Did you retrain for a totally new career post kids?

[paddypants]

And if so, in what area? I am 38, last DC will be starting pre school next year and I am looking for inspiration as would no way return to pre kids career. It's daunting to think of starting all over at this stage though. Please give me your inspiring stories to push me into action!

I worked in the senior civil service before children, I took 8 months maternity for each of my first three children and then returned to work. I started to feel my work was pointless and I wanted something with more meaning but we couldn't afford for me to extensively retrain. I now work as a school development manager.

Zippy - I'll come back later as I am just running out the door to work, but yes, I do now work for myself - and love everything about it!!

Was a solicitor and retrained into a good NHS role. I have found the NHS is a really soulless and horrible place to work at the moment. The thing I struggled with most was going from being in a fast dynamic high powered environment, where everyone was motivated, highly intelligent and driven, to one being surrounded by support workers who are poorly educated, poorly paid, bored and under qualified. And the higher you go in the NHS I found workers were stressed and demotivated, the micro managing is insane, there are far too many managers doing nothing, far too few staff doing too much. Its toxic.

I have struggled to go from a corporate world to one which works against all the principles of good business . I'm currently having a break and really thinking of going to back to law. The hours, pay, shifts is just not worth staying imo.

cleanmachine wow what a story. Do you mind saying what your job is? I'm thinking of retraining as a speech therapist but am also considering other options in the NHS.

I had 3 under 5yrs and retrained as a massage therapist with various other skills. It took three years training which fitted in with them. I qualified, left XH (a long time coming!) moved and could just about support the DCs with my work. I never looked back.

Where do you start if you want to train in accounting?

I'm currently in the process of retraining to be a web developer

Watching this with interest.

Was a solicitor, trained as a secondary teacher. Now seriously considering going back into law!

Mrs blimey - me too. Have rung my old recruitment agency and they said they could have need back at work in weeks. Funnily enough my new NHS post always made others in the NHS view me as over qualified and I was forever answering queries about why I changed career. Going back to law I have been told that my second degree will be seen as a major asset. The only problem is I'm not sure I want to go back to corporate law. Am thinking of changing and doing human rights work.

Clean - let's set up a firm together! I did some human rights, criminal etc. I too got totally fed up with the assumptions that others would make about my legal career.

Clean and blimey do it!!!!!

I would totally use a law firm called Clean & Blimey!

I'm in! !

We could be like the new cagney and lacey.... restoring human rights and fighting off criminals! I haven't been this exited about working for years.

I'm middle management in a secondary school, but I am planning to do a law diploma and masters so I can make the 60+ hours a week that I work more financially viable. I plan to do this as distance learning and continue with my job full time. I'm a single parent with 3 DC so it should be interesting!

Sunshine The AAT have a good starting level for accountancy and you can then go with CIMA or ACCA if you want to go further.

Yes please !