Career change and uni in late 20’s

[Megahurtz400]

Hey all,

Stuck in a rut at the moment working a job which pays ok, has good prospects but had ridiculous hours and I have zero interest in it and brings me no joy.

I’m not sure what I want to do, but having not finished a-levels and not gone to uni I find myself thinking I’d struggle to pass the papersift on any job I’d like to apply for, despite having great skills having effectively run a company for the past 5 years.

Now, as I say I’m not sure what I want to do (I don’t really have a “dream” job) but love the idea of seeing/designing a project from beginning to end, if that makes any sense, so was looking at Mechanical engineering degrees. To get myself an official qualification and to learn a new skill set which is applicable in a lot of industries.

Has any jacked in a career and gone back to uni in their late 20s?
I don’t have a mortgage/kids so have no real financial ties, is it affordable?
Am I just being stupid and should I just look for another job?

As I said stuck in a rut and after some advice tbh.

Cheers

 

[flibbage0]

Hey all,

Stuck in a rut at the moment working a job which pays ok, has good prospects but had ridiculous hours and I have zero interest in it and brings me no joy.

I’m not sure what I want to do, but having not finished a-levels and not gone to uni I find myself thinking I’d struggle to pass the papersift on any job I’d like to apply for, despite having great skills having effectively run a company for the past 5 years.

Now, as I say I’m not sure what I want to do (I don’t really have a “dream” job) but love the idea of seeing/designing a project from beginning to end, if that makes any sense, so was looking at Mechanical engineering degrees. To get myself an official qualification and to learn a new skill set which is applicable in a lot of industries.

Has any jacked in a career and gone back to uni in their late 20s?
I don’t have a mortgage/kids so have no real financial ties, is it affordable?
Am I just being stupid and should I just look for another job?

As I said stuck in a rut and after some advice tbh.

Cheers

I don't think you're being stupid, at the end of the day you need to be relatively happy and need to have some form of progression.

I'm currently in a situation where my salary has reached near it's peak and whilst it's good for my age I don't enjoy it and the future looks bleak.

Personally I'm doing some online courses in various IT related courses to see what I find interesting, then I'll go from there.

I would say to try get some shadowing experience in whatever field you want to go into and speak to actual professionals that do the job daily. Don't listen to lecturer's or career's people that tell you all the positives and no negatives.

 

[FloppyPoppy]

Hey all,

Stuck in a rut at the moment working a job which pays ok, has good prospects but had ridiculous hours and I have zero interest in it and brings me no joy.

I’m not sure what I want to do, but having not finished a-levels and not gone to uni I find myself thinking I’d struggle to pass the papersift on any job I’d like to apply for, despite having great skills having effectively run a company for the past 5 years.

Now, as I say I’m not sure what I want to do (I don’t really have a “dream” job) but love the idea of seeing/designing a project from beginning to end, if that makes any sense, so was looking at Mechanical engineering degrees. To get myself an official qualification and to learn a new skill set which is applicable in a lot of industries.

Has any jacked in a career and gone back to uni in their late 20s?
I don’t have a mortgage/kids so have no real financial ties, is it affordable?
Am I just being stupid and should I just look for another job?

As I said stuck in a rut and after some advice tbh.

Cheers

I actually posted something about this in a different thread in here not sure what one thought.

Im 25 and i have been working in the plastics industry for about 10 years. While i don't hate where i currently my workplace i don't love my job. The people are great and im not depressed when going to work. But i would rather be doing something i want to do career wise so i am now doing an Open Uni course studying programming that i hope to use my gained skills to get into a IT position whilst making my own software on the side as i believe i could produce much better software for within the plastics industry than the terrible spreadsheets i have seen being used in dozens of factories ranging from like my current place with 4 shop floor staff 3 engineers and 3 office staff to places with hundreds if not thousands of employees.

I am loving studying and would do it full time but i could not afford to, plus i think a benefit of staying full time employed is it motivates and reminds you of what you chose to do the course and helps you to stick with it in tough times.

 

[Megahurtz400]

@flibbage0 I know what you mean, future looking bleak. I’m currently trying to find something online based/free to dip my toe into the water, but feel with something like mechanical engineering it’s the type of qualification you can only really get at a brick and mortar uni.

@harry5522, awesome that you’ve got the vision to improve technology in an industry you already work in, must be satisfying knowing you’re working towards something like that

If you don’t mind me asking, why could you not afford uni? That’s one thing I’m worried about, the shift from full time salary to student lifestyle. However have a good friend who’s currently a mature student and he says he gets by ok.

