Am I crazy to think that doing a masters at my age and stage with change anything?

[Creaturediscomforts]

I'm early 50s, in a senior role in a job I used to love but now absolutely hate due to bullying by bosses. I have been desperately trying to get out of for about 18 months but there are almost no jobs in my sector, those which do get advertised get thousands of applicants. It's a service industry, connected to financial services but I don't want to be more specific than that (its not law).

I've come to the conclusion that I need to take some sort of leap of faith and do something a bit radical: even if I could get another job, I doubt things would improve. Budgets are slashed to the bone, low-level bullying and corporate politics make it unbearable in most of these companies, I'm really burned out from overwork and bored. I've been doing this just for the money now for several years and I don't think I want to spend what's left of my working life in a horrible environment doing a job which doesn't interest me.

I've applied for, and been accepted on, a masters in a subject which is adjacent to what I do (similar discipline but a different sector). It sounds really interesting, potentially useful for a new career and I would love to study something just for the intellectual challenge. I am selling a house which, when it happens, should provide me with a bit of a financial cushion which will enable me to work less than I do now: either going part time at my current company or potentially going freelance to pay the bills while I study.

Am I being naive about what this will change? I know I need some sort of reset of my life and this seems as good an opportunity as any and I really want to do it for my own interest. But I'm worried that at my age, this is just going to be a bit of a vanity project and won't actually help me get my career back on track. I don't want to wake up in my mid 50s with an expensive degree which won't help me get a job, however interesting the study has been.

Does anyone have any experience of doing a masters at my stage of life and did it change anything?

I did a masters in my late 40’s
Nit sure it changed my career, but I did achieve a goal. I’m massively happy I did it, I lived ever minute of it.

I mean yeah to be frank at 50, you will be mainly studying for pleasure and self interest as opposed to a huge career overhaul.

You have what, a maximum of 18 years to retirement so it’s unlikely you’re going to substantially climb the career ladder in a new field in that time - pragmatically. But you might very well enter the new field, enjoy it, get a salary you’re happy with. It doesn’t sound like you have much to lose if you’re not happy with current job and are being forced out.

Just bare in mind that, you might not get to a senior level in the new sector - so
are you going to be ok with less responsibility, less power, less delegation, less autonomy? Because you might have to start again and prove yourself from scratch in the masters field.

I’m 46 and currently doing a Masters!

It’s hard work but I’m loving it. I’m not 100% sure it’ll get me a better job but it’s a gamble I’m willing to take.

OP I don't think it's unfeasible but I think you will need to provide more details about your current role, the masters subject and the type of roles you'd be targeting.

I’m younger than you but half way through a masters while working. It’s one of the best things I’ve done to invest in my own skills development. I’ve learned so much about myself as well as the course content. If you can afford it, go for it.
I wish I’d done this years ago but the pandemic seriously affected my sector and I put it off.
I firmly believe you only regret what you don’t do.

GO FOR IT OP!!

This sounds like an exciting new challenge- tbh I’m glad you started this thread - I find it inspiring

@Throwanon Yep I totally realise this. I don't have any real expectation that I'm going to climb to the top of a completely unrelated field. I'm ultimately seeking to try to work less and have a portfolio of interesting freelance work. I don't see this really as a gateway to a brand new career, more something I want to do for pleasure but in the hope that it could open new doors.

But I am a bit apprehensive about spending a ton of money on a qualification which probably won't help my earning power.

Thanks: I'm in financial communications in a particular industry sector which doesn't particularly interest me. The masters is in comms in another sector which does interest me. So it's partly vocational, but ultimately more for interest.

And obviously at my age, I don't exactly have decades of FT work ahead of me, and don't have time or appetite to start from the bottom again, so I need to think about how realistic is is to pursue a totally new career.

Thank you! This is what my heart says. My brain says "grow up and be sensible!"

