Did anyone start a high salary career at 40+?

[JNicholson]

I’m well educated but in a sector where I will never earn much. Approaching 40 and very conscious that some friends with fewer qualifications are earning a lot more. Probably a pipe dream, but has anyone made a career change at 40+ from an average wage job to anything approaching six figures? If so, how did you do it? (Obviously, I know you wouldn’t just career change and start earning that right away, but did you make a career change that allowed you to get there?)

I moved into the charity sector in my 40s. Moved jobs every 2 years or so and moved organisations every second move or so. Now work for a public body and earn £85k at 56. Currently getting second interviews for jobs at £100k+

I constantly update my bank of interview examples so I don't forget things I've achieved and I am strategic about jobs and organisations I apply for, trying to make sure that the job above the role I am going for is also something I would / could do.

The sector is not necessarily high paying but the bigger charities are better payers and provide more opportunities.

That’s amazing, well done! What kind of role do you have - comms, management, something else? I really wasn’t expecting a reply from someone in the charity sector!

What a fantastic idea to update examples as you go! Most people don't strategically and practically think like that. You've done amazingly.

Operational and contract management. I'm very organised, great at comms and look after my team. I'm also good at spotting commercial opportunities and service improvements so I often get offered new projects which tend to be higher profile.

Some of my moves have been right place, right time but most have been about tracking what I've achieved so I know I've added X% performance or reduced costs by Y%. I note these down so I have them to hand when applying for jobs.

You always get a better salary by moving than you do by negotiating so being prepared to move jobs helps.

I also invested in a public speaking / presenting course early on in my career change and that has proven to be a good investment as, not only do I come across well on a stage, I also interview better.

Petitpasta which part of the business are you in please? Income generation, PR? DN is interested in these fields. Any tips would be appreciated .

Yes. I moved into the civil service mid 40s with a phd, had poorly paid contract work before that. Rose pretty quickly, really enjoy my work now. Very well paid too.

I did..not by choice but a move meant I could no longer do my job. I took a job that was about 4 years back in my career but was at least a job I didn't mind. In the 10 years since then, I've more than doubled my salary from my career change job and more than tripled it compared to the job I had to leave. Some luck for certain - right place right time and also working in both an industry and for a company which paid well. I've also made connections within that company and with clients outside which helped me get a good reputation along with doing a job which was quite high profile with senior leadership. I used this to help me negotiate my current role which was created for me and had a salary that reflects that. I'm 51 so this really started to happen in my early 40s.

I started in service delivery and management roles. I learned to write bids and started pitching in with that. I had a few lucky breaks when I spotted gaps we could fill and ways we could innovate existing projects for new client groups and I proactively took ideas to senior management and ended up delivering them. There's little chance of being spotted so you have to take your skills to the decision makers sometimes.

Charity income generation is surprisingly similar to commercial income generation - just that you're selling a warm fuzzy feeling of doing good rather than a physical product. You also have to be surprisingly good at data as you need to evidence the quality and impact of your services and you have to profile your donors and work out what will unlock funding from them.

Thanks! I’ve wondered about the civil service. What subject was your PhD in?

It was social policy. Which is relevant to do many areas of policy. But what I do now is not at all related to my subject area. More about transferable skills

Thank you for all the replies! Nice to know it’s possible! Anyone else?

Not exactly. But I after working part-time around DC, I had to go back to work full-time five years ago after divorce.

I took a job in a large company doing something I was qualified for but which had limited earning potential and virtually zero opportunity for progression. I've recently moved out of my niche role into something else within the same big company. It's a promotion but I'm under qualified really. I feel fortunate my new manager decided to take a bit of a risk with me (although I'm cheap, at the lowest end of the pay scale for the role, because of the underqualified thing).

My predecessor was approached by a competitor and has gone to role on over twice what I'm earning. Said predecessor is "properly" qualified (appropriate degree and experience) but I hope that in five years' time I might have the experience to jump up in salary. I was 40 when I joined my company, am now 45, and 50 is my next target for a serious promotion.

Sorry that's all a bit vague. I'm only a month into new job and paranoid about tempting fate. But it's an example of a way to transition. I joined internal committees and volunteered for as much as possible to show commitment and an ability to do things outside the scope of my fairly narrow role.

Edit: so not in a high-earning role yet, but hopefully it's in my future!

I got a clearer picture of the job after checking out phlebotomy training programs near you, and it helped me figure out the timeline and what employers actually look for. The shorter programs were a nice surprise, and seeing the certification steps laid out made the whole path feel less overwhelming.

Not quite what you meant but I moved from an average paying although graduate level career to a professional one in my late 20s. Took me 3-4 years to get a promotion to about 70k, then took maternity leave and worked PT for a number of years. At 40 I managed to get the next level of promotion (100k+) which is pretty late for that kind of industry. 2 years later I moved companies and now late 40s am on double that. I’ve probably hit a ceiling here so will move on in a year or two and aiming for more.