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Changing careers
Jobs that pay well, and the qualification each one really needs
That advert promising a qualified job in weeks is selling you a key. Before you pay, find out who holds the lock. Here are jobs that pay well, sorted by their locks, with a test for spotting a copy and a message to send before you enrol.
Ask to see the lock
Say it's Sunday night, and the advert is back on your phone: "Become a qualified electrician in weeks." The job sounds well paid, and the button says Enrol.
Before you tap it, ask the one question a locksmith asks: who holds this lock? For every well-paid job, whoever holds it decides which key turns, not the seller. And the lock is one of three things: the law, a chartered title or the employer's own test.
Jobs that pay well in the UK, sorted by their lock
GOV.UK's guide to regulated professions confirms the first two: regulation can mean "a legal requirement to have certain qualifications or experience", or a status granted by a chartered body.
How to read the tags: Paid means you earn while you train, as apprentices do; Self-funded means you pay; Both means there's a route of each kind.
Lock one: the law
The law decides who may do the work or use the title. Only routes the regulator approves put your name on its list.
| Job and lock-holder | The key |
|---|---|
| Nurse Nursing and Midwifery Council | Both. An approved nursing degree, or a paid degree apprenticeship backed by your employer. |
| Pharmacist General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) | Self-funded, then paid. An MPharm the GPhC approves, a year of foundation training, then its registration assessment. |
| Solicitor Solicitors Regulation Authority | Both. A degree or equivalent, the two-part Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) and qualifying work experience; or a paid apprenticeship. |
| Gas engineer Gas Safe Register | Paid. A recognised gas qualification, usually earned on the job or through an apprenticeship. |
| Train driver Office of Rail and Road | Paid. Pass the employer's assessments, medical checks and interviews; it then trains you and applies for your licence. No course to buy first. |
| Airline pilot Civil Aviation Authority | Self-funded. A Commercial Pilot Licence and a "frozen" Air Transport Pilot Licence, so you can fly as co-pilot while building hours. |
Before paying for flight training, compare airline programmes with flying schools, and check you can pass the Class 1 medical.
No salaries here, on purpose. Each job's National Careers Service profile shows starting and experienced pay, and where experience leads. The routes are England's; the other UK nations have their own careers services.
These locks have teeth. The Registered Nurse entry calls it a criminal offence to falsely claim to be qualified or registered. In Great Britain, using the title pharmacist without registration is an offence.
And the Health and Safety Executive says anyone employed to work on gas appliances in homes must be Gas Safe registered.
Lock two: a chartered title
Here the work is mostly open; the professional body guards the title. For chartered surveyors and chartered accountants, the government's register says "use of title only".
| Job and title-holder | The key |
|---|---|
| Civil engineer (chartered) Engineering Council | Both. Usually an accredited degree or paid degree apprenticeship, then an engineering institution's professional review, which puts you on the register. |
| Chartered surveyor Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors | Both. An accredited degree, conversion course or paid degree apprenticeship, then the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). |
| Accountant The body that sets your exams | Paid. A professional qualification, such as ICAEW's ACA, CIMA's or ACCA's, on a graduate scheme or an apprenticeship. Each body guards its own letters. |
Lock three: the employer's own test
No regulator decides who may do these jobs, and the job titles are open, though some fields offer an optional chartered title later, such as the UK Cyber Security Council's.
Looking for high-paying jobs without a degree? Start with this lock, and with gas work and train driving in lock one. Be ready: plenty of these employers still ask for one.
| Job | What the employer looks for |
|---|---|
| Software developer | Both. A degree, a college course or a paid apprenticeship. Graduate schemes are often open to any subject. |
| IT security | Both. A degree, a paid apprenticeship, or a start in IT support with training on the job. |
| Sales manager | Paid. A record of hitting targets, which employers often rate above academic qualifications. |
| Electrician | Both. A level 3 qualification, through a paid apprenticeship or college plus on-the-job training. |
Why a copied key never turns
A certificate bought online is a key cut from a photograph of the lock. It looks right, and it doesn't turn, because none of these locks reads the paper.
Which lock does each of these adverts fail?
