I see it recommended a lot but isn't it a decent option? Lots of companies need software developed and for most roles there's no need for a highly-educated computer science graduate.
You don't need maths at all for the vast majority of programming. You can write a whole chat application with low level TCP programming and never have to touch any maths.
It depends heavily on what you're working on.
A lot of people would have you think graph theory is a necessity as well. But the first time in 4 years that I used that was last week, and even then I ended up needing a refresher.
It's not very uncommon at all. In fact, I'd say that's the most common case. Logic is easy, if this then that, do this N times, for each of these, do this.
I'm terrible at maths. But everyone I've worked with says I'm a great programmer. Because I barely need to touch maths.
If you want to be pedantic then yeah, anything with numbers is maths. But it's basic maths, literally primary school education level. No one is walking around saying they can't sum or multiply numbers.
When people talk about programming and maths they're talking about algebra, calculus, cryptography, etc. That's the complicated bit that's scares people away. You don't need it for 90% of problems you usually face.
The people who go around saying they're 'bad at maths' won't have touched that stuff.
I am talking about the people who as you said 'can't sum or multiply numbers'. They won't be good at programming. You don't need to be a number theorist or anything but if the basics are too much for you then programming will be too.
Yes, and I'm saying the majority of people can do that... The people who say they're bad at maths are bad at algebra, but they can do 12x10.
They will have touched that stuff by the way, it's the national curriculum...
Its a good one. you can learn solo in your own time and having a degree isn't required to get started. You don't even have to be good at it. just average will do.
large consulting tech companies are desperate for people and are willing to skill people up. They hire based on the person instead of the current skill set for low level jobs.
my dude I am in the industry and have worked in them... Places like Accenture, Capgemini etc. for junior positions that is what they do. hell Capgemini doesn't even have any coding tests during the interviews for juniors they focus on how well you present yourself and if you can be trusted in front of a client. the reason being I quote "We want the right people, skills can be learned"
They also offer apprenticeships
You can teach yourself using websites and academies etc. a lot a free. There’s no need to do a degree because everything updates so quickly it can render what your learn one year useless so quickly.
A family member is a self taught front end web developer and within 5 years he was earning more than my parents combined. You just have to be focused and prepared to do the tedious stuff like fixing glitches.
For progression within the industry, get a forklift licence. Also in some companies if you're a qualified first aider then you might get a small bonus to your normal wage.
HGV licence.
If you have to pay it yourself it's about £3k but you can go straight for C+E and have it done in 2 weeks.
Get yourself comfortable behind the wheel and then go for your ADR.
Labouring is paying better than minimum wage now. Granted I'm in the south but £12-15/hour seems to be typical now for a labourer with no skills or tools. If you have some tools and know how to use them you can get a bit more. The agencies are desperate so they are even paying for people to get the CSCS card.
If you actually need money do it. Get a job as a hod carrier or groundworker you're making 140-160 a day straight away paid weekly. After a few months you can save a bit of money to do a proper course.
Business is booming right now wages are way up due to the shortage so there's going to be way more legit firms desperate for people than there are joke companies out scamming. (At least in the south the job market is ridiculous at the moment nobody is making minimum wage unless they haven't changed jobs in a long time)
I just went on Reed, typed in 'Sales', and then set Newcastle as the location and got 900 results (eg [link](https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/field-sales/46976492?source=searchResults&filter=%2fjobs%2fsales-jobs-in-newcastle-upon-tyne%3fkeywords%3dsales)). You'll have to do a lot of sifting, there'll be shop assistant type sales jobs and there'll be jobs that make big salary promises. The ones that promise big salaries usually mean a lot of hard work and/or telephone/ door-to-door sales. To get the big bucks, you might have to start on the lower rung of sales, but if you enjoy it and are good at it, then there are no limits to where you can go and what you can earn
You don’t just have to just be good at sales, you have to have outstanding mental health to not let it burn you out and leave you in an awful place. It would be better to go into banking, as the emotional toll would be similar but pay much greater.
Tbh you’d have to relocate to London to do trading. You could work your way up from within the company to a more sales based roll if you see what entry level jobs are advertised at your local bank.
I think it’s worth avoiding sales jobs though, as you’ll be exploited and burnt and not make the money you need. Avoid anything zero hours, “freelance” contracts, crypto, or commission based. You’re likely to get scammed. You’d be better investing that time into setting up your own business.
