Career advice for mature student

peterohora

Hey guys.This is my first ever post but I'm a regular visitor to the site..I'm currently unemployed for the last 4 years and have now gotten the option to go to college to get an education . I'm 30 years old and my work background is in construction...this is my opportunity to change my life so I was wondering if any of ye nice folk have any advice on a sustainable career..many thanks

dmc17

You might get a wider range of opinions in the mature student forum

munkus

Peter,

Depends what you're interested in. If pursuing a degree it might be worth talking to a professional guidance counselor rather than talking a shot at a course. Too many people doing degrees that they 'like' rather than what they'll get a job out of.

Mossess

Hi Peter, you have an amazing chance to do whatever you want to now. Embrace it. If i was in your position I'd go into teaching, or business, or .. . . Basically, you have a lot of options. Id steer clear of IT though. Every Tom, Dick and Mary who has done a night course considers themselves a professional. That's just my thoughts though. Also, if you have a hobby be careful about making it into a career, it may no longer be fun in 10 years.
All the best of luck.

munkus

Mossess wrote: »

Hi Peter, you have an amazing chance to do whatever you want to now. Embrace it. If i was in your position I'd go into teaching, or business, or .. . . Basically, you have a lot of options. Id steer clear of IT though. Every Tom, Dick and Mary who has done a night course considers themselves a professional. That's just my thoughts though. Also, if you have a hobby be careful about making it into a career, it may no longer be fun in 10 years.
All the best of luck.

Jesus, this is the worst advice possible. You're telling him to go into teaching when there are hundreds of qualified teachers who can't get jobs, and telling him to avoid IT, where industry is screaming for them. I would advise the opposite.

blackrock

Peter,
Springboard courses are designed to give people an opportunity to change careers. They are focused on reskilling into areas of high employment.

These courses have the advantage that they are free and completed in one year. For example check out the H.Dip in Software Development at LIT

The disadvantage is they are solid hard work, especially if you have not studied for some time. A lot is crammed into one year.

Most colleges admit mature students to full time undergraduate courses. You should also check this option out. These courses are normally entered via the CAO but as a mature student you just apply directly to the college.

If you are interested in LIT then give the flexible learning office a call as a starting point.. You'll find their number on the LIT website. You can ask about applying for springboard and undergraduate courses.

castaway_lady

munkus wrote: »

Jesus, this is the worst advice possible. You're telling him to go into teaching when there are hundreds of qualified teachers who can't get jobs, and telling him to avoid IT, where industry is screaming for them. I would advise the opposite.

My sentiments exactly! Brutal advice.

Mossess

castaway_lady wrote: »

My sentiments exactly! Brutal advice.

ok, to clarify why I said to avoid IT. I work in IT. I have lots of qualifications, I have years of experience. I have a good job. It took me a long time to get where I am now.
I realise that the industry is crying out for people. As one of the people with qualifications and experience I know that if I wanted to job hop I can do so, and be paid quiet well to do so.
The problems with the industry, as I see it, are that there are too many people who have done a night course or like messing with computers and then think that they can walk into jobs that pay a fortune. It doesn't work like that.

If you go out there today and get a degree in IT then go working it will be a few years before you are earning at the same level that a teacher will be starting off at. Plus you wont have the same holidays.
At the moment as a country we are starting to get ourselves out of the hole we are in. I would risk going into teaching because I'm sure that in 4 years time they will be hiring again.

spurious

They may eventually be hiring again, but it will take many years to work through the backlog that has built up.
We had a four hour job spread over three days that we got over 300 applications for. That is how bad teaching is and it will not be getting better any time soon.

Have a look at the Teaching and Lecturing forum to see the real state of teaching employment prospects.

InReality

Try for a 50/50 mix between a job you think you might like and a job that is a practical option in a few years time.

If you like messing with computers in general then a good IT course - in a Uni - would fill both those criteria

I think the demand for IT jobs wont go away.