Lost in job. What to up skill to?

LegacyUser

I currently work in childcare and my weekly wage isn't great. It's 320 to 350 a week.

I need to upskill to increase my earning potential. What do you think I could upskill to? I haven't a clue what to do? I have an artistic streak in me and I think I might enjoy hairdressing but I'm not too sure if the wage would be better. Also I find the idea of a full time course daunting because that won't pay the bills. I would prefer online learning so I could study in my own time and not be tied into an evening class. I think I might prefer some office work or factory work. I need to increase my wage. Would embalming be a good profession to enter into? I think that might suit me and the wage might be better than what I have now.

I am me123

lost.poster wrote: »

I currently work in childcare and my weekly wage isn't great. It's 320 to 350 a week.

I need to upskill to increase my earning potential. What do you think I could upskill to? I haven't a clue what to do? I have an artistic streak in me and I think I might enjoy hairdressing but I'm not too sure if the wage would be better. Also I find the idea of a full time course daunting because that won't pay the bills. I would prefer online learning so I could study in my own time and not be tied into an evening class. I think I might prefer some office work or factory work. I need to increase my wage. Would embalming be a good profession to enter into? I think that might suit me and the wage might be better than what I have now.

Hi.
I was once in a similar situation to yours. I qualified up to degree level in childcare with a Level 8, worked in the sector for about 2 years earning around €370 a week and decided unfortunately that I wasnt fully using the skills I gained in uni in childcare work so decided to upskill to administrative work. I felt that in admin work my degree wasnt going to waste, as I felt it had done in creche work. Im currently working part time while retraining in admin work.
Maybe its something to consider with more career progression?
Hope I helped.

cj maxx

I’m unemployed but looking to upgrade, an OU course in computing or whatever would be a good idea

Airyfairy12

Ive heard from several people who work in childcare that the pay is very bad but that is really terrible, it is way below the cost of living. A little off topic but childcare workers should really consider banding together and working towards/fighting for fairer pay.

You dont say if you have a level 8 in childcare education or a level 5/6 in childcare?
If its the level 8 you can register with the teaching council and sub in primary and special needs schools.
If its a level 5 or 6 you can work as a special needs assistant in mainstream and special ed schools, the pay is slightly better for SNA's and if you wanted to upskill you could do a part time course in special education needs but the qualification you currently have would be enough to allow you to work in schools. If it's something youd be interested in, start applying now as this is the time they are posting jobs, you'll find jobs for SNA and primary teaching posted on Educationposts.ie, staffroom.ie and Your local etb should have a jobs site.

ILoveYourVibes

cj maxx wrote: »

I’m unemployed but looking to upgrade, an OU course in computing or whatever would be a good idea

this

mbradso2003

lost.poster wrote: »

I currently work in childcare and my weekly wage isn't great. It's 320 to 350 a week.

I need to upskill to increase my earning potential. What do you think I could upskill to? I haven't a clue what to do? I have an artistic streak in me and I think I might enjoy hairdressing but I'm not too sure if the wage would be better. Also I find the idea of a full time course daunting because that won't pay the bills. I would prefer online learning so I could study in my own time and not be tied into an evening class. I think I might prefer some office work or factory work. I need to increase my wage. Would embalming be a good profession to enter into? I think that might suit me and the wage might be better than what I have now.

https://www.lia.ie/courses/your-future.-career-ready-lia-programmes

Have a look at this OP. This years deadline is close.You get paid and earn a degree after 3 years.

We have hired 2 and they are on similar salary to peer group.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the replies.

I'm just so lost. I need a new job. I need a job with better pay. I looked into SNA work in schools. The work opportunities is not great. There were not a lot of positions in my home county and positions available were part time. I would struggle travelling to the other side of the county for a part time job. So that is out.

I want to steer clear from childcare and healthcare assistant roles altogether.

I don't know what to get into. I would be interested in
Office work
Factory work
Embalming - I like the idea of this. I googled it and apparently it pays well and it has the least amount of studying. It looks to me as if it would be a peaceful role. My current position can be intense. I think embalming would be great. Less stress because my clients would be dead.
Another thing I would love would be dental nursing - but the idea of moving away from home and going to college as a nearly 40 year old is daunting. It's not going to pay the bills. I like minding my teeth now and I overcame a dentist fear and I would love to help others.

Another route I would love to go down - would be environment and green living/energy kind of stuff but I don't know what sort of jobs are available in the environment/Green energy fields. I'm coming from childcare - I'm nt going to be an engineer over night or any time soon.

TP_CM

If money is a priority, it would seem like training up in a technology field would be the best idea. Once you have 1 or 2 years experience you could switch from full time to contracting where the daily rate is 400 or 500 (or more) per day. You wouldn't need to be a computer nerd for this. There are roles such as project management (managing timelines) or business analysis (documenting requirements) where a lot of the time is spent speaking to stakeholders and managing their concerns.

