Am I being unrealistic?

[Bedbouncer]

I have been WFH as a freelancer for 7 years now, more or less full time and earning around 30K. I'm also a director of a limited company with my husband and help out with that (doing accounts, taking some customer calls, especially during busy periods), but don't get much money from it (occasional dividend payment when the business can afford it), although husband's earnings cover the majority of our bills. My parents are elderly and I do their shopping and take them to all of their appointments (of which there are many) and have also started helping my mum with cooking a few times a week. My first grandchild was born last year and I have agreed to look after him one day a week. This is all great except that the freelance work has started to get a bit thin on the ground in recent months (up and down, but more down times than I have experienced in the past - I used to have to turn a lot of work down, that's not the case any more) and I am getting twitchy - I think it may be a case of a lot of the more routine aspects of the job being taken over by AI. I think I might need to retrain, but I a have become accustomed to working when it suits me (I work a lot early in the morning and late in the evening). I feel like I've been bumbling along quite nicely, but that it isn't going to last. I'm anxious about the work drying up. While DH's earnings cover a lot, I pay for all food, clothes and other expenses for DS, as well as mobile phone contracts and various other things. Things would be very tight without my income.
Are there other jobs that would allow me to continue with all my other responsibilities, or will something(s) have to give? I've been looking at the government's upskilling for cyber security course as a possible option as something that may allow me to get into another flexible line of work. Is that realistic? I don't know -

Hi bedbouncer,

There's not a lot of protein in your thread. Could you be more specific on your job role, skillset, experience level, and aspirations?
For example, it sounds like you're in your 50's-60's (do you have a pension), & looking to reskill & command around £30k salary with remote working & flexitime.
Typically employers will think like this:
20s-30s : I'll employ you based on your ability to learn (hence usual graduate requirements on bits of paper to prove intelligence)
30s-40s: I'll employ you based on your ability to learn, but also based on how you've been performing. I'm looking for people who have made it out of the graduate purgatory & are actually now adding value to the business.
40s-50s: Now i'm looking to hire you based on your experience, & your potential to grow within my organisation. I no longer care about your ability to learn.
50s-60s: Now i want to hire only people who are experts in their field, & will immediately add major value to my organisation. Typically these are clearly driven people with track record of delivery.
60's-70's: I'm hiring you only because of your 'brand', that is to say I can use your name on my company to demonstrate i have the best people, & signficiant competitive advantage based on that. I'll also have access to your vast network of professionals. Most of these roles are NED positions.
70s + - Sorry wont hire.

Depending where you sit on that roadmap will determine your longevity in cybersecurity & the value in spending time to develop a new skillset. i.e. if you're 50 and trying to compete with IT grads from University, you wont stand a chance unless you have proven delivery record in your prior field.

Hope that helps,
Haggis

Thanks for your reply @HaggisMcKilty, much appreciated.
I'm early fifties, working as a scientific editor. I have a PhD (life sciences) and 15 years experience as an academic researcher, including a bit of informatics work, which might be of some relevance. I have a small pension pot from the time in academia but nothing since. My main motivator is to continue to earn enough to maintain my current lifestyle, but I enjoy a challenge and learning new things. If I could earn more and set myself up for a more comfortable retirement, that would be wonderful.

If you’ve been doing accounts for your husband’s business, could you consider some freelance bookkeeping?

This is a drastic change but have you thought about the NHS. I used to work in the NHS and seen people from all backgrounds come to work there. Police, Army, Finance etc. Not necessarily clinical roles but Non Clinical. There are many departments.

You could also join the "Bank" team for the local hospital. This is like locum work but you join through the Bank office at that hospital. It is flexi and can pick up work and drop it. 0 hours contract no sick pay or holiday though. I did it for a few years snd it worked out great for me when I needed flexibility with family life and travel plans. I know people who do it long terms for 10years+. That worked never dries up.
Joining through the Bank also means getting your face seen and more likely to be hored if a desirable position comes about.
I know people who work in IT, Finance, Projects etc earning 26-30k.
Hope this helps.
Might be an option to fill in the gaps you have for the time being.

Have you looked at bioinformatics? Maybe have a look at what Genetics England are doing? There might be something in that area where you could leverage your skills?