Has anyone applied for the civil service fast track scheme in their 40's?

[Adventuresat40]

I am about to turn 40 and am having a bit of a crisis about work.
I did all the things I was supposed to do - got a good degree, professional qualification and have been a qualified solicitor for over 15 years.

But I am so bored of it. After DC I changed roles and now I am a professional support solicitor. I have dropped down to PT recently as my DH changed jobs and it meant that I didn't need to earn as much and one of our DC has ASD which has proved difficult with Covid messing around with schooling and wraparound care.

I hope things will return to a bit of normality next year and I can look again at my career options.

Back at university I had a lecturer who tried to persuade me to go down the civil service route. I looked at it a couple of times over the years but babies and life have just got in the way.

I have a bit of time now to actually think about what I want and I do wonder whether this could be good for me. I will have another 25yrs of work ahead and friends in the civil service have encouraged me to go for it.

However, will I just be flat out rejected? Laughed out the door? Be the odd one out?
Will it be tough managing home and work life? I have it pretty easy right now (which is great but I am so frustrated).

Any tips? Should I just forget it?

I am 30s and applied. I say go for it. It's a great, interesting and v family friendly career. The applications are blind so don't ask for age etc, as long as you can demonstrate the success profiles you have a good shot.

Go for it, no one will be concerned about your age. Also consider other routes into CS, once in you can then apply for internal vacancies in the areas you are interested in.

I know you want to move away from legal work, but as a qualified and experienced legal professional they are always recruiting www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=am9ibGlzdF92aWV3X3ZhYz0xNzEyODU1Jm93bmVydHlwZT1mYWlyJnVzZXJzZWFyY2hjb250ZXh0PTEzMDA5MTE5OSZwYWdlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXd2YWNieWpvYmxpc3QmY3NvdXJjZT1jc3FzZWFyY2gmcGFnZWNsYXNzPUpvYnMmb3duZXI9NTA3MDAwMCZzZWFyY2hfc2xpY2VfY3VycmVudD0xJnJlcXNpZz0xNjIzODgxNTY0LTA5MTgzOGI1MGFmYjY2YWYyNjYzYzNiODU5NGYwNGJlNzVjMWRiYjI=

This would start you at a more senior level and remember the work is varied.

With your background you could look at SEO/G7 in HR, policy etc. www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi

Doesn't the fast stream require you to work in london and another location? Or contrasting locations?

I vaugely thought that but could be wrong

A friend recently got into the nhs faststream in their 30s.

Depending in department and specialism,the fast stream has jobs in London, Leeds, Sheffeild, Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Portsmouth

I looked a billion years ago - don't you need to move as part of that too (I think that put me off as I would have had to move in the first place) but this was a long time ago!

I live in London anyway and yes I saw the bit about moving but it does say if you have caring responsibilities you can request not to move.

I have looked at the GLS but I am not sure I would be a great fit, I have always been in private practice in non contentious areas. I know very little about public law. I do deal with some areas of tax and so thought about the HMRC scheme but I am not sure I would want to specialise in tax, I find that the hardest bit of my job as it is.

All good things to think about though, thank you.

I understand what you're saying about GLS, your background would be really good for secretariat and governance roles within the CS, you'd likely be able to go in at a higher grade. If you wanted something related but not directly applying your qualifications.

Just resurrecting this thread. Thank you for all your replies.

I have been doing a bit more research regarding the GLS and I think I am going to go for it. I think going in at a higher level is what puts me off, Will I feel a fraud?

I have started the application form but I am really struggling with the Technical Legal Skills question.
Has anyone applied recently/ worked there who could give me a little heads up at what they are actually looking for here? I clearly have very little direct experience from my working life but would they take into account outside interests?

I recently had Covid and my company was so ungracious and unhelpful that it has given me the shove I needed to apply sooner rather than later.

For most applications you can use examples from wider experience and not just your work experience.

I applied at 27 and knew two others in my cohort who were both 45+.

Go for it!