long term unemployed any career options

the_mixer

I'm in my mid 40s and lost five years out of work due to ill health.
I am on disability benefits but would like to return to work. Ideally I would like to pursue a reasonably well paid career. Is it a pipe dream?
I have an English degree from decades ago I never used and apart from that business sales experience, but that was a long time ago. 
Are there any career options I could get into like IT without having to study three years? I don't think I'm cut out for teaching or anything like that.

Brynsam

Currently it's a pipe dream but it doesn't have to stay that way - you can make it happen, but it's going to take a lot more effort than a couple of vague lines on a forum like this. Start by doing some serious mouse (no, not house!) work and researching various options for careers, what they involve, whether you'd get any sort of grant - google is definitely your friend here. 

There are lots of free courses (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5960710/the-great-free-online-courses-hunt-updated-february-2019 or just google) and you can always try a few to see if anything takes your fancy. It may also be worth doing some volunteering simply to get your confidence back up and have something a bit more recent than five years of sick leave on your cv.

Good luck!

TELLIT01

Even if you previously worked in IT, being away from it for 5 years means that much, but certainly not all, of your knowledge is now out of date.  If you haven't previously worked in IT it will be virtually impossible to get in without starting at the very bottom, and that won't be well paid.

What area were you working in before, and is there any route back into that as a start point?

Marcon

the_mixer said:

I'm in my mid 40s and lost five years out of work due to ill health.
I am on disability benefits but would like to return to work. Ideally I would like to pursue a reasonably well paid career. Is it a pipe dream?
I have an English degree from decades ago I never used and apart from that business sales experience, but that was a long time ago. 
Are there any career options I could get into like IT without having to study three years? I don't think I'm cut out for teaching or anything like that.

It's entirely reasonable that you would like to pursue a reasonably well paid career, but you need to be realistic about what would make you attractive to an employer in order to earn your pay. Adult apprenticeships aren't well paid to start with but can lead to interesting and lucrative careers, so that could be an avenue worth considering. If you are in England, see https://www.findapprenticeships.co.uk/adult-apprenticeships/

getmore4less

Can you leverage anything from when you were working, industry and product knowledge can be a way in although  5 years is a bit of a gap.

Have you maintained any networking contacts from old jobs

Are there any jobs ruled out that there might be in  demand for that could get you back into work while you find something longer term.
There is demand for delivery drivers but that requires driving and physical attributes.
Call centre,  less physical but can be mentally challenging

One that has come up before is train/tube driver, seems to pay OK 

[Deleted User]

A year ago I knew someone unemployed as 2020 dawned - they took a basic admin job (((but essentially one they could manage))) at 16k (they truly turned their nose up at first regards the salary!) within 15 months they had turned the 16k salary into an earning potential of 19k.
Though had interviewed for their dream job also at just under 12 months on, very humbling calls in a collections and scheduling dept still meant they could potentially look at the nearer 19k and be grateful for the life they have compared to this time last year x good luck, all is possible.

Brynsam

Deleted User said:

A year ago I knew someone unemployed as 2020 dawned - they took a basic admin job (((but essentially one they could manage))) at 16k (they truly turned their nose up at first regards the salary!) within 15 months they had turned the 16k salary into an earning potential of 19k.

Someone who took a job at the start of 2020 and within 15 months (i.e. March 2021) had turned their salary into a potential £19K. Why do you keep making up these little tales - this one is demonstrably impossible.

bartelbe

I'm afraid that you're very unlikely to get a well paid job in IT. Even if you could study for a qualification you would struggle to find decent paid work. Most employers want experience I'm afraid.

The only work you're going to get is entry level and not very well paid. That is the reality of the worlds 6th largest economy. It is a joke but it is what it is.

TELLIT01

Brynsam said:

Deleted User said:

A year ago I knew someone unemployed as 2020 dawned - they took a basic admin job (((but essentially one they could manage))) at 16k (they truly turned their nose up at first regards the salary!) within 15 months they had turned the 16k salary into an earning potential of 19k.

Someone who took a job at the start of 2020 and within 15 months (i.e. March 2021) had turned their salary into a potential £19K. Why do you keep making up these little tales - this one is demonstrably impossible.

As you are clearly aware, this individual has experienced every situation any poster comes up with.  They must have had upwards of 100 jobs if their claims are to be believed.

theoretica

What about returning to sales or something similar?

Grumpy_chap

The OP does not tell us what their health / disability concerns are and whether that impacts the choices they will have.

Nothing is impossible, but moving into IT will not be easy.

With a degree in English, teaching is an obvious choice, but this does not suit the OP.  Other careers that will fit well with the OP's qualifications include HR, charity administration, proof reading / editing, journalism.  Maybe doing piece work administration tasks.

Can the OP enquire at Job Centre Plus?  They often offer support such as aptitude assessment and can offer training to support development.