Job is affecting health

missile

It is easier to find another job whilst you are currently employed.

Jobs are very scarce in some areas, where are you? I would suggest you carefully consider what experience you have to offer a potential employer. IMHO there is little point in applying for a job if you do not have the required qualification / experience. You might find your local college has vocational training which would give you a better chance.

Kered

missile wrote: »

It is easier to find another job whilst you are currently employed.

Jobs are very scarce in some areas, where are you? I would suggest you carefully consider what experience you have to offer a potential employer. IMHO there is little point in applying for a job if you do not have the required qualification / experience. You might find your local college has vocational training which would give you a better chance.

The only thing that I really have to offer a potential new employer is a 35 year record of my willingness to work for a living. I have a recognised apprenticeship but I have no desire to return to that field of work, I might find it difficult anyway as engineering as moved on in leaps and bounds over the last 25 years with most machines now CNC.

I am in a catch 22 position as far as going to college to retrain, I would need to give up work to do this and after training there would be no guarantee that I would find a position that I had chosen to train for (whatever that might be)

I have funds available that would allow me to gain a hackney licence or even do a PSV training course and expand to mini-bus driving but again I am unsure if there would be work available in my area to make the investment worthwhile.

Savvy_Sue

Kered wrote: »

I have funds available that would allow me to gain a hackney licence or even do a PSV training course and expand to mini-bus driving but again I am unsure if there would be work available in my area to make the investment worthwhile.

plus you might not pass the health assessments for those, which I think can be quite tough.

missile

Kered wrote: »

The only thing that I really have to offer a potential new employer is a 35 year record of my willingness to work for a living. I have a recognised apprenticeship but I have no desire to return to that field of work, I might find it difficult anyway as engineering as moved on in leaps and bounds over the last 25 years with most machines now CNC.

I am in a catch 22 position as far as going to college to retrain, I would need to give up work to do this and after training there would be no guarantee that I would find a position that I had chosen to train for (whatever that might be)

I have funds available that would allow me to gain a hackney licence or even do a PSV training course and expand to mini-bus driving but again I am unsure if there would be work available in my area to make the investment worthwhile.

Life is too short to tough it out in a job which you feel is damaging your health (and I suspect you dislike?). You are still young enough to find a job you will enjoy.

It may not be easy, but the best advice I can offer is to make a plan. Decide what you would like to do and find out what you need to do to make it happen. Speak to people who are already doing the job you aspire to and listen very carefully to their advice. Go to see a careers advisor.

Most colleges run vocational training in the evening to help people like you. Any reasonable employer would give you some unpaid(?) time off to attend training if you approach them.

Where I live they are crying out for bus drivers and offering incentives to attract incoming workers. :T

downshifter

I agree that lots of research is a great idea. Really think through what you would like to do, what would be your dream job? Get a short list together. Talk to people who already do it or look up job descriptions on the net then look at what you would need to know or learn in order to do it. You may find you already have the required knowledge or experience if you take a slightly sideways look at your background - after all, it isn't just your work experience that you are offering an employer, it's all the other things you've learned over your 51 years.

In my case I also looked at the minimum amount I could live on, for me this was 800 a month, and aimed to get jobs or a job that would give me that amount. I also decided to take out a pension early which was the best thing ever - can you do that which will give you a bit of slack? I now have a collection of little jobs, mostly admin/teaching support/retail - none of which are related to my original career - I also discovered I could live on around £600 a month - with lots of time for other activities and fun or just lazing around when the sun shines! It's a good thing to look at your life in your early 50s, whether forced to by ill health or not, and think about where you're going.

Good luck with whatever you decide.