Mature study and retraining
Allied health course - no jobs!
DownstairsMixUp · 11/05/2023 17:48
I'm shortly due to finish my course which I was told was quite an in demand profession. I absolutely love it and have been reassured through university that jobs would come up by February and there's been nothing in my field at the band I need to start on (band 5)
I have waited till mid May but I'm reluctant to keep dipping into my savings so I'm thinking I'll have to just go for any job until jobs in my specific profession come up.
Has anyone else had this experience? How did you manage to bridge the gap if so? I'm 35 and have two children so desperately need some work!
orangekiwiloot · 11/05/2023 19:37
Fellow AHP here - what field?
I'm SLT and our band 5 jobs are always filled as soon as they empty but they do have a revolving door of band 5 jobs but we don't have many of them. Other areas like physio / OT have masses of band 5 jobs and they always have some unfilled in my area.
We currently have tons of paed jobs locally but nothing for adults.
ailsamaryc · 11/05/2023 19:39
DownstairsMixUp · 11/05/2023 19:34
A few yeah, same sort of scenario, they don't want a newly qualified! I'm considering doing some admin work till something pops up!
Try doing some volunteering, it at least gets your face seen and known to people. What branch have you actually taken, or is it just generic?
You possibly may have to start as a band 4_
QuintanaRoo · 11/05/2023 19:55
titchy · 11/05/2023 19:46
Surely if there are no band 5 vacancies you look for band 4 vacancies? Or a job in another field while you apply?
Band 5 is entry level for most nhs professions such as nurses, physio, midwives. There aren’t band 4 clinical jobs, band 4 tends to be admin I think. Senior admin so would need admin experience. Could work as a hcsw at band 2 maybe but you’d earn more in Aldi……plus a lot of hospitals won’t employ professionally qualified staff at hcsw level as they worry about conflict of interest/scope of practice.
QuintanaRoo · 11/05/2023 20:04
orangekiwiloot · 11/05/2023 19:57
Band 4 clinical jobs are assistant / support practitioner roles - you don't need a degree. There's not many band 4 jobs though, most are band 2 or 3.
Im a midwife and some hospitals have MSWs at band 4 but not all hospitals do. And you can not work as an MSW if you’re a qualified midwife, not where I work anyway. And I doubt you’d be employed as a physio assistant if you’re a midwife as they know you’re unlikely to stay.
Dinopawus · 11/05/2023 20:24
Depending on your field, MH is a good shout as lots of vacancies and so opportunities for SLT & OT, less so for physios. Community is worth considering too.
But what job would you really truly like to do? Even if it's dead man's shoes try to make links with the dept so that the staff know you are keen if any hours become available.
I'd recommend keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date too and making connections with roles and topics that interest you.
DownstairsMixUp · 11/05/2023 21:01
No band 4 roles going at the mo in my field, there's band 3 admin stuff!
Im slt and want to work with children, ideally social communication! All my placements bar one have been adult as adult just didn't grab my interest as much!
Mental health - I also like this area to but again nothings up currently - I'm wondering if it's a bad time of year to look!?
orangekiwiloot · 11/05/2023 21:20
In SLT there's no bad or good time really. There's much less band 5 jobs in general compared to some fields as the pool in each team is so small. We only have 3 band 5 posts for a massive geographical area. It's just pot luck when they come up. Most of our staffing is part time band 6. This time of year there's more competition as all the graduates are looking.
Check RCSLT and also the jobs groups on Facebook as different jobs come up there that you don't see on NHS jobs. In peads there's more private enterprises / contract work than in adults.
QuintanaRoo · 11/05/2023 21:53
DownstairsMixUp · 11/05/2023 21:46
I did think of private work but would anyone want to work with me as a newly qualified?
I think so. There’s meant to be a real shortage of nhs positions so the wait lists must be long. If I had a kid with a long nhs list facing us I’d pay for someone who was qualified……you’re up to date which is a bonus.
Cheeseandlobster · 11/05/2023 22:00
DownstairsMixUp · 11/05/2023 21:01
No band 4 roles going at the mo in my field, there's band 3 admin stuff!
Im slt and want to work with children, ideally social communication! All my placements bar one have been adult as adult just didn't grab my interest as much!
Mental health - I also like this area to but again nothings up currently - I'm wondering if it's a bad time of year to look!?
Ahp here too. Sorry but you are being too picky. Gain some experience first in an area you might not be so keen on then keep looking. That's what I had to do
BendingSpoons · 11/05/2023 22:02
It depends a bit on area. We struggled to recruit to our B5 posts earlier in the year, but it's central London. The demand for private therapy is huge, so you could look at that, especially if you price yourself a bit cheaper. Also see if anywhere is taking on bank staff or jobs outside the NHS e.g. employed by a school or an independent company.
DownstairsMixUp · 11/05/2023 23:10
Hiya, I think you misunderstood. :) someone asked me if I had a preference and I said. I'm just happy to work as a children's therapist and happy to explore all fields. Social communication is just an area I enjoy a lot but I'm not waiting for that to specifically come up.
PermanentTemporary · 11/05/2023 23:18
Im an slt. How mobile are you? I was lucky enough to have a clinical band 4 come up locally just as I was despairing. I grabbed that and within 2 weeks interviewed for a band 5 in the same Trust.
I think you have to prioritise. Locality, client group, band - pick two! Are you prepared to relocate? That was going to be my next step. There is a lot more remote working available now which might help, though I can't imagine being a fully remote band 5 tbh.
What about adult ALD posts? That way you'll be doing lots of communication and working with developmental conditions, but with a different client group.
I assume you're in touch with groups of schools like the Ambitious about Autism schools? And there is more structured private stuff out there now, but yes it might be harder to get a proper training post. You only need one though.
cariaaad · 11/05/2023 23:18
SLT here. We've had a few previous students who have initially volunteered with us starting just before graduating then have gone on to get band 5 jobs when they've come up. It's good to get your face known and show what you can do. I understand this is tough though if you need to start earning ASAP. You could ask around to see if this is possible.
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.