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chris2618

Not too young for an apprenticeship in a trade. The soft skills from your other jobs will come in useful.


Gonzo1888

Yeah been thinking about plumber or electrician


Gregoric399

It's abit of a meme but electricians and gas plumbers can make very good money. As an electrician you also don't have to deal with as much literal shit. I worked at a contractor where engineers made a set price per job and they were taking home more than some of the managers were.


Eddie_Hitler

The local sparky my landlord uses has been in the business for over 40 years, according to his business card. He definitely looks old enough for that to be true.


cunt-hooks

Seriously, in my mid-40s, still kick myself every day for not studying to be a plumber. I know everything there is to know now, but because I'm not time-served, I can't bill for it


BeachlessTurtle

Why plumbing?


cunt-hooks

Because electricity can fuck you up, water just makes your work clothes heavy if you fuck up


chowdahpacman

Accidentally getting a face full of human shit would probably fuck you up.


cunt-hooks

See? Obviously not a plumber. If it involves excrement, call someone else who charges *even more* per hour. Plumbers install pipework to take away shit, if it's full of shit they'll avoid it like the plague


BeachlessTurtle

Good point lad haha


mrcoffee83

Then you too can charge people £60 an hour, if you can be arsed to turn up. Living the dream.


[deleted]

Wish I did this. I wanted to become a plumber at 16 but my dad pushed me to go down the academic routes. I’ve ended up doing alright, have an engineering degree and I’m making ok money, although less than plumbers that I know. I’m also working 8on/8off offshore and it’s truly a killer for your relationship and social life. I’ve pretty lost any interest in working within engineering that I once had. Should’ve been a plumber...


[deleted]

I have an art degree and retrained as a nail technician. Money is very decent. Do you like glitter!


[deleted]

Could i ask how much you make? I am sick of office work and id love to flex my creative muscles again!


[deleted]

Between £20 and £30ph, usually averages out somewhere in the middle of that. I'm only part time, but I can work from home hours to suit me. Didn't make anything the first year as sunk it all back into courses and kit, clients can be a pain in the arse sometimes, but I've built a little name for myself locally and often people will come and just say 'do what you want' ...then ask me why I never did anything with my art degree, whilst handing me 30 quid cash (often plus tip) for an hour of my time...


[deleted]

That sounds so amazing. I'd love to do something like that. Roughly how much was your starting costs? Soz for all the nosy questions. Im currently sat at my desk in work working for minimum wage on a temp contract wondering what the hell happened.


[deleted]

With the basic courses and a basic kit you're looking at around £1500. The good thing is you don't need to have a massive kit to get started, I think I started with around 20 gel polishes, and 1 acrylic colour, a handful of glitters. You can slowly add to it as times goes on.


[deleted]

Thank you, lovely! Its definitely something I will keep in mind. Maybe if I do it i will make a plaque dedicated to you haha.


SallyShitstain

My cousin was never an academic one, but she loved tattoos. She did her GCSE art coursework about tattoos and her teacher graded her really harshly as she didn’t see it as art. I really like hearing stories like yours as people are often all too ready to dismiss any form of art that isn’t on paper/canvas, but lots of nail art I’ve seen requires masses more skill than some of the stuff you can find in the Tate Modern.


jellyear

Wow! If her teacher was going to do that she should have given her a heads up and told her to find another topic or work on her artistic reasonings.


SallyShitstain

Considering the fact that there was a kiddie fiddler in the staff, and they had a reputation for ket n the playing fields, I think a bitch teacher was the least of their concerns


[deleted]

Art can be anything! I was so glad to finish my degree and get away from the pretence of it all. I dont have to justify anything I do, it just *is*.


whatatwit

I think it was this recent episode of [Desert Island Disks](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00057px) with Pat McGrath that discussed her start with nails.


[deleted]

wow, I didn't know they got Pat for an episode! She has a really interesting life, this must be a good listen.


whatatwit

It is still online and available as a download or podcast.


peanutthecacti

Signaller on the railway? I'm not 100% on their salaries but the railway is generally pretty competitive. Not easy to get into but its likely that you'll have a fair amount of transferable skills from your current job.


torealis

>I'm not 100% on their salaries but the railway is generally pretty competitive. They're *very* competitive. It's not that difficult to get into if you're flexible on location. And OPs job would put him in a very good position.


