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

nimbo

When I sit with my clients discussing work - I ask them to be real. Don't think about the money. Think about things you can stomach doing 40 hours a week 47 weeks of the year.

One was obsessed with plumbing - as his uncle does it and earns a mint. Until I pointed out he has OCD and is terrified of spiders. The thought of dust no spiders was too much for him.

Would you like to work in an office - out in the open air in all weathers. Driving?

Then Look at what options there are out there - and aim for the qualifications you'll need. is there any local organisations that offer education and training support in your local area. Co- acheive are based in Huddersfield and could help with a bit of support job searching and accessing short training courses for example. If you're local - but there is bound to be an organisation that could help you locally.

Northern college is based in Barnsley and are renowned for offering great courses for adult learners who have little experience etc. These can be live in - and the grounds are epic. They used to do access courses.

Get a feel for what you can do and what you would like to do. I don't love my job every day - but I've had jobs I hated - that made me miserable. you do need to do something you can tolerate and does not make you hate yourself. (I worked in a gambling arcade which was THE most depressing job I have ever done - but I had to pay the rent).

I'm 32 and have just finished my degree - and have worked for less than 20k for the last 18 months to get the experience to be paid to do a role more related to my subject. It can be done. Had I stayed with the NHS and not done my degree I would have been paid more - but would have been miserable.


Money isn't everything - get some advice from a local organisation and see what is out there.

Get a part time voluntary role while you look and start out. If nothing else it looks good on your cv. Don't expect to get promoted to King of the world in one day - but get a feel for what you enjoy work wise.

kobracai

nimbo wrote: »

Co- acheive are based in Huddersfield and could help with a bit of support job searching and accessing short training courses for example. If you're local - but there is bound to be an organisation that could help you locally.

Northern college is based in Barnsley and are renowned for offering great courses for adult learners who have little experience etc. These can be live in - and the grounds are epic. They used to do access courses.

Money isn't everything - get some advice from a local organisation and see what is out there.

.

Could you suggest any of these organizations in London?

gunsandbanjos

kobracai wrote: »

Was your degree in Finance? or something unrelated?

I have a first class honours in mathematics.

mattcanary

kobracai wrote: »

Could you suggest any of these organizations in London?

Google is your friend.

pioneer22

jp2016 wrote: »

I'm 30, have worked in crappy retail jobs all of my life. Left school at 16 with a few GCSEs and back then fell into the wrong crowd, smoked a lot of weed and generally wasted my life. Since then I've floated between retail and bar/hotel jobs, all entry level. Last year I had a serious car accident in which I broke my collarbone, right femur and several ribs. I moved back in with parents (originally only temporarily for convenience as I couldn't walk for months) but this has extended until now.

The last few years have been a blur of depression and recovery. I haven't worked since the crash and have spent a lot of time reflecting on my life and the little I've made of it so far. I have nothing really to my name - no savings, no assets, nothing, and a patchy CV of entry level retail/bar jobs.

I'm 30. I should be enjoying a good career, living in a detached house with a nice car, wife and 2.5 children and a Labrador. You know, being an adult (for those serious posters on here, this whole paragraph is mostly in jest - but you get my point).

I just don't want to waste any more time.

So what do I want?

I want a career. A good one. I want good earning potential and to be able to save to buy my own home, car etc. Ideally I'd love to own my own home within 5 years - even if it's a studio flat.

I'm open to any type of job - my only interests are films and sport - but any careers associated with them are merely pipe dreams and no realistic chance of getting a job in those industries that pay well.

I don't mind the idea of university - however any degree I do must be worthwhile and not just a general degree that would be difficult to find a job with (e.g. I don't want to do a degree in Egyptian Poetry). Distance learning is a complete NO for me - a part time degree will take 5/6 years and that's too long. I don't want to be 36 when I graduate.

Ideally, my future doesn't involve a degree. I'd have to complete A-Levels or an Access course (I have neither) which means adding at least 18 months onto any timescale. I know I could do a foundation degree but the choices seem very limited and it's still 4 years minimum of study?

I'm not too into numbers or computers, but would consider anything. I've heard things like "learn a trade" but realistically, am I going to be earning enough from being a plumber/electrician/carpenter etc through starting again at 30? Salary wise I would love to be earning over £35-40k in 5 years time. I've heard it can take up to 5 years to qualify as an electrician/plumber and even qualified ones don't earn much for the amount of time it takes. Also I doubt that I'd be able to get an apprenticeship.

So in summary:

• 30 years old, no degree, a few GCSEs, no money, living with parents
• Patchy work history of retail/bar/hotel entry level jobs
• Wants a good career, to make something of himself, with good earning potential
• Open to any idea as long as its credible
• Would like to be putting a deposit on my own home in the next 5 years
• Willing to relocate anywhere (including overseas)
• Willing to go to university, but must be a worthwhile degree with good job prospects

I know I'm asking a lot - but can we stick to optimism and positivity rather than cynical/negative posts? I know I have a lot of hard work ahead and I'm not expecting anything "on a plate" - I'm willing to work 100 hour weeks, relocate anywhere in the UK, abroad, sell an organ anything - so please don't say I'm looking for a lot with little effort, I'm willing to do what it takes.

Few questions I have floating around too:

• Are apprenticeships a realistic option? I know that mostly 16-19 year olds get accepted due to government funding.
• If I did go the university route - what are my chances of securing a good graduate scheme considering my age, patchy work history etc?

Apologies for the long read, and thanks.

My advice take a personality test like Myers Briggs, it will give you a good ide of what you would be good/not so good at. That would be a good starting point.

http://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-research-edition

I-W

I think you might have to be a little more realistic with your timescales of home ownership, but it's certainly not too late to get a great career if you are willing to dedicate the next 5 years to it.

I would recommend you research engineering degrees with foundation years. Especially great if any near your parent's so you can save money and continue living at home.

Yes it will take hard work for the next 4 years before you start earning, but with an engineer degree you could easily walk into a £30k starting salary in this country and if you are willing to move to the middle east or parts of Asia you could start on £50k or more (and in some countries tax free). You could stay there another few years and come back and buy a home for cash.

bildersfriend

Why don't you consider a franchise? There are many excellent opportunities out there.

SpicyChickenBaguette

bildersfriend wrote: »

Why don't you consider a franchise? There are many excellent opportunities out there.

Unless OP has around £20-50k to spare then this is a bit unrealistic. Most franchises need a decent sized lump sump investment from the franchisee.

makeyourdaddyproud

SpicyChickenBaguette wrote: »

Unless OP has around £20-50k to spare then this is a bit unrealistic. Most franchises need a decent sized lump sump investment from the franchisee.

.. and even then there's no guarantee. Save that capital if you have it