Do I take the plunge and get a career I love?

coinxoperated

Thanks for all the advice. I'll give some local uni's a call over the next couple of weeks and see where I stand then.

Its a shame, becoming a social worker would be my easiest choice right now, qualifying in 3 years with a job to support me with entire time, I just have no passion for it

heretolearn_2

Both are great ambitions if you are smart and good at science. You are definitely not too old to start - both are careers where a bit of maturity and life experience are seen as an advantage.
I don't know much about midwifery training, but a bit about vets.
To be a vet, well, it's extremely competitive to get a place and you'll need excellent exam results. I'm not sure if an Access course will be sufficient to beat the competition to be honest, your chances will be better if you go the trad route of GCSEs and A Levels. If you look at the vet school entry requirements you'll see you'll need Chemistry A level plus another science or Maths, plus another A Level. Most places (all?) require A* grades in all. You also have to pass and aptitude test. It's harder than getting a place to train as a doctor! Then it takes 5-6 years of training, and you are expected to work in an appropriate setting during the holidays.
Also it's usually a requirement to have a certain number of weeks animal experience in a professional setting before you apply, so you'd need to find a voluntary placement at a vets practise as well. It's also pretty much essential to have large animal experience - I believe a minimum of 6 weeks - and it's the norm to do that by working on a farm during lambing/calving season.
Also bear in mind that it's not for the squeamish (neither is midwifery of course) but that it does include having to put animals down. Early on in their training vets are taken off to an abattoir to learn how to use a humane killer - and it's a practical session. You have to kill something or you are off the course. Can you do that?
Not trying to put you off at all - it would be a fantastic thing to do with your life, a very satisfying and interesting career with so many options open to you.
If that all sounds a bit much, how about veterinary nursing?

jayII

coinxoperated wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice. I'll give some local uni's a call over the next couple of weeks and see where I stand then.

Its a shame, becoming a social worker would be my easiest choice right now, qualifying in 3 years with a job to support me with entire time, I just have no passion for it

Also speak to your local college(s) to see what they offer.

Good luck, you'll be fine once you get the hang of the names of different courses and quallifications.

Ladyhawk

Don't think you are too old to start. My cousin always wanted to be a doctor. She got married in her mid twenties and had a baby. Her husband then walked out on her and now she is in her early 30's and a single mum AND studying medicine full time.

gibson123

I didn't take education seriously until I was your age. I went to college for a year on an NC course at 22, then applied for uni before completing my second year. I had to work as well, so between studying and working I was doing about a 70 hr week, all paid work in the college holidays, but at least I did not have much student debt. You can do anything you want at your age, so go for it. I would suggest you go and speak to a vet and see if they will let you go in for a day's work experience. It costs a lot to become a vet, so you should be sure before you start. Good luck

Person_one

coinxoperated wrote: »

I'm pretty confident I could talk my way into a collage course if I really wanted too, but I just wanted to make sure I was going down the right route!

Any idea on how long studying takes assuming I passed first time for the exams?

I'm sure you could blag your way onto a college course, but midwifery and veterinary courses are both insanely competitive and you'd be unlikely to get onto either without any GCSEs.

You're young enough that you can take the time to do GCSEs first and then A-Levels/access course and still be under 30 when you graduate.

I'm a mature student nurse, and lots of people go into nursing and midwifery when they're a bit older, you'd actually be one of the younger ones on a midwifery course!

If you wanted to go the midwifery route I'd highly recommend trying to get a healthcare assistant job in a hospital alongside studying for your GCSEs. A women's hospital or a labour ward would obviously be ideal. That way you can 'try out' the kind of work to see if it really suits you, and your uni application will be so much stronger when you get there.

Some trusts will even pay you during your training if you've been working there long enough and make a good impression.

http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/cgi-bin/advsearch

Jobs do come up fairly frequently but they tend to disappear after a few hours so you have to be quick off the mark!

Dunroamin

If you want to be a vet, you need to do a science access course, whereas an access to healthcare course will be enough for midwifery. Many areas don't have a science access course locally and there wouldn't be any grant help to pay for accommodation. Whilst midwifery is a competitive course to get onto, veterinary science is far more so.

I feel that if you're unable to choose between the two at the moment, you shouldn't embark on this yet as the two careers are very different. I would suggest that you do the relevant GCSEs part time while carrying on working, giving you time to decide on your way forward and to reassess your academic situation.

LannieDuck

Veterinary studies is one of the most competitive uni courses around. Pratically everyone who gets onto it will have 3 x As in science A-levels and a bag-load of work experience on farms/vets/lambing etc. (I'm not a vet, but my sister is.) The uni course is a 5 or 6 year course by itself, and that's after any GCSEs/A-levels/Access courses you'd have to take in preparation.

I don't know the grade requirements for midwifery. I do know it's a very popular career at the moment (maybe because of One Born Every Minute?).

... having said all that, if it's what you really want to do and you're prepared to put the time and work in... yes, you should definitely go for it.

Call up the unis as you were planning, and see exactly what the requirements are. Until you know that, it's very hard to give any advice. Something else to consider is that there might be other careers that would be equally satisfying for you but not require the extensive training, e.g. vet nursing.

But in general, I think nothing ventured, nothing gained! If you're determined, it's not too late.

Aryndeneth

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/veterinary_surgeon_entry_requirements.htm
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/midwife_entry_requirements.htm

Try these links to find out a bit more about how to get into these professions. Only a limited number of Unis offer veterinary science (listed on this page)

Finally, if you do contact any Unis soon, remember that Welcome Week started today and the next few weeks are going to be really busy with the new starters. Don't be put off if they take a while to get back to you.

somethingcorporate

Just to point out that you could become an independent midwife or start your own midwifery practice (akin to owning your own vet!). These are private midwives that offer support alongside the NHS. Ours are amazing and the best money we have ever, ever spent.

Unfortunately they are due to be outlawed in the next year or two due to them not being able to get insurance but I am certain that they will exist in some form or another. They provide truly independent advice, one which is not concerned or constrained by the NHS' processes which are often in place to benefit the doctors and hospitals rather than focus on patient care.

We could not thank ours enough for the support they gave us in our last pregnancy and were a million times better than anything we came across in the NHS who were absolutely useless by comparison.