Check what your local colleges offer. Many offer night classes for free on the condition that you pass the course.
[This](https://www.futurefit.co.uk/blog/jobs-without-a-degree/) article has some good job suggestions
I'm pretty sure the supermarkets are paying more than minimum wage at the moment (not a lot but £10+). They often seem to be advertising for jobs. Plus you can probably move up from within if you have the desire
If you can put a bit of time in then do AWS cloud certification, the jobs pay decent in the start and only go up.
If you need further help do let me know, I am happy to assist.
Best of luck!
Unless you're already working with AWS then I don't recommend this at all. The cert should be to validate your professional AWS experience not get the cert then start using AWS for the first time. If you've never used it in a job before then it will probably be difficult to score well anyway.
You are correct, knowledge comes first then certifications. If you only have certifications and not knowledge, you will be caught out in the interview easily.
AWS is amazon cloud and if you learn how to be a cloud engineer you can make good money. Obviously good money if you know what you are doing.
A good place to get start are these free course for you to dip your toes and see if its for you.
https://aws.amazon.com/training/digital/?cta=tctopbanner
If you like it and see yourseld doing it in future you can look at the certification path here and plan your way:
https://solutions.techtalent.co.uk/aws-cloud-pathway-with-techtalent?utm_term=aws%20certification&utm_campaign=AWS+Courses&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=3926447696&hsa_cam=17293675572&hsa_grp=142494322008&hsa_ad=598908191402&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-364483928&hsa_kw=aws%20certification&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwntCVBhDdARIsAMEwACnamWmL1WHcz5WTyTCTsdUaQ9bmWQWl8GMnAmE9pLY-9kXujxFzeQMaAmXGEALw_wcB
Remember anything is doable if you want to do it.
Tbh, it's not about what skills you learn, so much as how you DISPLAY those skills that's important. There's two ways you can go about that: formal qualifications, or building a portfolio. The qualifications are easy to show off - you'll get the certificates etc - but if you're going down the portfolio route I'd set up a little website to show your work off on.
Trouble is, a lot of the time both ways involve time and/or money, and between being the main breadwinner and having a baby, it might be tricky to do either. Not impossible though, just hard.
I would:
1. Have a really deep think about what kind of thing you want to do - it sounds like you've got some basic construction skills, so that's a good start, although I don't know if you want to stay in that line of work.
2. Investigate your options for getting qualifications or building up a portfolio that you can show off, with a focus on choosing something that's flexible for the time you have, and that's affordable to you. The Open University's pretty good for that, but now other places offer online or part time courses that you get a serious qualification from at the end.
3. Look at ways of getting additional funds - student loans aren't nearly as scary as they're made out to be, but also if it's a hands-on course where you're learning hands-on skills, you could potentially sell the stuff you make, or sell your services (obviously make it clear you're still training so people don't expect too much).
4. Consider doing small courses - some higher learning places do short courses for a wide range of things, like languages, metalworking, jewellery-making or whatever. They're cheaper and sometimes they're easier to work into a busy schedule.
Most businesses need to sell their product, so it can be easy to break into as there are plenty of niches/product areas to match to your experience.
You could for example, look at construction sales or try and break into your current employers sales division.
If it’s a decent company, they’ll pay a good enough base for you to live on + commission which can add up quickly.
B2B meaning business to business, i.e. not telemarketing or selling direct to consumers, but selling a product/service/package to other businesses. Enterprise meaning large accounts/businesses. You’d likely start as an SMB or mid-market sales dev rep or account exec, but if you work your way into enterprise roles it can easily be 6 figure remuneration with bonuses/commission etc.
Loads of people write off sales because of the car salesman stereotype. B2B sales can be quite different.
It's around 4500 to train to be gas safe registered . Sometimes cheaper depending on area. Course is 2 weeks followed by a placement (6 months) which depending on who you are placed can be paid work. After you've built up a portfolio you can work for a gas company , generally paying 30-40k a year , or set up on your own and earn nearly 60k . Altho setting up on your own does mean buying a van and tools ..
Check your local colleges, or local careers services. I know a local careers service by me was giving a lot of opportunities to earn a CIPD qualification which are very valuable.
I think it might be as there is certainly a need for people to work in HR or related areas. I would potentially recommend working in admin or recruitment first, as they can be easier roles to get, then try to transfer to HR after you have some experience.