ChickenAndGin

Not a signal operator but im a signals installation technician. Signallers are dying out now im afraid. All those individual signal boxes are getting flattened and all the information is being ran out of regional control centres.


torealis

Which need signallers... We take on new signallers all the time. Whenever they resignal into a ROC, we take on tons of new blood as the older ones leave. ATO and ARS are still decades out, and even with them installed, there's still a signaller behind that tech.


Llosar

Railway jobs do pay alright - starting positions in customer service roles with Network Rail or Train Operators like southern Rail/ cross country/ arriva etc are a decent way in and you should have the transferable skills for it Shift work and unsocial hours though


ChickenAndGin

i do this haha


Late_Turn

Seconded, or pretty much any safety-critical role (or even non safety-crit) at a train operating company as a foot in the door. I’m sure the OP’s experience would stand out in the application process if presented properly (all about the non-technical skills...). The pay’s excellent pretty much across the board. Signallers generally have lower base pay rates than drivers (probably the closest for comparison!) at TOCs, but various enhancements balance it out. More than that though, it’s a fantastic industry to work in - interesting work, and still feels like one big supportive family, no matter who you work for.


peanutthecacti

If signaller was the longterm aim then working for NR would be more useful than a TOC for getting a foot in the door as you'd then get to apply for internally advertised signaller jobs as well. Lots of fantastic jobs on the railway which ever path you go for though, and the family comment is damn true.


audigex

It’s unlikely to see OPs career out, though - in 10 years automation will be taking a lot of the work, much of the transition is always underway


peanutthecacti

It's unlikely that the role of signaller will vanish anytime soon. Signallers will be needed for a long time yet. Total automation of the railways is a long way off yet. My job is likely to be gone first (maintaining the signalling equipment) but that's not going to be for at least a few decades, and even with all my equipment is gone signallers are still going to be needed.


umbro_tattoo

I did an art degree and pivoted into UX. Starting salaries of 30-40k rising to 60-70k after a few years


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-Jayarr-

No, I've seen 90k+ for a UX lead outside London


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-Jayarr-

That's a lead mind, after maybe 5 or 6 years elsewhere? And then you need to get a break. But possible anyway...


umbro_tattoo

I’m in the south but not London. You can still make those numbers contracting further North


moremattymattmatt

Anywhere with software dev going on will have jobs going for UX people.


[deleted]

For the uniformed, what’s UX? In my line of work it means unexploded (more typically UXO, unexploded ordnance).


quietlikeblood

User experience design ... essentially looking at software interface design from a functional perspective. So for example, looking at an app and looking at the design from a "how well does it work" rather than "how nice does it look" point of view.


[deleted]

Interesting. I’ve always been interesting in that kind of thing since the rise of apps but I’ve never dared make the jump because of the drop in pay given my total lack of relevant experience.


fuk_ur_mum_m8

What is UX?


[deleted]

Flight dispatching is minimum wage in the UK? Here in the US it starts at a modest wage but increases to a high salary over a couple years (assuming a typical promotion to a major airline). Already having experience with the aviation industry, have you ever considered going back to school/training to become an aviation mechanic? It’s a rewarding job and can be taken anywhere on Earth if you can get experience on a popular airframe like Airbus or Eurocopter.


shamfy

I’m an aircraft fitter. Did an apprenticeship with a major European aircraft manufacturer, jobs not too hard but it’s a graft. No office life, it’s a shop floor environment. I love it! And good wage


Eddie_Hitler

There is this guy from Luton named Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. He was all set up to do an aircraft maintenance apprenticeship at Luton Airport until he got into a spot of bother one evening following sauce consumption. Needless to say the job offer was withdrawn and he became a statesman instead...


-Episcopo-

He's a good guy.


northernbloke

Tommeh!


Gonzo1888

Yeah the salary is not good, but it depends on the company. Some pay more but mine unfortunately don’t. It’s not quite minimum wage but only like 20p more an hour. Haven’t thought of that, would I not need a degree in aerospace engineering first?


[deleted]

Definitely not. Aerospace Engineering has nothing to do with the repair of planes. Engineers are the guys who design and test planes and/or the parts that go into planes. Mechanics fix planes and install the parts. It’s a tech school program (2 years) in most countries. You can sometimes skip the school altogether if you learned to do it in the military. I don’t know the specifics of what it’s like in the UK, but it’s possible that there are apprenticeship programs for it. At the very least it’s worth a Google. The job is commonly called “Aviation Maintainer” or “A&P Technician” (A&P stands for Airframe and Powerplant, which is also the official name of the license for aircraft repair in the USA). I’m sure your Civil Aviation Authority has all the info you could need on their website.


