University or a "mundane" job?

[MagentaADomestic]

I have been a stay at home mum for nearly 6 years and I am really desperate to get get back into work, the problem I'm having is I didn't leave school with the greatest grades so I'm wondering if it is worth all the time and money to eventually go to University (do an access course first) or try and get a role without having to go down that route? I'm nearly 33 if that makes any difference.

What are you interested in? 33 is young and you could have 30 years + in the workforce ahead of you! Could you talk to your friends abd family about their jobs? Look for career coaching tools online or get books from the library?

I have an interest in Psychology, that is what I would like to study. I think the thing that is worrying me so much is how time consuming it will be, at least 4 years including the access course and how much it will cost. I've been dependent on my partner for so long that I just want to get out there and start working but there is such a big gap in my work history and I lack the experience, will I even get a job?

I would do an access course and then you can apply for something you really enjoy. Personally I would go for social work, they are always crying out out for SWs, there is always agency work and you will get a great insight into psychology at the same time. A psychology degree whilst interesting isn't going to lead to a career on its own.

I would speak to your local FE college about options OP.
There are sometimes short courses for women returning to the workplace that may help you decide what would be best for you.
These days there are lots of options that are good alternatives to degrees and provide workplace experience including apprenticeships and traineeships. For the latter you would receive both a wage and training.
Do you meet the requirements to start an Access course directly?Psychology is regarded as a Science for degree purposes so you would need Double or Triple Science GCSEs as well as Maths and English.

@catndogslife Thanks for you response. The access courses I have been looking into are Health and Human sciences which include Psychology, it says I don't actually need a science qualification (although I do have a level 4 in Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology) just Maths & English

I have an old school friend who did a degree in Pschology in her late 40s and achieved first class honours. She has specialised in Health pyschology. Now a research assistant.
I wasn't sure what you meant by "not great" qualifications, but you do realise that level 4 is equivalent to the first year of a degree / Foundation degree already. So you would be more than qualified to start an Access course. It could be possible that some universities would consider your application without doing an Access course first as you may already meet their entry requirements. However doing the Access course would give experience of returning to study.
I would also look at NHS traineeships to see if there is anything relevant as well.

The other thing that I need to add is that the college will provide help with the university application process. It can be hard to obtain an academic reference when you have been out of education for some time. Hope that's helpful.

@MagentaADomestic I did a level 2 course at a local college (I already have a degree) but as part of that the city's RG university puts on an open day for those people on my course. I went for moral support, I did clear it with the university first, and it was a taster day of sorts.

You could then book in to see a financial adviser to go over finances being a mature student etc. Everyone on my level 2 course was a mother and either not working or working part time. A lot of them were resitting their maths GCSE.

It was called "lifelong learning" and I would contact the university you want to go to and see what they can offer in terms of foundation/access courses to get the ball rolling, also have a look at the financial side.

As a student you are exempt from council tax too so your council tax bill will reduce by 25% as long as you are a full time student.

@JoanJosephJim Thank you, that's really helpful. What was the the name of the course that you did?

@MagentaADomestic The level 2? LSA (teaching assistant) but for me I had already been volunteering in that role for years. I just wanted the certificate too.

Hi, changing the subject, sorry I couldn't find a post about this. My daughters have both gone to university recently and I'm now living on my own. I was prepared I thought. But it's way worse then I thought. I feel devastated that the house is empty.
My husband, their dad passed suddenly at a young age 4 years ago so I've been mum and dad rolled into one and tried really hard to be there all the time for them.
Has anyone any advice on how long this feeling will last. ? It's way worse then I anticipated.

Summerhouse1
I'm so sorry to hear of your situation, there is an empty nesters thread, you just need to scroll down through the higher education threads to find it. Alternatively you are always welcome to start your own thread.

OP, do you know what you want to do after your degree? I got a first degree in psychology and struggled to find any openings at all in clinical psychology, I ended up retraining in a related field (occupational therapy). Then again you might not want a clinical role!