Please help me with a new start

[noshiba]

I'd really appreciate any advice on my work dilemma.
I've worked in a technical corporate environment all my life. I'm now in my 50s and was made redundant last year.
My area of speciality was very niche and has now altogether disappeared. There are reasons why I didn't prioritise updating my skills or moving jobs. I have had huge challenges in my home life with caring for parents whilst looking after children and living with a horrible partner. I also hated my job and didn't feel that I was really doing anything meaningful. I have tried to apply for similar corporate roles but my age and skillset is against me.

I'm in the process of leaving my partner but I need to have an income and I want to feel useful.
I am thinking of changing direction completely.

My A levels and degree were all pure science based but not vocational.

I need to do something where a half decent salary is guaranteed as much as any job can do this.
I have been thinking about re-training to do something in health or social care/Mental Health. I am a kind and compassionate person but also quite introverted. I wouldn't be able to handle a very stressful job due to history of trauma. I could afford to retrain for a couple of years and pay for a degree as long as I had a job at the end of it.

Some areas that I have looked at are:

Physician Associate: Good salary but there are a lot of cons to this. The status seems to be quite up in the air and patients and Drs have reservations (to put it mildly). But at the same time there may be a valuable role here once it's clarified. The NHS is in a crisis. But I also wouldn't want to do a job where I was despised or viewed negatively. I also wouldn't want to waste money on a degree that was useless.

Occupational Therapist: Any thoughts? People who do this seem to enjoy it. Would I be able to get a job after the training easily?

Am I looking in the wrong areas? Any other areas I should look at? I also care about environmental issues but have no idea what I could do.

It sounds like I am asking for the earth - a guaranteed job that's not hugely stressful!

Help!

Bumping my own thread!

Not too sure...but have a look at Brave Starts as it's exactly for people looking at what to do next. I found it quite helpful.

Im 59, have retrained as a data analyst- there is a lot of demand for data people at the moment if you think that may be of interest

What's your background in? Just curious. What sort of training did you do?

My back ground is marketing and so I got more involved in data at work and then took a number of courses online. There are lots on Coursera. So obviously my background has helped but I think if you have time and are able to do some kind of training with a good provider and one who can help with careers then I think it’s possible. Worth looking into if your mindset is like that. For me it has provided a change from the world of sell sell sell and also the mental stimulation of learning and an intellectual challenge.

There are also some degree type courses in universities - but make sure they are not online providers only based in India; They are very expensive and I’m not sure provide the required support. But lots of unis do Mscs and things which could work for you (or even data science!)

Thanks. Really interesting. I'm definitely going to dip my toes into courses. I'm looking for something I can do after dojng sales focused roles.

I would recommend a career coach, mine was worth her weight in gold and helped me get on the right track

Can you not do something more aligned with your niche skills but broader?

I “upskilled” into cyber security after being a sahm for far too long by doing a masters. I’m not sure it was the best way, for me, in retrospect, there are lots of short courses and certifications that would have got me back in the workplace. Have a look on Udemy and LinkedIn learning.

I am amazed you are considering social care or mental health fields if you don't want stress and have your own trauma history. Those two areas are confronting stress and trauma every day!.

I'll suggest becoming an audiologist.
Respected and plenty of private or NHS jobs. There are various levels which means once you are practicing you can develop or not as you are inclined. Requires good people skills and compassion but not a flood of people all the time, you have to work in a quiet space one to one mostly. Vocational and unlikely to be replaced with ai and pay ok.

Trouble is it's hard to know if a coach is a waste of time or brilliant. 😬

Thanks for replies.

@LoveSandbanks

Do you mind me asking about cyber security. Is your role very technical?
To the level of having to code? I have quite a technical background in software configuring etc but I'm not good at coding.

What would you recommend to retrain in this?

Thanks

You might have to kiss some frogs, most offer a free initial appt. And i've ditched some after that if we didnt gel.

This is really useful. Thank you

Oh it would be ideal for you. My first career was software engineering but I loathe coding. My current role is far more on the information security side (I’m mid 50’s btw and started my masters in 2021) but even in forensics it’s not really code heavy

Absolutely look at certifications or even just some Udemy courses. Employers are looking for a proactive interest in the area and evidence that you are keeping skills current.