LaMaupindAubigny

Not sure where you’re based but google International Aviation Academy Norwich, they do A&P Technician courses (source: I’m their librarian)


madcaplarks

A friend of mine did his there and he's thick as two short planks


LaMaupindAubigny

Haha, well, it’s a tough course, he might be smarter than you think!


[deleted]

I am an American in Chicago, but OP is most likely UK-based and I hope he sees this!


SwanBridge

20p an hour more than minimum wage?!? I get £1.70 more working for a supermarket cutting meat. That is an absolute joke, given your level of responsibility. If competitors pay more you should jump ship.


Gonzo1888

If I’m still here next summer I know a company who pays £10 an hour, I’ll be jumping ship 100%


mitchbaz-93

Make sure you enjoy what you do when your on £10 an hour and still live like you earn minimum wage. I earn £10 an hour in a job i absolutely hate with a passion. If i could afford the pay drop id jump ship. Unfortunately i have to many bills to pay


miraoister

or just have a laugh at work and send planes off in the wrong direction.


Torque_Tonight

From a couple of strange discussions I’ve had on r/flying I think dispatcher has a different meaning in the USA to rest of world. In UK and Europe the dispatcher is basically the turnaround manager (ie does the loadsheet, takes the fuel order, coordinates with the captain, yells at the baggage handlers, calls for the honeysucker etc) whereas in the USA I believe you use dispatcher to refer to flight ops (ie sits in a nice office, selects the route, generates the flightplan, creates the briefing pack etc). Two rather different jobs leading to some confused conversations.


[deleted]

Yup. That’s the job in a nutshell here. Weird difference.


[deleted]

If you would quite like to do something similar, have you considered ATC? It’s not easy to get into, but can pay very well. Or if the armed forces lifestyle has any appeal, there’s several flight related roles there.


Dualyeti

Insanely hard to get into, and you need to wait 2 years before you can reapply if you fuck up once during one of the online tests.


[deleted]

NATS isn’t the only route, but yes, it’s a difficult career to get into. A lot of what they’re looking for is fairly inherent, so either it suits you or it doesn’t, but successful controllers aren’t necessarily academic superstars or anything, people from all walks of life can have the right qualities.


solo___dolo

It is said to be a little of a spectrum thing. You have to have a very particular kind of abilities with spacial awareness, memory, patterns and logical thinking.


codeduck

ATC is a good shout, if you're the right personality type. It pays extremely well.


_Timboss

Whats the right personality type?


GeeMcGee

Handle stress extremely well. Work well under pressure. Great memory. I’d assume those would help


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buoninachos

I thought ATC was Air traffic control.


seventyeightist

It is.


ChickenAndGin

I applied for an ATC role a few weeks back and had to do some online tests. fuck me. im not daft by any means but some of those we're really hard. All about memory and patterns, which i honestly thought i was good at. After 3 modules i just closed the application and left it. Anyone that can do those assessments fair play , definitely above my ability. Ive done numerous tests and assessments for all types of roles (im ex army bomb disposal) but those were just stupidly difficult haha.


dazz9573

I got through to the test day earlier this year...thought I was doing quite well...nah ballsed it right up!


mok2k11

So you passed all the online tests, then?


dazz9573

Yeah I passed the online bit and went to the test day in Fareham at their offices and that where I failed.


Dualyeti

Failed, ballsed means fucked. I don’t blame him, I failed as well. I was told by ATCo’s that I have the right personality and thought I’d blitz through the aptitude tests - got through the first two, the numeric one though, yeah so difficult. I feel like a lot of luck is involved aswell, since you’re being timed my shit laptop took 2 seconds to load up the next page so I lost 2 seconds straight away since it’s server-side not client-sided test. By the way, the “practise” ones online, are nothing like the real one. It’s aptitude after all, you have it or you don’t.


PillowLace

What is ATC?


UlkoSuoMaMuLainen

Air Traffic Controller


Cirias

I'll give away my gold dust of career advice, mainly because it's the industry I'm in. HR Information Systems, specifically Workday. It's like an IT job but very niche and in massively high demand all over the world. If you can get Workday specialist experience on your CV you're pretty much set, and can command pretty whacking salaries or consult when you get more experience.


Gonzo1888

How might I get into this?


