How to get a career at 35

What’s the best route to starting your career at 35, eventually earning a decent living. Is it going back to university? I haven’t a clue how to start this late after having kids, but I know I don’t want to stay in menial jobs for the rest of my life. Is university worth it or are there alternative routes at this age?

Reply 1

username6131441

3

Generally, no, but it depends what you want to do. For certain careers you will need a degree, but for most careers you won't. There are definitely plenty of alternatives to university. One alternative is gaining professional qualifications. You can do some training courses in an area that interests you from which you end up getting an accredited certificate or a certificate of completion. It's one of the ways that you can become qualified without a degree and in my opinion they are much more valuable and useful compared to a uni degree because they are 10 times cheaper, they allow you to focus on specific industry skills and generally they are self-paced so you can fit the course around your job. I think that there are plenty of good alternatives to university.

Reply 2

Matstudy86

OP

8

I

Original post by username6131441

Generally, no, but it depends what you want to do. For certain careers you will need a degree, but for most careers you won't. There are definitely plenty of alternatives to university. One alternative is gaining professional qualifications. You can do some training courses in an area that interests you from which you end up getting an accredited certificate or a certificate of completion. It's one of the ways that you can become qualified without a degree and in my opinion they are much more valuable and useful compared to a uni degree because they are 10 times cheaper, they allow you to focus on specific industry skills and generally they are self-paced so you can fit the course around your job. I think that there are plenty of good alternatives to university.

Thank you for this, would you know where would I find such reputable courses?

Honestly I’ve no idea where to start and haven’t really got anyone to go to for advice! I’m rubbish at maths but have a levels in English, art and classics - anything along those lines or history would be of interest.

Reply 3

thegeek888

18

Do the ACA (ICAEW), as the first 6 exams are multiple choice and only have a 55% Pass Mark.

No qualifications are required for the CFAB and then you do the Professional Level and Advanced Level exams.

The average salary in London is £300,000 a year after 10-15 years of qualifying, :wink:

lol

www.icaew.com

Original post by Matstudy86

What’s the best route to starting your career at 35, eventually earning a decent living. Is it going back to university? I haven’t a clue how to start this late after having kids, but I know I don’t want to stay in menial jobs for the rest of my life. Is university worth it or are there alternative routes at this age?

First of all, what do you consider 'a career'? Do you mean something with recognised professional status like doctor, accountant, surveyor etc, or do you mean anything where there is progression and a clear route to increased salary?

If the professional status then you need to research which one, and then be prepared for along period of retraining, because you don't seem to have the right A levels, nor any recent study, so the route to full qualification in most things will be about 5 years.

If you mean anything where there is a clear progression and salary, then you just need to pick something, be good at it and manage your progression. Volunteer in a museum, then get a museum assistant job, be good at it and get a museum management job, be good at it, network, and get a job for a regional museum organisation, for example. Switch museum for retail, restaurant management, libraries.

The first question is where do you want to go, not what is the route.

Reply 5

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by Matstudy86

What’s the best route to starting your career at 35, eventually earning a decent living. Is it going back to university? I haven’t a clue how to start this late after having kids, but I know I don’t want to stay in menial jobs for the rest of my life. Is university worth it or are there alternative routes at this age?

Depends what you mean by "decent living" , if a solid reliable job where you do have a life and make £45k then there are probably opportunities in any large corporation. A university degree can open doors but it will will probably take 5-6 years (3 years uni +2-3 years of proving yourself and developing skills in new industry + the time it takes you to get to university...)

I think the fastest route is if you can sell, if you have the gift of the gab... i've seen salespeople with just GCSEs ladder climb quickly, although not everyone is able to do this.

Reply 6

Matstudy86

OP

8

Well yes a museum job is ideal but you need a degree even to get on the lowest rung I looked into it.

Original post by Matstudy86

Well yes a museum job is ideal but you need a degree even to get on the lowest rung I looked into it.

So you aren't prepared to get a degree? You can volunteer in a museum, which is the best way to get a paid job, and you can do various museum degrees part-time.

Reply 8

achieve526kk

14

try degree apprenticeships if you are up for challenge, good luck :smile:

Reply 9

Matstudy86

OP

8

Original post by threeportdrift

So you aren't prepared to get a degree? You can volunteer in a museum, which is the best way to get a paid job, and you can do various museum degrees part-time.

Yes I am, however I wondered if there were more vocational routes

How to get a career at 35

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