To wonder if I could work in the future and what I could do.

[Theygolowwegohigh]

I am a single mum with a teen with special needs and a preschooler. I haven't worked since lockdowns, when DC1's needs became even higher. He's still quite high needs. I think dc2 is also likely Sen but no one else is listening to me on that at the moment. 😔

Pre covid I worked in early years childcare (from home), but through lockdown I went through autistic burnout (I am autistic and adhd which I didn't know until the shit hot the fan), and I'm not sure I could go back to that work now.

I'd love to maybe retrain into a job I could eventually earn a decent wage from, but I'm not sure how I'd juggle it with the DC's, or even if I'd manage the academics of retraining. My confidence is at an epic low at the moment. I get by okay on carers allowance and DC1's pip payment etc, but I wish we had more income and I miss the satisfaction I used to get from earning.

When I left school I wanted to be a social worker, but then I wasn't sure if I'd find it too hard emotionally. I'm still not sure but it is something I think about work wise.

Anyone have any advice or things to think about or consider?

I guess I'd like to start planning a chink of hope that I can carve out some work for me, at some point in the future.

Social work definitely can be stressful and emotionally difficult. Working in child protection is notoriously difficult, but you could also work in older adults, mental health, learning disabilities... You can work for a local authority, NHS or third sector organisation.

Workload can be intense but it really depends on the service. It also depends on an individual's skills and interests. I could never work with children but when I meet children's social workers they often say they could never work with my client group.

The open university do a free introduction to social work course which you could do from home to see if social work is still want you want to do.
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/social-care-social-work/an-introduction-social-work/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

I think it will be difficult with two children with special needs but if the older one might like to go to residential college/university (depending on the nature of the needs) then it might be more achievable.

You could also contact the National Careers Service for free advice (the number is at the bottom of the page) https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

What skills or qualifications do you have, e.g., IT / admin / basic finance or accountancy? Any languages?

When you say 'early years childcare', were you a registered childminder with first aid qualifications and the requisite DBS checks?

What do you like doing?

Once you build this picture up a wee bit, people can give more structured advice.

Social workers have high levels of burnout, child protection is a hard area to get a work life balance in and it isn't well paid.

I would consider training in a totally different field. Would something using numbers be a possibility?

There is a high level of burn out, but there's also a great sense of job satisfaction that comes from making a tangible difference. You're unlikely to earn a lot unless you're head of social work/principal social worker/similar but you can definitely be on 35k (40k in London) within a couple of years without being a manager and earn more if you take on a specialist or management role.

I'm not great with numbers. Think I got a C n GCSE but I don't enjoy numerical stuff or find it easy.

Yes I was a registered childminder and also did some work in nurseries.

Burn out is a concern for any job I went into tbh, being autistic and a parent carer. I'm not sure residential placements would be a possibility with my eldest.

Maybe I should look at other jobs where I could work from home.

I like the idea of doing some introductory OU courses. Maybe that might help me get a feel for what interests me as well as gauge how much time I can put into learning and hopefully boost my confidence a little.

That sounds like a great idea. Good luck! I did my undergrad with the OU and it has stood me in good stead for postgrad and my career generally 😊

It's too late for this year but the OU have a carers scholarship it may be worth looking into https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/fees-and-funding/carers-scholarship-fund

Sounds like a job with a degree of predictability would work for you? Less chance of stress & burnout. Would you be interested in working in retail?
Do you like animals? If so - veterinary nurse?
Or if you’re happy to do more study - dental nurse?

All are jobs helping others but not too stressful, as I think social work is.