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Please help me sort out future career options!

14 replies

Lonelymum · 11/10/2005 17:08

Sorry, i know this has been done before (by me for one!) but I really want some help getting my ideas straight here.

I want to return to work after pretty much 10 years out but I am not sure I want to return to teaching which is what I did before kids. Basically, teaching is attractive because it is (comparatively) well paid and of course you get the hoildays and don't have to think about childcare for 13 weeks of the year.

But, that is it. Nothing else attracts me to the job and I just don't feel that is enough. What I really want is a nice quiet office job - administration, something like that. I want to work maybe 2 or 3 days a week, no more. I am 40 and don't feel the need to prove myself career wise anymore, but I don't want to do anything too mindless IYSWIM. I want it to be stress free and relatively well paid but I am not looking for a huge salary.

Firstly, could I get a job like that? Obviously I have a degree but I have no experience of that sort of work. Has anyone else done that sort of work with the same or less qualifications as me. Lack of computer skills really worries me but would that be a bar to getting office work these days?

Also, would having to work in the holidays make childcare prohibitively expensive? I have 4 children so I fear it would. How much are holiday schemes?

What are the best childcare options for holiday care? (Three of my children are in school and the fourth would be at playgroup mornings as from next Sept - he could go to a childminder for the pms.)

What happens to a child when he/she turns 11 and I believe holiday clubs are no longer open to them? Anyone want to tell me what they do with their plus elevens during the holiday when they have to work? Do childminders have over 11s? Could they be left at home?

If you can answer any or all of these questions, I would be very grateful. If you want to persuade me teaching is still my best option, go ahead! I am not closed to any ideas yet.

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nutcackle · 11/10/2005 17:09

What about a job in a school office, that way you still get the hols.

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gingerbear · 11/10/2005 17:10

Could you change direction and do adult education/ colledge lecturing?

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gingerbear · 11/10/2005 17:10

College

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Lonelymum · 11/10/2005 17:12

Nutty: don't think me a crank, but one of the reasons I want to get out of teaching is my vomit phobia whcih is driving me crazy. When I think of school admin, all I think about is lokking after sick children. I know it isn't like that really, but my phobia screams NOO!

Gingerbear, adult education has been suggested before. Thanks for reminding me, it is something I could look into although I think I would be only able to teach basic literacy and numeracy with my qualifications.

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LadyFioOfTipton · 11/10/2005 17:12

my cousin is a qualified secondary school teacher and after children has gone into careers advice and likes it much better, plus it is very similar holidays

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Bewitched · 11/10/2005 17:27

'Lack of computer skills really worries me but would that be a bar to getting office work these days?'

How lacking are you? Obviously you can use a computer as you are on one now! Can you use e-mail? Can you do anything even basic with word or excel? You don't need to be a whizz at them to get an office job, but I have always rejected candidates with NO computer skills at all, as most office work now (especially the type that I have recruited for) is very computer based.

Is it possible for you to clarify what sort of figure you consider to be 'relatively well paid but not huge', and what geographical area this is for. For example, would £15k be considered too low? A purchase ledger clerk, for example, would start on this sort of salary in most southern areas outside London.

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LadyFioOfTipton · 11/10/2005 17:48

ooi apurchase ledger clerk, i could do that! do they earn 15k starting wage in kent? tbh i havemnt looked

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Lonelymum · 11/10/2005 18:12

I haven't really thought about actual salaries TBH. I suppose what I meant was, I would be prepared to do a job that paid less well than teaching (whatever that pays nowadays! I really haven't a clue!) but I don't want to do really unskilled or semi skilled labour. So more than pin money. £15,000 sounds OKish although I would have to bear in mind that I would only be working part time and so would only get a percentage of that. Basically, I want a job without high stress levels but that uses my brain to some extent.

Computer skills - hm - I always feel inadequate when I need to do something on Mumsnet like download pictures and I see everyone else doing it, but I guess a lot of Mumsnetters are actually quite computer literate. Yes, I can email, use Word, but that is about it. Aren't a lot of office computer skills learnt on the job though? Oh also, I used to do summer jobs typing (in the days befroe computers were everywhere! ) so I guess I have quite fast typing.

Bewiched, can I ask, what is a purchase ledger clerk () and in what capacity do you employ people?

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Bewitched · 11/10/2005 18:12

Be surprised if you couldn't get £15k for that in Kent LadyFio. Try phoning any biggish companies in your area direct, and ask to speak to their purchase ledger manager. If you have the wherewithall to do that and can manage to string coherent sentences together on the phone then they should be happy to see you without an agency if they have any vacancies. It tends to be a pretty fluid sort of position, so vacancies do tend to come up quite often in large companies.

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Bewitched · 11/10/2005 18:19

Lonelymum - a purchase ledger clerk is basically someone who processes invoices that a company has to pay. There are other bits to it too, but that's the key part of it. It's quite repetitive work, but low on stress, and as you'd be part of an accounts department, there are often opportunities to move around to try other roles out.

Yes, most computer skills are taught/learnt on the job, which I why I asked if you just had the basics, as that's all you really need. In accounts the exact way that you process stuff will depend very much on which accounts package the company uses, so this will normally be taught.

I don't employ people anymore, but I previously had to recruit almost an entire accounts department for a division of Whitbread that was sold off independently.

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Lonelymum · 11/10/2005 18:23

So what would be the best way to get into office work? Local ads? Job agency? I feel like a teenager I am so green!

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Bewitched · 11/10/2005 18:32

Agency might be the best bet for you as they will be able to give you more of an idea of the different sorts of roles available in your area, and most big companies will tend to use them for this sort of role. Probably the best known is Hays, but personally I detest them and will not use them as either a candidate or an employer.

Some others (I haven't used all of these and not sure which are national) are Badenoch & Clark, Robert Half (think they may call themselves Accountemps for this level), Office Angels - I expect if you look in yellow pages under 'recruitment' you will probably see a load listed.

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Lonelymum · 11/10/2005 18:35

Thanks. Presumably, they would be able to assess my skills and help me choose an area of employment.

I was also thinking about local council work or civil service. The civil service website is rather confusing. Anyone here work for either local council or civil sevice?

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cori · 11/10/2005 20:00

Look under your local council website as well, I am sure there are lots of jobs you can do.

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