Employment & Job Ideas & Advice :)

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Sammy_46

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This is already in the Careers bit but I thought I'd put it in here too in case people haven't noticed it :)
Basically I'm after any opinions on how hard it would be for me to get a job working with horses and what sort of jobs I should be looking at.
I'm 17, just left sixth form after the first year (decided it wasn't the right thing for me) but got a pass in AS Law. I left year 11 with 12 GCSE's all grade A-C, so I'm not completely unintelligent lol I'm also fairly fluent in French but I doubt this would make much difference!
I haven't competed to a particularly high level but I've produced my own horses from total novices to compete at the highest level we could. I'm currently competing my 14"2 at PN with hopes to go Novice this year if I keep him. I've ridden a wide variety of different horses and ponies at different levels as my mum competes and trains. I passed my PC B Test last summer and am now training for my AH Test. I've been on all PC teams and have qualified for PC Champs two years running at Novice and Intermediate.
I've had a look at some of the jobs on H&H and am quite interested in becoming a working pupil but I don't really know where this would take me in the future. Basically, I'm at a bit of loss as I don't really have anyone else to ask atm so any advice would be much appreciated
well done if you managed to read all of that xxxx
 
I can't tell you what you should do but I will say that I wouldn't go down the WP route unless you're positive that you have the talent and the desire to make it competitively.

You'd have to be prepared to work on an absolute pittance [probably well below the minimum wage], 6 days a week for long hours each day.

Depending where you go you'd be more of a groom than anything else, and have to be prepared to do a lot of dirty work for people with a lot more money than you who'd get to go off and compete.

As for where it can take you - well I know lots of WPs [some very talented riders] who did it for a few years and then gave up because they were sick of the long hours and no money, and always having to watch other people get all the fun because they had the money for fancy horses and lorries. You might get somewhere, but there is a very real possibility that you would find yourself as a groom in the long term - which is fine, but if it is not really what you want out of life then I would recommend getting some training in another area.

If you're determined to do something horsey, what about taking your BHS stages to train as an instructor? Or perhaps look into doing an apprenticeship or something - perhaps look into saddle fitting?

I would certainly say it is always good to have a skill to fall back on, and it doesn't have to be an academic qualification, but if your dream to make it as a top rider doesn't materialise then having something solid as a second option is a very wise option.
 
I'm doing my NVQ level 2 in breeding at the moment on a stud yard, then once completed i'm doing my NVQ level 3 in breaking at the same yard! :)

Good luck at finding something!
x
 
I agree with above about grooms/WP roles, I think you have to be VERY lucky to fall on the right yard with people who are prepared to put the work into you as well as you put the work into the yard! Most will just take take take, and then take a bit more!! I did it for a while and eventually realised I would likely loose my love of horses if I carried on, so stepped out of it! That's not to say it can't work, just really look into the yard and trainers in depth. I did some work experience a long time ago with a top rider and I would have loved to work under her and her partner, they both were prepared to help and aid me, and give me the credit when I was owed it!! Unfortunately they couldn't take anyone on who owned a horse, and I did!

As said above you could look into doing your BHS exams (I spat that out!! Not a huge fan of them! But if you want to be an instructor their exams are the most recognised!!) or look into farrier, or saddler?

Don't worry about not knowing what to do yet, I didn't find my vocation until 22, and I was lucky to find it that young!!!!
 
go back to college, finish your a levels esp complete your a level in law, then go to uni, get a decent degree from a decent uni, get a job paying a damn good wage and enjoy your own horses rather being a wp and looking after, producing others.
 
I wouldn't recommend going down the NVQ route in my experience. I started off doing my NVQ Level 2 as a working pupil at an Equestrian Centre. I worked a 40 hour week and was paid a training wage but more often than not we didn't get any training. I was exhausted and struggled to have enough energy to ride my own horses after work. I changed jobs half way through my Level 2 to a yard which promised to give me more training and help me to complete my NVQs but this didn't happen and actually turned out to be far worse than the previous yard (but that's another story!)

I didn't seem to be getting anywhere and a year and a half later I had still hardly started my NVQ 2! I decided to do BHS Stages instead and so far I have passed my Stage 1 and my Riding and Road Safety and I am planning on doing my Stage 2 this summer. I now work as a self employed groom/rider which means I can choose my own hours and how much to I want to charge. I am loving it! I've learnt a lot and really feel like I am progressing now and I work for some lovely people and get to ride some lovely horses.

So my advice would be to work through your BHS stages and possibly think about working self employed (depending on your experience) or look for a Full/Part Time Job which pays at least minimum wage. I have found that keeping training and work separate is far better than mixing them together.

Good luck! :)
 
thanks for all the advice :)
My issue with going freelance is thats what my mother does and I'm not sure I want to go down the same route. Although I've got a fair bit of experience I don't feel I've got enough working with different horses to do this just yet and wouldn't have the confidence to be teaching others when I've still got a lot to learn myself!
As for 'making it' as a competition rider, I reckon I've got to give it a try, right? I have no idea if I could do it. So far I've done pretty well with the horses I've had and love competing and bringing horses on. I'm pretty determined to give it a try.
As for going back to do A Levels and Uni, that option's still open, but only if it really doesn't work out in the horse industry. I'd rather try doing horses now and go back to education later than the other way round :)
thanks again xxx
 
well good luck to you.
horses = long hours, days in all weathers, poor money, not enough time for you own horses, its not a job its a love.

standard job = normal working hours, much better wage, plenty of time to do own horses and produce own horses.

think very long and hard before you turn your back on a proper decent degree xxx
 
You have plenty of options, I would either..

