are quite eager for career progression. It tends to be that after 2 years in the job then it is time to specialise. As i said i do CT/MRI scanning but next year i am going to study my post graduate in CT head reporting. More and more we are doing a lot of jobs that doctors used to do and one area we can specialise in is reporting xrays or scans. As my daughter gets older i now have time to study again. We get students of all ages and have known a few in their 40s go back to uni to become a radiographer.
It can be a family friendly job as there are many types of posts ie full/part time, nights only etc. There is a national shortage at the moment so certainly where i am, you can walk into a job and negotiate your hours. The degrees you have just now should get you on the quick 2 year masters course.
There is huge scope for progression. Many different areas that many may not immediately associate with a radiographer for example nuclear medicine, dexa scanning and research. I participate in research scanning too which was extra trainning and very interesting plus i am also a radiation protection supervisor.
Money is actually good too as working nights etc attracts a much higher wage than you think plus i also get paid for private work mainly on the MRI scanner. Hope that helps!!

Anything. My mum trained as a teacher in her 30s, my aunt trained as a social worker in her 30s, my uncle did a maths degree and became a uni lecturer in his mid 40s after working in a factory Floor building engines most of his life, my cousin is now a lecturer and college vice principal (40s) after working as health and safety assessor. Other friends became counsellors, my sister is studying psychology.

You can become an apprentice, become a gas fitter (British Gas have a great apprencticeship and are crying out for worm).

Or get into data and IT. So many courses for women retraining and companies are desperate to hirre women, tons of money to be made.

Accountancy, charity work what floats your boat?

You have 30-40 years of work ahead of you. The world is your lobster!

Also my friend now does audiology, so she fits hearing aids, that is pretty awesome. Pharmacy and optometry would also be great.

What's your degree in?

What are you fascinated by?/What do you "collect"?

What do you avoid talking about because you know other people will find it boring, even though you would like to?

What's your favourite thing you've ever bought?