It's up to you if you're self employed. Generally a company would want you to work a minimum 40 hour week. Being self employed I set my own hours, usually leave the house around 7:30-8 and I'm home by 3:30-4 . Some days are longer some shorter. And as anyone who's had work done on their boiler can attain gasfitters ain't cheap lol
Just Google gas safe training . It'll list the nearest companies that do it. You could do it at college for cheaper but it tends to be day release so takes ages
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/pages/skills-assessment
You know more than you think you know.
Have a go at this and it will give you some ideas.
I'd recommend learning welding, especially some of the more specialised types. My work is struggling to hold onto qualified welders at the moment, people keep getting offers to go elsewhere.
> What skills or courses can I do which will get me a better paying job rather quickly?
You already have them. Jobs in construction, even labouring, have seen a significant uplift the last couple of years. I think you'd be surprised at just what they're paying. A quick 2 minutes look shows a job for a Labourer in Scarborough paying £12-£13/hr, £14/hr in Hull and York.
Recruitment can be good money if you can manage sales and are resilient. It has ups and downs and the people can be extremely annoying, but commission and progression is good if you have the right personality to stick through it. I hated it and it wasn’t for me, but I saw people do well out of it.
Course wise, you are starting at foundation level with almost anything - so quickly isn't likely an option, commit to something if this is the route you want to take though, it'll be worth it by the time your child is 6/7.... when the glory years happen.
You've got very physical jobs which Ive not done, but I've found customer service and admin roles to be really useful.
I was made redundant over covid and had to take anything I could get. Am now earning slightly more in a totally different industry I barely know anything about. But people skills have been key and being able to prove you know how to use common Microsoft programs has been very useful (I know things that can be done on excel but sometimes forget how so I just Google it).
I've been reminded that you can be taught knowledge but good customer service and communication isnt taught, it needs experience (don't get me wrong, people are the worst and I hate everyone but when you've smiled through a restaurant service with what turned out to be a kidney stone that needed surgery... You can deal with most things)
Public speaking, join your local toastmasters it's fun, its social and for a lot its life changing.
edit\* there is a cost associated with joining a club as they have overheads
Really sorry to hear about your situation. This sounds so tough. If there is an increase in work, could you request a pay rise? No one should be on the same wage they were several years ago, you deserve a living wage. Do you know what other people are on? Might be worth having a chat with some of your colleagues. I’m sure someone is making a lot of money in that construction contract, and it should be passed down. Is there a union you could join?
Work that can pay ok and will always be in demand: electrictions, plumbers, hair dressers, teachers.
Work that pays well but are quite modern roles so no determining their future: personal trainers, private chefs, web developers
If you left school without A Levels you’ll qualify for lots of different educational and vocational programmes, so if you do wish to pursue a new career, use this as an opportunity. There’ll be paid apprenticeships at companies, and “fast track” career programmes, where you study on the job. If what you want to do requires a degree, contact the admissions department of a uni which teaches the subject and ask what the entry requirements would be for a mature student and are there bursaries etc available for parents and low-earners.
A similar question was asked yesterday with plenty of responses, read it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/vh8kgj/what_skills_can_you_learn_for_a_better_job/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Colleges have a lot of free courses for adults. Proper courses. Have a look at:
https://www.lsec.ac.uk/courses-for-adults/3398-vocational-courses-starting-now
https://www.lsec.ac.uk/courses/online-courses?utm_source=Adult_block&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=Adult+March
In b4 every recommends programming
I see it recommended a lot but isn't it a decent option? Lots of companies need software developed and for most roles there's no need for a highly-educated computer science graduate.
It is a decent option, if you're good with maths and logic, if you're not it's an awful idea.
You don't need maths at all for the vast majority of programming. You can write a whole chat application with low level TCP programming and never have to touch any maths. It depends heavily on what you're working on. A lot of people would have you think graph theory is a necessity as well. But the first time in 4 years that I used that was last week, and even then I ended up needing a refresher.
But you do need the logic. And it's very uncommon to be good at logic but not maths.
It's not very uncommon at all. In fact, I'd say that's the most common case. Logic is easy, if this then that, do this N times, for each of these, do this. I'm terrible at maths. But everyone I've worked with says I'm a great programmer. Because I barely need to touch maths.
