AIBU to consider a degree instead of full time work while struggling to find a job?

[Karma1387]

I'm hoping the hive mind of mumsnet may have some suggestions on what I should do to improve my life.

I am looking to return to full time work (if I can afford to) after my maternity leave ends but the job market just seems super super tough. I need a 9-5 Monday-Friday job but everything I find online wants people with years of experience.

I want to improve my kids lives but it is looking impossible at the moment. Am I better off going and doing a degree and praying the job market is better in 3 years?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I feel a bit stuck but the world is crazy expensive and I have a lot of debt and I know the longer I'm not in a proper job the harder it is going to be to get into one.

A job in finance/accounting requires often overtime especially at month end, audit time.

Yeah they don't come up very often and usually healthcare related but I do keep an eye out.

That will be a bridge I have to cross when it comes to it. Working extra hours from home I could possibly juggle but I couldn't work extra office hours due to the kids.

I think degree apprenticeships are almost impossible to get. You may be better off looking for a L2 finance apprenticeship and working up. The L2 can be done in 8 months then once you have a foot on the door you work your way through the levels. I know someone who did this with 3 kids right up to L4 which takes you into the ACCA/Cima etc. Maybe look at local authorities or public/ charitable sector.

Yeah they usually want very very good A levels. Yeah I am keeping an eye on apprenticeships. I have applied for lots with no luck so far.

Wow. So not cool to describe someone’s qualifications as poor. You don’t even know which uni or what her A Levels are.

Another £1100 per month. No wonder you're panicking. Your partner needs to get a a temporary second job pronto. Have you looked into dog walking, cat feeding. A mumsnetter earns much more walking dogs she said.

has adult apprenticeship Been suggested?
earning and learning. Might not be as a high salary but worth looking into.

My partner works 6 nights a week already with a health condition ontop so he can't work anymore than he already does.

Yeah I have looked into dog walking but with the kids I can't juggle driving 2 kids under 3 and keep them safe whilst walking peoples dogs and pushing the pram and can't really take a 2.5 year old and 7 month old into other peoples houses.

It was my decision that has lead to the increase in bills so I feel it is my responsibilty to increase my income.

Yeah I have applied to lots with no luck. Apprenticeships that pay adult minimum wage are not very common.

But I check everyday.

I’m considering the same, I’m 50 this year and totally sick of my career I’m thinking of going to uni rather than stay in my current job, I have been looking for another role but it is hard out there, a friend decided to go back to uni and is using the maintenance loan to live on, she is feeling so much better having a mental break from the pressures of full time work and is loving having a new challenge, I’m really considering it

Well he doesn't sleep all day so he could watch the children while you do some dog walking pm.

My friend worked full-time but could see redundancy coming so signed up for the OU. The first year she did two modules, second year, she went part time which meant she did three modules, third year she completed her degree.

If you attend university who is going to care for the children. Because another friend did it with rock solid family support and it was bloody hard.

Congratulations! What's the course?

It's a great idea if you don't have a 50k debt to be repaid.

Actually he has a sleep condition so he needs 8-9 hours of sleep a day so yeah he does sleep all day otherwise he is at risk of crashing his car and we would be homeless.

In terms of childcare whilst doing my degree it looks like I am only in 2 days a week if I go ahead and not full days either so childcare costs would be covered between student finance and our free childcare hours and tax free childcare.

Thank you.Accounting and finance.

You need to consider which jobs AI will take over and strike them from the list eg bookkeeping. Or do a degree in AI?!

Your a levels were c c d. Doesn’t sound too shabby to me? Don’t put yourself down.

and to those dismissing non-Russell group uni’s, smaller colleges often have excellent employment rates for their graduates as more degrees are vocational, cohorts can be smaller, they can be more teaching focused too and be well connected to local employers. I am Oxbridge degree educated and have taught at Russell and ex-HE so I have no axe to grind. This is just my observation. It’s worth looking at progression rates to employment before dismissing anywhere.

I don't think I am good enough with computers to do an AI degree unfortunately.

And its very hard to know what AI might strike. Its probably a very long list.

Considering I taught myself and did the exams as an external student whilst in a bad headspace I am proud of what I achieved so thank you!

Volunteering can be done around your kids, especially if you already have some accountancy qualifications. You could look at small charities, be a trustee and bookkeeper / finance officer type roles. If you do that well, local word of mouth could get you some paid jobs. That could get you the necessary experience to go with your qualification. How are you funding that with that level of debt?

Is there scope for more shifts where you are? Is it a national minimart or franchise? If the former, could you get support funding for your qualification with them if you can perhaps use it in the job?

Otherwise, if you want 9-5 and don’t care what you do, maybe try employment agencies- especially if you are in a high population area with business industrial parks. It might not be FT but could fit around your current set up too.

Make sure you share this context in any interview and application.

Have you had a look at the civil service and local authorities? They are usually excellent for flexibility.

They will be very competitive, particularly at entry level, but worth setting up job alerts and keeping an eye.

I can only speak for civil service jobs, but if you do find one you want to apply for, id reallly recommend watching some youtube videos etc. on how to approach the application, as they are looking for a very particular style!

I don't have any accounting qualifications yet. Funding the exama will be the hard part but worst case I will have to use credit cards.

I cant do more shifts due to my partners hours unfortunately otherwise I would just do that for extra money. Big big retail company but no they don't fund stuff like this.

Yeah I have joined some agencies to see if they have any permenant roles.

shes trying to think of ways to support her children , do you have other options for her?

student debt is nothing like consumer debt. You pay a percent of your wage , it’s gone before you get it. I don’t give my student debt a second thought.

I did a degree 8 years ago ( so I did a 3 year degree and then a 1 year post grad and finished it all 4 years ago. ) . During my studies the maintenance loans helped me massively. I was on minimum wage , 4 years later I’m on 42k - took a year out to work agency too.