Nearly 30 with no career plan - all suggestions welcome!

My 20's were a bit chaotic, and I've ended up doing a bit of everything but not much of anything.

- I've got degrees in Classics (original undergrad) and Medical Science (obtained after completing phase 1 of med school).
- I've worked in schools as a special needs TA, in developing countries as a volunteer coordinator, for charities as a web content developer, and in hospitals as an HCA.
- I love working with children, and gravitate towards caring roles which require strong people skills, but I also want to use my medical knowledge and have a career that challenges me intellectually. I thought being a doctor was the perfect answer, but it just didn't work out.
- I don't want to be a nurse because that just has the same downsides as being a doctor but for worse pay and less respect, and I don't want to be a teacher because... well, so many reasons.

So... I'm a bit stuck. I can't do anything for a few years anyway as my kids are still very young and I'm living abroad atm, but I want to start choosing a path now so that I can do some tailored CPD work which will hopefully minimise the effect of having been a SAHM. I have a very supportive husband so further study is an option if need be, however any career that involves frequently relocating is not an option. Hit me with your suggestions please!

Medical test subject

Hi, it certainly isn't too late to start a new career, but you need to find the commitment and perseverance to do so. When did you obtain your classics degree (and what made you study this?). I can't find a career that will combine all of the elements you are interested in. I wouldn't look down on nursing so much. It is still a good job, although the pay could be better - and it would suit your caring skills, medical knowledge and challenge you. My friend studied a science degree and after a few years, she didn't have a career path. She went travelling and taught English abroad. She decided that nursing was a good route for her to take, and she enrolled on a nursing postgrad course. Whilst there are drawbacks to the job, she does enjoy it and gets on well with her colleagues (who don't all look down on her).

Reply 3

ThymeTeasel

Original post by cheesecakelove

Hey, thanks for replying. I definitely don't look down on nurses, but I know many of my med school colleagues did and overheard a lot of my colleagues and seniors sneering as well. I don't want to spend my whole career feeling bitter and defensive over taking orders from people who, had things gone differently, would have been my peers. I know that's shallow and the work does interest me... maybe I need to just try and get over myself! Tbh the whole NHS is rammed top to bottom with people trying to figure out who they can kick down on. I found studying the course a very toxic experience - one of the reasons I left! I don't necessarily know if nursing would be better in that regard. The other reason I left was that I didn't want to try and balance shift work and long hours around my young children - again, a problem with nursing. It may be that the NHS is just a bad fit for me.

I finished my classics degree 9 years ago. I just really loved the subject and figured that by the time I'd finished it I'd have a clue about jobs... but I never did. Short of becoming a professor of Classics, it's really just another "transferable skills" degree. I'd never considered medicine before, but did some volunteering with a medical group then worked abroad for a while, and got the idea of working for MSF one day. That lead me to graduate medicine, but a few years in I had my son and my priorities changed. There were some other factors as well, but that's the nuts and bolts of it. Sorry for the essay!

Reply 4

ThymeTeasel

You know, I've just spent the last hour researching this as an option. In many ways it seems perfect - but the hostility that people seem to react to it with really puts me off! Just google any thread on here and it's full of posts saying things like "you think you're so smart but you'll never be a doctor". Med students go through a lot of **** to become doctors, and now a bunch of PGDips are swooping in and doing quite similar work with a better starting salary and more sociable hours - I can see why they're ****ed! But like I said in my pp, medicine is filled with some quite toxic people who are desperate to show off how much better and smarter they are. I love the sound of the work, but couldn't stand a career where I'm constantly being "put in my place" by people keen to remind me that their training path was so much harder and more competitive than mine.

Reply 5

Frowlands

What about caregiver? At a home or one to one basis, I'd imagine having medical knowledge would come in handy in this area plus it's a caring role and I've heard that every day is different in these kinds of jobs so there would be lots of things coming up to challenge you intellectually.

Reply 6

ThymeTeasel

Thanks, that's really encouraging to hear! I actually have loads of questions so am going to do some more research then maybe take you up on that PM offer if you have the time :smile: