Uni at 35? Mature student

[HannahSmyth90]

I never done well at school and I have always worked but they have been basic jobs - I now have 2 children 5&8 . I really want to go uni and have a 'career' rather than just a job . I just dont know what career to choose ? Has anybody gone uni as a mature student and what did you study ?

It sounds like a lot of new graduates from nursing and other NHS professions and primary school teaching struggle to find jobs. You could go into secondary school teaching, but that’s a post grad and you’d need a good undergrad in a particular subject.

Hi, I'm a bit younger - I started uni at just turned 25 with 3 kids (5 year old, 4 year old and 2 year old). I also did an access to HE course the previous year, which was through distance learning (as I never did A-levels).

I'm now 26 and just finished second year, predicted first class. I study law. I was really strongly considering nursing though as I used to be a HCA - I think most nursing students at my uni are mature students! All healthcare degrees seem to have a lot of mature students.

@HannahSmyth90 - you really should have a look at the Mature Study and Retraining board; it was made for you!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

What are you interested in, @HannahSmyth90? And what’s your current situation - childcare, family support, locality, etc?

Do you have A’ Levels or would you need to start with an access course?

I went to uni at a similar age to you (my kids were 5 and 3) to do a social work degree. There were loads of mature students on the course.

I never did well at school, left with no gcses. When I was a 39 year old lone parent and ds was 7, I was interested in further education - as I wanted work which was a bit more fulfilling and also to prove to myself I wasn't stupid. I didn't know what to study but took the advice of a friend in academia to study something I enjoyed. I found a degree course in Applied Theatre and Education - not the most practical in terms of leading to a career but something I knew I would enjoy. I didn't have the confidence to go straight to uni so did a 1 year media access course.

I've never looked back! Got a first in my degree. I'm now in my 50s and for the last 10 years have worked for the council in a job I really love. I deliver/manage road safety education, training, initiatives, events and publicity. I work with schools and communities and feel like I make a difference in a job I just really enjoy. I don't take that for granted, not everyone loves their job.

That’s a pretty fantastic outcome, @cakedup - and so unobvious!

Ah thank you...yes it just seemed to work out in the end. Not all plain sailing though. I was evicted and had to move in last year of uni. Once I'd finished my degree, I couldn't find a job to suit as I had to spend 4 hours return journey taking ds to school and back (last year in primary school). It then took another year to find my current job.