How to get a decent job - any ideas?

pawsies

Could you not speak to boss, say you are thinking about doing additional courses to improve your performance and they might come back and say they'll sponsor you. If not, they may still consider you for something considering you've shown an interest in progressing?

Kynthia

Lots of people do well without having a degree, are you sure it's just that holding you back? Are you proactive at work, volunteering for new responsibilities, helping others, doing more than is expected of you, etc. Do you go for oppotunities for promotion or lateral transfer with the chance of new skills, sell yourself on application forms and impress at interviews. Do you give the impression of being capable of the job above yours and act professionaly?

You need to think more long term as some choices may take some years to pay off. Also you need to have an idea of what it is you want to do with your career. AAT and the chartered accountancy exams, such as CIMA and ACCA, can be self studied. There are many people who buy a distance or online learning course from a provider (or just get second hand text books of ebay) and sit the exams. However just having qualifications doesn't instantly transform people's careers.

denla

AAT and ACCA won't be easy to study if you don't have a financial related degree or a direct accountancy work background.

Dunroamin

If you want to study for a part time degree with the OU or other provider, student loans are available so your savings need not be affected.

If you need a degree (and I do say "if") then the sooner you start it, the better.

isplumm

Hi,

I don't think you are to old to go to uni - I was 24 when I went - ok it was back in 1991 & before fees etc. There were quite a lot of students older than me ...

I would look for a course that offers some time in industry - it will give you an advantage when it comes to looking for work after the course finishes.

It certainly benefited me - I was earning about £6k before uni, my 1st job afterwards was about £14.5k, with a far greater earning potential.

Mark

WantToBeSE

IF you want/need a degree, then you are never too old!
I have made some bad choices early on in my life, and left with not so good GCSEs, spent a few years on drugs (the years i should have been building a career) and fell in with a bad crowd.
Long story short, i went back to uni aged 29, and have just got my degree

the main thing i would urge you to do, is get experience, experience, experience. Whether thats paid or voluntary.

good luck!

Voyager2002

Loads and loads of people go t university when they are aged 30 or older. You would of course receive the full package of student loans and quite possibly grants and bursaries.

With GCSE and AS qualifications, you might consider taking some A2s first, although you would be eligible to enter most degree courses directly as a mature student. Or you could begin with an Access or Foundation course.

Voyager2002

WantToBeSE wrote: »

IF you want/need a degree, then you are never too old!

The oldest student I ever met was 89 years old! Mind you, I doubt whether he will have much success applying to the graduate management schemes that big companies run -- they seem to practice age discrimination.

jfh7gwa

OP, you need to focus less on the immediate gains of prospective options - tone down the "wow I'll be in my thirties if i try to get a degree" and the sole focus on earning cash.

Or waiting on that non-existent perfect employer recognising you (you said "Or does anyone know of employers who value employees on experience and ability rather than education?" as if you're waiting on your potential to be recognised - it probably won't.)

You need to identify a career path that
a) interests you, or you have a genuine passion for already,
b) you have an aptitude for (or think you can build the skills in that area, through self study/formal training/experience/whatever) and
c) will eventually give you the lifestyle you desire.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that you appear to want to build a career, without wanting to put in the long term slog and long term training/climbing the career ladder for it.

That's one of the differences between a job and a career. Most of the people I know on decent money (if that's what you're interested in - it's not necessarily a bad thing to want a high reward for your labour) had quite a few years of badly paid jobs, or having to take a wage cut for a side-step, or whatever.

Without going into too much detail about my own career, I look back at the first 5 / 6 years of my role after uni, and it was badly paid. Especially when I had a brother only a year older than me who'd failed his A-levels and went straight into work, and earned a significantly higher salary than me during that time (he had the time to build experience I'd not). However, with that ground work, getting a variety of experience, I've opened up opportunities he'd never be considered for - and it's not always to do with having a degree or not!

Think about the long game. That's what you're missing.

You've had a mini "lightbulb" moment ("I don't want to be stuck in these crappy low level roles forever"), now you need to connect those dots and form a plan of action / re-align your attitude with reality.

Once you achieve that second "lightbulb" moment, we're here to help. And, although it might sound trite, the world really is yours for the taking.

pbryd

I'm was 36 when I decided to train for a career. I went back to college and studied for 3 years part-time on a foundation degree.

You're lucky in a sense, at home with no mortgage / rent to pay for.

Stay at work, pick a career path, study hard in your spare time. Get stuck in for a few years and it should pay off. Student loans and grants are available.

The sooner you start the better. Perhaps you could drop a few hours at work to give you more study time.

Goodluck

P