Where to go financially?

[DonkeyApple]

benjijames28 said:

I work as a security officer and have no formal education. I'm very lucky to have a job with a solid contract of employment, secure position, with a good rota. Only real progression within the company is supervisor, it's a hell of a lot of st and stress to deal with for a few grand extra per year.

Would be better off finding a way to earn more money in my 4 days off work

Exactly. You're clearly not thick or uneducated so the real answer has to be to two fold, increase the amount you are paid per hour and also increase the number of hours you work.

The latter can be done by infilling with other paid work as a short term solution. This also has the bonus of usually reducing spending also. But if your current career does not lend itself to credible wage promotion then ultimately you'd be better each their switching to one that does or using your spare time to gain the additional educational requirements that will.

If you aren't the sort of person who can find happiness and peace from the type of job that will never change and never promote, that you will be doing all your life then I think it's really important to not be scared to to fight to change that path so as to not get to 55 and realise that you never did what you deep down thought you were capable of and desired doing.

Look around your local area at what the better employment opportunities are that have the career progression that you want and then work out whether you need additional qualifications and then go knocking on doors. So many companies are crying out for smart people who want to move forward and who are proactive that banging on enough doors could be the best thing you ever do.

If you don't do it now while young then it becomes almost impossible when older and the opportunity that you deserve in life will have been wasted. By you.

[eldar]

benjijames28 said:

Any suggestions on best way of going about this properly?

Bare in mind I'm 28 in A few months and need to keep my day job of 4 on 4 off 12 hour shifts to pay the bills etc...

Contact local colleges and see what they have. Contact local builders and talk to them. Find out about the legal stuff you'll need, H&S, certification and the like.

A couple of days a week should be enough to learn the basics, then develop that through some formal qualification.

There is a market out there for skilled (and more importantly, reliable) trades people.