I'm 30 and want a real career with good earning potential. Is it too late?

bumpercars99

A lot of your posting is very negative I'm afraid. For example, it is definitely possible to move into retail management without a degree but you need to be a lively and positive person and put your best into your current job to prove yourself before they're going to put the energy back into training you.

I think you need to focus on finding something that's achievable as a job now that you can put your best into and progress within that one step at a time rather than obsessing about £40k.

You're also talking nonsense about post-graduation jobs. I worked in retail throughout my 20's, decided to go to uni, graduated and my work experience was crucial in securing my graduate job. You need to sell it. I was motivated and driven, I had to work full time through uni to support myself which proved to them that I could handle the professional qualifications I'm now studying for alongside my job and it seems clear to me that I was less of a risky hire than a 22 year old who's never worked before. Why do you think your age defines you?

Even if it is a retail job, I would find one job and stick at it while you're deciding what to do and try and keep it going. What is the reason that you've moved between different jobs rather than digging in where you were?

tiger_eyes

I think it's worth noting that many of those brand-new, fresh-faced graduates will also end up working in low-paid retail jobs wondering how to get that £40k a year. So a degree wouldn't necessarily get the OP what he wants anyway.

duchy

If you are prepared to put in the hours Access courses can be done in a year attending classes two evenings a week.

Maybe approach it from the other direction and see what Access courses are available in your area and see what degrees they would link to.

If I was going to retrain in a trade I'd look at plastering - always seems to be in high demand and it's not too messy (compared with say plumbing)

zenmaster

bugslet wrote: »

My truck drivers earnt between 35 - 40k last year. Can wrap that course up in a month if you pass the test - outlay should be around the 3k mark.

Now there are a lot of variations in pay around the country, with jobs starting as low as £7.50 an hour in some areas and it's not always easy to get into a good job when you are starting out, though I've started brand new drivers. Even if you have to work for the lower rates for a year, it then gives you the stepping stone to working for a better firm. The work covers everything from ttrunkers doing the same run every day/night, pallet networks, european and frankly everything moves at some point in a truck.

It may not suit, but personally I love my industry and most drivers are hard-working decent men and occasionally women. Probably not what you think of in career terms, but you did say anything!

My BIL was in haulage. He's out of the game now but still in the network.

In conversation, over Christmas, he told me that there is an immediate need for around 30,000 drivers.

It's not that easy to get into though.

The reason for the conversation was that my nephew has just tried to get on to a course.

He got 75% in his theory test - they wanted 90%.

jp2016

bugslet wrote: »

I know it's tough when you are feeling down, but that is such a negative post.:(

You seem to be looking for the perfect job to focus on/degree to take and maybe you will hit on it, but at the moment it's just coming across as analysis paralysis.

It certainly wasn't easy when I was young. 3 million unemployed when I left school and I started my 'career' as a forklift driver. A few months before my 30th birthday I started working for myself and 25 years later, still am with 22 employees. The first few years were brutally hard and badly paid.

Stop fretting about the big companies, find one you like and apply. Both of my managers earn in you intended wage bracket, neither of them have a degree. If either of them were to leave, and I had a choice where the only real difference was that one of the applicants had a businesz degree and the other didn't, I'd take the one without a degree every time. I find that people with business degrees aren't flexible enough, too cookie cutter. ( Not saying that is right, it's a personal opinion). I think you need to broaden your thinking a bit.

Good post. I think I'm just becoming cynical very quickly after reading on other forums like The Student Room of even graduates with first class honours from good universities struggling to find employment - it just makes me think if I don't even have half of what they have and they are struggling, then I'm going to find it twice as hard.

I think what I need is a path to follow - a lot of the posts on here re getting promotion/moving up the ladder without a graduate scheme to give you a kick start into a management role (which seems to be common) are depending on luck and hoping that you'll be offered a higher position.

I get on with people I work with, one of the reasons I haven't stayed long in many places (6 months max) is I have a very insubordinate personality - I can't take crap off anyone regardless of their position/superiority so have fallen out with managers before when I've spoken up.

