What can I retrain in that pays well, in a short period of time + minimal cost?

[GandTia]

Hi all, any advice would be appreciated.

I left college at 19 after studying Art & Design, worked in admin, ended up working in marketing/digital marketing and ending up hating it, moved over to sales, wasn't that good at it + lost job in pandemic and now I've ended up in customer service on barely just above min. wage.

I'm 30 now and tired of floating about and not earning much money. I feel like I need a real skill or career or training in something. I am good at coding, and programming, which pays well, but I find it so boring! I considered accountant, but again not sure if I would find it too boring. Maybe a trade, like building?

Sorry I know this is a bit all over the place, but if anyone has been in a similar position, I would appreciate any advice!

Hi!

Might not be i of much help but I’m in a similar situation!
I’ve signed up to return to college and learn Dog Grooming, to them go employed or self employed.

Maybe something like this could be an option for you, with freelance work in Audio typing or Website building on the side?

Maybe check out courses in your local college, see if there’s anything that interests you!

Also, the NHS have a huge shortage on blood tests right now. Maybe a haematology course then do blood tests?

I came on to say dog grooming too! Big shortage

I don’t think doing blood tests pays well though. I think they earn about £19,000 a year. Radiology pays well but it’s a 3 year degree. Website design is my suggestion.

UX research? If you know how to code but are also good with people and have an eye for design this could be an interesting direction to pursue.

I think you probably need to work out what your priority is. Is it the amount of money you can make straight away or the amount you can make in the long term (in which case, think about what you consider to be good pay, as that may be quite different to what someone else considers a decent salary), or is your priority the time it will take to retrain (lots of well-paid careers require extensive training but some reasonably well paid ones don’t, and you could have a brilliant idea for a business without any retraining). Or is your priority changing to something you’re really interested in and want to do. Do you consider it more important your new career is well-paid or that you are really interested in it?

You may get lucky and come up with something you’re passionate about that pays well and takes little time to train in, but I suspect that doesn’t happen often. For me, I did a masters in my 30s while pivoting in my career from one industry to another. I did the degree alongside a relatively junior role in my new field (which paid more than a mid-level role in my old field) But I already had a relevant degree so it was easy-ish to pivot.

I agree something related to your past work would be simplest to pursue but it does depend on if you want a total change and how long you want to train for. In your position I would focus on the long term. 30 is young; you have time to train for something you love, even if it takes several years/a degree, so don’t jump into something just because it’s easy or quick.

OP there are dozens of careers in the construction sector, that can include learning a trade but doesn't always have to. You have lots of transferrable skills too. Take a look at these websites to explore more - many organisations are waking up to offering jobs with training opportunities too to attract new talent.

www.goconstruct.org/
www.trs-system.co.uk/construction/individuals

Software engineering is the only game in town right now. I've got no formal training and I did an arts degree, and I have a very healthy 6 figure income with less than four years experience. I work normal hours. It's a lot of fun.

Website design sounds like a great idea for you - creative and uses your coding skills.

If you have a bit of software in your cv, there are some project management type jobs in tech.

Project planner, learn primavera planning software, get some experience as perm staff then switch to contracting c. £50 per hour. Massive shortage of decent planners in South at the moment (I need to take my own advice!)

Depends entirely on what you mean by

‘Pays well’?
‘Short period of time’ and
‘Minimal cost’

If you answer those, even roughly, you’ll get useful replies

37isitthestew

Software engineering is the only game in town right now. I've got no formal training and I did an arts degree, and I have a very healthy 6 figure income with less than four years experience. I work normal hours. It's a lot of fun.

^

Can you tell us more? How did that all come about?

'Software engineering is the only game in town right now. I've got no formal training and I did an arts degree, and I have a very healthy 6 figure income with less than four years experience. I work normal hours. It's a lot of fun.'

But could mean you turn into the sort of person who says things like: 'Software is the only game in town right now . . . ' 🙄

@isitthestew

Software engineering is the only game in town right now. I've got no formal training and I did an arts degree, and I have a very healthy 6 figure income with less than four years experience. I work normal hours. It's a lot of fun.

So how did you get into it?

Reading with interest too about the 6 figure sum, sounds great!

@LetHimHaveIt that really made me laugh thank you

I need this help too

I need this help too! Seems like if it was possible everyone would be doing it.

@RavingAnnie You can learn the skills yourself from googling and Youtube, and I'd recommend learning yourself rather than taking a course, because a lot of the job is figuring out hard problems on your own.

Breaking in - convincing someone to hire you - is another matter though. In my case, I was in a hurry as I knew when I would run out of money. I had a job that was mostly spreadsheets, and turned it into a developer job, and put it on my CV. I then applied for real developer jobs (which is an education in itself) and eventually someone hired me. I actually think they hired me by mistake, but about three weeks in I could do the job and nobody ever noticed.

I work as a contractor now as it pays a lot better than perm.

Brick laying etc....lots of work...good money...choose your hours and jobs...do a decent private course for a month...spend about 1k

Product Management. I work with data and tech, yes, but it’s also about creative problem solving. Lots of autonomy, and well paid too.

If there’s any downside, it’s that not many people outside the field know what we do!
It’s not project management.

Following, I am in the same predicament.

Constructing magic money trees? Though I imagine that too would get boring once you’ve made a few.

IT project Management or product ownership there are tonnes of jobs!

Also I’m getting emailed weekly by recruiters at the moment there are so many unfilled jobs out there