Jobs for quieter people with a 'gentle' nature

[Weareunlovedd]

This is what I've been told I have, and I am accepting it as a part of me.
I'm currently looking at teaching roles as I have a PGCE, or Civil Service.
I've applied for an ECT role with a deadline of tomorrow, and I'm applying for border force and probation, also ACAS helpline advisor.
I have considered being an officer in a male prison as there's a good starting salary, but first of all I'm worried about the danger element. I don't want boiling water mixed with sugar thrown over me. Secondly, I don't know if I'm 'tough' enough for it.
Not long ago there was a thread on it here, and a female prison officer was complaining there were too many 'young girls' starting and often you needed a 'big bloke' to sort things out, so that put me off.
I know I passed the pgce but I'm worried I'm not strict and firm enough to be a teacher, though I'm willing to try.
I'm in my early 30s but get told I look younger, I'm just worried about not being taken seriously and being seen as inexperienced

I would have described myself similarly at the start of my career and I now work in a finance role and earn a good salary. A lot of what I do involves writing which I love (English degree.) I was absolutely great at customer service in a bank branch which was my first job out of uni.

Having worked within Border Force for many years I don't think I'd suggest it for someone of a more gentle nature. Obviously there might be some background roles that are more suitable, but the public facing roles can be quite intense and fraught. I've been subject to a fair amount of verbal and physical abuse over the years.

You could become a governess

Lots of high end nanny agencies will have suitable jobs. Most involve lots of travel

I'd look for a civil service job. There are lots of roles and some would suit a quieter person. What about DfE given your background

Teaching is brutal.

I'm in a similar position and wish I'd trained as a SALT/OT or Ed psych.

There are never "civil service" jibs near me apart from prisons. I'd love a general office job that paid reasonably but seem to fall through the cracks...

Teaching adults is incredibly badly paid and often zero hours contract.

I’m very surprised by the mention of teaching, that’s a very draining role for a gentle person.

I would suggest an office job in a non high-powered setting (ie not law firm / investment bank).

If you can afford training I’d go for accountancy or web development or cyber security. If you need a salary sooner I’d look into apprenticeships, Amazon for example does some fantastic ones.

What about something in publishing? Low salaries at beginning but can work up and ita working with books and gentle people who love books. Look on indeed.com for editorial assistant jobs.

Or library/museum work…

IT, data, analysts and consumer Research tend to attract gentler types

Nursery work isn't gentle 😬. Currently have a child throwing chairs across the room. Biting. Hitting. It isn't all just quiet playing.

Governess springs to mind or maybe apply to naice all girls boarding schools.

laboratory work?

I’ve often wondered the same. I work in retail and dream of working in a library or bookshop.
Not good money, but then neither is retail.

My husband is generally quiet, gentle and introverted. He was a classroom teacher for 20 years and was a bloody brilliant teacher. He now tutors SEN children who don't access education in any other way and he is transformational with them - his company direct all the children who have struggled with other tutors to him. There is very much something to be said for teachers who are quiet, calm, thoughtful and listen!

You clearly enjoy helping people and working with others to resolve problems. In I have a few ideas (some might need additional training or qualifications). They all involve helping others but more closely and quietly (one to one or smaller groups) than a big classroom environment.

• private tutor
• careers advisor
• school librarian
• school counsellor
• social worker
• HR
• work-based trainer

So many people suggesting library work, as I suspected there would be! As a PP said, this is not work for an introvert or quiet person.

The city centre library I work in deals with people from all walks of life & is often a warm, shelter for homeless people, people with behavioural difficulties, teenagers who think it's a good place to smuggle drugs into, and much more! You have to be public-facing pretty much the whole time & while some interactions are lovely & gentle, lots aren't. Including running events like Rhyme Time or Community Tea! Library workers do far more than shelving & stamping books 🙄

My partner is calm and gentle. He speaks softly. Cats and small children LOVE him. He's been a prison officer in the high-security estate for nearly 25 years. Behind the calm and gentle exterior is a core of solid steel, and he takes no shit from anyone (except me). Quiet and gentle is not necessarily a bar to prison or probation work, but only if you have that core of steel. Its much the same in teaching. Only you know if you have that steel core that will enable you to deal with angry and aggressive people every day.

FWIW, DP and I have 35 years working in 6 prisons between us, and neither of us have ever been potted or hot-watered. It happens, unfortunately, but doesn't happen as much as some TV shows might want you to think.

I agree with this. (ex librarian, 20 years working in FE, HE and schools)

But being a quiet and gentle person doesn’t mean that we can’t deal with people, or don’t want to.
For me, I think I have sensory issues, so a quieter building (compared to the big supermarket I currently work in) would be ideal.
I live in a small semi-rural town so if I worked in our local library or bookshop, it wouldn’t be a big city one.

Teaching, yes, but you need to be assertive. Prison officer no. It’s not that it’s dangerous to the officers per se, but violence, self harm and mental illness amongst inmates is rife and dealing with attempted suicides/cutting themselves on a regular basis is not something many people can deal with, let alone gentler types.

Sorry for the late reply but thanks for all these suggestions, really helpful

Are you Miss Honey from Matilda?! 🤔

I really wouldn't consider probation or prison work if you are 'gentle'. I don't think people have boiling water and sugar thrown at them as part of their induction (have you been watching too much 'Top Boy'?!).

It's not that I'm not assertive at all but I do struggle with being really 'strict', using a loud voice etc but these are more issues in teaching I think. People are saying why did you do a PGCE, well you can't really know what something's like until you do it. I still would like to do teaching, I just need the right setting

I'm sure officers aren't routinely att

I'm sure officers aren't routinely attacked, but reading stats online about officer stress is concerning

Prison officers have to be really strict and raise their voices! If you think school kids are difficult, can you imagine trying to have authority over a load of hardened criminals?! Same goes for probation, but with a bit less shouting.

What is it that appeals to you about these roles OP? Is it about wanting to change people’s loves for the better? Would you consider training in counselling, for example? Not an easy job at all, but more diversity in the clientele and lots of diffferent areas to specialise in. You could work in victim services if you are interested in the criminal justice side of life.

Education officer at a museum, wildlife sanctuary etc. Places children go on school trips and are generally well behaved with their teacher there to deal with poor behaviour.

I wouldnt be looking for any of the public sector roles you currently are but somewhere like the Environment Agency, Nature England, might be much more suited than the Prison service or Border Force.