To ask you to help me figure out something to do

[YipYipAppa]

I've done admin since I did a business admin NVQ when I was 17 (I'm now 37). I was never that enthusiastic about the idea of admin but needed to do something and that was suggested and, as I didn't know what else to do, I went with it.

In the last couple of years, I began to get fed up of doing admin and now I am at the stage where I hate it. I am miserable for 8 hours a day 5 days a week. I'm stressed and tired, and by Sunday night, I'm already dreading the week ahead. I don't want to feel like this every week for the next 30/40/50 years.

The problem is, I have no idea what else I could actually do. I've only ever done admin. Please help me think of some other things I can do!

Some background info:

• I'm tiny (4'8") so physical jobs are a no go (e.g my DP is a gardener and I would be unable to do that as I am not physically strong enough and wouldn't be able to lift things onto trailers - even with things that I could lift, I would still struggle with being able to reach things etc)

• I do some crafts but am not very good at any of them so would be unable to make things to sell (as much as I would love to)

• I don't think my interests really translate into jobs I could actually do, eg I love animals, especially dogs, but would be unable to work with bigger dogs due to my height/lack of strength. I used to visit an older lady who lived nearby and I'd walk her (Labrador cross) dog with her but I had to be very careful when I had the lead as he could easily have ended up dragging me along (thankfully he was happy to walk alongside me).

O wise ones, can anyone give me any ideas of things I could at least look into? My sanity depends on doing something else and I've been wracking my brains but coming up empty. It's really getting me down and I would love to feel a bit more hopeful as we're rapidly approaching a new year!

I hugely admire 999 call handlers but I definitely could not do that job - I would find it far too stressful and distressing.

I've asked myself those many times but can't seem to figure out something that aligns with my answers.

Thank you for the suggestion bit I really don't want to stay in admin. I've worked in places where things were not so predictable and whereas it makes it more interesting, the admin side is just not at all interesting to me and I don't want to be doing admin. I wouldn't mind doing a job that has elements of admin to it but I definitely don't want to be in an admin based role anymore.

• This.

My mum is tiny, but if she punched me she could knock me out and I'm very tall and much fatter than her. She has freakishly strong arms.*

Again, I wasn't implying that people who are petite can't be strong, I'm just talking about my own limitations.

I don't think that would be for me really - I have no desire to manage people!

Saying that you don't like admin is a bit like saying that you don't like stew! There are many different types as well as facets within admin, just as there are a million and one (OK, a bit of an exaggeration!) types of stew. There must be some parts of the job that you like?

You're also already freelance, so you do have some freedom to do your own thing.

You're being very quick to rule out suggestions made here, and so I'm wondering what you're really expecting from this thread? It sounds to me like you'd benefit from some careers counselling and/or coaching.

I'm not a fan of using databases so analysts or technician probably isn't for me! Sales is definitely not something I want to do. I already do transcription.

Re the dog walking, I think it would be very limiting to say I could only walk small dogs. I hardly have any experience with walking dogs anyway as I've never had one and have only walked my friend's dog (and never by myself) so it's not likely I would be able to drum up much business anyway.

Yes, maths is not something I enjoy so I would not want to do any of those techie things.

I just don't think there is anything that I've admined in that I would want to pursue. None of it holds any interest to me really. I want to step away from it all.

I just don't think I can stay in an admin role, even if it was a stepping stone to something else. I am really so, so keen to just get away from it completely.

I also think that fraud or compliance would still end up feeling too admin-y, if that makes sense? I did some compliance stuff in one of my admin roles and it didn't seem any different to the other admin type stuff ultimately.

I think maybe I need to find something less office-based but no idea what that could be!

@YipYipAppa

I think you need to have a read of this thread from the beginning - you're rejecting everything that's being put forward!

Is there nothing positive or inspirational you can take from any of these suggestions?

can't seem to figure out something that aligns with my answers.

OK, but what ARE your answers? You can’t say you’ve thought of everything, nothing fits, but please can I be inspired if no one on MN knows which areas of life you find interesting.

