Career change at 39 - totally mental?

[TaupePanda]

I haven't enjoyed my job for a while - I work in corporate communications for a fintech.
I fell into it tbh, and have pretty much always looked at alternatives. But, I turned out to be good at what I do and promotions and pay rises have come quite quickly and easily. There is a certain level of satisfaction with that!
But I would love to do something a bit more meaningful that has a real impact, that I can be proud of. Managing a comms team for a big profit making business might come with a nice salary but it is soul destroying at times. I have 20 years of work left ahead of me - I can't do this for that long!
But I don't want to cut off my nose to spite my face and I do earn very well, which will be hard to give up. Everyone in the family will have to sacrifice for me to retrain. I have been thinking law, and maybe moving into an advocacy / policy role ideally in family / women's rights.
But that costs and takes years and so now I wonder if I should be looking at jobs are junior in that area, where I might be seen as a safe pair of experienced hands who just needs some experience. That brings in some money but I'll make a similar move.
That said, I might not get the interesting work if I'm not formally qualified. Or I might not progress - I won't be happy being an assistant for long.
I've tied myself in knots like I always do, which leads to me doing nothing. So, I would love to hear some thoughts from others around successful careers changes and whether I'm being demented to walk away from a good salary and flexible working. I'll add a note that we can afford to take a haircut on our income, but luxuries including savings will have to go - my husband's salary will put food on the table but we won't be getting off on holiday anytime soon!
Thanks

Don't do it.

The amount of people that think they can launch a legal career during mid life is pretty high! Law is not a good move later in life. You need to study for several years (6ish) and then be a junior for 6ish years. So maybe 12 years before you will be confident in your new career, 12 years of earning v little. Then you ll be hitting menopause. Seriously law is not something you jump into, in mid life.

If you are earning well, don't throw that away.

BTW Law can be soul destroying too, it's cut throat, can be tedious, and if working for a company you are a support staff to the real stars who bring in the money.

Charitable roles don't pay well. Most lawyers are v cynical about charities and life in general. There are many easier ways to make money.

Could you take on a trustee role for a charity in the area you're interested in? (Womens rights etc) It won't pay but it might bring a bit more meaning?

Could you not move sideways into working for a charity but in a comms role? I have had several shifts of direction over the years but they tend to be built on my core skill set, not a total change. There are always plenty of comms roles going in the charity/public sector that might fill your need to have more impact without having to sacrifice everything to shift.

If it's a true vocation then yes, do consider it seriously - but do your homework as it would require many, many years of total commitment.

NB: I once had a GP who only switched to medicine in her late 30s and qualified in her mid-40s. She was a truly dedicated doctor who clearly was very invested in her work and her patients. She is retired now but still volunteers for a medical charity.

You could study something at masters level like media law llm -I know people who have got into the course without law degrees due to experience in journalism.

Then apply for training contract which would involve another 2 years of studying. Or the sqe route which is similar.

I would not study much without a job offer unless doing it for fun like I did. Waste of money if just wanting a job out of it. It's quite useful having a law qualification on top of your existing job (mine is finance) but my desire to join the junior lawyer ranks and work 140 hour weeks is low (as that's the sort of London firm I'd want to join and not "high street" to do every day neighbourhoods disputes.

But the good money would probably never be where the worthy sort of work is. It would be bid corporates.

I'd consider trying to do comms work as a volunteer or be a trustee somewhere?

I started my nurse training at 40. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. I previously worked in a bank and I used to dream about doing something more meaningful. Becoming a nurse was a dream come true.

I started a new career at 50 and never regretted it. Was involved in medical social work for 25 years and moved to freelance photography and music and arts outreach. .... bit of a leap, but highly successful and enjoyable!
Just do it .... you only have one life!

Thanks for all the quick responses!
I have thoughts about comms for a charity. But aside from roles actually being few and far between unless you live in London (we moved a few years ago), I just don't find comms interested as a career. I never have - even working for a charity it doesn't really have much impact most of the time. I'd like to do actual, meaningful work that genuinely changes something. This is almost always through regulatory / legal routes.
That means taking a long term pay cut, I know. This isn't for money. I've spent 17 years pursuing salary jumps. I'd like to spend the next 17 years feeling proud of what I do!

This is just my tuppence worth, but I have changed careers twice now and have a little experience of that, although not specifically in the areas you are considering. I will say I am also late diagnosed neurodiverse and this has contributed to my jumping around career wise.

Do some volunteering/work experience in the area you are interested in before you do anything else. I nearly jumped from nursing to a PGCE for English. I got a little bank TA under my belt and hated working in the two schools I was in, I wasn't the right fit, it wasn't for me, I knew within a couple of months. That was a well avoided mistake, because everything I thought I was getting myself into was wrong.

If you're looking for meaning and to make a difference, don't assume that your career is the only place to do that. What if you compressed your hours into a 4 day week and used the fifth day to volunteer in the areas you are interested in. You keep your salary/flexibility and you get to make a difference. Explore the ways things might fit together by looking at your life as a whole, rather than a black and white of what job you do.

Don't underestimate how it will feel going from a well paid manager role to a junior position. You will likely either take on more than they are paying you for, or you will have to make big adjustments due to not having influence or much of a voice. It's a bit of a jolt. If you do it in a completely new area, you will simultaneously be experienced on one hand and inexperienced on the other. It's a tricky combination.

Your ability to genuinely change something will be quite limited. Think of work as it is now and how much influence you have there. It's much the same working in health, social work or charities. You can do good, don't get me wrong, but you're not going to change the world, the country, or even the team you're in. That's a recipe for rapid burnout.

All that said, if you've thought of all that or read through that and thought, I'm still going to do it, then go for it! It's not easy to make these changes, but it does make for an interesting life and at least you'll then know you tried. I'd start with a toe in the water through volunteering or an intro course (rather than full on into a degree or masters) and see how it feels.

High profile policy work is generally done by the brightest of bright graduates on 12 month fixed contracts as a great thing on the cv.

Or professors as a secondment as they are high in their careers. Or civil service.

It's very sought after roles. Very competitive ti get one.

With your skills and experience I'd look into bid writing for charities or similar fundraising roles. Likely to be a massive pay cut obviously but potentially more fulfilling and you see a direct result from your work that you don't tend to in comms. I'm also a disillusioned comms professional (charity sector... same old shit for less pay) looking for a change BTW so following with interest.

I went from a well paid job in local authority to trainee solicitor within 3 years (including studying and passing gdl). Now studying for my sqe at the same time as qwe. I'm early 40s with 3 kids. It's never too late if it's what you want to do.

Thanks for the advice all. I'm a betwixt and between and probably need to put some more thought into it.