Or go right into technology and learn SQL (old language which isn't going away soon in terms of data extraction) or Python coding (seems to be taking over the world in terms of developing programs). There are plenty of cheap courses on sites such datacamp or coursera which can give you an insight into all of this.

There is one good book I would recommend when trying to find out what field to move into. Look up "What colour is my parachute". There is probably a few YouTube videos which summarise its idea.

Airyfairy12

Look up springboard courses,you could do a level 7 or 8, mostly online courses.
As for embalming im not sure if theres courses for that? You could ask in your local funeral home, they might train you

boogerballs

TP_CM wrote: »

If money is a priority, it would seem like training up in a technology field would be the best idea. Once you have 1 or 2 years experience you could switch from full time to contracting where the daily rate is 400 or 500 (or more) per day. You wouldn't need to be a computer nerd for this. There are roles such as project management (managing timelines) or business analysis (documenting requirements) where a lot of the time is spent speaking to stakeholders and managing their concerns.

Or go right into technology and learn SQL (old language which isn't going away soon in terms of data extraction) or Python coding (seems to be taking over the world in terms of developing programs). There are plenty of cheap courses on sites such datacamp or coursera which can give you an insight into all of this.

There is one good book I would recommend when trying to find out what field to move into. Look up "What colour is my parachute". There is probably a few YouTube videos which summarise its idea.

Please direct us to any IT jobs that pay 500€ pd after just one year experience, they sound great.

TP_CM

boogerballs wrote: »

Please direct us to any IT jobs that pay 500€ pd after just one year experience, they sound great.

I think you're selecting the max day rate I provided along with the minimum experience I quoted. They do exist though. With technology you either know the answers or you don't. Don't get me wrong, if you want to earn a top rate in technology, you need to study, work and network like the top rate workers. It all depends on personal priorities.

antimatterx

boogerballs wrote: »

Please direct us to any IT jobs that pay 500€ pd after just one year experience, they sound great.

It's more like 4/5 years. But you can totally get that (and more).

TP_CM

TP_CM wrote: »

If money is a priority, it would seem like training up in a technology field would be the best idea. Once you have 1 or 2 years experience you could switch from full time to contracting where the daily rate is 400 or 500 (or more) per day. You wouldn't need to be a computer nerd for this. There are roles such as project management (managing timelines) or business analysis (documenting requirements) where a lot of the time is spent speaking to stakeholders and managing their concerns.

Or go right into technology and learn SQL (old language which isn't going away soon in terms of data extraction) or Python coding (seems to be taking over the world in terms of developing programs). There are plenty of cheap courses on sites such datacamp or coursera which can give you an insight into all of this.

There is one good book I would recommend when trying to find out what field to move into. Look up "What colour is my parachute". There is probably a few YouTube videos which summarise its idea.

Don't fall for the "lrn2code" meme.

Unless you are extremely dedicated (read live and work computers), you will not get a well paying job.

Even in interviews, you are expected to be dedicating your personal time to projects and coding ffs. As if your working week was not long enough.

The other IT jobs are averagely paid and offsetted by the fact they are based in high cost cities.

A BA average salary is €42,919, from looking at glassdoor.
A system admin €45,579.

If you are living in a low cost location, e.g. Donegal, Mayo, etc, you might be just as better off as you are rather than getting €40,000 and trying to rent a box room in Dublin

lainey_d_123

salonfire wrote: »

Don't fall for the "lrn2code" meme.

Unless you are extremely dedicated (read live and work computers), you will not get a well paying job.

Even in interviews, you are expected to be dedicating your personal time to projects and coding ffs. As if your working week was not long enough.

The other IT jobs are averagely paid and offsetted by the fact they are based in high cost cities.

A BA average salary is €42,919, from looking at glassdoor.
A system admin €45,579.

If you are living in a low cost location, e.g. Donegal, Mayo, etc, you might be just as better off as you are rather than getting €40,000 and trying to rent a box room in Dublin

Yeah, seconding this.

I did retrain to work as a developer but I wasn't starting from scratch at all - I had made a fair few websites in my teens and had messed around with programming a good bit and in all honesty, the course was still intense and difficult, and that was with a high level of motivation and genuine interest.

I have met a few (very few) female devs who changed career in the past five years for the money and seem to just be the type who can decide they're doing something and just do it, regardless of interest level. I don't know how they do it and I certainly couldn't - takes a certain kind of person, I suppose. The majority of my coworkers have been coding since they were very, very young and would do quite a bit in their spare time as well. I don't do as much as some of them but I have sat here most of the evening and worked on a personal project, and I do that several nights a week and a lot of the weekend.

Coding also just isn't for everyone - there were a good few on my course who just didn't get it and ended up dropping out, or just realised they hated it. It can be really frustrating and tedious. I live for my tests passing and finally figuring out why something hasn't been working but someone who is used to manual work and meeting people all day would probably find it soul destroying and downright boring. Doesn't sound like it would suit the OP much tbh.