[Solved] Advice required on changing careers

you could make decisions based on what YOU like to do?

What skillsexperience do you already have , which of those skills are you most confident with , and which do you mostenjoy or not enjoy using? What kind of work environment would you be most comfortable in - office , shopfloor or out on the road? Are are team player or a loner , would you prefer to work for a large multinational , corporation , small business or public service? Are you prepared to work long hours or is work life balance more important?

Now comes the more difficult bit ( at least in my area were decent jobs are scarce). Scan all the current recruitment media either nationally , regionally or local depending on yiurwillingness to relocate ; get a good idea of the types of jobs or potential career paths that you could realistically apply for as they match your skill set, and then if possible filter further to those which most suit your pretences. Then apply, apply, apply and don't forget to ask for feedback on unsuccessful applications to improve your next one.

When I returned to education in my early thirties what I was most interested in studying was Archaelogy ; but had to accept as a Separated Mum reveiving no help financial or otherwise from the Father , what I really needed to study was something that would improve my chances of getting a decent job with a decent wage and opted for a far more mundane 'business studies'. My point being that what we really really want to do sadly doesn't always collide with the current job market so flexibility is often a key factor.

Good luck.

Hi Folks
Many thanks indeed for your replies.
I’m so sorry for not replying earlier, but I had a family issue to attend to, which is now resolved (hopefully!!), and things are getting back to normal.
To give you a bit of an insight into my knowledge & skills, I enjoy/would enjoy doing jobs/careers which would involve the following:
Working with numbers and spreadsheets
Analysing manipulating/compiling/computing data
Advising/mentoring/training/teaching people, but I don’t want to become a school teacher
Current affairs
Football – but I don’t want to become a footballer.

Any advice much greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

I think you would be better getting professional careers advice - the problem with the list you have run off is that it can apply to any number of careers, but a face to face interview with an adviser will get you much more specific advice.

Good Morning Folks

Thanks very much indeed for your replies.

Hi geek84

If you are still looking for ideas, working as a Service Charge Officer involves working with numbers and spreadsheets, manipulating data, doing back ground checks to ensure the charges are chargeable and are charged in accordance with the leases. As is answering questions regarding charges and explaining some charges. There are positions within the public sector, stock owning councils, housing associations as well as private companies.

Training/Teaching have their own routes, for example the usual minimum for teaching in colleges is PTLLS. But also looked for in training providers outside of colleges. It is not subject specific and teaches the skills to develop courses and understand teaching methods. I took this course to help in the development of in-house training courses on governance when involved with a non profit organisation and would strongly recommend it if you would like to look into this. Employers would include colleges (at least one level below any formal qualifications you have), organisations providing private or government funded basic still courses, organisations providing help to get people back to work.

Routes into advice giving, mentoring etc have their own courses which could help you. Volunteering with help lines could help with initial training and could provide more formal training without you having to pay.

All are jobs with a certain amount of security. Government funded organisations are subject to contract changes so may result in working with different companies, or as in colleges what the government is prepared to fund will change what courses are available so being prepared to continue developing your skills, knowledge and even education level should be considered to ensure future employability.

Hope this is helpful.

Hi OddFather

Many thanks indeed for your reply.

I will look further into the service charge officer role. I already have a PTLLS qualification but the jobs I applied for which were college based all provided 10 hours or less teaching time per week, and I couldn't afford to do that. I now feel my PTLLS qualification went to waste !!

I was also thinking of becoming a corporate trainer - training people to use systems for a partcvular organisation. Is there a special name given to this type of role?

Thanks

Morning Geek84,

I'm not sure, but will try to find out.

In the organisation I work for this type of training is done by several different roles. The main role with you in mind would be one of the IT guys, HR, but also managers from different sections who specialise in different areas of the business. The latter is usually to improve data input needed to improve service delivery, cut down internal inquiries and speed up processes. More often than not initial training tends to be on the job. This has limitations as often this concentrates on dealing with small sections of the overall system with few people having a wider knowledge of how the system works and so missing out modules which could assist in doing the job much better.

When one manager asked me to produce a dummy guide to one of the smaller programs we use, a recent change meant she was taking on a completely new team with very little experience in the work they are now doing, I used my PTTLS training to ensure the guide flowed and was full of screen shots to guide new users. I will be doing a session on how to communicate with people with Asperger's, something I would not have even known how to approach without the PTLLS training so it is useful in a range of areas. The bottom line for this session is that it is unlikely they will know if the person has Asperger's as most of the communication is by letter or email, a rise in phone calls but very little face to face contact when clues may be picked up. So in essence it is about how we talk and present information to all our customers and especially those who are considered 'awkward'. I will also be using it to encourage looking at our FAQ sheets to see how clear they are and to see if they are also addressing the common questions we are receiving. So in a sense because my reason for doing PTTLS did not involve getting a job in training I find different ways to help using what I learned in different things I do.

Thanks Oddfather