So, does MN have a resident careers counsellor? Or d'you all want to have a go?

[PhDlifeNeedsaNewLife]

I've worked my whole adult life in universities. I did admin and research work to get my higher qualifications; I've taught nearly every semester since 1998 and had two years full-time as a lecturer. It was, quite simply, my 'vocation'.

But then, for complicated reasons, I had to choose between having a baby or trying to get a job. I was 37, so no choice, really, and I've been SAHMing for a year now.

Thing is, I really need a job. I need it for financial reasons and I need it for my sanity and I need it because dh and I would dearly love to own a home, which is never going to happen on his salary alone.

But I don't know what to do. I don't think I want to work as hard as I know a junior academic has to - been there, done that, it wasn't fun, ain't going back. Otoh, I've never done anything else and haven't the first clue as to what else I could do, let alone, would like to do. Can't imagine not doing that kind of work.

So. Where do I start, figuring out where I can go next?

hmm thanks MMSandI...

okay. answering hulababy's questions.

1. Where are you now?

4 degrees (BA, BAHons, MA, PhD), 1 PGCE.

Strengths: outstanding communication especially in front of a crowd; analysis; research, study, interviewing, synthesising information. Appraising, evaluating, giving feedback. Keeping records, good memory (pre-baby-brain, at least), good with details. Excellent inter-personal skills.

Weaknesses: Narrow experience, none outside HE (since 1999, anyway). No experience managing people. (Well, supervising disserations should count, but probably won't.) Deeply klutzy.

Someone remind me what the O and the T are? (baby brain, dammit)

Opportunities and threats

opportunities
threats

Monkeybird, thanks that list is very helpful and so's the link. Will explore that more!

Would quite happily go into university admin, actually - but not at the coffee-making level I was previously.

How could I get people-managing and money-managing skills to get to work at that level?

Don't know about "career-track" at this stage, just want something that's not short blardy term ablardygain!! I want a mortgage, fgs! (sorry but I am SO fed up with short-term contracts...)

Opportunities... erm, this is bit where my mind goes blank and drool comes out of my mouth

Threats... Same.

I know you said you don't want to retrain but you could maybe do a couple of things (project management courses for example) that perhaps you could do as short courses, just to start your skills development?

There are also some graduate public sector schemes - local authority and health service I think but you'd be competing with 21 year olds probably...

You can also do short courses in research skills (eg social science research) that don't cost too much and would help.

It is inevitable surely that you have people skills, even if you weren't directly managing people. supervising students is a form of management but clearly not the same as managing a dept. But a university admin job would have the advantage of knowing exactly what you had been doing IYSWIM.

Voluntary work or work experience or shadowing might be one way in?

Opportunities: well, in my university, over the last few years they have been recruiting project managers all over the shop. typically they have transferred from junior/senior admin posts in the public sector or middle level private sector. They start at about 25k but often negotiable. they usually require admin experience, project management skills, degree, understanding of HE system (including the broader political and economic context) blah blah blah.

Or ask to shadow/help out in your local uni's central services dept? or get a low paid admin job, do the inhouse staff development training like mad in your first year, then apply for every more senior post that comes up...

hmm, yes, project-management course, that could be a go. you'd think getting through a 120,000-word phd would be evidence enough, wouldn't you

oh lordy, do I want to work that hard again? with self-important neurotics academics? (present company excepted, of course )

have tried repeatedly to get low-paying admin jobs, but haven't got an interview for years. suspect the phd scares them.

so you want something permanent, interesting, that pays well, for which you do not have to retrain? Outside academia?

I think you may have to order those in priority, because it may not be easy to find something that ticks all those boxes...

How about something in a Charity? fund-raising? your communication/presentation skills would be good there.

Try Charityjob.co.uk

Librarianship?
We have quite a few people who started out in academe or teaching
You can get to qualify p/t on the job, so to speak

Had another thought. Depends on where you live though since many more jobs in London but you could work for a thinktank (like eg Demos) or similar...

Project management these days mean something more specific. I think the course that everyone does is called Prince 2 or summat like that. There's a bit of specific planning stuff done there involving Gantt chart, person hours, milestones, contingencies, blah blah. And you'd probably need to think about budget management skills too (spreadsheets? forecasting?)

You know it's just hit me - what got me thinking about this was my younger brother who is a project manager for a large examinations agency. He started off marking scripts and got sucked in. He now earns 40k, outside London. He told me when I was disillusioned that my skills would fit right in there and they have lots of ex teachers and ex-PhDs... They do lots of in-job training. That might be right up your street?

Agree that HE admin is a good option and nobody will be phased by the PhD! I moved into this line quite early on and overall I think it's great.

The Uni I work in also has a lot of money to fund "trainers", particularly to work with PGR students on things like "networking at conferences". would something like that be of interest?

marialuisa, I applied for a bunch of HE admin jobs when my last lecturing position finished, and didn't get so much as a nibble, despite having worked in HE admin to help fund my studies.

perhaps I was looking at too low a level?

Could see the "trainer" position working out, thought that was a specific qualification though.

Have found a job teaching academic skills to apply for, cross fingers please!

PhD - the sort of salary you are talking about is (sorry and all that) a graduate starting salary in the commercial world.

So - lateral thinking - organisations who need (a) trainers or (b) people to teach soft skills to geeks - maybe? The company I work for has labs based in Bristol but I am sure there must be others nearer you?

What about working as a data analyst for a business information company - someone like Datamonitor are always looking for people to research and compile market reports in specific sectors. If you have one near you then may be worth looking at - they pay very well.

Hi squiggle - yes I know about the salary thing - it's infuriating but there it is!

Talked to an organisation about being a trainer once - they informed me you have to have an MA in (wait for it) Training - apparently being a mere lecturer was not good enough. Dunno if it was just the disinterested person I spoke to, might investigate again.

Editing/writing/research - I work freelance from home as an editor. If you are good with English and have an academic frame of mind, there are lots of agencies who need freelance editors and proofreaders. Check out the Society of Freelance Proofreaders and Editors. They aslo run their own training courses - I know you don't want to train anymore but theirs are great and cheap adn normally onyl last one day.

Upside - v v flexible, works great around children, is reasonably stimulating, particularly if you are used to and enjoy academic work.

Downside - not amazing pay, usually better to be self-employed adn work from home therefore don't get to escape out of the house. No career progression really as a freelancer.
best of luck!

huh, thanks staranise - apart from the pay, that's the idea I like best atm...

well, y'know, after "lady of leisure"

PhDLife - my shift over to HE admin started off in the Research Office - the academic experience is invaluable there, and I went in at a level comparable to Junior Lecturer. I then moved over to a Policy/Governance job, and got promoted to equivalent to high JL, bottom SL. I reckon the policy/planning experience would now allow me to shift over to public policy, NGOs, etc if that's the way I wanted to go.

Ooh - staranise - that quite appeals to me too!

Yes, it suits me! I worked for about ten years in publishing companies and also in non-publishing companies but as their editor. Saying that, I have no formal training in proofing etc but I like it and like working with language. I work for agencies and also for private clients and rates vary enormously but average between £150-£400+ a day. It helps if you specialise a bit. Plus, if you don't have childcare costs...
The well-known employers (eg, magazines & newpapers) pay the least, best rates come from the corporate sector. I do occasional work for City firms that pay v well. Many businesses outsource all their editing and proof-reading to an agency. I also edit fiction via an agency that is fun and v flexible as the deadlines are long. The pay is lower as is per 1000 words but there are a lot of words in a novel.

Which reminds me, am meant to be working right now...that's the problem with working from home, it's v v easy to get distracted...