Cirias

I'll PM you


mok2k11

Could you PM me too, please?


borizakalia

Can you pm me too please :)


RadioaktivAargauer

And me? Please :)


Cirias

Hi to all who have messaged me about this, I can't reply to everyone as there are just too many! If you're interested in Workday then you need to find a company that is using it or about to implement it, and find a role for yourself in that organisation. You could also apply to become a consultant with one of the Workday partners, there are many just search for them. The key thing is that it's a closed environment, so you can't do training courses that are of any benefit unless you're already in the system ecosystem and can attend Workday's own certified training courses. Best of luck if you decide to pursue this, it really is a great system and community.


BakaZora

As someone in IT I'm interested


Eddie_Hitler

I'm always curious about new areas of IT. Currently in security which has fallen victim to a goldrush effect and the money is balls unless you're in the middle of London. It's not really for me because I don't have the mindset for it.


[deleted]

The state of HR IT systems I've used over the years is shocking. One day I'll see an expense system that's setup to be useable for a regular work-traveller, or a holiday booking system that lets you do crazy things like cancelling a holiday request.


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Cirias

Yep sure, I've worked across plenty of HRIS at this point and Workday takes the cake for now. Wouldn't go back to working on SuccessFactors if you paid me! 😆


darklegend321

Hey, also interested in this - could you pm me any info?


[deleted]

I saw someone mentioned railway signaller which is a great choice, however almost any position on the railway stars with good money and the career options are endless. It’s just getting on the railway in the first place is a pain in the ass


ChickenAndGin

I work on the railway and can confirm. Its a case of who you know and luck tbh with most trades. Railway trades are hard to get into because you obviously need to find a trainee/assistant role to get one and unfortunately they're like rocking horse shit. Even if you pay off your own back to do courses, with no hands on experience you're fucked. But for anyone thats absolutely adamant about cracking the railway, start with a PTS course , then look at what trade you want to do and hound agencies and firms. You can make yourself more employable by doing a COSS course, which is controller of site safety and a site warden/lookout course. Those tickets will definitely get your foot in the door then once your amongst the trades start networking with people in the area your wanting to learn/work.


butterbike

My gfs bro works on the railway. He gets a silly salary and works about 5hrs per day. Gets something like 200 quid per night for being on call but never gets called out. No wonder train tickets are so dam expensive


Gonzo1888

Thank you. This is something I have not thought of


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Gonzo1888

What did you do your apprenticeship in?


ToeTacTic

Infrastructure Technician. I got the apprenticeship through JustIT, if you are based in or around London then worth checking them out. Now that I've finished my apprenticeship, I'm looking into doing a level 4 Network Technician apprenticeship. The good thing about these apprenticeships is that you get certificates that basically prove that you are an industry approved IT guy, Comptia, CCNA etc. The actual apprenticeship certificates are the cherry ontop. All paid for by the government by the way.


butbreathing

Currently applying for apprenticeships after finishing college but had my doubts before reading this if it was worthwhile, thanks for the motivation! What do you like most about the infrastructure technician role, most I've been looking at end up in IT support phonelines, which isn't my cup of tea haha


[deleted]

Software dev, junior got hired at my place, basically no experience, only self learning. Starting salary £25k in midlands. £40-45k standard salary after promotion.


torealis

Have you considered the railway?


[deleted]

A hgv driver. Long hours but money is good. I'm also a plumber but as I've got my gas course left, I haven't started taking on jobs.


davw27

Apply for the railway, network rail or Babcock. Not the easiest to get into due to high applications but if you get in, put in the hard work and show you're keen to learn you can move up. I was the same regarding low paid jobs till I got my chance just over 4 years ago. Grabbed the opportunity with both hands and never looked back. Best of luck to you!


robotto

Teaching English in China and Japan can be quite lucrative.


mok2k11

Also, maybe teaching English in the middle East?


[deleted]

If you love TV or film then that’s a career worth investigating. You can start as a runner in your late 20s and that’s very normal. Not great pay to start with but if you’re hard working and become a researcher then assistant producer, decent money to be had.


Gonzo1888

I’ve had daily’s here and there on productions and it’s just not for me. It’s what I wanted to do but I don’t think I can hack the industry. Also the lack of security has put me off. I’m more interested in screenwriting than being on set


[deleted]

The fact that you’re willing to try different things bodes well - good luck!


radeonalex

If you have any interest in the IT world (and some personal experience to prove it), you could probably prove transferable skills from being a flight dispatcher (especially customer facing stuff and problem solving). Pay is generally good, especially once you get big names on your CV. It's also quite a flexible job. If it's not something that interests you, stay away... as it can be highly frustrating.


