advise pls. University at 25!!!!!

Nat172

hiya all . i would like your advise.
my backgroud.
got a job in prison servcie at 18
bought a house at 18. 75k mortgage
earn 16k a year clear 1140 per month
10 min drive to work. free gym

very unsociable hours, horrible people i work with and im unhappy and hate the work very much

im 25 and newly married well civil partnered and we have a 18mnth old
at the moment my mortgage is cheap at 197 pm and wont
go up til rates shoot up !!
i have enrolled into uni and start next week fulll time, tho its only 2 days a week.
tho im yet to be paid im due to recieve full grant and loan which if i budget its equal to my wage each month.
i want to get into building/cad design and tho we may struggle i hope fnancially it pays off and going back uni for a career will pay off in the end
am i stupid for quitting a job when at the moment there are so hard to find??
i have earned 16k now for last 3 years and it wont go up anytime soon,promotion is only if ur face fits and i jst want to be better than that and get a career.
im well aware part time work will be hard to find also. but even when i finish uni trainee cad technicians earn 16k starting. thats my wage now lol
whats your views.
any good me at 25 going back to university for a career?
am i kidding myself, i hear of so many not getting career when they leave univerity.

Oldernotwiser

Nobody can tell what the future may hold but many people successfully start new careers in this way at your age.

If you're already given in your notice, the best thing would be to look forward and not backwards. Can your partner work part time so that you can share childcare responsibilities? This would give you time with him/her that you wouldn't have had when working and would be another advantage to the situation.

Good luck.

[Deleted User]

Is there anyway that you can keep your current job on 2 or 3 days a week until you manage to find other part-time work that you might prefer/more relevant to your future career/better hours etc?

- this way you know you've got extra money coming in and you can save some as a fall back/contingency for the time period between when you finish your course and you find your first "real" job?

Nat172

i havnt handed my notice in yet and im unsure.. mainly because i scared im used to a wage as crap as it is.
my partner will get a job she doesnt mind at all.
as for going part time they wont allow it. i have tried they are awkward and move goal posts to suit them. even more so as the course is nothing to do with them and they wont benefit !
i do want to do university i have never took a gamble like this before and i dont want to regret it tho if i stay in work and dont get a career i will regret that too. my partner wants me to quit and go to uni to better myself as she knows i not happy and i want a career in CAD, and tho i agree i have my old braincells telling me im unsure . and i dont know why.

Lokolo

Theres no point taking a gamble when the chances of you doing it right is slim.

You need to think about this very carefully. If you make the right decisions, you can get somewhere.

You want a career in CAD? Are you definate about this? http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/industrial_product_designer_job_description.jsp

Read that, is that what you want? It also has entry requirements, so what sort of degree you would need.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk

That site is amazing, research on that, maybe go see a careers advisor.
Do the 'What jobs would suit me?' section.

Don't jump in at the deep end, walk into the shallow end!

Oldernotwiser

As you haven't yet made the jump out of employment, have you looked at courses available with the Open University? This would enable you to study for a degree whilst carrying on working. It'll take longer but give you more financial security.

Totally agree with Lokolo on the need for careers guidance before making any final decision.

Edit: Link to OU degree in Computing and Design

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/qualification/b44.htm

ste_coxy

I do not think it would be a good idea to get rid of your job until at least you have found something alternative - although it might not be the best and it is doing your head in, it is a lot harder I have found to find jobs when you are out of work and the stress adds up a lot more so.

www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk
www.monster.co.uk
www.jobsite.co.uk
www.totaljobs.com
www.fish4jobs.co.uk

and get in touch with local agencies in your area.

good luck!

Volcano

Lokolo wrote: »

Theres no point taking a gamble when the chances of you doing it right is slim.

Why are the OP's chances of doing it right 'slim'?

They're in a job they hate, with people they hate with little prospects for the future. With a low mortgage and your partner getting a job, this could be exactly the right time for a career change! You have another 40 years or working life left yet, plenty of time to build a career in an area you enjoy/have an interest in (not that a degree necessarily ties you to a specific vocation).

Talk to the university's career people (get an appointment with them if possible) they're best placed to know the career market, plus the advice will be free/v. cheap.

am i kidding myself, i hear of so many not getting career when they leave univerity

Yep, plenty who have spent 3 years drinking solidly and doing nothing towards their employment prospects during this time!

The uni can also help you find part-time work while you are studying; it's unlikely to pay well though you might even be able to get some work with a company in the area you're studying, which will help your job prospects no end.

One tactic with your existing company IF you do decide to go to uni: Tell them you're starting uni but you'll still be able to work X amount of hours for them. Tell them those hours will always have to fit around uni but you're willing to do them anyway. Then say if that's not acceptable to them, then you'll have no option but to hand in your notice. Plenty of companies have relented rather than lose an experienced staff member (don't do this unless you've made your mind up to go to uni whatever the outcome though!)

Lokolo

Volcano wrote: »

Why are the OP's chances of doing it right 'slim'?

Sorry you seem to have misunderstood. The OP has suddenly decided to change to go into university education at the snap of the fingers and is thinking about handing in notice.

Doing this is not the best of ideas at the moment. Research needs to go into this. Hence why I said doing it right at the moment, would lead to a change of success being slim and then why I gave a decent website to look at to research, and then said go and see a careers advisor

Research -> Success
Going in Blind -> Fail

elfen

Ask your work if they'll allow you to go part time so you can do your uni course; that way, you have a definite P/T job which you can up to F/T in the holidays, and you can still do the uni course.

Volcano

Lokolo wrote: »

Sorry you seem to have misunderstood. The OP has suddenly decided to change to go into university education at the snap of the fingers and is thinking about handing in notice.

Doing this is not the best of ideas at the moment. Research needs to go into this.

The OP has applied for and been accepted for uni, worked out their finances and researched what their likely starting wage would be on graduation for their desired career path. A far greater amount of preparation than the vast bulk of 18 year olds who stumble into university because it's expected of them.

There's still nothing to suggest their chances of being successful are 'slim'.