Benefits while training?

Letusso

Hello experts!

First of all, apologies if this is the wrong place to put this thread... this is my first contribution to this forum.

This is going to be a bit long, but I want to get as much information through as possible so you have all the details.

I am 33 years old, I moved in with my fiancee last September, while I had a job paying 20k/year and she had a job in a cafe. I got laid off a month ago (roughly) so now we are living off her salary, which is not great. We had a conversation (few days long) and decided that I should pursue my dream job, videogame developer, rather than just getting a job to pay bills and hate every moment of it (she is a great woman).

So I signed up for a course online (£400) to learn coding with C# and Python. This course will land me a basic job as web developer in as little as 4-6 months, but as I suspected, her salary is not quite enough to cover for both. She thought that she could cover because she lived here on her own before I moved in, but the costs of living double when a new person moves in, and we don't have any savings yet.

So I now find myself in a tough situation:
Option 1: I can find a full-time job, go back to a comfortable life, and on my spare time, study the online course. This will take a very long time before I can finish it and start wedging into the industry I want to work in.
Option 2: Find a part-time job, help paying rent and bills, and study for the course. This is the best option right now as I see it, but it would also add to how long the course is going to take, and in exchange we are not improving our lifestyle much. Just paying for basics.
Option 3: I have worked in England 7 of the last 8 years, so I assume that I am allowed some jobseeker allowance. But the thing is that I don't want to seek for a job, I want to have the time to finish this course and then find a job.

So here comes the question: Is there any benefits or allowance I can apply for in my situation? I have been looking at student benefits, but didn't see any that fits my case.

Please help. If you need any more details, please ask and I'll reply

JReacher1

These courses don't guarantee a basic job as a web developer. Most IT companies that are recruiting for web developers will look for experience or a related degree before employing you. Therefore I would suggest you get a full time job and train yourself in your own time.

It sounds great to be a games developer but if anyone could become one after a four month online training course then everyone would do it.

Letusso

Thank you for your reply

I know I won't find a job as a games developer in 4 months. It's only the beginning of my training. This course will help me wedge my way into the industry while I continue training myself to reach the goal I set. The academy I signed up with will help me find a job as web designer/developer once I have finished the course. I'm sorry I didn't specify that on my original post. They (obviously) can't guarantee landing a job right after i finish, but there's a good demand of coders round where I live, and they will help me with my CV and giving me a list of vacancies I can apply for (around 80 vacancies in my area at the moment of signing up).

My point is that even if they exaggerated in order to get me to sign up (which I take into account), there's still a better chance with their help than on my own.

Regarding your suggestion, that's the conclusion I came to as well, so I thought I would ask the experts to see if there was another way.

Again, thank you for replying

Loanranger

I studied for an Open University degree, six years, while working full time 38 hours a week and running a home. Millions of us have done this successfully so that is my answer, get a full time job and study in your spare time.
Employers prefer to employ those who are already in work and will not look on you favourably if there is even a four month gap in your employment record.
You won't be eligible for benefits unless you are actively seeking work.

Letusso

Well that settles it.

Thank you both for your replies. I will get a full-time job and study on my own time.

Thank you very much for taking time off your day to help me see things clear

DCFC79

Who is the course with ?

Dont bank your hopes on them finding you a job, they might only do so much.

What help would they provide with finding a job ?

Letusso

It's with ITonlinelearning.

They will help me make a CV, which will be developing my own website, and they have a database with job offers/opportunities that they will use to help me apply for jobs in my area.

I know they can only do so much, but even if they do just a little, it's more than I can do on my own

DCFC79

I wish you luck.

Is the qualification a recognised one ?

PasturesNew

Letusso wrote: »

Option 3: I have worked in England 7 of the last 8 years, so I assume that I am allowed some jobseeker allowance. But the thing is that I don't want to seek for a job, I want to have the time to finish this course and then find a job.

This cannot be done. People without children cannot be on a course and get benefits. You have to choose one or the other.

If we could get benefits and be on a course we'd all do that.

You have to choose one of your other choices.

Energize

PasturesNew wrote: »

This cannot be done. People without children cannot be on a course and get benefits. You have to choose one or the other.

If we could get benefits and be on a course we'd all do that.

You have to choose one of your other choices.

You are entitled to job seekers allowance if you are looking full time ~35 hours a week for a job, there's nothing that says you can't be doing a course at the same time. I am studying for an OU degree and claiming JSA at the same time and this was absolutely fine with my work coach.

In reality though you can actually get away with doing very little to find work and successfully claim JSA. If you are forced to pay gargantuan taxes into the system then the government should support you whether you're looking for a job or not imo.

FBaby

What education/experience do you have already? Because you will be competing with all the younger generation who have the exact same dream than you and already a lot of experience of coding already. They will have studied it at A levels, and then Uni. They will have gained a lot more experience than you will on your 4 months course. It has become a very popular study pathway for those leaving high school.

Are you sure your dream is realistic? Do you have exceptional talents in the field that means that you can overcome what you might not have to sale?