Career change
How to change career with no experience in the new field
You can get into a new field without experience in it, usually through a route built for new entrants: an apprenticeship, a funded course, or a junior or trainee role. Below are the routes open to adults in England, what they pay or cost, and jobs where a published apprenticeship gives you a way in, with ONS pay for each.
Updated
You have more to offer than you think
“No experience” usually means no experience with the job title. The tasks behind it are often familiar. Some examples of how everyday work translates:
- Managing a class of 30: running a group, planning sessions, tracking progress.
- Working a shop floor: customer service, handling complaints, cash and stock.
- Dealing with patient complaints: calming tense situations, listening, following a process.
- Processing invoices: accuracy, financial records, working to deadlines.
- Training new starters: coaching, explaining clearly, checking understanding.
Describe these in the words your target job uses. Our transferable skills guide helps with the wording, and the career change CV guide shows where to put it.
Routes built for new entrants
These are the main routes for adults in England, as GOV.UK and the Department for Education describe them today.
Apprenticeships
You need to be 16 or over. You are an employee earning a wage, and at least 20% of your normal working hours are for training. Apprenticeships take from 8 months to 6 years depending on the type and level (GOV.UK). Search vacancies on Find an apprenticeship.
The legal minimum is the apprentice rate of £8.00 an hour if you are under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of your apprenticeship. After that you must get at least the minimum wage for your age: £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, from April 2026 (GOV.UK).
Skills Bootcamps
Courses of up to 16 weeks for people aged 19 or over. Most need no previous knowledge of the subject, and you are guaranteed a job interview with an employer at the end (Skills for Careers). The government's JobHelp site says they are free if you take the course yourself rather than through your employer, and open to people living in England (JobHelp).
Free Courses for Jobs
If you are 19 or over and earn below £25,750 a year, or are unemployed, you may get a level 3 qualification in a listed subject, or a level 2 in construction, engineering or manufacturing, with the fees paid (GOV.UK, updated 29 July 2025). Some areas set slightly different limits.
Advanced Learner Loan
For a level 3 to 6 course in England if you are 19 or over, with no income or credit check. You repay it once you earn over the threshold (GOV.UK).
Trainee and junior roles
Some employers train new starters themselves, without a formal apprenticeship. Look for “trainee”, “junior” or “no experience needed” in live vacancies. A job in the right sector, even in a different function, can make a later internal move easier.
Jobs with a way in for new entrants
Each job below has an apprenticeship approved for delivery in England. Pay is the ONS median for full-time employees in the job's occupation group, which includes experienced staff. Starting pay can be lower, and during an apprenticeship it can be much lower.
| Job | Median pay | Entry apprenticeship | Licence or card you may need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software developer | £56,914 | Software development technician, level 3, typically 18 months | None listed |
| Rail track maintenance worker | £46,403 | Rail engineering operative, level 2, typically 15 months | None listed |
| Train conductor | £46,062 | Passenger transport operative, level 2, typically 12 months | None listed |
| HGV driver | £39,905 | Large goods vehicle (LGV) driver C + E, level 2, typically 13 months | Lorry licence and Driver CPC |
| Electrician | £39,647 | Domestic electrician, level 3, typically 36 months | None listed |
| Data analyst | £38,572 | Data technician, level 3, typically 24 months | None listed |
| Plumber or heating engineer | £37,881 | Gas engineering operative, level 3, typically 18 months | Gas Safe registrationCSCS card |
| Bus or coach driver | £36,340 | Passenger transport driver - bus and coach or tram, level 2, typically 12 months | Bus licence and Driver CPC |
| ParalegalONS codes paralegals with legal professionals not elsewhere classified, a group that also includes legal executives and conveyancers. | £35,507 | Paralegal, level 3, typically 24 months | None listed |
| HR officer | £35,194 | HR support, level 3, typically 18 months | None listed |
| Recruitment consultant | £35,194 | Recruiter, level 3, typically 18 months | None listed |
| IT support technician | £35,128 | Information communications technician, level 3, typically 18 months | None listed |
| Security officer | £33,832 | Professional security operative, level 2, typically 12 months | SIA licence |
| Marketing executive | £33,412 | Multi-channel marketer, level 3, typically 18 months | None listed |
| Bookkeeper | £31,560 | Accounts or finance assistant, level 2, typically 12 months | None listed |
| Estate agent | £30,648 | Junior estate agent, level 2, typically 12 months | None listed |
| Healthcare assistant | £29,084 | Healthcare support worker, level 2, typically 8 months | None listed |
| Teaching assistant | £21,239 | Teaching assistant, level 3, typically 18 months | None listed |
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a, published . Median gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs in the UK, tax year ending 5 April 2025. Figures are for whole SOC 2020 occupation groups and exclude the self-employed.
Source: Skills England, apprenticeship standards. Checked 28 September 2026. Typical durations as Skills England publishes them. Licences and cards link to the body that issues them; some apply only to part of the job, such as gas work for plumbers.
Build evidence before you apply
- Do a small project. For a data role, analyse a public dataset and write up what you found. For marketing, run social media for a local club. Employers can judge a piece of work more easily than a claim.
- Volunteer in the field. Charities and community groups often need help with admin, events, fundraising or digital work. GOV.UK lists where to find volunteering opportunities.
- Talk to people who do the job. Ask how they got in and what they would do in your place.
- Take one relevant course, not five. Check the advert or the job's apprenticeship standard to see what employers ask for, then do that.
Examples from outside paid work can count. The Civil Service, for instance, says examples of the behaviours it assesses can come from work experience, volunteering or a hobby (Success Profiles).
What it costs you
Starting again usually means a lower wage for a while. As an example, an apprentice aged 19 or over in their first year can legally be paid £8.00 an hour. For a 37.5-hour week that is £300 a week before tax, or about £15,600 a year. At the minimum wage for people aged 21 and over the same hours come to about £24,800 a year. These are legal minimums (our calculation from the GOV.UK rates), so check the wage on each vacancy.
Work out how long your savings would cover the gap between that and your outgoings. If you claim Universal Credit, GOV.UK says many claimants can take full-time training for up to 16 weeks and keep claiming, and JobHelp says the same for Skills Bootcamps; ask your local Jobcentre Plus before you start. Our guide to changing career with no money has more on this.
Common questions
Can I start an apprenticeship at 30, 40 or 50?
Yes. GOV.UK says you need to be 16 or over to start an apprenticeship in England. From the second year, if you are 19 or over, you must be paid at least the minimum wage for your age rather than the apprentice rate.
What is the quickest way into a new career with no experience?
There is no reliable data on which change is easiest. The shortest published routes in our table are level 2 apprenticeships: Skills England gives a typical length of 8 months for healthcare support worker, 12 months for bus and coach driver, security operative and junior estate agent, and 13 months for HGV driver.
Are Skills Bootcamps free?
The government's JobHelp site says Skills Bootcamps are free if you take the course yourself rather than through your employer. You need to be 19 or over and living in England. Courses last up to 16 weeks and end with a guaranteed job interview.
Do I need a degree to change career?
Not for most jobs in the table above, which all have apprenticeships below degree level. Some professions do need one: in England the apprenticeships for registered nurse, social worker and paramedic are all at level 6, which is degree level.
Can I get paid while I retrain?
An apprenticeship pays a wage while you train. If you claim Universal Credit, GOV.UK says many claimants can take full-time training for up to 16 weeks and keep claiming, and JobHelp says you can keep claiming while on a Skills Bootcamp. Check with your Jobcentre Plus first.