When you answer:

What do I enjoy doing, what motivates me, I’m at my happiest when…

what do those answers look like?

I think maybe I need to find something less office-based but no idea what that could be!

Non office-based jobs that don’t need lots of physical strength:

Hairdresser or beauty therapist
Plumber
Electrician
Retail worker
Hospitality worker
Teacher or TA

Why don't you try something completely different like TA, shop work, hospitality etc?

Barmaid / hospitality - people are always interesting, and sometimes rude.
i think the attitude to osteo arthritis has changed and you build up strength in your muscles and tendons to support- not avoid using them.
Yoga/ Pilates teacher.

Hotel receptionist

You've not really said what aspects of your work, however small, you've enjoyed, or what your preferred sectors have been.

If you did something like HR or law then your experience would be an advantage if you've worked in those areas.

Your compassionate nature that you see as a disadvantage could be channelled usefully with say, nursing or teaching. The civil service have a lot of different roles that you can apply straight for using your admin experience transferrably. Are you looking for more money? If not, retail would have non physical roles. What about 3rd sector stuff, that might be more rewarding. Do you want to retrain or just find something you can apply to straight away?

I don't think that its feasible to move completely away from admin unless you have a burning passion to do something else - completely retraining and starting again at the bottom of a career ladder is going to be tricky unless you really really want it. You'd be better off finding something where there is still some admin that you just put up with, but a lot of other things that you're fired up to do.

Have a look at company secretary type roles at big companies. They're quite technical and often really well paid - some admin but also a lot of professional knowledge/advice. You would need to do some more studying but your background with legal/compliance stuff would make this easier.

Have a look as well at legal roles. You don't have to be a fully qualified lawyer to do everything in a legal office. Again, the admin experience will be useful but the roles will be different.

Health and safety officer would come under this sort of banner as well. Again the admin background would be helpful, and you'd need to do some further study.

My last piece of advice is a more tricky one but if you can't think of anything at all which you would enjoy, which would get you fired up and motivated; and your career that you previously enjoyed is no longer enjoyable. Would it be worth considering whether you're feeling anxious or depressed rather than just needing a career change?

As you've acknowledged admin is a great transferrable skill, and you've done some public sector before. If you join a civil service dept/organisation in an admin type role, if you show half an ounce of common sense and adaptability it is then easy to transfer between teams and gain skills and experience in other areas you can then explore further in that dept or you can shift to another dept. I work in a small team and of the handful of colleagues I work directly with at SEO/HEO level, most joined at the lowest Administrative Officer level doing some pretty generic admin work and then gained experience and specialised within a couple of years. Even in my arms-length body there are all sorts of possibilities from shifting into HR work, to internal or external communications, facilities management, information services (though that sort of thing would probably require asking to do specific training and qualifications) even before you get into the actual 'meat and potatoes' of the work we do and supporting delivery/policy etc.

What about working in a craft shop? Either one that sells handmade crafts or one that sells the items to make the crafts. You said you enjoy crafts but aren't good enough to do it as a job so you are enthusiastic about crafting, which I think is quite important in such a place.

I look after dogs in my own home. I only look after small dogs

What drains you?

What energises you?

What are you naturally good/bad at?

What are you passionate about?

Are you creative or logic driven?

What have you ruled out why?

What are your top requirements from the new role?

The most info, the easier it will be to help.

The National Careers Service has a skills assessment which also suggests potential careers nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/skills-assessment

@YipYipAppa - I was where you are, and although I haven’t worked it all out yet, I found strengthsfinder 2.0 a great starting point. Buy a new book though, not a used one.

Maybe have a look on council websites. Housing officer assistant roles, call centre for local council, nhs vacancies, eg ward clerk. Friend worked as a ward clerk on a maternity ward. Could be interesting.

What are your answers though? Just cos you can’t see something that aligns, doesn’t mean we won’t?
broadly though, do you like working in a team or a busy office or are other people terrible?
would you like working outside or inside?