All the single ladies vs 145k

Sistergold

@sofarbehind👋🏾

Welldone for getting your mortgage bellow £110k wow you are doing very well! Getting your OPs to £40k is surely a great place to be! 

As you get older life can feel a bit slow and you can become frustrated with where you are but I think in general everything seems looks better before you start doing it. The lockdown has changed many lives and many dreams and plans were shattered but my conclusion is that we all need to forget about this year, not act so much on the frustration and see how you can get back on track? So see if you can build the work experience going forward to see if you can then apply for that ideal role you are after. Also don’t rule yourself out and not apply when the role comes up as many people wanting this role have also been affected by the lockdown just like you and those who are prepared for it might not want to move due to the uncertainties lockdown created? So keep the faith I think and know it will and has to happen for you somehow. 

Well talking about going off to do medicine I do have a friend who did that a few years ago and now working as a GP. Medicine can be long though but if you really think that’s the thing then well tighten your belt and go for it? Just be sure that it’s really what you want as that can set you back. 

It is good that you have money saved up such that you can decide on career change, keep it up! Yes you are right no need to move or do an extension while you are not sure what you want to do. 

So many life questions hey? Wish we could look into the future to know what to do or what’s coming next.   

Xx

Sandyra

Just popping by @sofarbehind. 2020 just has to be considered a write-off, but at the same time it has made me realise that life is too short too. It’s so weird as someone else in my late 30s and well established in my career, having left my previous career, I too contemplated going to do a medical career this year, although it had been in the back of my mind in the past. I looked into it and felt it was too much upheaval in terms of learning and costs considering I haven’t paid off my first student loan, let alone taking on a new one. I was also looking at settling down but that’s unlikely happen due to recent events (another story for another time) so that made me hesitant too. But like @Sistergold said if you really want to pursue it, why not. 

As for OP that’s amazing work! 

sofarbehind

Thanks so much for your words of wisdom @blossomandbloom, @Sistergold and @Sandyra. What lovely messages to greet me this morning.

Funny that @blossomandbloom and @Sandyra have both thought about graduate medicine too! Great mortgage free minds hey? I wasn't expecting that ramble to resonate with anyone else, it's nice to know I'm not the only one thinking like this. Blossom you need to start that diary! (Has it nearly been a year already?? wow time flies...definitely been a good year to focus on nesting).  I had thought about grad medicine at 31 but I was worried about being too old and the tuition fee hike to £9k stopped me from even applying as it seemed like too much debt. I wish I had been braver and done it because it would have made financial sense then. I only paid off my student loans 4 year ago so that was definitely a big worry for me too. 

If the money wasn't an issue I'd like to do it more than anything but I have to be practical. I think I could just about make it work if I managed to get a place locally but the financial stress isn't very appealing. That is one thing about work that I really value; being in a good financial position for a change. There is no way I am prepared to give up living in my own home after going through such a fight to get here. So the new career without the 4 years of unemployment is extremely appealing!  Blossom thanks for the kind words about the things I HAVE managed to achieve this year, hard to see it sometimes. Have you signed up for your course yet? It feels good to be doing something constructive.  

You are all right, 2020 has been a non-starter for everyone and I just need to accept that my plans have been put back a year and stop worrying about it. I'll keep thinking over the grad medicine. @Sandyra do you still think about medicine or are you happy with the decision to not pursue it? @Sistergold how old was your friend who became a GP when she started the course? I can't help thinking that starting early 40s is very different to starting in your 30s, perhaps it isn't as different as I imagine.

Sistergold

@sofarbehind
Give yourself a pat on the back for sure! We are all very proud of you and you are doing really well! 2020 if you managed to keep your current job, and pay your Life expenses you would have done very well but you even managed to OP so you did extra well! Talk about powerful woman who can stand on their own two feet, you are one of them! 

My friend who went on to do medicine was in her late 30s at the time and now she is in her late 40s. But yes it can be done but it looked tough as medicine is a big commitment. 

Xx

South_coast

Ohhhh, please don't beat yourself up. To come through 2020 with your job, health and sanity intact is a massive achievement - anything over that is just a bonus! And hey, there's still 4 months of it left, plenty of time to make a change! I would suggest you apply for both things, my new motto is "the worst they can say is no" - who are you to know that you won't be what they're looking for? The money etc side of things can be thought about if it comes to it, but don't let that put you off applying at all 😀 

Good luck x

sofarbehind

South_coast said:

Ohhhh, please don't beat yourself up. To come through 2020 with your job, health and sanity intact is a massive achievement - anything over that is just a bonus! And hey, there's still 4 months of it left, plenty of time to make a change! I would suggest you apply for both things, my new motto is "the worst they can say is no" - who are you to know that you won't be what they're looking for? 

Thank you so much @SouthCoast and @Sistergold for putting it into perspective. You are both SO RIGHT. I'm extremely lucky to have kept my job and saved during this crazy year.  It's too easy to lose sight of that.

South-coast the above is such a lovely sentiment, I'm going to keep reminding myself that the worst they can say is no. .. 

