Too old to restart?

[Ph3]

I’m going to try and keep it short. I am not happy with my job and thinking about pursuing a different career. It would be at least 2 years before I can properly be back earning and it would be hard to juggle family life and study but I have a very supportive partner. I’m 42 so I’m wondering if I should just keep at it until retirement.

YABU- stick to what you know
YANBU - never too late
edit to state that the career I m considering to pursue is law

It really depends on what it is. Some industries are tough to get into if you're older and some places are very ageist although that usually becomes more obvious when people hit 50.
Others have no problems.

It’s very individual, plus depending on what you actually want to do would there be opportunities where you live to actually do the new job. What do you do now?

You're never to old to do anything in my book. Life is too short, go for it.

You only regret the chances you didn’t take.

I have several friends that did this in their early/mid/late 40's. From nursing to midwifery, accounting, teaching and HR!

You're not even half way through your working life!
You've got potentially another 25 years of work ahead of you. 25 years ago you were 17.
Go for it - 25 years is a long time to be bored!

Honestly go for it. I wish I had done law but I'm 48 and it's genuinely too late now for me to do it. I've decided I'd still like a change though so am now saving really hard to give me a buffer to do a course to change career.
As another poster said, you only regret what you don't do.

It depends on the career shift. Wanting to be a surgeon, probs not, entering the tech industry as a project manager for example? Do able.

In terms of time left to serve, fine but I echo pp about making sure you really kick the tyres on the qualification - just because a qualification is an oft cited pre requisite to a certain role doesn’t mean that an inexperienced candidate would be hired just because they have that qualification IYSWIM. Not being negative, just flagging as seen it first hand with a masters I did. Some people did it expecting that it would give them access to to fairly senior roles in development but they had no field experience or tech knowledge so it didn’t. Definitely try to speak to people in the industry to get an idea of requirements/ hiring realities.

I'm the same age as you and can't bear the thought of doing my current job for another 18+ years. Sitting at a desk is ruining my back and I've piled on the weight. I've got a standing desk but I still get backache standing up! I need a job that lets me move around freely, but still pays well. I'm not sure what that is right now, but I'm a sure I can think of something. I was just curious about what kind of courses/career you're considering?

I’m a civil servant now - not really using my degree at all and with no chance of really using it in my current role. I can progress but I don’t really enjoy what I’m doing at all. I did consider doing a masters in the degree I have now but as a PP there is no guarantee as it doesn’t really lead to a profession so to speak so not sure I want to invest in it.

Thank you all to all the posters it has given me renewed hope.

You’ve 30 odd years of work ahead. Don’t spend it being miserable. I retrained at 50. I wouldn’t just pick anything but look for something where you could get employed. Something with shortages and policies to combat ageism.

And I'm sure others have been given hope by this thread and your drive! 🌻

The time will pass anyway!

Would you mind sharing what you retrained as?

If you're civil service, there may also be the potential for them to sponsor you through a law degree etc. I think it depends on the department, but mine has certainly contributed to helping people qualify as a solicitor in exchange for two years working as a lawyer in the department afterwards.

I would definitely do it if you can afford it. I’m 44 and had just started retraining (from 20 years in a ‘big career’) last year when I was diagnosed with cancer (and have since lost my job anyway, that’s another story). It will be probably nearly a year before I can pick it up again and then at least a year until I’m properly earning again.

We will be working another 30 years probably - assuming we live that long. It might as well be doing something you enjoy.

@floppybit , I'm in a corporate business type role at the moment. I'm still in thought process but potentially doing a total pivot and doing a careers qualification and becoming a careers advisor. I'd look to work in a college or uni, it's not very well paid but could be fulfilling and be something I could do part time if I want to semi retire.
The bit I need to work out is how easy it would be to get one of those roles, I could bring alot to it I think life experience wise.

Doing a masters is definitely on my bucket list but would be good to do in something directly useful.

Sorry to hear you've had such a tough time. Similar here, ' big career' rethink time. Can I ask what you're retraining in?

@mindutopia

That sounds great- best of luck to you!