It IS grown up to want to further your career chances imo! Also - considering retirement age is ever increasing - by the time you get to 66 - I mean - it could even be nearer 76 !!! Definitely a good investment I think!

@Creaturediscomforts if you care to take a look at the Mature Study and Retraning board (set up specifically for people considering this,) you’ll find countless experiences of middle aged retraining with all its rewards and challenges:

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

All I can say is keep your expectations low and you’ll probably surprise yourself. I got my first degree, worked hard, entered senior management in a horrendous team and was forced out. I fell flat and thought my career was completely over. I was on like £45k.

In the meantime in that role, I started my second degree in a related field whilst working and I’ve been able to surpass my previous career, as in go in at a senior level and back into management. I thought I’d have to totally start over and go back to being an individual contributor and prove myself and was applying for things at minimum wage etc too.

But actually my previous experience was more relevant than I gave credit for. I really thought my old job & team ruined my career trajectory but they actually didn’t have that power. I just needed out of that environment and thrived. I’m on like £70k now straight from that toxic role. But I don’t think I’d achieved that if I didn’t set my expectations lower and be open to restarting my career if needed. I can’t even totally attribute this to my second degree as I haven’t completed it yet. But a combination of just having that on the CV alongside everything else was enough for me to break in.

Thank you! I didn't know about this board!

Absolutely not a crazy idea!

Former comms professional here (I'm now a technical writer). I wasn't in a senior role to be fair, but honestly I would see a Masters in sector-specific comms as a complete waste of money. You will have enough transferable skills to move sectors if you want to.

Do it!
Did a MA at 55.
Best thing

It’s really hard to comment accurately without knowing the specifics, which I appreciate you don’t want to share.

Do you have any professional contacts in the field that you want to move into? Will they give you some insight or advice?

I completed a masters in my 50s ☺️ I loved it and it definitely paid off career wise.

Yes I have to agree with this. I work in comms and mostly enjoy it but you really, really don’t need a comms-focused degree. I don’t have a degree at all and I’m a senior consultant. What you need is a portfolio of work and a degree won’t get you that. It would be much more worthwhile studying the actual topic area so for instance if you wanted to move into public health comms, do a public heath MSc rather than anything with a comms element.

When my husband was made redundant, I introduced him to a recruiter I personally knew. I paid for the lunch.

My husband was looking for a change in career.

The recruiter said he could place my husband in his desired career at half of his previous salary.

My husband chose to do Masters instead. It was a complete waste of his time and money. And Masters were only 5K in those days

Masters can be very useful if you are looking to pivot out of your field and into an adjacent one.

much of the devil is in the detail though.

Start applying for new roles in the new industry. You may find you don’t need the masters. You will have extensive transferable skills and experience.

I completely understand that having a Masters won't get me a job.

Honestly the main impetus for this is a trigger to leave a job I hate: I can't find another equivalent job at my current level and I don't want to take another similar job which I'll also almost certainly hate just for the sake of changing. Deep down I don't really want another corporate job, although if one came up at a similar pay level I'd probably take it but I don't feel highly motivated to apply for other jobs which will be out of the frying pan into the fire. For many years now I've wanted to study again in this particular field and I feel this will force me to make a decision. This is the "excuse" I need to negotiate a PT salary.

I'm not really looking to move into a senior comms role in this other sector. I want to diversify and use my skills to develop freelance or pro bono work in this sector while using the work I do in my current sector to pay the bills (if I need to).

With respect I highly doubt it. I can't even find jobs in a sector I've worked in for two decades. I'm very senior, very qualified and very experienced and I can't even get interviews.

Education is never wasted.

I know it won't be wasted from the perspective of my own interest and stimulation. My concern is that I spend a lot of money and get bogged down in something quite burdensome when I need to focus on finding a new career.

I do think it will be an important psychological boost though. My current role has damaged my mental health so much I feel I need to do something else just to "break the spell" if that makes sense? And in the absence of another job which I could do, this seems the best alternative.