Vintage graduate

Murphybear

Voyager2002 wrote: »

It would help if you told us something about those "personal projects", and obviously about the skills and aptitudes that your degree demonstrated.


Anyway, the Civil Service does not practice age discrimination and has policies that strongly support staff development. If you could join (say) HMRC on the Executive Grade you would have access to a lot of training and plenty of unfilled vacancies in the grades above you.

My father got fed up with teaching when he was 58 and got a job in the civil service for a few years before he took early retirement.:D. That was in 1973. I don't know if it's easier or more difficult these days. His job was with the customs (in Southampton where we lived) and it was useful as they gave him free sherry at Christmas :rotfl:

I got fed up with my job when I was 38 and went back to college for a year to learn/get some qualifications for administrative work. I already had a degree that I never used although it came in useful when I applied for a high level non academic University job a few years later. It's never too late and you're never too old, that was my motto.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

John_G_Jones

Voyager2002 wrote: »

That is really like advising someone to win the lottery.

Not really, the lottery is over ten million to one against. Compared to that a percent is definitely worth trying for.

BrassicWoman

John_G_Jones wrote: »

Not really, the lottery is over ten million to one against. Compared to that a percent is definitely worth trying for.

Given he’s vanished already I’d say he’d fail on tenacity.

MadJohannKasparMax

Thank you all for your replies. Mrs Ryan, I wish you all the very best. I hope that being reserve-listed leads to a suitable way forward quicker than you expect.

The civil service is an option - one I would not previously have countenanced, but my circumstances have changed. Teaching is of course an obvious option for someone in my position, but when my motivation would be purely mercenary, that hardly seems fair on the kids.

Staying where I am and working my way up is something I'm now considering, even if I would be 'faking' it and taking their money. It's certainly not ideal for my young family, but options are limited.

I don't consider the personal projects relevant to this discussion. They are something I have to put firmly behind me, if only for the sake of my sanity going forward. My degree I eventually completed with the OU. It is an Open degree, though my studies were almost entirely in Politics and History. I possess the skills and capabilities you'd therefore expect.

I have a certain philosophical disposition which I need not bore you with. However, it has, until now, led me to rule out any job working for the government (though of course I'm acutely aware that all income tax payers are in a sense working for the government). Suffice to say, previous principles are to be jettisoned. If my dissatisfaction with this new circumstance has filtered through as a distinct sense of resignation, then I confess to being a bad poker player.

I am in contact with the National Careers Service, though as of yet I can't say it's been terribly useful - though of course I recognise I'm not an easy case. If I had a strong desire to do something in particular, that would be helpful, but desire is not something I can possibly associate with work. Obviously, most people do not do jobs they love or even like. I'd always believed I might take a different course... The course I am on now will be difficult to pursue with any great tenacity. Fortunately, the world in which we live does not severely punish those lacking in fire and drive!

theoretica

It is hard to get a job you love and believe in, and even harder if you don't have a clear idea of what that job would be. Perhaps listing what you do care about (including things like location, hours, pay) would help you with ideas.



If your personal projects can be presented as relevant experience, and indeed showing personal drive and initiative, for any new applications that would be to your advantage.


Also, no harm in working your way up where you are, while you are considering and looking for other avenues.

Mrs_Ryan

I originally wanted to work in adult literacy but I believe that now requires a PGCE which guess what is closed to me because......

While my degree and Masters are in English my area of specialism is a bit more niche (Dialectology) There are research opportunities out there in my area- I know because I came across them when I was researching my MA thesis. Probably not a great deal of lecturing opportunities per se however to get into research in general would be amazing.

My dyscalculia is extremely severe. I struggle with simple things like bus numbers, I cannot use cash because I cannot count it, I need a chip and sign card etc. When I tried doing GCSE Maths I was 2 marks off failing completely and this was attempt number 5. It was almost completely foreign to me. There isn’t a lot I can do about it- it’s a specific learning related problem, like dyslexia. In my case just working a bit harder isn’t going to make it go away!!!

I have been rejected three times so far from the fast stream I’m doing a Science degree now (Sports Science and Psychology) as I have access to various sporting related opportunities (none of them paid unfortunately) and I’m hoping I can use that to get my foot in a door somewhere.

Morata_

I see major similarities with myself and you, OP.

I’m 38, young family, degree. I only had retail work experience prior to Uni and since graduating in 2007 I’ve been in education based roles. I lack motivation, desire and struggle with making work, work!!

Confidence shot, weight gained and lack of future plan! I’m not starting a Primary school suppport job as I’m not going to be a secondary teacher. I’ve been told being a male, I will be look of favourably and progression is available. My worry is the content, the age group and my desire to return to training again! I could get back into retail but contracts are limited and it would take 18 months + to get on course. Then you have the unsociable shifts, the lack of care from those above and nothing suited to family life.

Let’s hope, 12 months time OP, we are both in a better head space, motivated. My ambition is crack a path by the time I’m 40. Worryingly, I wanted that path cracked by 30! I’m a laid back person but many factors have impacted my life. Weight gain, loss of confidence, major anxiety in social settings and life in general. Once I conquered thesss demons, hopefully life will improve. First stop, the gym...and my new job starting tomw...bed time now, up at 6!!!

Good luck OP. I’d look into management or teaching.

JayRitchie

BrassicWoman wrote: »

Given he’s vanished already I’d say he’d fail on tenacity.

This is true!

Nebulous2

I'm reading a lot about what you don't want to do, but not much about what you do.

If the personal projects meant a lot to you - then are there any peripheral jobs you could do that would monetise your interests?

I've worked in care more or less all my life. There are opportunities there to move into a more responsible position fairly quickly, but people need the right values and to demonstrate an aptitude and enthusiasm for that type of work. Some experience also helps to access related work, post-grad social work for instance.

The same possibility of progress may well apply in retail, but you may have missed that boat by now.

sammyjammy

Voyager2002 wrote: »

That is really like advising someone to win the lottery.


I looked up some old figures for that: graduates from Oxford and Cambridge who applied had a one in five chance of getting a job offer, but graduates from other universities had a less than one per cent chance. While the 'Oxbridge' bias has probably declined, the competition will have increased considerably.


There are some very interesting jobs with good prospects at the Executive grade (two 'A' levels required but most EOs have a degree).

What nonsense you type.

No A levels are required to apply for an EO post in CS and i can assure you that most EOs do not have a degree :rotfl: