Preparing for work after home education while needing a reliable income

[MrsCompayson]

So I am(and husband) currently home educating two boys(11,14) The 14 year old will most likely be going to 14-16 collage in Sept. 11 year old will most likely do the same when he is that age.

I really need some advice on what to do to prepare for work when we have finished home ed.

I have done some casual Teaching Assistant work in the past and wouldn't mind going back to that. But the pay is awful.

I have a degree in Eng/His from 2008. I finished and had our daughter in Dec 2008. I has a SAHM till my husband quit his job and looked after kids for 6 months, I did the TA work then he decided to go back to work full time.

I have also been studying for a Forensic Psychology degree part-time. I am not sure this is the best pathway for me though. I will really need to be able to support myself and kids, so something that I can just more or less walk into and earn a decent amount. My daughter is hoping to go to Oxford next year so I suppose that will be expensive.

I don't want to teach, shudder, and I am not good enough.

I was thinking pause my Forensic Psychology degree for now focus on finishing home ed, take on some very part-time work or volunteering. I am doing well, getting good marks, its interesting, but I do feel its compromising the quality of our home ed some days. I don't know, I just don't feel great about it? I feel that its a long way till I will be able to earn any decent money. It will be another 5 years till its complete, then a masters then hopefully graduate training into forensic psychology. I am feeling a bit old and can't really comprehend how long that will feel like. I need to be able to support us on my own asap.

Maybe mental health nursing? When the 11 year old is in year 10, start, 3 years till finished?
Pay for a health and social care qualification? Go straight into that?

I just need some suggestions.

Thanks.

I know people often say it’s awful, but have you considered teaching? I’m a teacher and it’s given me options.

She literally says in the opening post that she does not want to teach.

@MrsCompayson with a background in home ed would you consider one on one tutoring? None of the admin of teaching, better pay than TA, and you’ll have lots of links in the home ed community to know how to advertise. If you have any knowledge/experience in supporting SEN students that’s a massive area of need.

Hi, thanks for your replying.

I have done cover supervisor work before.

I am very poor at spelling and maths(I know the latter wouldn't matter with my subjects) I am dyslexic.

For home ed I use a dictionary and can manage the literature/history bits, I really enjoy it actually.

I don't teach maths their dad is a maths and science teacher, so he covers that, thank goodness.

I would like to teach outside of the mainstream schools.

Hi,

That is a good idea, I have worked one to one before in an SEN schools and I loved it.

It was very challenging. I worked with one teenage girl, scary tough girl, it was hard work to break through but we did build a good relationship, it was a shame because she was expelled. They expected miracles from me, I was only in 5 mornings a week.

Do people want to be tutored by someone with a poxy Eng/His degree?

So I have two SEN kids, one of whom now flexi schools in mainstream but also has tutoring outside of school and in school holidays.

When looking for a tutor it didn’t occur to me to check what degree they had! The tutor we hired is a former teacher but we’d have been just as happy with somebody who has experience of TA work and previous one on one tutoring as a home edder. The fact that you’re neurodivergent yourself could be helpful in terms of your understanding/ability to engage my child.

As your kids are a bit older you’d be able to tutor through the school holidays as well, which is often valuable for those of us using mainstream education and can be hard to find.

I keep an eye on the local home ed groups (as one son may end up needing to leave mainstream) and it seems to me people often need a tutor to fill in gaps in what they can cover, or to reach Sen kids or reluctant learners.

Do you have GCSE maths? You’d need it for nursing

Yeah I do. I passed it while I was doing my A- levels, after a few goes!

Thats really encouraging to know, thanks.

What do you class as a 'decent amount' that you want to earn?

We live in the north west. I would be wholly responsible for rent, bills, other expenses.

I haven't really got a figure, which I suppose is stupid.

I wont have any debt. I will be leaving with enough for a deposit/fees/moving van/few months rent.

I would try to find somewhere affordable.

I doubt my daughter will be living with us, she is hoping to travel/study abroad after Oxford.

To actually practice as a forensic psychologist don’t you need an accredited undergrad degree (to make you “a psychologist”) followed by a phd to specialise in the forensics part? I didn’t think you could do much actually in psychology with just the undergrad?

Yeah that's what I am thinking, its a long old process and when I started it initially things at home were not as frought as they are now.

I need to sort things out and prepair.

My dad was also very ill.I just couldn't concentrate, it was constant bad news.

I didn't have enough time to do my work and no support and understanding about my workload.

Now I feel like the effort won't give me the security I need. I do really enjoy it though. I will keep reading around the subject.

This will be my second study break and I feel abit ashamed about that. I suppose that I should just be honest about it.

What do you actually enjoy doing? I think you need to set aside formal education if you want a job and focus on skills development and just getting yourself back in the working world. A degree won’t get you far these days without experience.

I think realistically you are looking at entry level admin work if you want to be employed. But self employment is a potentially better option. You could tutor as you’re already good at it. I have a friend who does very well doing 11+ prep and it allowed her to leave teaching. What other skills do you have? With your forensic psychology background, private investigator work is an option. I think there is a training or qualification that goes with that, but it’s not necessarily something you need a degree for.

What else can you do? Realistically, unless you have skills in a trade or a niche area of self employment, you’re looking at not much above minimum wage having been out of the workforce. I would start now getting your feet wet, building some contacts. You can always do your degree in the evenings when you are working and there is less pressure from home ed.

Hi, Thanks for the reply.

I really enjoy being outside on my own! What I really wanted to do was fix tractors, I know that sounds a bit silly but I wanted to work on a farm, machine maintenance. I couldn't find any courses that weren't for school levers.

Yes, I agree that my Psychology Degree wouldn't be the best option as it requires so much more further study.

What other skills? Errm starting to feel a bit inadequate now. I have basic food handling certificates, first aid. I volunteered in A and E for years, making tea, food, biscuits, talking to people, making them comfortable.

I worked in an ice cream shop for a short time. I have done one-to-one TA work, class TA work, in mainstream and SEN schools, worked in nurseries, cover supervisor, exam invigilator.

It funny you should say private investigator. One of my great successes in life was to track down my husbands stolen bike, I managed to find it on a selling page, arranged to meet the guy, got the bike back. It was traced back to the fella who robbed it and he was prosecuted.

Thanks for the advice.