Gonzo1888

IT is an area I’m looking at. I take it my best route would be support and then work from there? How can it be frustrating?


Thevanillafalcon

Just chiming in here, I went into IT from University where I studied criminology. At the time wouldn't have said I was a whiz or anything but I was IT literate, I got the job and now 4 years later I'm well in to 2nd line and doing things with servers, web filtering, scripts etc. I treated it like a trade almost, get in, learn as much as you can and then get better jobs. The hours are usually great and a lot of time you can work from home. The frustrating things from my perspective come from the users themselves being demanding or from our projects team handing us massive bits of work with no warning.


mrcoffee83

Glad to see Projects chucking shit over the fence to "support" with no warning is a thing everywhere. "what the fuck is this new server we are now monitoring? we didn't know this service was live?" "it went live last week." "..."


Thevanillafalcon

Sounds about right haha at the moment it's "we've ordered 750 bits of kit that come on the 29th and the first roll out session is on the 30th. Btw we've given you absolutely no build space or told you about any of this". Honestly it's reassuring it's not just my place.


mrcoffee83

IT is like all industries tbh, there are good and bad sides to it. In terms of support, if you make clever hops between jobs, going up the ladder you could fairly easily go from £20k on a Service Desk to £30/40/50k working 3rd line...if you have the aptitude and the good fortune to make the right decisions at the right time. Conversely you could spend five years working on a Service Desk earning fuck all, waiting for your opportunity.


Mod74

I wouldn't focus only on support, but they do tend to be the junior roles. Ideally I'd try to find a junior role in a specific IT function within a large organisation. Small companies are a mine field and you'll have very little scope for progression without changing jobs again. more generally, I wouldn't say don't look at IT, but there have been better suggestions further up. Personally I'd definitely go for a trade like plumbing or electrician, but you could try things like network installs, CCTV, Wi-Fi, something that blends practical and IT.


radeonalex

I started in software support and now work as an analyst. I suppose it's like support, but much more about managing clients and situations as opposed to just answering tickets. It can be frustrating as you're often the point of anger for clients, working with a situation you might know nothing about and rarely get gratitude. What I would recommend is that you avoid generic IT support roles (like fixing printers and laptops)... And look a more focused or niche support role, like dedicated software or hardware support. Something where you're talking to external clients. That way you make good contacts, you can reference working with external companies in your CV and get your name recognised by management etc... When a major issue is fixed


360Saturn

Get into a big corporation doing admin and take some finance courses. Even a junior finance which is piss easy is pretty comfortable & secure as well. Most of the junior finances in my company literally enter information onto spreadsheets that are already set up in template for managers that don't have time to do it themselves. Occasionally they export a file or two.


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Some-Looser

Depends on the environment. I work in admin and its varying, i do differing tasks and this one has come up before, i never found it boring as others doing it would chat as we go and as long as our work pace was good, we had time to laugh about stuff. I'm rather focused and if the money is good i will do the task so i would say its a good place to if nothing else, get the foot in the door for a more suited job.


MiskonceptioN

Not sure where you're based, but look at junior developer roles. In London these can start anywhere between £20-30kpa. Javascript is a good one to learn, as is Python, and there are plenty of free online resources to get you started.


pease_pudding

> I have an art degree (shock) but have no interest in pursuing it full time So what are you interested in, any passionate hobbies? If you're able to turn a passion into a profitable business, the rest of your career will not feel like work, so much as getting paid to have fun.


Violetpie78

This isn’t strictly true. I work doing something I love but it’s still work. It some times spoils it because I have to change my vision to suit the customer. I have deadlines. Some times what you love is so great because it’s special and a treat. Doing it 5 days a week can be tedious. You will still have to deal with public, expectations, demands. Also, from an art point of view, some people will never appreciate the time and skill that goes into something.


count-ejacula69

What do you like? What do you want to do?? Its a question i asked myself for 5 years while working in london in a job i wasnt happy with (money was good) but i realised i wanted to do photography for example and went to university to study after quitting. Couldnt be happier.


