short courses that can lead to good jobs?

DKLS

PRINCE2, designed for learners to pass just focus the majority of your attention on Chapter 19.


Not actually much use in itself but does open doors to PM jobs.

angelbob

How about Cat 1 HGV licence? or bus driving?
ECDL level 2 did mine in a month, admin maybe

Opinion

jimmy2times wrote: »

Thanks everyone (except ''Opinion'', obviously! )
Please keep 'em coming. There must be something out there for someone like me!!

Apologies. What I probably should have said is that there are plenty of jobs that don't require you taking a course and that [can] pay above minimum wage. Any sales job that offers commission, for example- and I constantly see sales jobs available. It might not be glamorous but if you stick with it it can be very worth while.

Then you have the jobs that people are less appealing to the average person. If you looked for a job in a bar or club, for example, with a late licence (4:00am-5:00am) you would probably find that they pay over NMW as they have to compensate for the unsociable hours.

You shouldn't do a course just because you think it'll get you a job. In fact, you're better off reverse engineering the process- think of a bunch of jobs you'd like to do or enjoy doing, and from there work out what courses/qualifications you would need to do that. You might have to do a bit of research, write to companies etc but it would be worth while. You'll find that a lot of jobs will have related qualifications but that experience is key. It's all good and well holding a degree in Business Administration or Business Studies, but what do you *really* know? You know the theory, but theory and reality don't always match up. Having the right experience will, a lot of the time, at least get you an interview.

Hope this is more helpful than my first reply.

jimmy2times

angelbob wrote: »

How about Cat 1 HGV licence? or bus driving?

I don't have a driving licence. I've failed about 15 times? (lost count now)
Am kind of forced to give up trying, now. Literally throwing money away that I can't afford on tests and lessons etc.

Opinion wrote: »

Apologies. What I probably should have said is that there are plenty of jobs that don't require you taking a course and that [can] pay above minimum wage. Any sales job that offers commission, for example- and I constantly see sales jobs available. It might not be glamorous but if you stick with it it can be very worth while.

Then you have the jobs that people are less appealing to the average person. If you looked for a job in a bar or club, for example, with a late licence (4:00am-5:00am) you would probably find that they pay over NMW as they have to compensate for the unsociable hours.

You shouldn't do a course just because you think it'll get you a job. In fact, you're better off reverse engineering the process- think of a bunch of jobs you'd like to do or enjoy doing, and from there work out what courses/qualifications you would need to do that. You might have to do a bit of research, write to companies etc but it would be worth while. You'll find that a lot of jobs will have related qualifications but that experience is key. It's all good and well holding a degree in Business Administration or Business Studies, but what do you *really* know? You know the theory, but theory and reality don't always match up. Having the right experience will, a lot of the time, at least get you an interview.

Hope this is more helpful than my first reply.

Much more helpful!
Yes, there are always jobs that don't require qualifications that pay more than minimum wage.

You mention Sales - something that i've never actually tried for a job. Despite my history of depression and anxiety, people have told me that they think i'd actually be good at it, but I don't know.
Not to mention that the interviews for such jobs would be impossible for someone with my confidence and anxiety levels.

Your suggestion of reversing my thinking and picking a job i'd like to do and then seek them qualifications is a logical one. But what's lead me to my current thought process is that in over a decade of working i've hated every job, and have never had a single clue of a job that I would actually enjoy. So I kind of accepted that 'that's life i'm afraid', and thought maybe the best solution would be to just gain a 'skill' (any skill. As long as the qualifying process is quick, and it's something that someone with below average intelligence could pass!) that would enable me to get a career rather than another dead-end job.

A google search took me to this page:

http://www.indeed.com/forum/gen/Career-Advice/should-do-my-life/t176235

Quite interesting reading, and comforting to know that i'm not alone!

bugslet

double_mummy wrote: »

forklift working nights you can earn 15 an hour around here

morganedge wrote: »

very short, but you can get a forklift licence in a number of days and could then get a warehouse job for probably around £7.00 per hour.

Boring and depressing job in general, though.

I absolutely loved being a forkie back in the day, was groupage not an rdc, it was reasonably interesting, met lots of decent people. Did it for about 5 years until I got itchy feet.

angelbob wrote: »

How about Cat 1 HGV licence? or bus driving?
ECDL level 2 did mine in a month, admin maybe

It is hard work getting a job after you get your heavy goods. If anyone had a burning desire to do it, I wouldn't put them off, but if it's just a way of earning money and not because you actually fancy it, it'll depress the heck out of you. Money varies a lot from around £7.50 an hour to £12.00 broadly.

