High school dropout, bad mental health - what are my options?
Hi, basically I'm 22 and dropped out of school due to mental health issues in the middle of year 9. Got no gcses at all and continued to be mentally ill lmao so since dropping out all I've managed to do is get one GCSE from home (English grade 8). Still suffering from terrible anxiety so I don't have even a basic job yet :/
I want a career in anything animal related, I'm not sure what specifically, and I just don't know where to start. Whenever I look into it I feel so hopeless. I tried my local college and they offer amazing animal care courses but of course I need GCSE's for that. Where can I start with no qualifications and not much money and actually progress?
I want a career in anything animal related, I'm not sure what specifically, and I just don't know where to start. Whenever I look into it I feel so hopeless. I tried my local college and they offer amazing animal care courses but of course I need GCSE's for that. Where can I start with no qualifications and not much money and actually progress?
Wherever you go they'll probably want 5/6 in English lang and maths so I'd really encourage that you try and get them, tbh I'm not really the right person to help but maybe you could look into apprentiships or even just volunteering at local animals shelters (obvs not paid but will make an application stronger). Perhaps you could also try and contact the college and explain you situation and see if they can give you either reduced conditions for entry or suggest alternative pathways?
Original post by Anonymous
Hi, basically I'm 22 and dropped out of school due to mental health issues in the middle of year 9. Got no gcses at all and continued to be mentally ill lmao so since dropping out all I've managed to do is get one GCSE from home (English grade 8). Still suffering from terrible anxiety so I don't have even a basic job yet :/
I want a career in anything animal related, I'm not sure what specifically, and I just don't know where to start. Whenever I look into it I feel so hopeless. I tried my local college and they offer amazing animal care courses but of course I need GCSE's for that. Where can I start with no qualifications and not much money and actually progress?
I want a career in anything animal related, I'm not sure what specifically, and I just don't know where to start. Whenever I look into it I feel so hopeless. I tried my local college and they offer amazing animal care courses but of course I need GCSE's for that. Where can I start with no qualifications and not much money and actually progress?
You are going to have to juggle 3 or 4 things at the same time.
1. You need to improve or continue to strengthen your mental health
2. You need to earn/source money to live and support your study
3. You need to find a place to study for the necessary GCSEs - there are plenty of online/remote options
4. You need to start volunteering regularly with animals to build experience and CV material
There are no real short-cuts - lots of people want to work with animals, so there are lots of volunteering opportunities and they are important demonstrations of commitment and experience for future paid roles. And the jobs just need basic English and maths skills etc, and requiring basic GCSEs is pretty standard.