 

[FloppyPoppy]

@flibbage0 I know what you mean, future looking bleak. I’m currently trying to find something online based/free to dip my toe into the water, but feel with something like mechanical engineering it’s the type of qualification you can only really get at a brick and mortar uni.

@harry5522, awesome that you’ve got the vision to improve technology in an industry you already work in, must be satisfying knowing you’re working towards something like that

If you don’t mind me asking, why could you not afford uni? That’s one thing I’m worried about, the shift from full time salary to student lifestyle. However have a good friend who’s currently a mature student and he says he gets by ok.

I unfortunately live pretty much week to week on a wage, i have never been great at saving money but i always make sure to pay my bills. Without a job there is no way i could pay the fees associated with it, along with my rent, phone, bike insurance and other such things.

I am paying on a per module basis, each getting me 30 points out of a required 360. Each module is around 6 months long and i am paying OUSBA (open uni student budget account) £247 a month to pay for one module. If i continue to do 1 module per 6 months it will be a 6 year long investment but should i believe i can handle more workload then i will go ahead and do 2 modules at a time bringing it down to 3 years but will be around £500/month. I am doing it like this as i don't want any long term debt.

 

[Megahurtz400]

@harry5522 Ah I see, I’ve pretty much accepted that if I were to get a degree I’d have to accept the student debt which goes along with it

While I earn ok now it’s not even to even contemplate saving and paying any serious amount of it up front.

 

[Quartz]

I’m not sure what I want to do, but having not finished a-levels ... so was looking at Mechanical engineering degrees.

Universities might well demand Maths and Physics A levels first, just to be sure you have the proper grounding in the basics.

despite having great skills having effectively run a company for the past 5 years.

If you've done that then you're set for many managerial jobs.

 

[Megahurtz400]

Universities might well demand Maths and Physics A levels first, just to be sure you have the proper grounding in the basics.

The courses I’m looking at have foundation years which cover entry requirements, although I’m going to be brushing up on maths and physics before hand if I do go down that route.

If you've done that then you're set for many managerial jobs.

Could you define managerial jobs? I don’t think I’d be able to get into an industry which fulfils the creative juices without the right pieces of paper and some experience, but I may be wrong?

 

[Quartz]

Could you define managerial jobs? I don’t think I’d be able to get into an industry which fulfils the creative juices without the right pieces of paper and some experience, but I may be wrong?

Achievement trumps everything.

 

[Megahurtz400]

Achievement trumps everything.

Certainly doesn’t seem that way when looking for anything new...

 

[tres]

Hey all,

Stuck in a rut at the moment working a job which pays ok, has good prospects but had ridiculous hours and I have zero interest in it and brings me no joy.

I’m not sure what I want to do, but having not finished a-levels and not gone to uni I find myself thinking I’d struggle to pass the papersift on any job I’d like to apply for, despite having great skills having effectively run a company for the past 5 years.

Now, as I say I’m not sure what I want to do (I don’t really have a “dream” job) but love the idea of seeing/designing a project from beginning to end, if that makes any sense, so was looking at Mechanical engineering degrees. To get myself an official qualification and to learn a new skill set which is applicable in a lot of industries.

Has any jacked in a career and gone back to uni in their late 20s?
I don’t have a mortgage/kids so have no real financial ties, is it affordable?
Am I just being stupid and should I just look for another job?

As I said stuck in a rut and after some advice tbh.

Cheers

I too felt like I was stuck in a rut, lived in the most beautiful of places but felt life with slipping by without challenging myself.
Also didn't have a 'dream' job, more something I thought my skillset would do well in, and would forever push me.
Went back to uni at 28. Had to do an Access course to get myself the grades to get into uni.
Uni mostly covered by student loans - yeah, massive debt now but the only way I could do it.
Now I've been a doctor for a couple of years.
Best decision I ever made. Yeah, I see student loan deductions leaving my payslip until I retire, but I'm in a career that pushes me (good and band) rather than just lead a sedentary boring life. I feel privileged doing this job.

 

[Megahurtz400]

I too felt like I was stuck in a rut, lived in the most beautiful of places but felt life with slipping by without challenging myself.
Also didn't have a 'dream' job, more something I thought my skillset would do well in, and would forever push me.
Went back to uni at 28. Had to do an Access course to get myself the grades to get into uni.
Uni mostly covered by student loans - yeah, massive debt now but the only way I could do it.
Now I've been a doctor for a couple of years.
Best decision I ever made. Yeah, I see student loan deductions leaving my payslip until I retire, but I'm in a career that pushes me (good and band) rather than just lead a sedentary boring life. I feel privileged doing this job.