Hermia

What do you do currently as that may be a factor? For example, I once did a short teaching adults course. It's been very attractive to employers, but that's because it's a very nice add on for the career I am in. It's handy for anyone who has to train colleagues etc which is probably quite a lot of people. I am not sure how useful it would be to someone who is new to the job market.

Opinion

PLEASE KEEP THIS ON TOPIC- I DON'T WANT MY REPLY LEADING TO SOME BROADER DEBATE.

jimmy2times wrote: »

I don't have a driving licence. I've failed about 15 times? (lost count now)
Am kind of forced to give up trying, now. Literally throwing money away that I can't afford on tests and lessons etc.



Much more helpful!
Yes, there are always jobs that don't require qualifications that pay more than minimum wage.

You mention Sales - something that i've never actually tried for a job. Despite my history of depression and anxiety, people have told me that they think i'd actually be good at it, but I don't know.
Not to mention that the interviews for such jobs would be impossible for someone with my confidence and anxiety levels.

Your suggestion of reversing my thinking and picking a job i'd like to do and then seek them qualifications is a logical one. But what's lead me to my current thought process is that in over a decade of working i've hated every job, and have never had a single clue of a job that I would actually enjoy. So I kind of accepted that 'that's life i'm afraid', and thought maybe the best solution would be to just gain a 'skill' (any skill. As long as the qualifying process is quick, and it's something that someone with below average intelligence could pass!) that would enable me to get a career rather than another dead-end job.

A google search took me to this page:

http://www.indeed.com/forum/gen/Career-Advice/should-do-my-life/t176235

Quite interesting reading, and comforting to know that i'm not alone!

As someone speaking from experience, you need to put any depression/anxiety to the back of your mind, else you're going to struggle to get anywhere. You're going to use it as an excuse time and time again and that'll be that. You need to act as if. Act as if you've got the biggest balls in the world, as if you can take on and beat anyone and anything, as if nothing fazes you. Try it.

Sales doesn't have to be face to face, it can encompass many other forms, but I can guarantee that after a week or two knocking door to door or cold calling people and your skin will be twice as thick and that anxiety well and truly gone. I'm not trying to turn this in to a discussion of mental/health issues, but once you've been knocked back a few dozen times you'll forget that you ever cared. Sometimes you have to do something you think you'll probably hate as it will highlight the things you do like and do appreciate.

sitesafe

Hi - if you suffer from mental health problems many mental health organisations actually prefer to employ individuals that have experienced this themselves (and still do) to be support and recovery workers. Maybe that could be an area to look at? The course below is also available at a Level 1 (easier pace) if you have no experience in the area at all.

Although I already work in care I'm particularly keen to have a permanent job specifically in mental health as it's one area I particularly enjoy.

I currently do live-in care which leaves me with lots of free 'down time' so thought I would utilise this by looking for an online course in mental health. The one that interested me most was the NCFE Level 2 Mental Health Awareness course - it's in three parts and they give you four weeks to complete each part. It covers the legislation of mental health and then units on all the different mental health issues - Stress; Anxiety; Phobias; Depression (plus psychotic and post-natal depression); Bipolar; Schizophrenia; Eating Disorders etc. Unfortunately it cost over £300 BUT I found one college offering it fully funded. I didn't think I would qualify as I am working (albeit on a low wage and self-employed) but the college said it didn't matter. I really thought there was some kind of mistake but no, I was sent all the information and have now started it. It is a great opportunity to use free time as I wouldn't be able to attend a standard college course because I work one week on one week off. You can type the work online or you can hand write in the workbooks they send you and return them for marking.

As it's distance learning you don't have to be local to the college that runs the course (I'm in the Southwest, the college is in Lincolnshire).

I even found a fully funded Masters Course in Mental Health Recovery (it was funded because it was a new course) but I found it a month too late to apply. There are opportunities out there. I found lots of other colleges offering free online courses (some only a day long but others, like the one I am doing, would definitely be helpful in finding the relevant kind of work). There were lots of other subjects - just find the online course you like the sound of, keep searching online and hopefully you will find somewhere that offers it for free.

I can't believe my luck as I'm really enjoying what I'm doing and I can do it in my own time. :j

morganedge

HR seems to pay much more than I thought?
Maybe you could look at doing an HR course?
Don't know how long it takes, though and how difficult it would be.

Fletchasketch

IT is well paid, some of the courses, say ITIL take only a week, but will demonstrate to employers that you're commited to the industry. Most companies are crying out for tech support people at the moment, so you should have no problem if you interview well. Good luck!