Go back and finish your A levels, and see where that takes you. They will be handy!

Get a horsey job, i wouldnt be a working pupil as not a lot of money (but you may get more opportunities) or go to 'horsey college' (which I think is a waste of time!), but there are plenty of jobs on both livery and comp yards, but bear in mind you will at your age probably start at the bottom (more yard work on riding), but that's how it works and you'll work your way up :)

OR I'd look into getting a 'normal' job, but one you can progress in. AT your age I wouldn't settle with doing retail/pub/whatever work, look into what you could do without your a levels but that is a career rather than just a job

Hope that helps! Honestly though, I am at uni now but when i wsa at school i didn't think I'd go to college, I went and hated it in the first year and considered dropping out to do horses, I only carried on as nowadays it seems to be the right thing to do (college/uni etc) but honestly i so don't regret it. I never particuarly enjoyed a levels but then they are designed to be fun or easy, they are a ticket to hopefully a better career/way of life than without! I finished on ABB (having nearly been kicked out of school, excluded far too many times and not great GCSEs), got into uni and am loving it, its opened up so many more doors and so many possibilities I wouldn't have otherwise!
 
This probably isn't what you want to hear, but I agree with littleme's post ^^.

I can really sympathise with you - the world of academia is incredibly tedious if you're not that way inclined, but please please please stick at it if you're not sure about your desired career path.

Remember that now, your education is free - if you leave it until you're 19 you'll be liable to pay for all of your ALevel tution and examinations, which can get very pricey. Plus, you'd either have to give up your job and go back to school unpaid, or do evening classes if you could get the time off.

I don't want to sound patronising as you are clearly an intelligent young person who can think for herself, but if I were you I'd have a good old think about whether you want to do horses because it's all you can think of that interests you enough to do full time at the moment, or whether you are really and truly passionate about the industry.

I was the same as littleme - I hated school and college but duly finished them, then went to Uni and discovered my passion in life where I aced my degree and got the opportunity to have my dream job (although I would have scoffed at you when I was your age if you'd told me I would do well at uni and then love working in a corporate in the City and commuting for 4 hours a day!!).

I don't have any horses at the moment (another thing I would NEVER have believed I could live without a few years ago), but now I'm working hard to ensure I can afford a nice house with some land where I can spend as much spare time with them as I like when I'm older ;)

That said - if you really can't bear the thought of any more academics, I admire your bravery and determination to make such an influential decision, and I wish you lots of luck :)
 
remember A levels are a huge leap from your GCSE's, the move to degree is a lot easier and not so difficult - coping with a levels is the hardest part in our education xx
 
I'm currently doing my A Levels and do understand the strain of the workload. I often get in from the horses after school and have to sit and do 2 hours of schoolwork - which isn't fun at the best of times, let alone when you're absoloutely knackered! There are a couple of people in my year who have dropped out, one to do a horsey job, but as much as it would be lovely to have the cash in my hand now and have lots of free time, it doesn't seem like a realistic future to me. All the grooms that I have seen out there are skint, and have hardly any time for their own horses. I think at the end of the day, you need to suss whether you want to work with horses, or work to pay for your horses. I personally would rather be earning a good wage, living comfortably with my own business and horses - we can all dream ;) and working that little bit harder, than quitting now, and finding a job that may suit you at the moment, but in years to come when you're looking to buy a home and afford a horse etc is not going to cover the costs.

If you do decide to do the equine route, I'd suggest getting as many qualifications as possible, and possibly looking into going to an equine college?

Hope this has helped.
 
I left school and all I wanted to do was work with horses.9 months later I realised that I was never going to make any money and to be honest didn't ride well enough. That was 30 years ago.
I went in to another job which whilist at the time not well paid gave me a career and now I own 8 and have acheived as much as my ability allowed me to do.
I know people who have been working pupils in various disaplines and basically you get to do very little, for very little and not much thanks. So not much has changed.
Stay on for A's, get a job in Tesco's and save money, apply for uni and defer and then do a short Prelim instructers course at Talland or Markfield or any 5* BHS place. You will have to pay but they will cram you and you ride really good horses, but because you are paying you will have some control. Then decide if its for you. I have thought this through as I had daughters that rode, but fortuately I persuaded them there were better ways to make a living.
No one who works with horses ever makes real money and a friends daughter has worked in Tesco's stacking shelves even though she's competed at HOYS and is an extreemly good rider.
Good luck.
 
Dancing Queen said:
go back to college, finish your a levels esp complete your a level in law, then go to uni, get a decent degree from a decent uni, get a job paying a damn good wage and enjoy your own horses rather being a wp and looking after, producing others.
Click to expand...

I second this!!

I left school at 16, went to an agricultural college for two years studying Equine Management and then got a job at a stud yard. I hated it. Long hours, low pay and generally treated like a skivvy.

10 years after leaving school I finally sorted myself out. With no A levels I had to do a two years access course followed by another two years at uni to get a full degree. Cost a bomb to fund and as an 'adult learner' was serious hard graft (gave up flat, moved back in with parents, even less money, no social life) but finally I have a job and lifestyle which allows me to enjoy horses. Although it’s all worked out in the end if I could turn back time I would completely miss out that horsey chapter in my life.
 
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