To think I can change career at my age?

[Roxietrees]

I’m 40, I’ve never really had a career as such, more 3-4 year stints in various different jobs. I do regret not starting out in a career when I was younger but I’m trying not to have regrets. I’ve recently got quite a large inheritance that I want to put towards training or going back to uni. I’ve always been interested in human rights. I know the super competitive human rights careers won’t be an option for someone my age. But AIBU to think I could go back and do a degree in, say anthropology (something I’ve always wanted to do) and still expect a decent career out of it or am I dreaming? Or potentially a masters? I have a good degree in an arts subject. I’m also interested in working with young people in early intervention mental health (something I do have experience of) but could do with getting some relevant qualifications. However I’m really struggling to find appropriate qualifications for these roles. If anyone has any advice on what they might be, would love to hear it! Also, would love to hear any other suggestions for careers that suit older career changers etc. I’m very much still considering my options. Thanks :)

Become a social worker! You can work in early intervention. There’s fast track schemes too if you have an existing degree.
It suits the human rights part of your description. No day is ever the same.

40 is still very young in terms of your career - if you plan to work until ‘normal’ pension age, you still have nearly 30 years of working. That’s more than enough time to retrain and become a specialist. My mum done her GCSE’s and went to university in her very late 30s when she had young children, and is about to open an independent school at 52.
I don’t have much knowledge about the above in relation to courses ect, but whatever it takes, I do think you should push forward with someone which lights up your heart.

No issues with your age! One of my friends went into training to become a midwife at 42 and is now loving if several years down the line.

Something not someone!

Speaking as someone from my generation who graduated uni a few years ago, not a single person I know has managed to further their career through their degree unless there is a direct occupation derived from it (e.g. nursing, social work, etc.).

I studied psychology and I absolutely loved it, it’s my passion and I really enjoyed the subject. However, so many people have degrees of this nature these days and it’s so competitive in the career market. I really wanted to become a psychologist, but financially it was impossible due to the amount of general work experience and unpaid internships needed (that are hard to get anyway), alongside continued further study.

Study for the joy of it, by all means. But you should accept early on that you are putting lots of money into a hobby/experience rather than something that will assist your career (should you choose a degree such as anthropology).

I’ve considered social work in the past but I have lots of friends who are social workers and have been for many years, who are completely burnt out and desperate for career changes! So that puts me off a bit. Also the amount of red tape and bureaucracy seems to make your work quite limited as I understand it? And isn’t the workload through the roof and very stressful?

This is what you want, @Roxietrees:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

Don’t waste your time on an expensive second undergraduate degree. Academic institutions welcome mature people wanting to do Masters degrees. (I did one myself in my fifties, decades after first degree and in an entirely new subject.)

By all means do an anthropology degree if that is what you are interested in, but it won't necessarily help you in terms of getting into the human rights field.

It would take some time, but have you thought about getting a legal qualification? There's some very interesting work to be done in the human rights field in terms of legal challenges.

You can change career at almost any age. Quite often you just need the balls to do it. You may find the following book quite useful to think through the whole challenge: Working Identity by Hermina Ibarra

She talks about how when people change careers, while it may seem dramatic to people looking from the outside, usually there has been a slow creep towards the thing that the person enjoys. In other words, they don’t wake up or decide I want to be a doctor, and then the next day apply for medical schools, etc. Instead they have to develop some kind of interest, started getting involved somehow, and then started moving towards the career of choice.

You could easily retrain to become a lawyer now. You are not too young and you could get involved in human rights.

You can very easily do some kind of counselling or psychology degree at your age, and then start moving towards working with young people and become for example and educational psychologist.

Both the things you mention are well within your grasp

Agree, I did a masters in my 40s, did some part time freelance work in the field (tech) for 7 years and then got a full time position at the age of 54. It's never too late.

Interesting, this is what happened with me.

Interestingly I did look into becoming an educational psychologist about a year ago but I think it really is too late for that one. I could get onto a psychology conversation masters that only takes a year, rather than having to do a full degree, but to become a psychologist I’d then have to do a 3-year doctorate - only done at a small number of universities around the country - and you can’t choose where you go (not an option as I have kids). They’re also extremely competitive. Then after that you need to get a year’s worth of experience as an assistant psychologist- also crazy competitive. I had a friend who waited 7 years before she was accepted onto the doctorate programme! So I gave up on that one unfortunately

@Roxietreesi think you’re right to be realistic. The competition is so steep to get the doctorate places.
In terms of social work; I would not recommend children’s. Mental health is busy but doable. There are quieter areas, still super complex in terms of MCA and deprivation of liberty stuff, such as older adults and learning disabilities. Children with disabilities is a rewarding area. I really liked working in CAHMs too, eating disorders is really difficult. There’s social work in every part of life, it’s not all child protection. I see a lot of burn out there. But adult services is much better, so dependent on area and your manager though. My manager is fantastic

Thanks for your advice, (love your username also 🤣). I assume you are a social worker? I’ve been thinking more and more about social work. The amount of burn out I see in people who’ve done it for years is what’s putting me off though. I like working with young people and have worked in this area before. I’m also interested in young people’s mental health - especially early intervention and helping give people lifelong tools and coping strategies. Inspired by the truly awful MH professionals I saw as a teenager - they did more damage than help. I want to be part of a change in attitude to MH (people say, as a society, we’re much more open about MH, the stigma no longer exists, etc etc. - BS imo, it’s got a little better in the last 20 years but we’ve still got a long, LONG way to go) anyway don’t want to start a rant on that!…Does this sound like something that I could do as part of a social work career/with a masters in social work? Thanks :)