Feeling trapped in NHS role and unsure what to do next!

Klippety

I have worked within the NHS for over 9 years now in a non-clinical Band 4 role. My work centres on arranging the purchasing, servicing and repair of medical equipment as well as ensuring asset information is correct and reporting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators.)

I am growing to really dislike my job now having done it for so long as well as contending with the usual staffing shortages and pressure of working in the NHS. I'm finding myself feeling really trapped in my current role with no way out in sight. 

I would love to move on from the NHS and do something exciting. However, I am held back by the generous Annual Leave entitlement, decent pension and really not knowing what I would like to do next.

When I look at alternative options nothing is really appealing to me. 

I am 39 now with a wealth of administrative experience within the public sector, but no post-GCSE qualifications.

Has anyone had a positive experience from feeling trapped in a job and finding something more enjoyable? 

strawb_shortcake

No experience of being trapped in a job, I do however work in a similar field within the civil service.
As a start you could look at civil service jobs - commercial roles and see what's available in your local area. With the civil service you still get a good pension and generous leave allowance. 

I considered applying for a role within the NHS and due to the pension scheme having higher contributions I'd have been £100 a month worse off for a start, for you chances are you'd be better off. 

MOJ and DVSA have had recent adverts out, you may also find that they'll fund you to do CIPS so you'll have other options for leaving the public sector in time

LinLui

Local government? If you can find something around public health, I believe the pension  and continuous service is directly transferable (or that may just be where I am).

lincroft1710

Lion taming is exciting, admin jobs are not.


Little point in leaving one unexciting admin job for another. First few months or even years will be OK but then the familiarity and boredom will kick in.


Take a step back, do some research and see if there is something you would be really interested in trying. Fortunately there aren't many fields where 39 is considered too old.

Klippety

lincroft1710 said:

Little point in leaving one unexciting admin job for another. First few months or even years will be OK but then the familiarity and boredom will kick in.

I completely agree with that. Having had other admin jobs in the public sector, I am all too familiar with that feeling kicking in. 

Marcon

Klippety said:

I am growing to really dislike my job now having done it for so long as well as contending with the usual staffing shortages and pressure of working in the NHS. I'm finding myself feeling really trapped in my current role with no way out in sight. 

I would love to move on from the NHS and do something exciting. However, I am held back by the generous Annual Leave entitlement, decent pension and really not knowing what I would like to do next.

You say you dislike your job and feel trapped, but the real ball and chain appear to be lots of holiday and a good pension scheme. Are those really enough to see you through another 25 (possibly 30) years of working life - or are they just excuses to avoid taking the plunge? Very many people are inherently risk-averse and keen to avoid change, so you would be far from alone if so! These factors aren't holding you back; you are choosing to let them do so.

Klippety said:

When I look at alternative options nothing is really appealing to me. 

I am 39 now with a wealth of administrative experience within the public sector, but no post-GCSE qualifications.

Has anyone had a positive experience from feeling trapped in a job and finding something more enjoyable? 

Why not get some, especially if your current employer will sponsor you? It may not matter that much what you do, because any evidence of having the self discipline and commitment to study in later life is going to add to your cv, your confidence and (hopefully) you'll enjoy whatever you pick. Lots of free courses available on line so you can put a toe in the water before committing to anything more serious/longer term. Google on 'free courses online'.

There will be plenty of people who move on and have a much happier life as a result, but you need to be in the right frame of mind, and realistic. Admin is rarely exciting (and can be mind-numbingly boring in local government or the civil service, depending on what you are actually doing), but the environment in which you are doing it can make a huge difference. 

Klippety

Very wise words, Marcon. Funnily enough, I actually had a conversation with a colleague a couple of weeks ago when we were having a bad day. I mentioned that when the Annual Leave entitlement is the best part of your job it's probably best to look for an alternative career. 

Klippety

I have done a lot of research into identifying alternative careers that would suit my skills and interests, but I keep drawing up blanks. Nothing the career quizzes and skills tests came up with have really appealed to me (administrative work in various forms always comes up.) Has anyone else been in a similar situation and had their interest piqued by something? 

Chop-D

I was working in local government admin, tried a change to a similar-ish role but realised it was the type of work I had got bored of! I now work for the NHS in a role where I get to talk to people everyday and am not trapped behind a laptop writing pointless emails, and it’s great. I accessed some employment support through a local charity which helped me to see which parts of a job description would be suited to me so I would recommend looking into that too. I get paid a lots less now but we made sure we had enough to live on and are so much happier for it.

josephine82

Couple of comments: 

1) you must have  transferable skills from your current role that would be suitable for a sideways move into a different type of role within the nhs, perhaps with more scope for development? Perhaps not pure admin but in a different setting, coordination or project type roles? 

2) perhaps think about your interests and whether there are areas where you’d like to work where you would be happy doing an admin role- for example if you were interested in health, you could look at jobs in health charities? 

3) consider looking at roles at universities. The AL is very similar to NHS (in most places) and pension pretty good. 

theoretica

If you ignored the practical aspect of needing to be paid for it, what sort of thing would you like to spend the next 20 years doing?