It's really great that you have got this far! Only one in ten folks are happy and fulfilled in their work, but most of us just bitch about it and do nothing. By reading this we guess you're considering action and plan to retrain, so you've already stood out of the crowd. Follow through and do something about it!
We recommend you seek advice first, find an expert, someone who knows the industry. Someone who can get to know you and what you like in a job, and work out what types of job will suit you:
* Is working with other people your thing?
* If so, is it meeting new people or being part of a team?
* Maybe you prefer task orientated work that you can get on with on your own?
* Do you prefer to make things keep working or do you need to complete a task to feel good?
* Building and Banking are a little shaky at the moment, so which industry would suit you best?
* Having completed your adult retraining, would you like this skill to see you to retirement age?
* Are you confident this retraining will make you employable and have the ability to keep you in work until retirement?
Adult Retraining... Make Sure You Know Before You Act!
You also need to know your feelings on career development, earning potential, and how ambitious you are. You need to know what industry expects from you, which qualifications they want you to have and how to develop your experience.
Seek out help from someone who understands the industry you wish to join, and is able to give you 'A day in the life of' understanding of what you actually will be doing on a day to day basis. It just makes sense to know if this change is right for you before you start on any adult retraining programme. There's little point in starting to train and then discover you're on the wrong course.
Our personal recommendation is that you consider the IT industry - it's one of our only growing market sectors. IT isn't all techies looking at monitors all day - of course those jobs exist, but most of the roles are filled with people like you and me; it's just they're earning more than most.
There are lots of different job roles, which are well worth looking into. The biggest pull is that there is a massive skills shortage so there is choice and the ability to find work more easily. All in all IT is one of the best opportunities around today and for the future.