What did I do?
After I left school, at 16, with no qualifications, I went through quite a few jobs, most were related to engineering of some sort. After a while I settled down to being a motor and motorcycle mechanic but when I was 29 I saw a job advert for Post Office engineers. I got a job as a telephone installer. Post Office telecoms became British Telecom then BT then Openreach. Soon after joining I started on vocational correspondence courses, then day release at local colleges, completing a BTEC ONC in Telecommunications. I later completed an HNC in Business & Finance. I worked for BT for 30 years, retiring at 60. Working for BT was probably the best decision I've ever made as I was encouraged to learn and qualify for promotion. I was able to fulfill my abilities and prove to myself that I was not a duffer. I also have a fairly decent company pension combined with my government pension means I don't have to still be working.