To change career (but to what?)

[Career5Change]

Namechanged and would like suggestions for change of career please. I work in a charity managing projects and funding bids.

Current Position
Pros:

• Work is flexible, can work part-time around childcare.
• Skilled and efficient in what I do. I regularly negotiate with sponsors/other organisations and have secured millions of pounds for charity. (Great for the charity but I haven't received any personal rewards or bonuses. Looks good on CV though).
• Passionate about the work.
• Met wonderful people through different organisations and had some great work trips.
• Helped set up amazing projects for disadvantaged people.

Cons:

• Losing motivation. Feel I have a lot to give but am not getting much in return. Feel undervalued.
• Reached a career ceiling in this charity. Earning 40K but I'm nearly 40 and feel I could/should be earning more with my experience.
• Most people I work with are not as passionate about the projects/generally complain/gossip/view FB a lot! Nothing in common with them.
• Many boring meetings filled with bureaucracy.
• Overall management lack clear direction and high staff turnover rate.

So, it's not so much about the work but more about the structure of the charity and working environment/people I guess.

Unrelated but we recently sold our house. The EA we picked were highly efficient and I was so impressed with the way they ran their team from start to finish. Clear communication and regular updates every day. They negotiated on the first offer and it was received within 10 days. I've always been interested in property and although I wouldn't want to be an estate agent it was refreshing to see so many highly motivated and positive people. This is the kind of team environment I would love to work in. Would I be better off working in private sector?

I have thought in the past I would have been better off studying law or medicine but think I'm too old to retrain. I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm and thrive on reaching goals/managing projects/effective team work but it seems wasted where I current work. However, I have DC and charity has been hugely flexible in child-care etc and I feel satisfaction in helping disadvantaged people. In this a case of grass is greener or is the grass really greener on the other side?

Give me your suggestions mumsnetters!

You are never too old to retrain, I know people in their 50s who have gone back to university to retrain.

Thanks @polarpig that's true. I think for medicine and law at my age it wouldn't be worth it plus I don't have the money to finance another degree. If I could use my existing skills for a new or related career that would be ideal.

Rather than change career, could you change employer, so similar work but different environment?

Otherwise, no reason not to change career so long as you can afford the financial and practical upheaval and uncertainty whilst you retrain.

What about moving to higher education. Your skills sound transferable into a research support career.

Relationship manager/exec in marketing, salesperson/business development for any kind of commercial company.

What about formally training as a project manager?
Or if you can be comfortable with responsibility (and expectations) without control, then a scrummaster, which in the 'servant leadership' role in teams creating solutions (usually, but not always software) in agile teams.
Those two roles have completely different mindsets, behaviours and outlooks though...