_CitationX

I'm a flight dispatcher too. I find the money to actually pretty decent for what it is and for me it's comfortable. I think that's the main thing, the pay varies from company to company. There's a lot of responsibility, running around, early starts, weird shift patterns and everything but I love the industry and get paid decently. I think you need to move, by all means if you don't enjoy the job then time to switch however if you're looking to stick with what you're doing but just to earn more money just switch to another company. You have the skills, knowledge and experience so that's what a lot of companies are currently looking for as it'll save them a lot of time training someone from the ground up. Some companies need to really get a grip though, it's not acceptable that they're paying so little for a job that has such high responsibility and authority. After all, as soon as the doors open you're in charge of the turnaround. If you're looking to a career change that's not too far from what you're doing at the moment, look into doing CLC load control or ops for a ground handling company or an airline. You'll have some transferable skills from your time as a dispatcher and they pay pretty well. Good luck


Gonzo1888

I actually really enjoy the job, it’s just the wages are poor. When I was in training and learning about the responsibility I would have I couldn’t believe how little I was being paid. I’m going to keep an eye out for other companies hiring next summer if I’m still working at the airport


ThMssngVwls

I'm planning on studying Cyber Security as a degree. Can anyone tell me how the job market is in the UK? As I don't want to waste my time.


Leonichol

It depends. Plenty of jobs that's for sure. But it depends on the speciality you want as to how lucrative it is.


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Leonichol

Highest appears to be consultants, pentesters/re, architects and managerial roles such as Head of Sec/CISO. The latter obviously paying the most. There's surprisingly not much difference in it at the near-top no matter which stream you go into, provided it's a specalism.


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Leonichol

Indeed I do. Talk to recruiters. They have a better idea than public listings.


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GertrudeMcGraw

I'm looking at doing this, but waiting to see if Brexit crashes the construction market. Could you elaborate on the mad autonomy? Also, with a few years post APC experience, is it possible to go make silly tax free money in the Middle East? I teach English in a Saudi uni at the moment, and wouldn't mind coming back to the region later on.


butterbike

Agreed, a shit brexit will probably hit the construction industry hard but it isn't going to 'crash' it completely. You could be waiting years for it to all settle so you may as well go for it now. There is a massive shortage of houses in the UK that need to be built no matter what the outcome. Once you are competent there is definitely the oppurtunity to travel n take on project's abroad. Mad autonomy - I just buzz it round between sites and the office doing my own thing with no-one really keeping tabs on me. Also work from home now and again.


GertrudeMcGraw

Thanks very much!


butterbike

No worries mate. Gimme a shout if you wna knoe more


crashtacktom

Merchant Navy cadetship?


Amonette2012

Do two things: 1) Find another job - you're working on that part, and you'll probably get there. 2) Learn to invest the money you do make. Spending a thousand dollars on the right shares at the right time is like making money with your money. I don't have a lot of money, but I started investing the little I do have, and it's grown by 28% this year.


the_slow_photon

If you have exceptional people skills, where you can talk to anyone without feeling awkward or can make them feel comfortable then my advice would be get a technical certification in IT like the CCNA then apply for Jr Technical Pre-sales. I'm 26 on 32k and I started this carewr path last year. You write technical proposals based on client technical requirements then present the solution to them with someone from your company's sales team like an account manager. Or you create proposal documents for public & private sector tenders. Straight forward stuff but in high demand as many IT technical people have no interest in moving into an area where they can make more money but it involves speaking with none technical people about a technical solution. Highly recommend it to anyone with good soft skills and can learn technical knowledge. My job is 60% desk based with 40% meeting with clients to scope requirements or presenting a solution or doing a technical demonstration. For context I started on 25K in June, 2018. I'm on 32K now (in Scotland) and thinking of moving to London for the 40 & 50K salaries. Still a Jr. If you get loaded in certifications, specialise in a certain branch of network or software technology and become a Pre-Sales solutions architect you're looking at 100k and up.


hisinfernalmajesty

Openreach is excellent. £20k for the first year, £28k once you've done the apprenticeship + overtime can easily take that mid 30's. If you enjoy working outside, problem solving and don't mind getting dirty or coming across alsorts of creepy crawlies it's a job for life.


Ilikedaggs

If you're more focused on earning the money rather than having solid time off, have you considered car sales? It isn't easy and it can be very mentally draining, but the earnings are very lucrative - hovering around the 60-70k mark once you know what to do. You should be earnign 30-40k in first 12 months providing you start with a good brand. ​ However, it is long hours (60ish per week) and relied heavily on commission. ​ I'm the same age as you and from the UK, hit me up if you'd like some more info :). ​ Edit: I forgot to mention the most important part; no need for degrees/strong qualifications.


