To wonder what the hell to do next

[Jacros12]

I’m a single mum to a 2.5 year old

Ive just finished a degree from a really good London uni with first class honours - don’t know if this is relevant but I guess I’m trying to say I’ve been working hard (graduating this September)

As a single mum and student I’ve had my sons 2 days at nursery 80% paid for by a childcare grant for students on low wage which has obviously been massively helpful

I rent a tiny, falling apart 1 bed flat in London which is not ideal for me and my son but is all I can afford. We really need to move, I don’t always feel safe here (I’m not being dramatic) and we need more room.

Now uni is coming to an end I’m completely lost for what to do - I won’t get the grant anymore. If I get a job I have to pay full nursery fees 5 days a week which would be £1000+. I highly doubt I’ll be able to get a job that pays over 25k and that’s pushing it.

I just don’t see what my options are - I’ve gone to citizens advice, and used benefit calculators. It seems I would be way better off in terms of nursery fees, rent, money if I was just on universal credit?!

I went to uni to better my opportunities (I’m 29 now) - but AIBU to think I’m better off staying on benefits until my son goes to school?

I have no family support…

Get on LinkedIn

I’m in investment banking, being realistic, that’s not going to be an option without a Masters in maths/economics/IT (specifically coding). You’d also need to have done several internships. General corporate banking grad schemes could be an option, but they are also awash with finance grads. It’s a very dull, and unsecure career though, you have to live constantly under the threat of redundancy. I do think you should be aiming for a mid 30’s starting salary though, our general corporate banking grads start on £35k.

Congratulations on your First!

My eldest DS graduated with a First last year and his post grad job offer was £30k (and we live up North) He went with a couple of recruitment agencies who were regularly contacting him about different positions.

Good luck!

1. You'll get 30 free hours childcare soon.
2. At £25k with a child you'll be entitled to UC.
3. You're a graduate - apply for grad schemes. Why haven't you? Have you been to your careers service or not bothered?

I'd consider moving out of London.

You'll make new friends wherever you move. I've lived all over the UK and always managed to fund nice people.

I did a PGCE when my son was 20 months. It was fine! Lots on the course had young children. But if you've already decided you don't want to teach then fair enough. It's not for everyone and is a rewarding yet exasperating career!

Grad schemes will usually start opening for applications in September. You will likely have missed the boat this year as they usually close by January but nothing to stop you applying for them in Sept to start Sept 2025. These will typically pay more than 25k in London. Mine, almost 10 years ago, started at 28k.

Go to the career service at your university. They will be able to help you think about what you want to do and give you advice on your CV and interview skills.

Most new graduate jobs don’t require a specific degree so there will be lots of options but you may not have thought of them yet.

Good luck!

Congratulations on your degree, you are clearly very bright and have lots of additional skills.
Is your uni able to offer you any career advice? What are other people in your cohort doing for work? Have you considered a masters, ideally one that is more likely to lead to a job?
Local authority work or perhaps some third sector charity work aimed at keeping families together, keeping kids in education, preventing homeless, working with refugees etc all springs to mind, but you are right, they probably aren't that well paid, especially with London living costs to consider.

Had a similar fix when first born was small. I'd wait until you can deffo get the 30 hrs childcare - from what I can gather it's a bit of a mess atm and might take a while to process.

I think the only people I knew who were single mums who could work had either parents helping or already got their 30 hrs childcare, so kids were older. The hospital had a creche that took babies if you worked in NHS?

It's a badly thought out system and doesn't work well for single mums.

Have to say I'm surprised at the amount of people not talking about childcare and just jobs....Surely you have to find childcare before taking a job?

Would you consider working as a nanny where you bring your your own child? Some families are happy to accommodate that. Nannies are pretty well paid in my area of outer London even. You might have to start lower due to lack of nannying experience (albeit obviously lots of education and childcare experience) but I would expect you could earn at least £14 per hour after tax and National Insursnce. And then once you get more funded hours and some experience under your belt you could look to work your way up to more of a governess type role if that's what you wanted.

She's got her child in childcare though. It's not like she has to go on a waiting list for a nursery place.

As pp just said, nannying would be great. Full time nannies in London get 40-50ish grand. With your degree you would be snapped up. Join up with some nanny agencies. Greycoat lumleys and the like are good.

Op - apply to the big 4 consulting graduate programmes

She hasn't got student loan past the course. It usually costs upfront and may not be as cheap or even an option now she isn't at the uni. Plus she has only been using 2 day and they may not have space for a full week if she can keep using the same one.

I'd sort the childcare first.

This! 3 DC all on £30+ at graduation with 2:1s in similar degrees to you.
Have you looked into Civil service and charity sector?

3 kids who are single mums and they've all got immediate childcare and £30k+ jobs! It's a miracle!

I was addressing OP's belief she'd be looking at 25k jobs

Have a look on CharityJobs. You will have lots of transferrable skills for roles like fundraising and marketing and there are lots of opportunities in London.

Despite what a PP said many charities (particularly the national ones) offer great career progression and opportunities for personal development.

Good luck!

Have you considered the Civil Service?
Wide range of opportunities
Able to work from home if wished
Very child friendly policies
Opportunities to advance
Posts all over the country if you wish to relocate to a cheaper area
If you stay in London …higher salary

I moved from teaching to the Civil Service as my second career and it suited me well.

There are massive redundancies in national charities at the moment.

You’re not going to be able to just stay at home and go on UC though, when your DS turns 3 in 5 months you will be required to work 30 hours minimum wage equivalent. You’re best situation would be to get a job, and if you’re earning £25k you’ll likely qualify for UC to top up anyway, and you’d get some money towards childcare.

Have you considered working for a university in professional services? I know you're more interested in the younger end of education by the sound of it, but professional services jobs tend to be flexible and have a lot of career prospects going forward. You don't need to have worked as a teacher or anything, you just need to get your foot in the door and then plenty of people move around internally. Even entry level in something like student services will bring you in 27k a year outside of London, with clear increments and progression routes.