To think about uni? Especially during covid times?

[Frazzledmum55]

I’m not particularly happy in my job but the hours work for me so I’m stuck.
I’m not 100% sure what I’d like to do but always go to social work when looking at unis online.
I only have a level 3 childcare qualification currently and I have 2 children. Youngest is 8 but has sen so any kind of full time work is hard because he would struggle with holiday club and they would probably send him home occasionally, they don’t have the same obligation as schools.

So would I be mad to quit work and study for a degree?? How hard is a social work degree? I don’t know if I could actually do it.
Does anybody know how universal credit works with studying?
I’m 33 so not very young but young enough to make a change. The thought of being stuck with no prospects in a job I don’t enjoy forever scares me and I’ll struggle to ever move into a different role or field with no qualifications.
If not a degree then what else can I do?

Student loans count towards income so your UC will reduce but there may be bursaries available as others have said. There will be field placements. Some students work in the care/residential fields at the weekends to make extra money but this might not be possible for child care reasons for you.

Social Work is a very intense job - long hours and stressful, particularly in child protection. However, you will have a guaranteed job at the end of it (once you've passed) with a starting salary of approx £29K (in the SE) which will rise when you gain more experience.

What else do you like to do?
What are your hobbies?

It sounds like you want people to encourage you to just pack in work and assume it’ll work out. Maybe it would, but equally you could say that for combining work and study.

Many of us have done the latter - I worked full time and studied “full time” (usually 2-3 subjects per semester, but 3 or 4 semesters a year instead of 2 - not in the UK so your system may be different. But it amounted to a full time course load over the year). Also had a baby in that time, so different challenges than having an older child with SEN, but still not easy.

It should be manageable if you’re organised, work consistently, and accept that this is going to eat into your free time for foreseeable future. The number of hours of recommended study isn’t usually accurate, and it doesn’t apply to all 52 weeks of the year. There will be peaks and troughs.

You need rock solid childcare. Im assuming social work degree has placements that wont coincide with school holidays.

There is a Facebook group ‘Student social workers and NQSW’ You will get some good advice on there, lots of students in the same The situation as yourself.

Also look on the BASW website. The Open Uni do a number of free introductory courses for Social Work, they would give you some idea about modules you would study and social work theories.

For a social work degree you absolutely do need reliable childcare. Uni terms fit with school holidays but placements won't and you just can't fit the hours in, part time.
As someone else said, 70 days in second year and 100 in third. It works out differently at each until but there's often little extra time available to make up for lost days at the end.

I know single parents who did this and they coped ok financially. The bursary and childcare assistance helps.
You could do some part time work whilst you're studying as uni tends to be about 2.5 days per week but you won't be able to do much and keep up with studies and you won't be able to work on placement, it's too much.
As for the job, you can work part-time but much like teaching you'll probably end up working far more hours than you are paid to.

Yes, it's hard to be on the road... You don't want to lose your job, because it's money now and you really need it. But you don't want to spend your whole life in that job either...
I once made a decision to combine work and study. It was difficult - work, child, study. But one day I sat down and thought about how I could make my life easier. I started asking friends for help, I made up with my parents and asked them for help, I even did not hesitate to ask for help from a special nursing paper writing service (I worked as a nurse and studied occupational therapy). This way I freed up my time. Now I don't regret that I tried so hard and tired back then. You can always find a way out. The main thing is to understand what you want! Good luck and determination!