Career paths with fast progression after sahm ing

[Monapaloma]

So.
I'm mid thirties and looking for a new career after 10yrs + of being a Sahm. I'm interested to learn about careers that have few qualification related entry requirements, but great options to study whilst working.
Full time is fine, and I can be flexible with hours. Inspire me!

Thanks Ducks0nthewat3r. Good advice and congrats on the job.
I think your starting position was wildly different from mine though, in that you came from a job with a cv and references etc.. I'm talking more about almost starting totally over from scratch .

Any more suggestions out there?

Accountantcy/finance

Not as boring as it seems. You’d need to start from the beginning but you can study from home etc

Sorry but I don't think what you want actually exists op! Everyone I know working in a well paid job has worked at it for many years gaining experience and skills. I think you might have to adjust your expectations somewhat. Volunteer, get experience or further education and qualifications. I suppose you could find something with a relatively low hourly rate but work long hours?

Oh I know I won't earn mega bucks from the start. But what I mean is, surely there are careers where there's not a total cap on what you can earn eventually. Something where the education is pretty constant throughout

So for instance I'd seen some Nhs roles (physiologist etc) where they would put you through university for a degree while you train and get paid. But after that there seems little opportunity to learn more.

Or indeed, earn more.

My friend stayed at home until her kids were school age. Then got a very junior position in the NHS accounts dept. They've treated her really well, trained her to degree level and now her kids are teenagers she's a manager and earns a decent salary.

@onmykneesandsinking22
That's very encouraging

Well, I'm an accountant, so I always say accountancy.

Lots of routes in/around, several different training routes. You can even do some of the earlier stuff funding yourself etc.

Money is good once qualified. I work in a small factory, (employing 30 people), am home by 6 and earn 55k

Lots of votes for accountancy !
And some opportunity for relatively family friendly hours it seems , so definitely worth exploring. Thank you

What is the job scene like where you live and what do you consider to be a good salary?

If you've been out of the workforce for ten years you might be disappointed to find out that the vast majority of people have to work their arse off to stand still. Expectations from employers seem to be much higher.

There are very few jobs that are fast track to earning loads of money without the relevant training and experience. Only thing I can think of is sales. Do you have the gift of the gab?

I think knowing what you view as a good salary is key. Accountancy could be a good option, but without a degree you would be on a lower salary for longer - however, as you say you are educated to degree level you might be able to get them to take you on as a grad, in which case you could be on 35-50k after 3 years depending where you trained and how aggressively you salary hunt.

One thing I do have is the gift of the gab which I suspect in the past allowed me to stay afloat in a wildly pretentious industry (I can talk all the bullshit!) and has contributed massively to me having a totally skewed and unrealistic view of the jobs market and earning potential !

I can do a v posh voice
Use all the big words

Sales can pay well if you have the gift of the gab! I have a friend who works for an IT company. Can earn an absolute fortune.... precarious though.

I see so many sales jobs advertised, but I always doubt their authenticity . Any tips for sorting the genuine opportunities from the dodgy ones?
What shall I sell ?

Ice cream would be good at the moment!

Have you considered account management/sales?

DH works selling fairly technical computer software - the company obviously have no expectations that a new sales person would be familiar with it so intelligence is important but education Isn’t.

You really do have the option to bring a decent amount of money home, plus while you do have to travel, you can also spend some days working from home which might appeal.
Account Management is the less well paid but more office based side of it. You’d probably halve your salary if you did that instead.

Just to give you a rough idea, we’re in the north west and for the last three years DH has brought home a 6 figure salary after his commission is paid.

It did take 5 years for him to get to that point but that doesn’t seem Long compared to most jobs.

Last year I started a photography degree at uni. Full time, two days a week in classes (which I could miss if one of the kids needed me to obvs). The rest of the work I did when they slept. It's tough, but doable. The year before that I was self taught for a year (learned the basics of how to use a camera/composition etc). Photography/art is a passion of mine, I don't think I would have had the drive to succeed if it wasn't. Some students have been charging for work since the start, but I've just started making money, as I wanted to be really good first (and I can charge more).

Are you arty at all? Would something like photography interest you? If you do weddings etc, the gift of the gab is v handy! Weddings are good for money, documentary stuff is hard to make a lot of money at, unless you're well known/the best of the best.

Teaching isn’t bad money, when all is said and done. But you would work hard for it and would need to follow a route that gets you a degree.

Oh

@LaBelleSausage thank you. I'll look into this. Sounds promising!

@Noonelikesfruitcake thank you. I'm utterly arted out but I do get that photography can be a fabulous career.

I think you want to look at apprenticeships. The levy has led to employers providing more at a higher lever (level 4+) which can lead into really good jobs and pay along the way. Not just with the civil service either, check out your local major employers and see what they have going.

Yeah or sales if you are that way inclined is a really good one.