I want to retrain but can't decide what to do - help!

[nordica]

I know the right answer is probably to choose something I love, but it's not that simple...

I'm 39 and already have a BA and MA in social science subjects, and a counselling/psychotherapy qualification. I'm not working as a counsellor because I realised the reality of it didn't work for me at the moment financially or time-wise - there aren't really many jobs around and setting up a private practice felt super competitive (I'm in London) - after the costs for room hire, supervision, insurance and of course tax, I would have had to find lots of clients to even make minimum wage for something that is very demanding personally and in terms of commitment, too. It's now been a few years since I gave it up and I'm not sure how I would even go back (I would have to apply to become a member of one of the professional bodies again etc.), although I would love to do further training in it and maybe start again. The training I'd love to do is difficult to get into though as it's not based on academic ability and much more on personal qualities.

Other than that, my career highlights include project manager and team lead type roles in the charity sector and retail, but always at small organisations and businesses. I currently lead a team of four. I get to work from home and it's a nice company but the work is also really boring. I feel like I'm not using my brain and certainly compared to the charity sector and counselling work, not making any difference in the world. And the pay is not great.

In an ideal situation I would do something that makes it possible for me to set myself up as a freelancer or contractor. I quite like the idea of having short-term busy periods of working 10-12 hour days and then having a month off once or twice a year for example. I would love to work from home and I'm planning to move away from London so not being tied to a location would really help.

I keep looking at courses available at the Open University and wondering about retraining - I think I'd love being a student again just for the learning experience itself, and would of course love to use it to retrain in something that's good for my career. My interests are mostly around law, crime, psychology - basically things that involve solving problems, seeing patterns, making connections between things. I'm interested in human behaviour but don't necessarily want to work with patients/clients. Would love to be a criminal profiler or something but that's probably a pipe-dream especially at my age as I'd be mid-40s after doing another degree. I've considered studying forensic psychology but it's probably another competitive area and not really ideal for working from home.

I've also spotted cyber security as a possible area - although it might be too maths-based? It seems like a good specialism for jobs though as it's definitely future-proof and apparently there's a skills shortage. Has anyone done this? I don't imagine getting into a tech career is easy, even if the government wants us to think our next career is in cyber...

In case it's relevant, I don't have or plan to have kids and I do have enough money saved to do another degree so in terms of time and finances I know I'm in a good position.

Not my area at all, but can two or more counsellors not set up a practice together - so sharing costs and responsibilities? Would that not appeal to you?

Technically yes - I was briefly using a consulting room shared with other therapists but perhaps because it's London, even just a few hours room hire worked out quite expensive (and then you were limited to finding clients who were happy to have sessions at the specific time you had the room available). It's one of the reasons why so many counsellors have a consulting room at home but my house is not suitable for that.

I know it's partly a problem only in the beginning, it just felt like another obstacle in the way though.

Hi

How about walking the talk and speaking to qualified Careers Guidance Counselor who can help you navigate all your thoughts, set you research tasks to evaluate your priorities and preferences and then hold your hand in job search, how to start a new business, set up a consultancy/freelance work etc?

www.thecdi.net/find-a-professional?SearchUnits=m&InclusiveSearch=false&SearchRadius=5

And perhaps see what this tells you about yourself vis a vis ideal careers for your personality... www.16personalities.com/

This will give you your Myers & Briggs personality code e.g ENFP.
Then maybe look up roles that suit your personality type.

When you have identified 2-3 possible areas, consider taking a few days holiday and work-shadowing someone in these fields - use LI (Linked In) to find people to ask or ask your network for help. And maybe arrange to go to any conferences on this industry/area so you can covertly research further!

I'm sure lots of others will have great ideas too.
Good luck!

[In thread name change.]

I’m wondering if you did try a Myers Briggs test, OP (if you weren’t already familiar with them) and, if so, whether you found it illuminating or not.

Have to say I recently found myself inveigled into a Myers Briggs workshop and most of the group found it an immense waste of time. But we were all quite mature - perhaps it’s more useful if one is younger.