Wanting to change careers when you have no idea what to do next.

[Eisenberg]

I'm 39 and have worked for the NHS for the past 10 years as an Office Manager. I would really like to find something that's more enjoyable, but I have no idea what I really want to do.

I feel that I am currently stuck at having to apply for more administrative jobs as that's the only kind of work I've done since leaving school at 16 with 10 GCSEs. What options do I have that don't involve lengthy periods of study?

What interests you? What do you like about your job now, what do you not like? What are your lines in the sand for what you will/won't do in your next career? How much do you want/need to earn?

That'll help narrow it down, as otherwise choices are so massively broad e.g...

Gardening (that's what I did. RHS Level 2 Practical at college, one day a week, £1k for the year. Started picking up clients and quit my old job a few months in).

Volunteer management.

Postie.

Similar work outside the NHS.

Starting your own small business.

Social media management.

PA.

Locksmithing.

etc

What sort of pay do you need? Is there anything else in the NHS you could move into, retaining your pension? A lot of clinical roles now have assistant practitioners in the team.
What does ‘more enjoyable’ mean to you? I know someone who started to work in a floristry shop in her 40’s, and went on to have her own successful business.

I found the website https://www.careershifters.org/ to be quite helpful for this - if you don't want to pay for any of their workshop type things, there are lots of free articles and case studies to read through for ideas/inspiration. (I promise I don't work for them!)

I was similar to you, in an administrative type job, 99.9% in front of a computer. It is convenient in terms of combining working from home and having a family, but it really leaves me feeling like I'm not living. I found I needed more human interaction and movement in my day so I'm making steps towards retraining in a healthcare profession.

What do you feel you need more of or less of in your working day?

Thanks for the Career Shifters link. I had never heard of them before, so I'm going to check it out as soon as I have finished this post.

In terms of what I need from a future role, I need to get away from corporate environments, strict governance rules and endless meetings.

What does ‘lengthy periods of study’ mean to you? Ten GCSEs is pretty impressive - I’m guessing there’s a specific reason why you didn’t continue to A’ Levels or any kind of vocational training? Other than needing to earn money, is there anything else holding you back from gaining further qualifications now?

I ask because surely admin roles will be the first to be eaten up by AI. If you could just get to the next level (adult equivalent of A’ Levels / foundation courses, or go on to say a part time OU degree) you would be in a much stronger position to compete for better jobs. AI filtering will probably reject any applicant without specified qualifications with no consideration of your years of experience. I do think you need to consider getting something.

Lengthy periods of study to me means 3-5 years. Funding a course and having no idea what to study are the things that are holding me back from further study.

Ok. It seems to me that the next level of adult education after GCSEs is not going to take 3-5 years! (Even with years of work behind you, anyone would struggle with degree level study straight off, with no experience of anything intermediary.)

I would definitely suggest getting professional advice on the best academic / vocational course you could take to make your CV competitive.

Thanks MissPrismsMistake.