My £300 evening course led to a £10k pay rise

Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?

I am 30 years old and have worked in the civil service for just under 5 years now. I moved out of my parents house at 20 and knew I needed to make changes for myself to get a life I wanted and bought my own house at 21. I'm now married in a four bedroom family home with no help from family or inheritance which I feel very proud of. As we all are, I am still concerned about recent financial issues as they are going to push my finances to the very limit of affordability

What were you previously doing for a living and how did you feel about it?

I had just started working in a call center selling phones when I moved out of my parents house. The salary was pretty low (17k/pa) however you receieved commission on top based on performance. Initially it was great as I'd never had more than a minimum wage job, so it was unbelievable getting between £500-1k a month in comission. It was a stressful job and it did have a negative impact on my mental health. I was suffering from panic attacks however I liked the money so ignored it for a while, but eventually I knew I needed to change and started looking into other avenues.

What inspired you to make a change/where did you hear about the course?

The impact on my mental health working in sales was the reason I decided to take a night-time course at my local college. I paid for it myself and completed it over a year. I had to take time off work to go to college and then work on Saturdays to make the time back. This was a significant sacrifice at 21 but I knew I needed a change. I had always had an unusual interest in the course I completed (Nebosh Health & Safety) as my dad was a builder so I was always surrounded by construction and that type of stuff. I was talking to somebody at work and he said loads of his mates working offshore had the qualification. Whilst I never wanted to go offshore I thought it must be worth something if they can get there; I must be able to do something with it in the UK.

How long was the course and then how did you land your 10k payrise job?

I completed the course part time over a year which meant dropping shifts and picking up Saturday and Sunday shifts to maintain my work hours. I paid for it monthly and it came to around £300. Due to my age I wasn't eleglible for any grants to help to pay, and due to my salary I was over any thresholds for extra help. I initially secured a job in the prison service which only paid around 3k more than the call center but I took it for experience. It required a 2 hour commute each day and took a lot out of me but I knew it worth it for the experience. Again, my mental health took a downward turn as prisons aren't great environments and the workload was overwhelming. I needed 100 hours per week to get all the tasks completed. After 4 years I then applied for another civil service job for central government which is where I eventually got my 10k payrise. I'm currently at the bottom of the pay scale, so my salary will increase a bit, which is good.

Could you tell me a bit more about the course and what your role involves?

My course was a Nebosh general certificate in occupational health and safety, which is very relevant for my current job as a national health and safety advisor for central government, overseeing offices all over the world.

Would you mind sharing what your salary was and where is stands now?

My salary before was 17k basic with commission, totalling around 22-24k a year. Now I'm earning 34k a year which I am proud of as it's a salary I achieved by myself.

Any advice for someone who feels trapped in a job?

When I felt trapped in my job I firmly believed that investing in myself was the best thing I could have done at the time, as I knew I didn't want to stay in that industry. If I began feeling trapped in my current role I knew I would have the opportunity to shadow different departments. I believe the civil service are a good employer and give great opportunities when you seek them

I can see myself staying in the civil service for some time, so I would rather shadow another job than change to a different employer who may not give the same benefits.