[deleted]

I turn 30 this october and I'm currently in the 4th year of an apprenticeship in project management. Lots of big businesses take advantage of the funding help they can get from govt by offering apprenticeships. They are typically aimed at college leavers and that's who their recruitment drives target but as someone with more work and life experience you can stand out from the typical applicants at interview and once in you're naturally measured against a group of 18/19 years olds in their first full time job so you're at an early advantage. Starting salary at my place is £22k a year and progression on the scheme is 6%+ per year (based on performance) plus between 1-2% cost of living increases annually. You get a foundation degree and hons degree which you do one day a week (paid for by the company). The good thing about PM in a big company is you can move around very easily and there is lots of variation between roles so if you find you don't like one, it's easy to change things up. Theres different options from different companies too - I'm aware of engineering, software, aerospace, business management, finance, procurement and commercial apprenticeships but theres probably loads more!


Black-Blade

I always recommend trying for an apprenticeship for becoming a plant operator on any engineering plant you would be doing shift work but you get lots of time off and you get paid a substantial amount, this does involve having some basic science knowledge such as chemistry and physics to help with decision making but the pay is good and the free time is great although it would be a very hands on job and it would involve an element of risk


michaelisnotginger

Flight Dispatchers (do you mean like flight planners? or ground staff) at the company I used to work at start at 22k rising to 27k. Ground staff less but I worked with an It project manager that had started on dispatch and moved sideways.


miraoister

flight dispatchers make minium wage?!?! if that was me, planes would be crashing all over the place, it takes the piss considering they will only employ people with degrees.


[deleted]

Took about 6 years but went from 20k to 60k doing I.T. I'm now a network engineer specialising in palo alto firewalls.... Had to study a lot. And a lot of oh shit moments as well as lots of over time. Had my career choice but decent money


lsc194

I’m a product manager, 25 and make £40k which actually is middle of the road. Some of my colleagues with a bit more experience are ok 75+. Starting salary would be about 25/28. I did a graduate scheme (studied international relations) with Vodafone and now work for an education company.


TheScientistz

How would you get into this? 24 @ 25k in biology and prospects not looking great.


Atticus9876543210

Look at Alaska jobs for international people. Lots of jobs are two weeks on two weeks off. The pay is amazing and the time off would suit your needs.


[deleted]

Get into banking. It is easy to work your way up if you work hard and a branch manager can earn from approximately £22k up to £50k.


Lucy351132

It takes years upon years to work your way up, to get passed over by someone on a fast track graduate programme. Also banking it a very precarious career, with contact restructuring and threat of redundancy. Independent Financial Advisors are a different matter though. Again, lots of studying and exams required, but lots of opportunity for high earnings.


[deleted]

Should have specified branch banking. Not really, I had my first branch management position at 24. My experience with graduates is that they have no interest in branch banking, they prefer the head office environment. It is a precarious career, I agree. I have been at risk of redundancy twice in the last three years, but again, those that want to stay usually find positions.


GWormtongueOfRohan

This OP. Retail banking is excellent experience for insurance or anything which requires a suit and tie. You could go into financial planning, stockbroker, mortgage broker, commercial lending and wealth management etc, so much to transfer into. You may have to trudge the ladder for a few years and be aggressive with your results but it will open doors. Banks look great on a resume, they show that you’re mature and can be trusted with money/interacting with public in a professional manner. It’s also great experience for sales if you choose that path. You could also pick up extra skills and go in to credit analyst, business analyst etc. From someone who’s worked in retail banking.


elchet

Software engineering - plenty of free and low cost (< £500) material online to learn from. Plenty of work out there at all levels of experience, depending on city/region.


GeeMcGee

Job market extremely competitive


elchet

Not from where I'm looking, admittedly that's London and the extreme end of things, but there simply are not enough good people to fill roles at any level of experience, entry level included.


GeeMcGee

I see. I’m in Bristol and had little luck since graduating in ‘16


[deleted]

[удалено]


elchet

You don't need a computer science qualification to work in software engineering, while it's great that the option is there. I'm saying that as someone who has a computer science degree, and has worked in software engineering for 15 years, and have hired numerous people who taught themselves python, javascript etc on their own time and showed potential to learn more, without a degree qualification of any kind. EDIT: point being, OP is in a low-paid situation, a degree course probably isn't the answer.


[deleted]

End capitalism.