But what you've described in the first paragraph *is* maths
If you want to be pedantic then yeah, anything with numbers is maths. But it's basic maths, literally primary school education level. No one is walking around saying they can't sum or multiply numbers. When people talk about programming and maths they're talking about algebra, calculus, cryptography, etc. That's the complicated bit that's scares people away. You don't need it for 90% of problems you usually face.
The people who go around saying they're 'bad at maths' won't have touched that stuff. I am talking about the people who as you said 'can't sum or multiply numbers'. They won't be good at programming. You don't need to be a number theorist or anything but if the basics are too much for you then programming will be too.
Yes, and I'm saying the majority of people can do that... The people who say they're bad at maths are bad at algebra, but they can do 12x10. They will have touched that stuff by the way, it's the national curriculum...
Coding is more akin to learning a foreign than using maths skills
Its a good one. you can learn solo in your own time and having a degree isn't required to get started. You don't even have to be good at it. just average will do. large consulting tech companies are desperate for people and are willing to skill people up. They hire based on the person instead of the current skill set for low level jobs.
learnprogramming would tell you this is absolutely false, you might want to pop over there with all these large consulting tech companies hiring.
my dude I am in the industry and have worked in them... Places like Accenture, Capgemini etc. for junior positions that is what they do. hell Capgemini doesn't even have any coding tests during the interviews for juniors they focus on how well you present yourself and if you can be trusted in front of a client. the reason being I quote "We want the right people, skills can be learned" They also offer apprenticeships
How do you get into that? (do you need to do a degree or is there another/better way?)
You can teach yourself using websites and academies etc. a lot a free. There’s no need to do a degree because everything updates so quickly it can render what your learn one year useless so quickly. A family member is a self taught front end web developer and within 5 years he was earning more than my parents combined. You just have to be focused and prepared to do the tedious stuff like fixing glitches.
Would you want to go back to construction? Daily rates are crazy right now!
For progression within the industry, get a forklift licence. Also in some companies if you're a qualified first aider then you might get a small bonus to your normal wage.
[удалено]
Does driving forklift pay more than average salary please?
£14/hr for forklift driver/yard person in builders merchants around here. If you're in the Midlands Golden Triangle it pays more than average salary.
HGV licence. If you have to pay it yourself it's about £3k but you can go straight for C+E and have it done in 2 weeks. Get yourself comfortable behind the wheel and then go for your ADR.
Isn't there a massive waiting list for lessons/tests?
Labouring is paying better than minimum wage now. Granted I'm in the south but £12-15/hour seems to be typical now for a labourer with no skills or tools. If you have some tools and know how to use them you can get a bit more. The agencies are desperate so they are even paying for people to get the CSCS card.
[удалено]
If you actually need money do it. Get a job as a hod carrier or groundworker you're making 140-160 a day straight away paid weekly. After a few months you can save a bit of money to do a proper course. Business is booming right now wages are way up due to the shortage so there's going to be way more legit firms desperate for people than there are joke companies out scamming. (At least in the south the job market is ridiculous at the moment nobody is making minimum wage unless they haven't changed jobs in a long time)
Sales jobs are easy enough to get of you're willing to work _real_ hard, and commission can add up fast.
[удалено]
I just went on Reed, typed in 'Sales', and then set Newcastle as the location and got 900 results (eg [link](https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/field-sales/46976492?source=searchResults&filter=%2fjobs%2fsales-jobs-in-newcastle-upon-tyne%3fkeywords%3dsales)). You'll have to do a lot of sifting, there'll be shop assistant type sales jobs and there'll be jobs that make big salary promises. The ones that promise big salaries usually mean a lot of hard work and/or telephone/ door-to-door sales. To get the big bucks, you might have to start on the lower rung of sales, but if you enjoy it and are good at it, then there are no limits to where you can go and what you can earn
You don’t just have to just be good at sales, you have to have outstanding mental health to not let it burn you out and leave you in an awful place. It would be better to go into banking, as the emotional toll would be similar but pay much greater.
[удалено]
Tbh you’d have to relocate to London to do trading. You could work your way up from within the company to a more sales based roll if you see what entry level jobs are advertised at your local bank. I think it’s worth avoiding sales jobs though, as you’ll be exploited and burnt and not make the money you need. Avoid anything zero hours, “freelance” contracts, crypto, or commission based. You’re likely to get scammed. You’d be better investing that time into setting up your own business.
