Hello there :)
I'm at a little bit of a crossroads career-wise. I've been a long time browser of Mumsnet, and it seems such a lovely community that I thought I might reach out to you for some input.
A little about me: I'm in my early thirties, and a bit restless. After graduating with a Media/Film/Creative Writing degree, I went to teach abroad for a few years. Japan was lovely, but finding my feet once I returned to Blighty was not! I interned as a content writer for a film company for a while, and while I enjoyed the work, I was not so interested in working for free or near free just to work in my degree field. I come from quite a poor background, and like all of us, have dreams of living somewhere nice in the future, and being able to provide for a future family.
I took a step back and realised the happiest I had been job-wise was when I worked for a nursery in Japan. That decided, within a couple of weeks I had found a nursery role and completed my Level 3 in childcare a year later. I am lucky enough to be able to supplement my income by teaching creative writing online via my connections in Japan (that silly degree came in useful after all!).
Now, I am getting itchy feet - the nursery pay is what it is, and I am losing interest in working with young children from the same (exceedingly wealthy) backgrounds. I'd love to make more of a difference. I plan to finish the academic year and move on. I am quite interested in furthering my studies, and possibly working with charities or centres that focus on families.
With the gift of hindsight, I would have pursued a different degree subject back in my youth! I am not really in a position to pay for a new undergraduate degree upfront. Similarly, I looked at Play Therapy courses, but they are quite expensive for such relatively short courses.
I guess my question here is what kind of jobs can I feasibly pursue? Are there courses that might help achieve this? I absolutely love learning. I have heard good things about the Open University, but I am also interested in work-relevant certificates/diplomas. What kind of work have others in similar positions chosen?
Forgive me my mish-mash of a post. I'd love to hear your thoughts! :D