I need a job that will pay 40K - what can I do and where can I look?

[Needtoearn]

Hi,

Am a regular who's namechanged because I'm a bit embarrassed by this. My husbands job is not going well, in fact the company is not doing great either and he isn't earning what we need to survive at all.

He has been looking at other jobs but the whole industry which is quite niche is looking decidedly dodgy.

Therefore, we have thought about me going out to work and him staying home with our 4 young children. I have tried and tried to look for a well paid evening/ weekend job but nothing has come up that looks worthwhile tbh.

I have a good skill set and a good degree - any suggestions for well piad graduate schemes or anything at all that I could apply for? Would need to be midlands based.

[Needtoearn]

and no...I have never earned that salary before. I know it's a challenge and perhaps unrealistic but it's an option that we have to consider as a family so that DH can jump ship before he is pushed iykwim.

[TotalChaos]

obviously a rather long term plan, but what about training as a clinical psychologist? That would probably pay at least £40K per year, particularly if you did some private work on top.

[edam]

I think you are unlikely to walk straight into a £40k job having been out of the workplace for five years. You need to think about dh getting another job while you work your way up, rather than him being at home full-time.

For instance, I only reached £40k when I was promoted to magazine editor.

[CountessDracula]

oh
birmingham is west mid rieght?

Tell me a nearby town

[Needtoearn]

fifio it appears you do not need loads of retail experience www.aldirecruitment.co.uk/

[Needtoearn]

edam - unfortunately I can't work up to anything.....we have 4 children under 5 so cannot afford the childcare for them so it needs to be either DH or I working fulltime.

[bundle]

are his skills transferable?

[Needtoearn]

CD - somewhere around Nottingham/ Leicester would be great

thanks so much for the help - I feel so determined at the minute. I'm off to collect from pre-school now but will be back to check thread later.

Thanks so much

[SueW]

What about teaching and working summer schools in the holidays to boost your income, marking exam papers, etc?

[MissingMyHeels]

If you don't mind selling your soul then try recruitment consultancy or executive search. You could certainly earn near 40k as a researcher for a search firm, my DP has been doing it a year or so and is on 42k - you do really need an area of special knowledge though.

Recruitment is mainly bonus based but I work in media recruitment and the average earnings at my company are in excess of 70k. However, it tends to be long hours and you need to be very "salesy" and thick skinned.

[SueW]

I really feel for you. DH has had a rough patch workwise recently too and I have been looking for a good job, with only tons and tons of voluntary work and a recent qualification in adult teaching.

But I don't have a degree

[lucyellensmum]

Need to earn, are you getting all the tax benefits you are entitled to? My DP is earning a VERY low wage at the moement, (starting a business, its not going so great). The lovely people on here told me to make sure i was claiming tax credits etc. Well i can tell you i was when i realised how much money i was missing out on. Because of this i am going to not return to work for another year til DD goes to school, as after child care etc, it wouldnt be worth it. I only have one child at home, (DD1 17 and off making her way in the world - mad child) and we will receive enough to make this a viable option. Do look into this if you are not already claiming. It seems we missed out on council tax benefit too - i have the form ready to fill out, every little helps. Just a thought, then maybe you could take some time to do a refresher course etc, although it sounds like you have lots of experience. I know a lady who works with adults with learning disablities, she does sleep overs (its well paid but no were near 40K, which ihave to say is a tad optomistic) and it works really well for childcare etc, that might be worth considering, as DP could then work part time or even full time if you could wangle it.

[LadyMuck]

Doesn't your dh have any transferable skills at all?

When you were working, what were you doing?

[Notyummy]

needtoearn. I used to work for ALDI as an Area manager (on their graduate recruitment scheme, but I joined at 32 having just left the military so it isn't only for 22 year olds!)and then as store operations director.Iused to work with one of the people that is currently on the website doing the whole cheesy 'I work for ALDI and its great' thing

The first thing to be aware of is that they expect a phenomenal amount of commitment. They are upfront about this from the beginning. Whilst doing your years training you be working AT LEAST 60 - 70 hours a week (I knew people who were regularly doing between 80 and 100)You may be expected to work in stores up to two hours away from your home, therefore most people stay in hotels (paid for by the company) when they are moved around for training purposes. If you make it through the training (and there is pretty high drop out rate) then your hours will still be around 50 - 60 a week, including starting at 7 30am, and regularly not finishing until 9pm because you will be doing store inventories when they are shut.

They expect at least a 2:1, and depending on how many applications they get, they start getting a bit sniffy about what university you went to, and what your A level results were.

This bit is purely anecdotal....but its true, honest! They do not employ people who do not look the part. You must be reasonably conservatively dressed, and not overweight. I can honestly say I never saw a single overweight person working for ALDI in a retail management role. I remember a girl who joined at the same time as me who was short and curvy, but by no means overweight that 'we'll soon have that podge off you'...i.e you will have no time to eat, and the store training period is VERY physically intensive. I lost mearly a stone, and I wasn't overweight and ran regularly when I joined.

I guess what I am saying is, it isn't family friendly, and you need to think carefully about what sacrifices you are prepared to make. Have you though about management in the public sector (i.e local gov or civil service?) You are highly unlikely to start on 40k if you have been out of the loop and don't have management experience, but you might get a Project Management role managing resources at around £25 - £30k and then move up.

I live in the East Midlands btw (Lincolnshire)and currently earn 40k for a 4 day week working for the civil service (just transferred to a new job). This is after a degree, an MBA and 14 years experience in management. I used to earn more, but now I work 30 hours a week and have a life!

[Needtoearn]

Lucyellensmum - I'm pretty sure we have all the tax credits we are entitled to...they over paid us about 3 years ago and we are still haveing reductions made due to this overpayment.

LM - I guess DH does have transferable skills but without saying too much his job is in a very niche industry and he could easily get another job for a different company doing the same thing but problem is that the industry as a whole is not looking great so he'd likely have the same problems again.....

Notyummy - thanks for posting that information, it sounds very interesting. Hard work but I'm definitely up for the challenge. Did you leave because of the hours or the work? Also, after the training does the hours/ travel ease up a bit or is the pressure there to keep going at it? Must loose some weight if I apply then .....have a bit of baby weight hanging around still!!

Otherwise, our only other thoughts are for me to get a night job and DH to carry on working F/T. Not sure how I'd cope doing nights and then caring for the children in the day. This is just so hard but we need to make it work or we'll slip further and further into debt......

Any further suggestions of how we can make this work would be great but somehow we need an income of 35-40k a year.

[bundle]

think it would be easier for him to transfer skills to another different type of job tbh if you've been out of the workplace for a while.

[Notyummy]

In the end, I left because of the hours and the pressure...and that was when I had no kids!

Could you keep dhs job and look for something in the public sector that allows you to work school hours (lots of local gov let you do this) and pays at least £20/25k. With childcare vouchers (which most local gov has) you might be able to make it work.You could then look to work your way up. Does DH's employer offer childcare vouchers?

[LynetteScavo]

If you would be good in sales, I think it would be worth atleast applying for jobs to see what happens. Lots of sales jobs have a low basic salery, but commision can be good.

[luciemule]

Human Resources.

[pelafina]

Message withdrawn

[elliott]

I'm waiting for Xenia to come and tell us how easy it is to earn shedloads of money if you are prepared to work for it

[Monkeybird]

what job does Xenia do anyhow (kept reading she earned 40 times the minimum wage the other day and thought mmm maybe we all need a bit of that...)

[LynetteScavo]

Isn't she an accountant - self employed?