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Career Decision/Feeling unaccomplished :(

AmyLR94

Evening all,
So I have been finding it hard to decide on a career for me. I have a level 3 in Childcare and Education and recently just completed a Level 1 Forest Schools and Level 2 Teaching Assistant. I am currently doing Level 1 Psychology with Wirral Life Long Learning and I am thinking of doing Level 2 in September…

I’m currently a Reading Mentor with the Johnson’s Foundation that I volunteer with once a week, and in two weeks I’m hoping to start volunteering in a classroom for two mornings a week.
I’ve always wanted to work with SEN children as I feel connected in a way but as much as I love the children and I am excited to start the volunteering, I’m worried that I won’t enjoy it as training and a job are two completely different things. Also with a lot of people leaving education because of really low pay/being overworked I’m unsure on my career choice.

If I don’t go with that choice I have no idea what career to go with. I feel like the only choice I have is working with children as that’s the only qualification I have.
I was thinking maybe try something with psychology but to go anywhere with that I would need to go to Uni for about 4 years.

So I am really stuck, and have no idea what I am going to do. I just feel lost in life and unsuccessful. I just would like to feel accomplished and proud of what I have done.

Any ideas or advice? x

  • in reply to AmyLR94

    I think most people don't really know what they want to do.

    You kind of stumble into things based on what you are any good at, what is nearby or within commuting distance, what you can imagine yourself doing and what you are qualified to do.

    Keep an open mind and try to recognise a good opportunity when it comes along. It can be easy to talk yourself out of things.

    I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, and I'm in my 50s :-)

    If you can find something that makes it easy to get up in the morning, do that. 

  • UPDATE:

    So I’ve had a think about things, and I am going to just concentrate on my volunteering as a Reading Mentor as well as the Classroom Volunteering until at least this time next year.

    If everything goes okay with my PIP (got to apply for it again soon) and I still have a car, I might look into apprenticeships. One I would like to try again (had to pull out last time due to panic attack) is the Chester Zoo Keeper Apprenticeship Relaxed️. I thought if I go through that and I get to stay on after the apprenticeship, I could help with the schools etc if I wanted too.

    If it comes to this time next year and I don’t want to pursue that idea, then I will still stick to an apprenticeship to do with animals or nature or something. Or if I do enjoy my volunteering then maybe look for a job through there.

    I’m not sure what I am doing at the moment, just throwing some ideas out there x

  • in reply to Kate Kestrel

    Yeah, I think I am going to do the volunteering for a bit while I do my free courses and see what happens. I’m hoping to do Level 2 Psychology in September and then Level 1 Criminology in September too just for something to do x

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    I’ve looked on there, but I think it still costs too much and I think I might need placements Thinking x

  • I do hope you can manage to give it a try, I hope the volunteering goes well for you. I volunteer at my kids school, as a playground helper and I help my husband run the street school code club. It's tiring but rewarding, and kids can be easier to get on with than adults sometimes as they are more start forward. I think know your limits, maybe keep a journal and keep track of how you were doing to make sure you don't burn out. 

    I think knowledge and learning is helpful, even if it's not in the field you thought you'd use it in directly. You might come across a side shoot, where is helpful (see if any kids groups ever have paid work to help run them). I remember a country house near where I used to live, and they had a forest school for preschoolers, you could see if you could even set one up, if you can get funding?). 

    (I'm currently at the point where I worked nearly 20 years in my field, but hit the burnout glass ceiling. Now wondering if I'm going to have to change careers, as work is getting harder to find and facing that at 40+ is scary). 

    Even if you have to find work that is different in the time being, keep an eye out and keep volunteering in the field you want, and you'll be in a good place to try for it then. 

  • You could try the open university for psychology courses?

  • Good morning from America, AmyLR94!

    I agree with  that it’s at least worthwhile to look into volunteering, then make a determination after that. I will say it is extremely easy for us Autistics to burn out in education, particularly special education. But along with that, it’s not the end of the world if you need to adjust your career goals after a burnout. There are other options out there that are related, such as what I do: Job coaching people with disabilities. I’ve even met former elementary teachers who went into police work!

    I’d say go for it, and if you need to leave it after a few years, then at least you have a really good thing to put on your resume.

  • What you’ve done already is really impressive - you should give yourself credit for that. I would try the volunteering work and see how it goes - you might find that that experience will be the thing that helps you to make a decision about the direction you want to go in. You might love it. 

  • Find work that is at least interesting or meaningful to you (not necessarily perfect) and explore different things until you feel a sense of purpose