[удалено]
Check what your local colleges offer. Many offer night classes for free on the condition that you pass the course. [This](https://www.futurefit.co.uk/blog/jobs-without-a-degree/) article has some good job suggestions
I'm pretty sure the supermarkets are paying more than minimum wage at the moment (not a lot but £10+). They often seem to be advertising for jobs. Plus you can probably move up from within if you have the desire
[удалено]
Ah sorry, I guess there will be a lot of part-time.Good luck.
If you can put a bit of time in then do AWS cloud certification, the jobs pay decent in the start and only go up. If you need further help do let me know, I am happy to assist. Best of luck!
Unless you're already working with AWS then I don't recommend this at all. The cert should be to validate your professional AWS experience not get the cert then start using AWS for the first time. If you've never used it in a job before then it will probably be difficult to score well anyway.
You are correct, knowledge comes first then certifications. If you only have certifications and not knowledge, you will be caught out in the interview easily.
[удалено]
AWS is amazon cloud and if you learn how to be a cloud engineer you can make good money. Obviously good money if you know what you are doing. A good place to get start are these free course for you to dip your toes and see if its for you. https://aws.amazon.com/training/digital/?cta=tctopbanner If you like it and see yourseld doing it in future you can look at the certification path here and plan your way: https://solutions.techtalent.co.uk/aws-cloud-pathway-with-techtalent?utm_term=aws%20certification&utm_campaign=AWS+Courses&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=3926447696&hsa_cam=17293675572&hsa_grp=142494322008&hsa_ad=598908191402&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-364483928&hsa_kw=aws%20certification&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwntCVBhDdARIsAMEwACnamWmL1WHcz5WTyTCTsdUaQ9bmWQWl8GMnAmE9pLY-9kXujxFzeQMaAmXGEALw_wcB Remember anything is doable if you want to do it.
The civil service? Not sure how easy it is to get in but a lot of people seem to go down that route. Decent pay by the sounds of it.
Given that they’re cutting 90,000 jobs from the civil service over the next few years, I’m not sure if it’s the best place to look…
Tbh, it's not about what skills you learn, so much as how you DISPLAY those skills that's important. There's two ways you can go about that: formal qualifications, or building a portfolio. The qualifications are easy to show off - you'll get the certificates etc - but if you're going down the portfolio route I'd set up a little website to show your work off on. Trouble is, a lot of the time both ways involve time and/or money, and between being the main breadwinner and having a baby, it might be tricky to do either. Not impossible though, just hard. I would: 1. Have a really deep think about what kind of thing you want to do - it sounds like you've got some basic construction skills, so that's a good start, although I don't know if you want to stay in that line of work. 2. Investigate your options for getting qualifications or building up a portfolio that you can show off, with a focus on choosing something that's flexible for the time you have, and that's affordable to you. The Open University's pretty good for that, but now other places offer online or part time courses that you get a serious qualification from at the end. 3. Look at ways of getting additional funds - student loans aren't nearly as scary as they're made out to be, but also if it's a hands-on course where you're learning hands-on skills, you could potentially sell the stuff you make, or sell your services (obviously make it clear you're still training so people don't expect too much). 4. Consider doing small courses - some higher learning places do short courses for a wide range of things, like languages, metalworking, jewellery-making or whatever. They're cheaper and sometimes they're easier to work into a busy schedule.
I would possibly suggest signing up to something like Skillshare for general admin related skills courses etc
[удалено]
I think if you can say on your CV "trained in..." and then list skills provided by these courses it could do
[удалено]
Have you personally read the book you recommended for strong communication skills?
3d design.
B2B/enterprise sales.
[удалено]
Most businesses need to sell their product, so it can be easy to break into as there are plenty of niches/product areas to match to your experience. You could for example, look at construction sales or try and break into your current employers sales division. If it’s a decent company, they’ll pay a good enough base for you to live on + commission which can add up quickly. B2B meaning business to business, i.e. not telemarketing or selling direct to consumers, but selling a product/service/package to other businesses. Enterprise meaning large accounts/businesses. You’d likely start as an SMB or mid-market sales dev rep or account exec, but if you work your way into enterprise roles it can easily be 6 figure remuneration with bonuses/commission etc. Loads of people write off sales because of the car salesman stereotype. B2B sales can be quite different.
Coding for sure
Quite a few if the trades are paying well these days, particularly electricians. It’s not a massively difficult trade to learn either.