Perhaps I need to be my own boss.

jp2016

duchy wrote: »

If you are prepared to put in the hours Access courses can be done in a year attending classes two evenings a week.

Maybe approach it from the other direction and see what Access courses are available in your area and see what degrees they would link to.

If I was going to retrain in a trade I'd look at plastering - always seems to be in high demand and it's not too messy (compared with say plumbing)

Thanks. I've looked into Access courses recently and they're even achievable in 6 months with hard work. My problem isn't that, it's deciding a route to take, choosing the right degree that will put me in the best position for a good career afterwards. I don't want to be one of those countless people that have a good degree from somewhere and struggle to find a job and end up where I am now regardless. It's just going to be twice as hard with being a mid-30's graduate with a crap CV so I'm just after a bit of guidance on what type of career I should be looking at to give things a good chance of working out.

jp2016

bumpercars99 wrote: »

A lot of your posting is very negative I'm afraid. For example, it is definitely possible to move into retail management without a degree but you need to be a lively and positive person and put your best into your current job to prove yourself before they're going to put the energy back into training you.

I think you need to focus on finding something that's achievable as a job now that you can put your best into and progress within that one step at a time rather than obsessing about £40k.

You're also talking nonsense about post-graduation jobs. I worked in retail throughout my 20's, decided to go to uni, graduated and my work experience was crucial in securing my graduate job. You need to sell it. I was motivated and driven, I had to work full time through uni to support myself which proved to them that I could handle the professional qualifications I'm now studying for alongside my job and it seems clear to me that I was less of a risky hire than a 22 year old who's never worked before. Why do you think your age defines you?

Even if it is a retail job, I would find one job and stick at it while you're deciding what to do and try and keep it going. What is the reason that you've moved between different jobs rather than digging in where you were?

It's hard not to be negative when you've seen things yourself that make you think that way. The reason I've moved between different jobs is not having a passion for retail (its bores me, I don't feel any drive with it) and from my personal experience promotion is hard to come by in a good retail role without having a degree - I know you and others have said that's rubbish but that's just my experience. The ones that have worked their way up into supervisory roles are earning £21k in something they've taken 4-5 years to get to. Not saying that's a bad salary but I want to earn more than that and don't want to take a decade or more to get to where I want.

I also have a very insubordinate personality - I won't take any crap from managers or get talked down to for no reason and have clashed on that before so that was the reason I moved on from two other jobs. I get on fine with people at work, just not power hungry management.

There are people I went to school with that were earning £30k-£40k+ within a year of graduating (apparently..). Preferably I could do without the 4 year commitment to university, so if there was an alternative to that, a traineeship, apprenticeship, or qualification I could learn in less time than that then that would be ideal.

jp2016

xapprenticex wrote: »

IMO, the house thing isnt all its cracked up to be, you wont own the house till its paid.. if you live long enough to pay it off that is, and when you do, you may be on your way to a nursing home :money:. Unfortunately that's life for most of us who are not an only child who have a house passed down to us.

I'd focus on the things that really matter which are family and a good work/life balance. with that you'd be happy with an average job you enjoy in an average house, owned or rented.

I just don't want the insecurity of a rental. Having to potentially move ever 2/3 years because the landlord has a change of heart and not having the flexibility of owning my own home. I'm not after a mansion - like I said before even a studio flat would be fine. I just want to be in that position where I don't have to worry about tenancy agreements.

I have bigger ambitions than an average job, I still have 35+ years of work left ahead of me (at least..) but society doesn't seem to easily give people a second chance.

I know I've !!!!ed up and wasted a key portion of my life, but I don't see why it should hold me back.

I'm prepared to put whatever work is required in, I just want guidance/suggestions on the best route to take. Staying in retail and "working my way up" hasn't worked out in the last 10 years, I don't enjoy retail and it's a big gamble to take for salaries that are fairly low compared to other industries.

