Has anyone completely changed career?

[Kentlassie]

I’m wondering if there’s more to life/ more out there/ something that would make me feel more excited and fulfilled….

Currently 2/3 of the way through my last mat leave. I work for a large professional services firm in London, 4 days a week and reasonably paid. Little prospect of promotion unless I move firms and then need to work crazy hours.

I sometimes wonder about retraining to be an interior designer, or estate agent (!).

Has anyone completely changed careers? Was it worth it? I flip between ‘you only live once’ and ‘you’ve got a good thing in terms of salary and hours so carry on’.

Admin roles to mental health nurse. On the whole I enjoy it and there are so many different roles.

Yes I did. 21 years on it was definitely the right decision!

Yes, I went from a well paid job to a part time job for my family and I love it! it is less money, so sometimes I miss being able to do more with the kids, but the time available is invaluable.

Yes a number of times. I originally worked in fashion buying after doing a degree in textiles. When I got married and thought I might like children (and travel would be an issue) I got a job for a charity (with a payrise) working to help businesses fulfill their corporate social responsibility pledges (creating opportunities linked with education). Then got headhunted to work for a civil service organisation helping businesses employ young people on apprenticeships. Then had 8 years off with the kids, and now work in a large secondary school doing comms (newsletters, websites etc) plus school strategy stuff including community impact, business liaison and careers Ed. I only work 3 days a week now. Not my dream job, but pretty good money, and I have eventual plans to look at running my own craft workshops. Depends on the sort of person you are and what transferable skills you have and how you apply them. Get to know your personal strengths and be realistic about if you have the drive and circumstances to do the things you think you might want to do. Eg: interior design. Likely to be own business, is there demand in your area, have you got any experience already, do you have the artistic and communication skills to share a vision etc,.and can you afford a good recognised course. But don't worry about changing careers. I'm a firm believer on it'll all work out.

I know one person who retrained as a lawyer from being a doctor.

Another one who retrained as a doctor from management consultant.

I’ve gone from working full time in an admin role for a huge company admittedly for good pay and a nice team but the environment is a combination of stressful and dull at the same time. So i managed to go part-time and with the other part of my time i’m a truck driver, qualified during the pandemic. Love it and almost about to turn 36!!! Yea you really do only live once, took a slight pay cut but its so been worth it. Makes the dull office days much more bearable because on the trucking days you’ve no clue where you get to head off too, life got exciting again!

Middle management Home Office became English teacher and moved to Italy.
Was it worth it? Absolutely.
(Even though I'm earning less in 2023 than I was in 1994)

I was a fashion designer (still do a bit of freelance work) but I'm retraining to be a UX Designer. I have lots of friends who have left the fashion design industry post having kids and gone on to do all sorts of things - interior design, ceramics design, teaching. You only get one life, why not give it a go. I also have a friend who was a dentist but quit and now has her own business designing/selling cards on etsy and does really well from it. She also ran her own business for a while selling kids stuff. If you're passionate about something you've got a good shot at it.

Umm teacher and TA to horticulturalist

Absolutely no regrets apart from not having done it sooner.

Yes, retraining from something that is stressful and involves a lot of big egos to working in MH. Just about to qualify and take a leap into it. Very excited and a little bit nervous. The time it has taken to retrain (2 yrs) has flown in.

If you are considering a career change I would look at what you're passionate about, what are you good at? What do you want to look back on in when you're in your 80's? What do you want to have poured into?

Also consider how much money you need to be bringing in as a minimum, whether or not you want the possibility of working from home/work life balance, pension etc.

Civil service to teaching, I made the change at 43. Still going strong 20 years later😀

Yes! I was a stockbroker for years and hated it. I retrained as a Primary school teacher in my thirties and love it.

I was a teacher, first secondary and later basic skills to adults. Then I developed a disability and wasn't able to work for 10 years.

I'm currently half way through retraining as a counsellor and loving every minute. A nice job sitting down. Wish I'd decided to do the training years ago!!

Not yet but I plan to. I currently am an office supervisor. Pay isn't fantastic but hours suit me and my place is very flexible and family friendly. It works for now as I have young children.
I have wanted to train as a midwife for years. My plan is to do this once the kids are in secondary school and I have time to dedicate to studying and the shifts won't be a problem as I won't need childcare.
We also have a loan from home improvements that will be paid off in 3 years. Once that is paid I will be able to afford to put more money aside to put towards studies.

Senior role in advertising to teaching. Changed in my late 40s.

I spent a couple of weeks writing a list of all the things I thought I would like to do, then investigating training routes, salaries, promotion pathways, working hours etc. before I decided.

It came down to teaching or bricklaying (seriously). I decided that I was a bit too old to be out in all weathers so opted for the former.

Haven't looked back!

I changed career to fit in with children and work as an estate agent. The money is only good when the commission comes in! That said, I don’t take work home, its quite enjoyable, never impacts on family life.
I work with mainly people in their 20s who find difficult customers hard to deal with. My age and life experience means it’s water off a ducks back dealing with idiots to me.

Dull local government job to physiotherapist.

I was lazy when I did my A Levels so would never have got the grades I needed for a physio course at 18.

I use my skills from my earlier career all the time, and I'm a better clinician as a result. Took a bit of a hit financially initially, but I'm now earning better money than if I'd not retrained.

I am an estate agent. Have worked in different sectors before. Love my job but there is a lot more to it than showing people properties. From a customer service background so I find that helps.

Used to be a pro cellist. Coming up to thirty and realising I was barely scratching a living and going nowhere fast, time for a rethink. I knew a few things-working in an office would kill me, no one is paying for my intellectual brilliance. I also know I can use my hands and like making things. Spent the last 33 years as a designer/maker of bespoke furniture. One of my better decisions.

Town planner to occupational therapist. Yup no regrets. Town planning was limited (and always dealing with aggy people/ tight deadlines). OT has so many jobs that I think it’ll keep me busy for a while . Only regret is that I hadn’t looked around when I was younger and thought about what I actually wanted to do rather than doing something for convenience/ £££s etc. however like the previous poster said who retrained to a physio; there’s defo some skills from working before x good luck whatever you choose. D