"Fast-track nurse, no university needed"
The law's lock. It reads the register, and only people who finish a programme the NMC approves reach it.
"Chartered in 12 weeks"
The chartered lock. It reads the body's own records: only the body awards its title, after its own assessment.
"Guaranteed developer job"
The employer's lock. Only an employer can hire you, and it reads your history: a degree on your CV can be checked with the university that awarded it.
"Train driver course: pay now, get hired later"
The law's lock. The employer hires you first, then trains you and applies for your licence, so there's no course to buy.
That electrician advert, decoded
Even a real course can be the wrong key. Read Sunday night's advert against the electrician profile:
- "Qualified": more than a level 3 qualification. The profile says "even with a qualification, you will still need practical experience in the workplace, along with further on-the-job training".
- "In weeks": weeks in a classroom can't supply that workplace experience.
- "Electrician": ask, in writing, whether the course leads to an Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) card, which proves your qualifications and experience.
The profile's own advice: it's "very important to check what training courses are offering before signing up".
Which key can you cut first?
| On your keyring | Locks to try first |
|---|---|
| No degree, and bills to pay while you train | Anything tagged Paid or Both. Degree apprenticeships usually ask for A levels or equivalent, and the nursing one needs a job in a healthcare setting first. |
| A degree, in any subject | Law through the SQE, a surveying conversion course, or an accountancy or software graduate scheme. |
| A degree in health, psychology, life sciences or social work | Nursing: the profile says you may join the degree in its second year. |
| Years as an electrician, without level 3 | The Experienced Worker Assessment. |
| Years in plumbing, heating or ventilation | The Accredited Certification Scheme, to move into gas work. |
If your key is a degree, plenty of officially recognised universities teach part-time or online. Our admissions service can help you apply; the university decides who it admits.
Before you pay anyone for a key
- Read the official profile. If the course you're being sold isn't among the qualifications it names, ask the seller why.
- Find out who holds the lock. Search the UK's Regulated Professions Register, or outside the UK our career change guide. Many lock-holders list approved courses, such as the NMC's approved programmes and the Engineering Council's course search. If yours isn't listed, send the message below.
- Check the course is real. Regulated vocational qualifications in England and Northern Ireland are listed on GOV.UK's find a regulated qualification service. If yours isn't there, ask the lock-holder whether it counts. For a UK degree, GOV.UK explains how to check it's officially recognised.
- Read the promises. Only the lock-holder can register you, and only an employer can hire you, so walk away from any "guaranteed" job or licence.
- Paste the advert into our message scanner to see its warning phrases.
Copy and send to the lock-holder:
"I'm thinking of enrolling on [course] with [provider]. Does it count towards [registration as a nurse / the APC / your professional exams]? If it does, what else must I complete before I can register, and how long does that usually take? If not, which courses do you approve?"
Your next ten minutes. Pick one job, open its profile and write down the lock and the key it names. Then hold every advert up against that note.
Sources
- National Careers Service: Explore careers: the job profiles linked in each table, with routes in, pay, career paths, the pilot's medical, the train driver's selection tests, the electrician course warning and the ECS card
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: for US readers, pay and the licence each occupation needs
- GOV.UK: Check which professions are regulated in the UK: the Regulated Professions Register, whose entries (including the Engineering Council's professional review) are linked in the text
- NCSC: About the UK Cyber Security Council: its Royal Charter and the Chartered Cyber Security Professional title
- NMC: Approved programmes and Engineering Council: Find your course: lock-holders' own lists of approved courses
- Civil Aviation Authority: Professional pilot licences and SRA: the SQE route
- Health and Safety Executive: Gas safety FAQs: Gas Safe registration for gas work in homes
- Office of Rail and Road: How to become a train driver in Great Britain: employer training and the licence
- GOV.UK: Become an apprentice: wages, and less training time for relevant experience
- GOV.UK: Find a regulated qualification and Check if your university or college can award a degree
Want a degree that holds up? Our admissions service helps working adults apply to university in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, choosing only universities that are officially recognised. If no university on your shortlist offers you a place, we refund our fee in full.