Feeling lost don’t know if I should study

[Thisis30]

I am 31 and I feel like I’m in some kind of crisis. I am good at studying and I’m very self motivated. I wasn’t like this at school and those years of my life were a disaster. Fast forward to recently and I chose to study an Access course from home, which I completed 1.5 years ago. It was healthcare related but the issue is I actually already work in healthcare as a band 2 member of staff. I’m treated horribly, over worked, not given any support, bullying is awful in the NHS too. I’ve been in this role for almost 6 years and I don’t know how I ended up staying here for so long, probably my anxiety stopped me from trying something new.

I had planned to study to better myself and get a degree, and I was accepted into uni but was offered a foundation year as well unfortunately, which would have made it 4 years total for the degree. I didn’t end up going as my circumstances at home meant that I needed to still work full time. I don’t have children however a combination of things meant that I needed to be in full time permanent employment. Next September will be the year where if I wanted to I could study and finally quit my job. Even so I will be 32 when I start, add on 4 years and I will be 36 before I can have a baby.

That isn’t even the only issue. My problem is I have no idea what I am passionate about. I have no goals. I want a career, better money and I want to study. I really want a degree and I have no desire to work in nursing or midwifery anymore because I’ve been put off so much from what I’ve seen at work. Are there any other careers that have a nicer work life balance and where I would be treated better? Is there anyone out there who genuinely enjoys their job? If so please share what you do and how much training would be required for your type of role.

Also if anyone can suggest pros cons about the issue above regarding starting a family/studying that would be great. Thanks

Firstly, your age is not an issue! So that’s one less thing to worry about.

Secondly, you clearly do have goals. You’ve stated them very clearly. So that’s another thing you can stop worrying about.

I suspect that pretty much every career (maybe not teaching, but I don’t know) would give you a more pleasant quality of life than healthcare in the UK.

You probably need some professional careers advice to assess where your strongest skills lie. Then you can take it from there. I’d also suggest you maybe read a dozen threads on this board, just to see how normal it is to wrestle with finding a satisfying career.

@Edmontine thank you 💐

What is the subject of the degree you were accepted for? (Presumably not healthcare related?)

And did the university agree to a deferral or will you have to reapply?

I was gifted with time and applied for a degree at the age of 36. The one thing my dh said was study something you are interested in. I think study is so much easier when you are passionate about the subject. Choose something that inspires you and the career will follow. I have taken the foundation year and it really does help, they help you with academic writing and bump you up to the degree level they expect.

Any progress, @Thisis30 ?