Thinking of a career change ....

[BornAgainCountryBumpkin1]

Hi all

So I've worked in retail management for a considerable chunk of my adult life but now with 2 little ones to consider I'm thinking of making a change to something a bit more fixed/Mon-fri (actually work part time so something between that).

Dd will be going to school this year & another in nursery so my long days and commute mean I'm going to struggle to fit everything in.
Dh won't be assisting in drop off, picks ups or weekend childcare due to their work circumstances as they spend a lot of time away from home, so just me, nursery, breakfast/after school club & occasional nana help. What I'm used to so not resentful but I am quite tired......

So after some ideas from people that maybe have moved into careers to work around family or already have jobs that offer a good balance.

I'm degree educated but it's in the arts (& a while ago) and manage teams of between 25-100 depending on location.

I'm happy to retrain on the job but can't afford to go back into education.

Can't really consider anything below about £32k pro rata due to commitments.

I do enjoy my job and get to spend my day with lots of people which as a bit of an introvert is good for me, but if I would be looking to increase hours in the next year or so I need something that offers a better home/work balance.

I'm sure there's a lot out there but I don't know where to start & feeling a bit overwhelmed........help me Mumsnet!

You may find the Mature Study and Retraining board worth a browse, here:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

Great thanks I'll have a look through.

Well the one that jumps to mind almost instantly is IT industry, specifically Cyber Security. It's a pretty quick climbable ladder 🪜 as well. I have a friend who after finishing college went back to study programming, did it for a year had a about 4 different programming jobs and now earns over 70k a year.

For Cyber Security that starts at about 40-50k for a SOC Analyst and if you go down the Junior Penetration Tester route you're talking starting salary of 65k.

You definitely won't be bored 😉!!!

Not sure what your computer knowledge is like but you could start by looking at fetchcourses.ie and look for CompTIA A+ by eCollege or preferably an actual tutor institution and they pay for your exam voucher and usually a repeat voucher. A+ is like.... Hardware, software, operating systems, peripheral devices, basic networking, basic security, it's a lot simpler than I am probably making it sound, and even if it wasn't for you, hey! You now literally have an industry recognised IT certificate for your CV.

If you're in the UK, not sure you can use fetch courses but I'm sure there's others or you could do a popular course on UDemy, if you think you would prefer coding I highly highly recommend Colt Steele's Web Developer Bootcamp, it's like having your own personal grinds teacher and he's actually unique in how enthusiastic he is to teach you coding while telling you about all the pets he has. Get it on sale, it's like €9.99 or something.

Best of luck 🤞🏼.

Thanks unfortunately don't even own a basic computer so would have to invest even to learn.....guess may have to. Answer though is my tech knowledge is zero.

You never use a computer in your current job? Does your husband have one that he takes away with him for work?

Also, wouldn’t you need one soon anyway, if your older child is starting school? (Or perhaps reception age children only use tablets?)

Sorry for the nosy questions - I’m not sure whether you’re unusual for not having any sort of computer (other than the device you’re using for MN) or whether I’m out of date and people don’t bother with them any more. It’s hard to imagine someone managing a team of people without using a computer at all.

OP, your job is not desk-based? Don't you at least send emails to colleagues? Does your work issue you with any device or expect you to use any system at all?

The fact you don't use a computer will mean a steep learning curve for any administrative office-based jobs.