Thanks for your reply mate

What did you do at uni & what are you doing now if you don’t mind me asking?

Found out today I can’t do a degree with a foundation year as you need at least 1 A level for them, so will have to do a 1 year access to HE at a local college, is this similar to what you did?

 

[Jasoncmor]

I'm 30 next month and i've struggled my whole working life on what I want to do with my life, I've only had a few jobs and I have been putting so much thought into it for years on what I want to do, and the more I think, the less ideas I have on what interests me.
I have been been reading countless articles, watching hundreds of videos & presentations, and even doing online tests to find out what I should do based on my test results, but still I had no clue.
I don't think its ever too late to change job / career.

Some things I have learn't is you need to get yourself out there, make connections with people, get out there and try new things, I know its difficult when you have bills etc to pay though. But this is the essence of what everyone is saying.

Something that hit me earlier this evening in a video that I watched, .. "What are the skills you consistently use in everything you end up doing, there in lies your strength, your story, your path to success". and it really resonated with me.

Now, for me, my last job I worked for McD as an assistant manager, I was there for almost 10 years, plodding along, not really knowing what I wanted to do with myself, but while I was there, I did more practical work than anything else, for example, taking apart equipment and fixing where I could, fixing the IT issues and equipment we used, taking in my power tools for the upkeep of the restaurant and outside of the building, helping the other staff with their cars / bikes, fixing their broken devices, etc, also while at home I did a lot of DIY / building work, and basic electrical work and garden stuff. I had worked previously for a small IT business and then a building company, and all I wanted to do was fix things, build or make things, it really clears my mind and i'm happy doing it, I love to use my hands, im a creative person and a natural problem solver.

Hearing that statement today really affirmed within me where I should be going with my life.

So, not long ago I applied for night college to do an electrician course, which if I'm successful in getting on the course, starts in September, I still don't know the route I want to go, but its a good step and will hopefully lead me in the right direction.

 

[alexakasloth]

I am paying on a per module basis, each getting me 30 points out of a required 360. Each module is around 6 months long and i am paying OUSBA (open uni student budget account) £247 a month to pay for one module. If i continue to do 1 module per 6 months it will be a 6 year long investment but should i believe i can handle more workload then i will go ahead and do 2 modules at a time bringing it down to 3 years but will be around £500/month. I am doing it like this as i don't want any long term debt.

Which module are you/have you studied so far?

I'm currently studying MU123, wondering what sort of workpace it will be for the other modules in this and the next levels.

 

[FloppyPoppy]

Which module are you/have you studied so far?

I'm currently studying MU123, wondering what sort of workpace it will be for the other modules in this and the next levels.

TM111 Will be doing TM112 and MU123 once this finishes.

 

[tres]

Thanks for your reply mate

What did you do at uni & what are you doing now if you don’t mind me asking?

Found out today I can’t do a degree with a foundation year as you need at least 1 A level for them, so will have to do a 1 year access to HE at a local college, is this similar to what you did?

Medicine (standard 5 yr course), and a (medical) doctor now

 

[Megahurtz400]

Medicine (standard 5 yr course), and a (medical) doctor now

Wow, big boy degree!

Was your access course part of your degree or taken somewhere else?

Glad to hear it’s all going well for you!

 

[tres]

Wow, big boy degree!

Was your access course part of your degree or taken somewhere else?

Glad to hear it’s all going well for you!

Taken elsewhere, I moved to Kings Lynn in Norfolk for a year to do it at a college. That was a strange place.
And thanks!

 

[Megahurtz400]

Taken elsewhere, I moved to Kings Lynn in Norfolk for a year to do it at a college. That was a strange place.
And thanks!

Wow, yeah Kings Lynn isn’t too far from me, been there quite a few times with work and it is a rather odd place!

Was that at a college or a university? Did you receive any funding for it or were you able to save before hand?

Sorry the bombardment of questions mate!

 

[tres]

Wow, yeah Kings Lynn isn’t too far from me, been there quite a few times with work and it is a rather odd place!

Was that at a college or a university? Did you receive any funding for it or were you able to save before hand?

Sorry the bombardment of questions mate!

Happy to answer!
It was at the college of West Anglia. The course itself wasn't expensive, <£1k if I remember correctly, and rented a room in a house share with other students for £70 a week.
Minimal savings and family helped me out a bit for this year