I would love to retrain as a Midwife...... is too much to take on?

[M2T]

Hi folks,

I am having a battle with myself at the moment. I 25 years old and I'm an Engineer, but I never wanted to be one.... I've just kind of fallen into this over the last 3 years.

I've only been in my current job for 3 months, but I'm not enjoying it and it's making me miserable to the point where I feel sick at the prospect of going.

I have always been fascinated with the Scientific aspect of conception, pregnancy and childbirth and since having my own ds I've also got my own experiences to draw on. I would LOVE to retrain as a Midwife. But I've done a degree (Biology) and I just don't know if it would be the right decision for me to give up my job as the main earner to start studying again.

I really do feel though that Midwifery is a career I would never get bored of, I'd always be interested and stimulated and I'd get to talk about pregnancy and childbirth all day long!

I was looking for advice from anyone who had done this.

Have any of you Mumsnetters given up a career to retrain as a Midwife???

If so, what kind of financial assistance do you get and how do shift patterns fit around childcare?

FF - The University where I did my first degree does Midwifery and Nursing so my friend got me a prospectus yesterday. It's only 15 miles from where I live.
I wouldn't be able to start until next September so I've got plenty of time to think about it. I think I've more or less amde up my mind to do it though , but perhaps wait until 2005 to start as I desperately want another child next year. We'll see how that works out.
Yeah we can post threads saying "5000 WORD ESSAY DUE IN 2 HOURS .... HELP ME!!?".

Thanks everyone for being so positive!

Quackers - is the £7k tax free? Thats even better than I could eer imagine!

And the starting salary sounds good too. I'm on £21k at the moment. But we'd manage a small drop in salary for a while.

My dp says I should go for it coz he knows that is what I'm passionate about and says I'll be dead good at it. Aw, bless.

Go for it FF!

Good luck Quackers, sounds fab, dunno if I could work with my mum though.

Um, the bursary is a bit less than has been said here. It IS tax exempt, though, and you get Council Tax reductions too.

RCM quote:
"1. Non-Means Tested Bursary: This provides a flat rate basic maintenance grant. No contribution is required from students? or family income. All students on the pre-registration midwifery diploma programmes receive this type of bursary.

The basic rates of non-means tested benefits for full time students currently range between £5,432 and £6,352 (2002/03 rates), dependent upon age.

2. Means Tested Bursary: The income of the student, their parents or their spouse is taken into account when the level of bursary is being calculated. The amount of maintenance grant is reduced in proportion to that income. Students who are studying for the pre-registration midwifery course at degree level are subject to a means tested bursary.

The basic rate of means tested benefits including student loans is approximately between £3,485 and £5,430. These students can access student loans, older students? dependants? allowances and other benefits, as can any other higher education student."

Oakmaiden - I thought that as a mature student I would be entitled to the non-means tested bursary??

I am the mean earner so even if it were means tested I think we'd probably get the full amount.

ROFL!! I'm not the MEAN earner, I'm the MAIN earner... oh dear.

Nurse M2t

Yes Coddy?

Just think, in a few years time I could be delivering your 4th!

Good luck FF and M2T - I'm leaving my engineering career too - I'm about the same age as you M2T and could only see a future full of meetings, more meetings, modelling, more meetings... then realised that if I didn'ty do anything to change my life it would probably be the same in a years time... IMO you spend far too much time at work to be investing your life in something that doesn't make you happy!
Good luck and well done. Thanks for inspiring me this morning!

Waterbaby - what are you leaving to do, if you don't mind me asking?

You are SO right. I spend more time at working than I do awake at home so it really should be something I enjoy and gives me fulfillment.

Wish I could start tomorrow! but I think 2 years from now is much more practical and realistic.

The nonmeans tested bursary is just for the Diploma Level students - all degree students are means tested. So it depends which course you are doing. I was just really making you aware that it makes a difference which course you do - and that it is closer to £6K than £7K. But still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick....

Oakmaided - would I still be a qualified midwife if I only did the Diploma??

M2T - I've set up my own business, under the umbrella of a huge international company. I'm leaving to be the boss

Unfortunately I will then have to pay the MN bill !

Yes M2T - the degree is nice, but not essential. The Advanced Diploma is very similar - the only real difference being that you only do 60 Level 3 credits instead of the 120 you need for the degree. And you could do those later if you wanted (although since you already have a degree it might not be so important to you.) Both courses allow you to register as a midwife.

The only thing with the Ad Dip is that you do not count as a degree/ Higher Ed student, and are not eligable for things that they would be (bank loans and accounts, there were a few grant type things at our uni that I think only degree students could apply for - including financial help with childcare.) So it is worth doing your homework there fully.

I want to do it again

Oakmaiden - thanks for that. I'm also looking at the possibility of carrying over credits from my 1st degree. I did quite a lot of Human Biology, reproduction and such like and may be able to bypass some of the general biology sections.

You want to study all over again???

I definitely don't want to go down the student debt road again. Been there.... still paying it off. My bank account from Uni was converted into a Graduate account so I get all those benefits with that. But the childcare issue is a good one. I must look into that.

I'm definitely not looking to start until 2005 which gives DP time to get his promotion and gives us both time to save up for it.

So excited now!!

I din't finish the course, for a variety of reasons - well, actually because my son was struggling at nursery school and not coping at all, he was later diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger Syndrome. So yes, I want to go back - because I still want to be a midwife. Life just got in the way a bit, but my goal hasn't changed!

I'm not sure they will let you carry over credits for midwifery. i know that even though I have 120 Level 1 credits and 60 level 2 ones (actualy from midwifery) that I would still need to start again from the beginning. This is because of the rules of professional registration, not becaues of the degree stuff - you have to do the entire course within 5 years of registering on it.

im so glad someone asked this, for a long time it has been something that i really wanted to do, reading this yesterday has given me the kick up the arse i needed to investigate further.
because i was the class joker and thought it was cooler to not pay attention at school, i left with only 2 gcse's so i have to do a health acces s course first at my local college before i can go on to do midwifery - but hey, you have to start somewhere. im actually really looking forward to learning again!

Good luck all - and well done Oakmaiden, for getting this far and sticking to your dreams. I'm sure it will happen.

Hope no-one minds but I'm ressurecting this thread because it's something I really want to do too, so I'd love to know how far everyone has got with their plans?

I'd always loved the idea of nursing (like my mum lol) but just got sidetracked and ended up as an editor...quite how I don't know Now, after having ds 6 months ago and genuinely feeling that I would not have got through his birth without the help of a fabulous midwife, I've started thinking about it all again.

Thing is, my degree is not even vaguely science-related (English) and in fact science subjects were never one of my great strengths at school
I'm sure I could manage it all without too much trouble now but would the fact that I clearly don't come from a science-type background count against me? I thought that the entry requirements often included GCSE biology or similar - I've got the thickie, can't-be-arsed version instead - a GCSE in Modular Science...

moominmama, im off to college in sept to do an access course as i dont have relevant quals, this may be something you should look into, as far as im aware you have to have studied during the past three years to show the universities that you are up to the workload.
if you hav'nt got any science quals then maybe you could do an access as it covers various science modules aswell as sociology, psychology and other topics.
this website is invaluable www.studentmidwives.co.uk it has a message forum on there and will give you all the info that you need.
hope this helps...good luck!!!

moominmama - as far as I recall the requirement is actually a GCSE in any science - not necessary in biology - so you would be fine.

OK, well, you've decided me I'm going to investigate access courses starting in Sept and then next year I'm going to apply to train! I've discussed it with dh and my family now so I can't chicken out now

Wow, the national crisis in midwifery is being solved here!