I've been offered a job in retail, but I'm kind of fed up with retail work.

Transformers

Time to stop living in 'Cloud Cuckoo Land'.

Ever heard the expression 'work to live, not live to work'? Work is there to allow an individual to offer their services in return for reward - which then, hopefully, pays for life's necessities.

Before looking for your ideal job, you first need to just get the basics covered.

Frankly, why should tax payers finance you because you are holding out for perfection? Just take the job and get on with it. Why should others doing tedious work for minimum wage get to finance your pipe dream?

Life is hard and it we all face challenges along the way. The world does not owe us anything - get over yourself.

Toomuchdebt

kingslayer wrote: »

No it's part time, which is okay in a way as I have more free time to do extra stuff and find more opportunities, study etc. I do want to retake my gcses which I've been trying to self study for and then attend a course in the summer. University isn't an option right now as I have no idea what I would study so I'm not going to rush into any decisions.

Yeah volunteering in some kind of office role would be ideal. Would admin roles be best to look for? What other entry level type roles would also be worth looking at?

University wouldn't be an option anyway if you're looking to retake GCSE's as they need you to have done A levels.Most places require pretty high grades these days as there are so many students wanting places, they can afford to be picky.

somethingcorporate

So the issue is take a job you may get bored in or continue to be unemployed?

Is that really a question?

I honestly don't think there are many jobs that people don't find boring after a while. Welcome to the world of work!

Polarbeary

Why not do a free NVQ2 in Business & Admin? I did it free via vision2learn. You could look at local colleges and see if they offer IT courses?

I used to work in retail whilst a student and didn't like it, found it boring and so many tricky customers. I work in an office now. It can be boring but it's well paid and so much better than retail in general.

You could also do some voluntary admin work such as in a hospital or for a charity to get experience.

pinpin

Polarbeary wrote: »

I work in an office now. It can be boring but it's well paid and so much better than retail in general.

What do you do exactly?
thx

duchy

Toomuchdebt wrote: »

University wouldn't be an option anyway if you're looking to retake GCSE's as they need you to have done A levels.Most places require pretty high grades these days as there are so many students wanting places, they can afford to be picky.

Access would be another route and perhaps more practical as some run as evening classes so people can continue to work whilst they study.

elsien

How are your computer skills? While you're on JSA you should be able to access trainjng for word, Excel, publisher and PowerPoint. You'd need them for working in an office environment.

Trixi

kingslayer wrote: »

No it's part time, which is okay in a way as I have more free time to do extra stuff and find more opportunities, study etc. I do want to retake my gcses which I've been trying to self study for and then attend a course in the summer. University isn't an option right now as I have no idea what I would study so I'm not going to rush into any decisions.

Yeah volunteering in some kind of office role would be ideal. Would admin roles be best to look for? What other entry level type roles would also be worth looking at?

You will need the core GCSE subjects for most things (English, Maths, maybe Sciences and IT these days?). If you have those then I think it's time to take a job (any job!) and work out what you want to do next. Earning will give you more options to think about moving/re-training etc. If you can fill your other days with learning/volunteer work or hobbies then you might find your options start to widen.

I would also consider looking for jobs elsewhere if you're not restricted. I moved away for a full time (retail/min. wage) job that covered my rent in a shared house after uni. A new job and town might inspire you to new things

Sncjw

Kingslayer take the job. It seems you expect to be able to get a job that requires some skill straight away. As I said you don't seem sure of what you want to do.

Any ways I have worked in retail for 5 years on a full time and part time basis in the same place. After being removed from my nursing course due to health reasons I've been looking for work in admin for 6 months. I have no admin experience and my qualifications are in health care.

You learn transferable skills such as customer service which you may need deepening on admin job, communication, problem solving, organisation, time management, telephone skills, getting on with people of different backgrounds. Also you feel good as it gives you something to do during the day and earning your own money. In your personal life it allows you to develop a routine and also plan to use money for different things. You may also depending on job role in retail learn to do cash handling, balancing a till and multi tasking. Also develops your confidence as you may need to ask hard questions and deal with confrontation if asking for Id.

As I say I've been in retail for 5 years and lookin for admin work and have just been offered an admin role with no quals. Once you are
In the admin workplace you may be able to do nvqs and learn different systems which can help you progress. You need to start from bottom and take up any opportunities that come your way.

szam_

I agree with people asking why this is even a question.

If only we could not work until the dream job comes along... unfortunately life isn't like that.

I'm 27, my progression was:

Volunteering with small local gaming company > Retail > Factory Work > College (couldn't finish due to personal circumstances) > Admin Assistant (FJF scheme) > Software Testing/Client Liasion/Documentation > 1st and 2nd line IT support later also including on site consultancy and configuration of software and hardware > Software configuration consultant

I enjoy what I do now, although it can get tedious. Point is, you don't just jump in halfway, or all the way, even graduates these days can struggle to get in to their choice of job and must start at the bottom. If it was as easy as just jumping in to your job of choice, I think everyone would do it. Get some experience, prove yourself in that role, get a good reference, move up, repeat.

Yeah, it may take years, it may take months depending on what you're aiming for, but turning down a paid job if you don't have one is a ludicrous idea that will in no way help you or your CV and the longer out of paid work, the more damage it does to you and your CV. Volunteering work helps, but at the same time, why stick to JSA? I was working 20 hours a week in retail and it felt rewarding being paid by the company rather than getting money for nothing from the DWP.