No STEM jobs - a career in safeguarding??

[WiseFinch]

Hi MN, first time poster here. I did post a thread on this in chat earlier but no responses and I’m wondering if there’s more traffic here, but if this isn’t allowed do let me know 😊 I’m hoping some of you lovely clever people can help me figure out what to do with my life career wise!!

Context - I’m a recent STEM graduate, I’ve worked in nurseries and with young children for a few years now during my degree, running holiday clubs etc and as lunch cover in nursery. No childcare qualifications except the standard safeguarding, DBS, and specific qualification needed to run the holiday club. I’ve also done hospitality but I will not go back to that industry for various personal reasons.

I cannot find a STEM job, and to be honest, I don’t think I want one. I’ve only got a bachelors and have zero interest in going back to university. Interviewed for multiple corporates think graduate product management type roles, had straight rejections from several and waiting lists for a few, but my heart isn’t really in it.

I adore working with children, but I’ve heard primary teaching isn’t great at the moment re pay and conditions, and an oversaturated market. I also really don’t want to pay to do a PGCE and go back to university. I’m considering a career in safeguarding or something to that extent, but I’m not quite sure what that would look like. I’m pretty sure I could manage the stress and tragic circumstances you’d encounter in a job like this, I think I’d be quite good at it. But I have no idea about this industry and how to get into it!

I love the nursery I work in, but even if i got my childcare qualification the pay is too low and doesn’t justify the money I’ve spent on doing a degree, if that makes sense. Not trying to be snobby at all, but I’m aiming for a higher paid position.

What sort of thing should I look for? I’d love a job working directly with people, I love working with children, but I’m not keen on doing further study. Would love some recommendations!😊

A lot of schools now have safeguarding roles filled with teachers in my experience, anything non teaching is not paid highly at the schools I have worked at.

Have you considered teacher training by doing a SCITT? Or getting a cover supervisor role in a school and making it clear you would like to do teacher training? They can then put you through teacher training, and organise a second placement at another school. Just an option if it is the university part that you don't like the idea of.

Another option could be looking at prison work with young people. I've seen some interesting posts come up.

I recruit into Digital in Government, and we can’t find enough people. When you say STEM, what specifically is your skill set

Social services involves safeguarding. You need volunteering experience and a masters. Teaching you can sometimes do crash courses where you are in the classroom quickly like teach first. Schools are short of science teachers

Do you take new grads though?
I have a young person with a digital degree and can't get a job. Everywhere is now asking for experience, even for junior roles, so the applications don't get through the sift.

It's a big problem for graduates at the moment, even in STEM

What about Civil Service Health and Safety if you don’t want back to Uni type upskilling.

Otherwise, a TEFL course and teach abroad One of my neices was a History graduate but now has a lovely life teaching English in Vietnam.

Hope you find something.

Social work would give you a career in safeguarding. You need a masters in social work, or get a relevant job (look at local council and charity employers) for a couple of years then do frontline (used to be called step up) social work training.

Op, what sort of STEM degree do you have? We can't find enough maths or physics graduates. Any applicant with a 2:2 upwards is interviewed at my employer.

@Meadowfinch @ExtraOnions my degree is pure biology, don’t want to out myself but it’s a low 2:1 from a very good uni (global top 5)

I thought SCITT was just for secondary - do correct me if I’m wrong?. I’ve got work experience in secondary - hated it. They scare me!!! I’m so much better with the little ones.

Primary teaching isn’t saturated at all, I think a science graduate will be welcomed with open arms. I second the training on the job schemes, some independents offer it too. But be very wary of cover supervisor/HLTA type roles. I speak from personal experience when I say you will be used as a cheap supply teacher. But a short term (or supply) teaching assistant job might be the way to go to gain some school experience. You will be given safeguarding training as part of the role, and might be able to progress with your interest that way.

There are so many vacancies in STEM, and it is so so much better as a career than nurseries.

I am going to suggest that the problem is with your application/interview
Can I ask what the actual degree is.

Oh that’s really interesting! I’m not sure why I thought it was, I think it was from things I’ve read on the Teaching UK Reddit. I’ve got school experience - did 3 months as a TA in secondary last year and I’ve got a level 3 certificate in safeguarding. Do you know if that and my degree would make me a competitive applicant?
I’m just not hugely keen on going back to uni and I can’t find any Teach First/SCITT for primary but maybe I am not looking hard enough!

Just seen a 2:1 in Biology.

Loads of BioPharmaceutical companies would be delighted to have you. Your degree and the jobs should match. It will be your CV.

Biology from a London top 5 (not quite oxbridge but along those lines). Scraped a 2:1.
The problem is anything in life sciences wants a masters - I can’t afford to do one. And I have fallen out of love with science. Also industry jobs are so rare and I’ve got no relevant experience except low paid min wage customer service/hospitality and the roles I described in my OP. I’ve gotten through to final stage interview for a few companies for management roles. I don’t want to work in finance, this is the other industry that’s hiring at the moment.
Maybe I am looking in the wrong places. But I’ve applied for about 20 grad schemes and only done in person interviews for five of them (all have knocked me back or ghosted).

Are you applying outside the UK as well?

Where are these pharma companies?!! 😂 I cannot find anyone hiring someone with a bachelors and no industry experience (couldn’t afford to do another year as a student in industry or an unpaid internship position). Thank you for your support - am I looking in the wrong places?!! I’m signed up to graduate recruitment agencies.

I also don’t know if this is my cup of tea, as I say in my OP I’m not sure I would LOVE a job like this (…but if it pays my bills, I’m sure it’s fine)

You are correct that a Masters makes things easier, but there are online and part time masters.
And getting company support to pay for it is a good interview discussion point.

No - for personal reasons I need to stay in the South East and London. My life is built around here - family, partner of 3 years. I’m a home bird and moving away is not an option for me. But thank you! Good friends of mine have had success at jobs outside the UK but it’s not for me.

I think biology is the least favoured of the stem subjects, career wise. Its the least maths focussed and is vastly more popular than chemistry, physics or maths, so there are more biology grads.

Generally speaking anything working with children is poorly paid. Safeguarding roles are typically filled by teachers at the a school, its not enough work on a daily basis for a whole role.

Have you considered looking at the children's residential home sector?

Maybe look at the websites of the schools you’d be interested in working in? They tend to say if they do Scitt, or other schemes. And they also have the TA vacancies as well - poorly paid but good for experience.
Here’s a link for some independents in Surrey offering on the job training.
https://www.isc.co.uk/teacher-training/surrey/

Oh definitely. I was pushed into a STEM degree doing UCAS etc at 16/17 under the illusions it’d lead to better roles and higher salaries. I am mathematically challenged to say the least, so went with biology. I did well to even get through the degree, hence why I’m not keen on industry work. I didn’t enjoy my degree at all.

Op did you do a second year summer internship? If you went to a top 5 uni they would usually encourage these, they are well paid and almost always lead to a job offer. A lot of the places in the grad programmes are filled by people who did the internships. If you opted to take summers off going on holiday etc you may have missed the boat there.

All the Pharma companies.
just systematically go down through the list
https://www.abpi.org.uk/membership2/abpi-members-list/

It isn’t clear where you are based but being able to move will also help.

Internships I could find were unpaid, and in central London which costed me a fortune to travel in and out of. I certainly didn’t waste holidays - I worked in my jobs close to home. An internship is what most people have done, but as I say I don’t really want to work in industry related to my degree and really do not want to work in a lab, which was what most internships were based on at that time.

Thank you!