Career change in my 40s

[UnlimitedCake]

Hello, currently seeking ideas of potential careers/retraining in my 40s. I am currently part time in a low paid job in the public sector, job is interesting and varied but there is little opportunity to progress. I have a degree in an arts subject but looking for a complete change. I am interested in completing a distance learning or part time degree alongside my current job. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

You can do a social work degree, get student finance and a bursary (yrs 2&3) despite already gaining a degree.

Afterwards, it is flexible working; many work less than full hours, interesting (but demanding). Ongoing CPD so lots of training on offer post grad

With more and more online lectures, you could juggle year one around work, then ditch work for the next two years (but get £20k net) from SFE and bursary + do part-time work if your need more - wouldn't recommend part-time as well tho as there are placements to do in yrs 2 and 3

Surely what you need is a job where your employers will pay for you to study for a postgraduate degree?

(Presumably it is a postgrad you’re looking to undertake, not another first degree?)

What is the interesting and varied aspect of your current role? How might you build on that with further study to progress your career?

Social work = nightmare.
I have career changed in my 40s after 17 yrs in that profession to a not v well paid other public sector job, but I work full time now it’s so flexible so I’m taking home more money. Plus I don’t think about work when I’m not there, and have my sanity!

This is what I’m currently looking into, I work in libraries and there might be a possibility of employee sponsorship to compete a professional status qualification 😊

Would your employer fund you to do something in archives? There are enormously interesting careers working behind the scenes in university libraries with archives and old documents.

Obviously this depends where in the country you live, but -

https://www.vercida.com/uk/employers/british-library

https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/jobs

I know somebody who works in an insanely interesting role in the university library in Cambridge, and it seems like NOT the hardest line of work to get into, particularly as you have actual library experience, but incredibly varied and interesting once you're in the door, because nobody quite knows what they get up to. :)

That sounds like such lovely work, @UneTasse. I’m kind of drawn to it myself even though I only clicked on this thread out of passing interest.

Good luck, OP. I recently changed jobs at nearly 50 and even though it was only a slight shift, it’s really felt great. It does nice things to your brain, sort of forging new pathways I suppose.

Great suggestions, @UneTasse.

For anyone preferring a slightly quieter environment I seem to recall there is or was a librarianship qualification at Chester Uni that enabled one to work for a while at Gladstone’s Library, just over the border in Hawarden, Wales. Can’t find it at the moment - only this:

https://www.chester.ac.uk/study/course-search/nineteenth-century-literature-and-culture-ma/

But perhaps the research was actually based at a different university. The important thing was the Gladstone’s Library aspect. Whenever I stayed there I used to sit in the upper floor gallery (pretending to read) just watching the archivists and bookbinders having a perfectly lovely time playing with battered volumes.

https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/

Take a look at this @UnlimitedCake :

https://www.ahrc-cdp.org/