How to get out of this situation?

[ivise]

Hi there , so basically, I want to ask anyone who has gone through or is going through same situation, how can u get out of low paying jobs to more successful career or even job , yes I know I need to try but where do I start, I live pay-check to pay-check ,I want to start something , even if it's studying courses but how if I don't have enough money , how do u get out , I don't have any savings to just concentrate on one thing , how to get out ? I am so desperate for bettering myself and my life for me and my child , I don't say I want to be millionaire but to earn more than just for bills and food would be great, I don't feel fulfilled living like this and doing jobs just to survive, I have changed so many jobs to and end up in the same situations, unhappy and low wage anyone can help me out pls ?😫😫😫

What do you do? What level of education have you reached so far?

@Brainded I don't have any university degree just college

I always been hard working , never had issues at my different jobs ,just me getting depressed because its never made me feel like I accomplished something , just working to survive basically, so always thought if I put that energy in smth that would make more money or change something it would be much better and I be more successful if that makes sense

What jobs have you done in the past and what job do you do now? Knowing this might help to point you in the right direction for moving to something better paid.

Also what do you like doing, what type of thing do you like doing?

What about seeing if you could train to be a qualified bookkeeper. That’s not as highly qualified as being an accountant, but I pay a bookkeeper £35/hr. You might get a job doing that at an Accountancy firm, although the bookkeeper I use is self employed.

A friend is considering learning to alter clothes. I think you have to go self employed for that.

If you want to supplement your wages, dog walking, pet sitting?

Start looking at well paid jobs and see what level of qualifications they ask for.

Then you already have more than I had until last year - at 35 I started my first Level 3 qualification - alongside work. Now at 37 I'm partway through a degree funded by my workplace! What do you do now? When were you at college?

do you have time of an evening to study an access course? My sil has just done one of these a couple of years ago and is now about to qualify as an adult nurse

What did you do at college? What grade did you get? You say you are hardworking - do you mean physically, academically, socially?

What barriers have you faced so far to getting a better paid job / career?

I worked my way up in care. From minimum wage carer to care home manager on £60k in 5 years.

Plenty of opportunities in care providing you've got a clean record.

I did a free course online through redd back in 2021 - it was free as long as I finished the course, if I din't finish it then I had to pay.

Have a look at their courses and see if there is anything that you think might be of interest

In 2018 I was on a zero hours contracts and doing temp agency work, by 2023 i was earning 50k + bonuses etc etc in sales.

First, i got into an admin role as opposed to manual labour. Then, I did free online courses in project management and joined an PM membership org - looks great on your CV. I also subscribed to industry publications and put that on there. So, I was able to twist things to look like i was great at organising and going down the PM route and i worked my way up. I job hopped, i used indeed more than facebook and fired off applications for roles a few more grand than i was on so it wasnt ridiculous, but i was always striving and progressing. I always confidently stated the money i wanted at interview. FTC arent unusual in project management so hopping wasnt such an issue. Along the way, I managed to successfully do some sales and I stuck that on my CV, sales roles arent hard to get as its an aquired taste and there's usually churn so it was easy to switch and once i smashed a few targets, i was in demand.

Whilst maybe you cant replicate this exactly, there's some basic elements that help:

Never switch off - take note of all your achievements, think of them in terms of your cv. Browse job ads, set up alerts, do applications. Dont just cruise in your role and think it will happen accidentally, you are on a mission.

Go the extra mile - pay for and do the courses, join the organisations, read the publications

Of course, actually do well at work!

How old is your child and do you have a partner? If you have a young child and all of the caring responsibilities then it will be harder work, but making a better life for your child is a powerful motivator.

There are lots of online courses available now, so you could work towards a certification in something in the evenings when your child is in bed. Have a look at skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk

nationalcareers.service.gov.uk can signpost to some free courses.

Decide some key things - do you want to be in a 9-5 computer based office job, or would something more hands-on like nursing appeal more? Start working through what a good job looks like to you, then look and see what you need to do to get into it and how to progress.

Even if you are in a low-paid job now, would there be a route to progress to the next level where you currently work if you got an additional qualification?

@QforCucumber is there point for access course without continuing university ?

What sort of work do you do and are there opportunities to progress within that field? Eg retail assistant to retail management; care assistant into care manager etc.

In large companies there are often opportunities to progress within the company because there are just so many different roles. So it's a combination of recognising what progress routes there are in particular fields, and then getting into a company with a variety of jobs at different levels. Otherwise you need to do what TwistedAdmin did and job-hop a lot. Which is fine if you're good at selling yourself but not if you don't have a lot of self-confidence.

@ivise My friendship group has approached this in different ways.

One got a job as a TA within a school, claimed UC and then studied her socks off in the evening and during school holidays.

Another completed an access course via Open University but she had support in the evening and her parents were happy to babysit.

Another entered into an apprenticeship. Yes the pay was lousy at first but on completion was able to work her way up pretty quickly.

A couple found work within the Civil Service and after completing promotion the internal jobs opened up and they found jobs/career paths that suited them better.

None of this was easy, there were times when they were knackered but all of them got through it and are in much better positions than before both financially and general happiness.

Confidence to sell yourself is a skill you can learn. I sucked up all the advice I could find online, self help books etc and at the end of the day I mimicked people, asking myself 'what would a man do?' If necessary!

I apply for a new job every two years. So whatever job you do, there's always the next rung of the ladder. You can go from waitress to supervisor to restaurant manager to area manager to head office every two years.you just have to apply for the jobs and not wait around in the same company for the person above you to leave

Probably not. Just an option of something high could do - but is there any reason you couldn’t continue it to university?

Join somewhere like the civil service that has a number of opportunities to progress. They have leadership programmes and apprenticeship degrees, I've had £10,000+ worth of courses over the years with them. You have to be quite strategic, not get comfortable, change roles regularly, volunteer for projects, generally be quite proactive with your career and plan it out, but if you do, you can earn a good wage or progress in something that may lead to somewhere else that'll pay more. Very family friendly and good pension too.

What is redd please? Google hadn't brought up anything relevant

Following as in the same position. I've only high school qualifications. And where I work there is no moving up.

The railway has entry level positions where you can be promoted up without a degree

Contact your nearest college about doing free distance learning courses

Degrees are a waste of time unless you have a career which NEEDS a degree in mind. I failed college with 3Us and an E, so did an apprenticeship for 6 months at level 2 admin, then got a job in London on 17k in a facilities team, and then become a PA, and ended up supporting a team, and now on £75K+ in that field, and it will just keep going up during my career. You just need to worm your way in, and like I say degrees are a waste of time - do professional qualifications for the career you want they are a fraction of the price, usually needed either way and take less time. You need to back yourself, set up a linked in profile, get a good CV out there, take opportunities, do basic qualifications relevant to the field (find people in the job u want and compare experience)!! You'll get there if you want it badly enough.

I'd think about working in health and social care - care/support work, maybe nursing via an access course? The great thing about it is the regular overtime. You can earn £1K in one week if you're willing to do a ton of overtime and can get childcare.

@westisbest1982 this is the job I haven't tried yet as I have always been scared if I will be able to do it , this is the type ok job u can't do just for money , I don't think I could handle personal care ,I wouldn't want someone to feel uncomfortable with me , I have considered so many times but in the end I always think this is not just a job