A new career….

Before I trained to be a midwife I had tried other jobs.

I had worked in a travel agent and although I loved meeting people and booking their holidays, I was pleased to make a change (this was just before the internet took off and I probably would have been forced to make a career change at this point anyway!)

I next tried working in an insurance company, selling wasn’t my forte, I’m too caring and wanted to give the person on the other end of the phone ‘time to think about their purchase’, this doesn’t really work with sales targets!

“Midwifery had not been on my radar. It wasn’t that I ‘always wanted to be a midwife’ I simply fell into midwifery.”

The local university was holding an open day about midwifery and my aunt suggested that it might be the right choice for me; so along I went.

Speaking to the midwives that day, finding out what I needed to get onto a course and hearing my grandmother say that if I became a midwife she would be ‘very proud of me’.. sealed the deal. Everything then became focused on how to become a midwife.

So, what next?

Doing an access course, getting a place at university and completing my training all just seemed to slot into place. I was in the right place at the right time. I wanted a job that I would find rewarding, that meant more than just sales targets and I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to connect with people and have a career to be proud of.

I am not alone in this thinking, many mature students crave the connection with people and somewhere they can bring their life and working experiences, resilience and communication skills to their new chosen career.

The hardest transition for most is financial. Having a regular income becomes an adjustment to loans and bursary’s. Although studying with the new bursary system will mean midwifery students are better off than when I was studying, it can still take a little bit of getting used to.

For anyone that is contemplating a career change and not sure whether midwifery is for you, look at your options and explore what midwifery might mean for you. It may not be as hard as you think to start the career you’ve always wanted.