Medically Retired 40 yrs Old Unemployed?
Asked by mickp03
Hi, I have recently been medically retired from the Prison Service (senior officer + Physical Training Instructor) Have worked in some of the worst Prisons such as Wandsworth, Brixton, Parkhurst, Feltham etc. I am feeling it really hard to adjust to civvie life, cannot find a job, well I can but it's degrading 6 pounds hr static security. A big step down concidering I was in charge of the Prisons at some times! Loosing confidence, hitting the booze. It's like when I left the Marines when I was young. These jobs do not seem to have any transferable skills. I have a small pension which I am gratefull for and I was only medically discharched because of not being able to demo contact sports, so I am fitter than most still. Cannot work for similar Civil Service employer as it affects my pension! What a poor show..... Any advice.....And no I do not want to work as a security guard in asda! Thanks for reading.

Best Answer:
Hello, (ANS) The problem here is doubly difficult for you & I do really sympathize with your situation. First of all working in the Prison Service is like no other civilian work and as you have said is more comparable to the Army or Air force perhaps. The Prison Service has its own culture and if you have worked for many years in that culture, you know it very intimately so what your actually suffering from is more like culture shock for a start. This is one reason you have turned to the bottle I suspect, alcohol as comforter but unfortunately no amount of alcohol is going to help solve the job /employment dilemma. **What does seem totally stupid is that you cannot work for the Civil service again due to the pension issues this is a real catch22. It NOT your fault and it would be completely logical to think about looking for work in the civil service. OK! so the civil service is NOT an option. **YES! your right to look at so called transferable skills, I would think somebody like yourself has ALOT of offer in the way of experience & training & skills. You MUST NOT loose hope or faith in your own abilities. I know this is easy for me to say & hard to face or deal with. **You may have to think abit outside the box as they say, in order to find something realistic in the way of employment. Something that draws on your past prison experience and requires something new as well? A kind of mix and match approach. **You should think in terms of adding new skills to your existing skills, as this is more likely to help you back into employment. **Right now your self confidence is going to be a BIG barrier to gaining new employment. Feeling sad & abit lost is understandable but in the long term you need to feel good about yourself once again as this will help you find a new sense of purpose, new focus, new direction and new employment. **Remember, your NOT written off at 40years old, yes! it may feel like that right now but you still have 30 years of possible employment remaining. This is a period of change & transition. Your being forced to change, your being thrown back upon yourself and this is a hard experience but unless you grasp this process of change your going to be far far more stuck. You must face the reality of the situation and that you must now move forwards and let go the past this way something good & new will come. You must have faith in your self & you should try not to lean on the bottle if you can. Ivan

Why don't you go back to college and retrain for something. Your not too old yet.
Answered by Ligeia

local jail administration is the only thing i can think of
Answered by buzzin

Hi, have you thought of starting up your own security business? Or is there another buisness you could put your skills to, as it seems a waste not to use them. It must be hard adjusting to civie life as you have know a routine for so long. Try not to hit the bottle, as it will only makes things worse, is there someone you can talk to? Or while you are waiting to decide what to do, why not go round schools and youth clubs to give talks on prison life, as the young kids seem to think it is easy inside, that way you will be doing something and you could find it rewarding. Good luck with what you go for :o)
Answered by Spirit*Girl

It seems that you dont want to get a better paid job because it affects your pension....well it still means you are getting paid so thats what the rest of us have to do. Work for that civil service employer and gather a second pension for when you retire at a more respectable age...then you will have two pensions, not affected by any working.. Static guarding is easy and you can earn 20k a year if you put the hours in, so you should think about that. Otherwise, you can retrain for a different sector entirely. Service industry will always need phone advisors and such. The money isnt great to begin with, but you can move internally in many companies to management and then you are on easy street. It is easy to get stuck in a rut when your circumstances change, but you have to get yourself sorted and then go for it. The benefit bandwagon is a spiral downward so dont fall into it. Your work life has been ruled by strict discipline, but that is something you will have to give yourself now. Sorry if i sound hard, but i am familiar with your situation and came through the other side.
Answered by The Drunken Fool

"Ligeia" has a good point. You can go to college or some school for training in a new career. If you're only 40 years old, you're a young kid still, so, "go for it" as the saying is. I found myself in a similar situation, but, I'm a bit older than you. It is degrading to work at some of the jobs I could have considering what I have done for a living, but, maybe I've just got to work on my pride. Sometimes I think my pride is my biggest handicap. Oh well, best wishes to you, and God Bless you.
Answered by dieseldadd

First step, get off the booze, it will make things far worse, and make it even harder to recover. I don't want to patronise you but I had my first R N career ruined through ill health, and later on a high status job with car and world travel cut short by a company take over. Get restarted in anything, however lowly it feels to you, and start working your way up the system again. It really does pay dividends and you'll end up a much more happier and healthy man again.
Answered by switched on

40 years old is not over the hill mate. I was in same position five years ago after working technologies all my life. If truth be known I perhaps needed a change anyway so went for retraining, working in the forest, i.e. cutting down trees, maintaining the countryside etc. I don't suggest that this is necessarily for everyone but retraining is possible at any age. Why not go in a totally different direction, say learn computing or office management. Plenty of work out there even if you self employ as a PC technician or go temping as office staff. Anyway I'm sure you know that booze is not the answer as you would'nt have posted this question or made comment of it. So apply for some information on retraining from local job centre or go directly to colleges in your area to see what courses are available. Often retraining can be free, so it probably won't break the bank. Remember even if you don't take up your retraining as a formal occupation it adds just another string to your bow. Finally and in the meantime have you thought about learning a foreign language, great to keep your mind active and a great confidence builder. Thats if hope all works out for you ,,,,best of luck...and remember you probably ain't even lived half your life yet!!!! by the way I am 57 years old, if I can you can...
Answered by delmarinero@btinternet.com

Oh Mick, I really feel for you and I know that you're not the only one who is in this position. Have you thought about training for something completely different? (Of course you have) The best way to do this, is to do a voluntary job. That way you get to develop new skills to take to another job, free of charge and be a huge benefit to the community at the same time time. It wont affect your pension (or benefits) at all. Don't dismiss the idea before having a look at what is on offer. Your local voluntary services are always looking for people with a lot of life skills like you. Good Luck. x
Answered by DJJD

How about Police Community Officer. Also Harpers IFitness) are advertising in my local gym for fitness instructors. You are only 40 (wish I was) and young enough to start over. Don't keep hitting the booze.
Answered by Dee Cee

You;re fight about non transferrable skills. I left the Navy and found that my skills were absoluterly useless for anything. You really are looking at retraining and starting from scratch. Have a look at the stuff offered by the Learning and Skills council (you'll get their details from a job centre). Good luck
Answered by spook542

UN are always recruiting security and investigation oficers, look on the website. You stand a good chance, you have military and security experience. Be a big change, missions are in some interesting areas! If you are up for a real challenge - only problem at the moment is the payis in $'s and the exchange rate is not too good - but there are local allowances too.
Answered by groovymaude

First of all, don't be despondent, Secondly, stop drinking. Thirdly, consider using your skills and experience by setting up in business as a 'Consultant' in security. I'm sure you will be successful. Good luck.
Answered by Kitty Katty

I think you should be thankful for what you have got and whats wrong with six pounds per hour others work for that me included,why not help out people worse off than yourself?especially with Christmas coming up,yes you have those skills and experience to help all the youngsters out there who need your help?and stop your whinging!!!!!!
Answered by foxy Teri