SandyShores

Hi sofarbehind, just thought I would pay a return visit and have been catching up a little with your diary.  I am way behind you - you are so far ahead and you've easily got another 15 years as well. 

Interesting to read about your thoughts on a career change.  I looked into nursing a couple of times over the past twenty years, but it was never the right time for me to make that move (childcare issues mainly).  I still ended up working in healthcare settings but doing admin. type roles which gave me more flexibility - I also earned more than I would've done in nursing so it was the right decision financially. 

However, now that flexibility is no longer a priority for me, I'm finding that I'm looking for more in terms of fulfilment and achievement.  My current job has reached the ceiling for me with that - and I could try and rise up the management levels but its the job that has no appeal to me, so that's not the answer.  I know that if I had a healthcare qualification this wouldn't be the case - with healthcare you are continually expected to learn which I love now, but it also opens up all kinds of opportunities.  I'm not saying that you definitely need to follow your medical career, because I have gained other skills and interests along the way which are equally interesting, but I thought it might help you to hear my experience.

sofarbehind

Hello gang,

Been missing from my own diary again for a few months...oops. I've felt a bit anxious not very motivated by the over-paying, which is a shame. Everything has just ticked away on auto-pilot so no harm done. The final mortgage payment of the year has been made and I have made £9092 of OPs. The mortgage balance is down to £105,455. My signature won't update since the new forum changes for some reason so it's out of date..

I was aiming to get below £105k at the end of the year but I'm having more health problems and feel anxious about work security again. I'm waiting for a hospital appointment and until I have some reassurance I don't want to deplete savings. I'm having some work done on a leaky roof and I have a lot of Milestone birthday gifts to pay for in January...so I just don't feel comfortable committing to higher OPs.  A bit disappointing really but not the end of the world. I wanted to get under 100k in April and I can still do this by making an extra OP in the new year so I'll see how things work out. Halifax didn't get around to recalculating my minimum repayments thankfully so effectively about £80 of my normal repayment is also an overpayment! 

I am really busy juggling work, the final year of the masters and the Big Job Application. I will find out in the next few days if I have made it through the first stage, I am so nervous the wait is painful. I have put everything into this year's effort so if I don't make it I will have to accept it's time to have a serious think about plan B. I have shelved the medical school idea for now but if I get nowhere with this I'm probably going to give it a shot. Financially and practically it was too short notice this year, I hadn't thought it through properly. The career changing I'm trying for now has been something I've been thinking of since the start of this diary! I have to say it's not gone as well as the Oping! I will have to face up to a different plan if I don't get through the first sift again because it's been so long....

Running has taken a back seat for a while. I'm still doing some but much shorter and less frequent, which is definitely impacting my mental health. I need to prioritise this again because it does help. Once a week doesn't cut it! I've just felt so overwhelmed with work, my course and prepping for the entrance exam I might not even get to do....it's been too easy to find excuses to  skip it.  I do feel a bit flat and as though this is a bit of a meh end of year review but 2020 has been kind to nobody... I really need a new job in 2021 because I've been unhappy for way too long at the current place.

sofarbehind

SandyShores said:

 I looked into nursing a couple of times over the past twenty years, but it was never the right time for me to make that move (childcare issues mainly).  I still ended up working in healthcare settings but doing admin. type roles which gave me more flexibility - I also earned more than I would've done in nursing so it was the right decision financially. 

Hello! Thanks for popping by. 
Sorry for the delayed reply...it's interesting to hear about your experience and how your focus has shifted to fulfilment over time. Interesting also that it's a thought that you keep coming back to. Graduate medicine has been something I've thought of off and on for a decade. 

Fulfilment is important but so is money and security sadly, I found it very hard to buy a house and I can't give up that security after struggling so much to get here. But perhaps there is a way of having both things with some planning...I admit that I am scared of going back to financial insecurity.  

SandyShores

I hope there is sofarbehind.  I am envious of people with a trade or a skill that is valuable in itself i.e. not a job that's a small cog and not valuable in itself or that you don't have to serve time to do.  Not just medical staff, but for example my hairdresser - she puts her all into her trade and is really successful.  Looking back, I have put my all into my jobs but it feels like I've just worn myself out and because its not been skilled jobs I haven't honed a skill.  

I don't know what I want to do, and to be honest it scares me to think of being in charge of someone else's life, but with anything worth doing you really have to take that responsibility don't you.  I trust my hairdresser not to ruin my hair, my plumber to make my boiler safe and my doctor not to make me more poorly.  So I know that I need responsibility and to help people.  There are so many different types of jobs in the health sector, and to learn them most of them seems to involve a period of not earning.  But I think there are some where you can learn alongside a job too or get paid to learn, but of course there is still the risk of not getting a permanent job at the end.

Lots to think about. 

ps, you have so much on your plate at the moment, so take care of yourself.  Running is good but if you can only get out once a week, then its fine.  Don't wear yourself out, prioritise a bit of R&R and good luck with the job.