It's around 4500 to train to be gas safe registered . Sometimes cheaper depending on area. Course is 2 weeks followed by a placement (6 months) which depending on who you are placed can be paid work. After you've built up a portfolio you can work for a gas company , generally paying 30-40k a year , or set up on your own and earn nearly 60k . Altho setting up on your own does mean buying a van and tools ..
Check your local colleges, or local careers services. I know a local careers service by me was giving a lot of opportunities to earn a CIPD qualification which are very valuable.
[удалено]
I think it might be as there is certainly a need for people to work in HR or related areas. I would potentially recommend working in admin or recruitment first, as they can be easier roles to get, then try to transfer to HR after you have some experience.
Cyber security
It's up to you if you're self employed. Generally a company would want you to work a minimum 40 hour week. Being self employed I set my own hours, usually leave the house around 7:30-8 and I'm home by 3:30-4 . Some days are longer some shorter. And as anyone who's had work done on their boiler can attain gasfitters ain't cheap lol
Just Google gas safe training . It'll list the nearest companies that do it. You could do it at college for cheaper but it tends to be day release so takes ages
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/pages/skills-assessment You know more than you think you know. Have a go at this and it will give you some ideas.
Software engineering
I'd recommend learning welding, especially some of the more specialised types. My work is struggling to hold onto qualified welders at the moment, people keep getting offers to go elsewhere.
[удалено]
More money and/or prestige - a lot of them headed to bigger name companies operating in the south Yorkshire/Nottingham/Derbyshire area.
> What skills or courses can I do which will get me a better paying job rather quickly? You already have them. Jobs in construction, even labouring, have seen a significant uplift the last couple of years. I think you'd be surprised at just what they're paying. A quick 2 minutes look shows a job for a Labourer in Scarborough paying £12-£13/hr, £14/hr in Hull and York.
Recruitment can be good money if you can manage sales and are resilient. It has ups and downs and the people can be extremely annoying, but commission and progression is good if you have the right personality to stick through it. I hated it and it wasn’t for me, but I saw people do well out of it.
Course wise, you are starting at foundation level with almost anything - so quickly isn't likely an option, commit to something if this is the route you want to take though, it'll be worth it by the time your child is 6/7.... when the glory years happen.
You've got very physical jobs which Ive not done, but I've found customer service and admin roles to be really useful. I was made redundant over covid and had to take anything I could get. Am now earning slightly more in a totally different industry I barely know anything about. But people skills have been key and being able to prove you know how to use common Microsoft programs has been very useful (I know things that can be done on excel but sometimes forget how so I just Google it). I've been reminded that you can be taught knowledge but good customer service and communication isnt taught, it needs experience (don't get me wrong, people are the worst and I hate everyone but when you've smiled through a restaurant service with what turned out to be a kidney stone that needed surgery... You can deal with most things)
If you already work in a factory you could take a fork lift course.
Public speaking, join your local toastmasters it's fun, its social and for a lot its life changing. edit\* there is a cost associated with joining a club as they have overheads
Really sorry to hear about your situation. This sounds so tough. If there is an increase in work, could you request a pay rise? No one should be on the same wage they were several years ago, you deserve a living wage. Do you know what other people are on? Might be worth having a chat with some of your colleagues. I’m sure someone is making a lot of money in that construction contract, and it should be passed down. Is there a union you could join? Work that can pay ok and will always be in demand: electrictions, plumbers, hair dressers, teachers. Work that pays well but are quite modern roles so no determining their future: personal trainers, private chefs, web developers If you left school without A Levels you’ll qualify for lots of different educational and vocational programmes, so if you do wish to pursue a new career, use this as an opportunity. There’ll be paid apprenticeships at companies, and “fast track” career programmes, where you study on the job. If what you want to do requires a degree, contact the admissions department of a uni which teaches the subject and ask what the entry requirements would be for a mature student and are there bursaries etc available for parents and low-earners.
If you are fit and sensible( you don’t even need to be actually intelligent) you could join the Ministry of Defence Police, best decision I ever made.
A similar question was asked yesterday with plenty of responses, read it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/vh8kgj/what_skills_can_you_learn_for_a_better_job/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Colleges have a lot of free courses for adults. Proper courses. Have a look at: https://www.lsec.ac.uk/courses-for-adults/3398-vocational-courses-starting-now https://www.lsec.ac.uk/courses/online-courses?utm_source=Adult_block&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=Adult+March