I've heard people say "get a job in XXXX" but don't say what the best route in is. Even entry level jobs require experience I don't have.

You know it makes me so angry seeing things like "TOWIE" or "Geordie Shore" or "Made in Chelsea" and seeing rich 20-somethings in their range rovers living off their parent's money. Or footballers getting paid £250k a WEEK. Money isn't everything but it sure makes things easier in life. It just seems so easy for so many.

speakingofart

Can I be honest? I have a degree, two post grad qualifications and a masters (I changed careers so not exactly a smooth ride to get here) and am earning just under £30k in a professional, office based job.

Two things strike me about your posts - 1) you are always, always going to have to take crap from someone unfortunately, that's just the way the world works. Especially in the kind of job you want to get, you are expected to be professional about this and resolve the situation, not move to another job (assuming no bullying, discrimination etc). So if you want a good job, then you may have to tame this aspect of your personality somewhat.

2) I really don't mean this to sound harsh, but as other posters have said, you need to think about what you might want to do and how to get some experience, now, in a related field. Otherwise, in 5 years time you are going to be having the same conversation with yourself - £35/40k jobs don't just appear and generally they do (whether rightly or wrongly) get given to people with education and experience. In the organisation I work for for example, that would be an entry level management post, so probably a degree and 3+ years experience.

I really hope things work out for you - it's not nice to feel that you're wasting time and I do sympathise. However, rather than focusing on a salary that may currently be unobtainable, it might well be better to focus on improving your qualifications and gaining some recent work experience as both of these will hopefully help you on your way.

Good luck!

bugslet

zenmaster wrote: »

My BIL was in haulage. He's out of the game now but still in the network.

In conversation, over Christmas, he told me that there is an immediate need for around 30,000 drivers.

It's not that easy to get into though.

The reason for the conversation was that my nephew has just tried to get on to a course.

He got 75% in his theory test - they wanted 90%.

There's a lot of figures about and personally I'm not sure there is a shortage of 30,000 on my current experience of being able to get drivers without advertising. However, there is a shortfall of around that figure for the coming year of those expected to retire and those taking their HGV. Some of that gap will be filled by East EU drivers.

I doubt that their tests are quite so stringent:(. Good luck to your nephew if he's taking it again and 90% is tough, but it needs to be.

jp2016 wrote: »

after reading on other forums like The Student Room of even graduates with first class honours from good universities struggling to find employment - it just makes me think if I don't even have half of what they have and they are struggling, then I'm going to find it twice as hard.

I think what I need is a path to follow - a lot of the posts on here re getting promotion/moving up the ladder without a graduate scheme to give you a kick start into a management role (which seems to be common) are depending on luck and hoping that you'll be offered a higher position.

I get on with people I work with, one of the reasons I haven't stayed long in many places (6 months max) is I have a very insubordinate personality - I can't take crap off anyone regardless of their position/superiority so have fallen out with managers before when I've spoken up.

Perhaps I need to be my own boss.

In which case why waste years and pounds on a degree? Better to spend a week considering where you can and would go without a degree. Bottom line is that with the increase in degrees they no longer have the value they once did - unless you are doing something that specifically requires a degree - medicine for example, I'd question the value.

I think you and I are polar opposites in personality:D. Path to follow, nah, make it up as you go along and enjoy the ride - it'll probably get you to more interesting places and you'll certainly have more fun on the way. As other posters have said, stop obsessing aboout the end salary and see if you can find something you half like doing and take it from there.

As speakingofart says, you have to take crap off managers sometimes, deal with it. The other thing - and I don't know you, so just take this as an idea that I'm floating out rather than a criticism - if you don't take orders well, are you coming across as bolshy and difficult to work with from a manager's perspective? I'm not suggesting you come over all Uriah Heap, but there should be a happy medium.

TOWIE, Geordieshore, footballers represent a very very small percentage of people, most are like you and me, earning a bit, could do with a bit more, would be delighted with 60k, settle for less. Don't waste brain space on them, they aren't in any way representative.