Family Sinking Financially because I am studying.

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I'm three months in to a12-month Level 5 Diploma in Software Development and my family are struggling financially with the loss of my previous income from part-time care work.

I knew we would struggle but was hoping I would be able to apply for a maintenance loan to help with the cost of living.

My partner works full time as a self employed dry liner. His profitable income (once expenses have been deducted) varies hugely from month to month but averages out at about 36k a year.

I've just completed a Universal Credit application and we have a proof of ID call next week. I'm not too hopeful that we will be entitled to much, if any, help. It doesn't help that my partner's income is so variable.

We have 3 children, one of which is a pre-schooler, my family are helping to pay for some of her childcare so she can attend a few mornings a week. I try to get studying done when I can (this is a struggle but another topic entirely!)...

This Diploma is full-time and I received an Advance Learner Loan for the tuition cost. Apparently when you do a Diploma you are not entitled to a maintenance loan.

I have googled for hours and found practically no information on financial help apart from advice aimed at degree-students, single parents or those on very low incomes.

If we can't get some help I will have no choice but to quit the course and go back into care work.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge on this?

Thank you in advance for any help.

Do you know if you may qualify for the 30hrs if you're studying?

No, unfortunately not! I'm a bit baffled at finding there's little help with regards all this in comparison to degrees, for example. This Advance Learner Loan was available to mature students because software development is one of the professions the government are pushing for people to get into. Not parents, it seems!

Can you do overnight care work and study while the patient is asleep? I know it is hard to do this but you could settle the person, study for 3 hours and sleep for a few and still get paid something? Not ideal and probably knackering but something to consider.

Can you not study during the day when you have the two year old? I did a work based course with a similar age child, I used to empty the toy bin across the living room, turn on pepa, move anything dangerous and let him play.

Is there any chance of an apprenticeship or degree apprenticeship? Lots of employers offer these now - big ones are charged an apprenticeship levy to help pay the training bills. So you earn while you learn or so the theory goes. For degree apprenticeships UCAS reckons it's about 80 percent study to 20 pc working. But nothing like the same fees.

Bank loan perhaps?

You've probably already done this but is there something you can cut back on?

Is the majority of your expense your mortgage?

Like a PP said you could take a mortgage holiday. Do you have enough equity in your home you can borrow from?

Can your DH pick up more work?

You do seem slightly defeatist OP - there's a lot of good advice on this thread, and you really need to work out whether any of the suggested options might work out. Is there anything your partner can do to even out his earnings? How much time have you already invested, is it one year of a two year course? If so, it would seem a shame to leave now (I'm not familiar with the type of course you're doing though).

I suppose if you were to change and do a degree you would get funding, for example UWE?

A full time course with six hours of studying every night? Was it marketed as an intensive course?

I did my post grad at evening classes, I can see that would be hard with care work but there are so many online options, I'm sure there will be a way to work and study.

I’m so sorry you are in this situation OP. I hope you manage to find a way to continue. But even if you have to stop your course at the moment, you can still continue doing things in your spare time. I find some udemy courses good - the ones with tens of thousands of good reviews and updated recently (ie this year). Never pay more than £13 per course - as if you wait, they will be heavily discounted at some point in the next couple of months. You can do the courses in your own time and they often have good q&a sections if you run into problems.

look on LinkedIn or Indeed for what jobs are in your area - junior or apprentice developer/engineer. Also look for manual testing or 1st line service desk jobs. See what languages and experience people like and target your learning to this. Keep on periodically checking the jobs boards as you don’t know what will be there.

I switched from healthcare to tech. I was lucky as DH is in the industry. I had to do hobby coding alongside daytime job and kids for a few years before a lucky break. It can be challenging with kids but keep going if you enjoy it - there are lots of online resources. Good luck!

Are you already using the tax free childcare scheme to save 20% on that?

That is a very unusual 2 year old...

Have you taught yourself any software languages? There's loads of free stuff online. Then create a portfolio. Loads of developers are self taught. I think you might have made a mistake with this course tbh - why did you jump in without having done any research?

Teach yourself some stuff, see if you can actually do and enjoy it. If you do great, get a portfolio together and in a year or so you can start applying for entry level jobs. Or maybe do OU or a degree at UWE which will get you some maintenance.

@Chersfrozenface second this, speak to a tutor and see if they can help, there are some hidden (well not hidden but not well known maybe) funds available. Don’t just pack it in without talking to them.

There are often online jobs you can do quite flexibly. I agree with previous posters that babysitting is something you can do whole studying at the same time. Or night work for vulnerable adults where you sleep there whole your husband is home wiyh the kids. Get recordings of lectures or relevant youtube videos to listen to while you do other things. I am not saying it will be easy, but there are several things you can try.

Get yourself on sitters dot com
And also round Clifton people will always be looking for a baby sitter
If you did care work you have a decent dbs yes?
Maybe even first aid training?
Responsible adult babysitter £12/14 ph
Can you take your laptop with you?

Why not do bank shifts if previous experience in care. A Saturday night shift at an nhs hospital is good money.
I worked bank shifts when studying full time. It was what I needed to do to make ends meet. It was worth it in the end. I got my qualification and my earning power increased a lot.

Why not do bank shifts if previous experience in care. A Saturday night shift at an nhs hospital is good money.
I worked bank shifts when studying full time. It was what I needed to do to make ends meet. It was worth it in the end. I got my qualification and my earning power increased a lot.

Can you not pick up some agency work or as pp suggested bank shifts? Or even uber eats or deliveroo? If you pack the course in have you checked the terms of that with the college? Depending on how long you've studied for will depend how much you need to pay back.

Not read all replies so apologies if I'm repeating

OP I work in IT, earn well and have potential to earn much more. I have no degree or formal qualifications in this area.

It's great you're looking at software development but that course alone won't get you a job easily. Work experience is everything. Have you worked in any IT role at all? Have you worked in any software type job? Have you done anything outside of work that involves any software development, or have you taught yourself coding before? These things are key when applying for a role.

I suggest leaving your course ( assuming this won't cost you anything) get an entry level job in IT ( service desk, 1st line support, or apprentice) and work your way up, most companies will also fund training if you want to go in to software dev.

This way you'll still be earning but within an industry you wish to excel in!

Good luck