Tell me about your midlife career change!

[Chevybaby]

I’d love to hear stories and advice from people who have started new careers later on in life! I need to know that it’s possible!

I have had a very nice career so far in creative industries but have zero job security. I am now 40 and a parent and keen to switch to something more steady if it’s not already too late!

I’m a pretty adaptable person and love working with people. In school I was great at and loved maths so I wonder if that muscle might still work if I dusted it off. I don’t want to run my own business. Things I’m looking at are: teaching, occupational therapy, software development, finance etc etc. I have A levels all at “A” and a first class honours degree (in a useless subject) so I’m qualified enough to get into a lot of courses and trainee scheme… but which one?

I went back to university aged 40 to study a masters in Data Science and am now a statistician. Data Science skills are very much in demand.

I’m a trainee OT and love it, it’s interesting, varied, creative and you can work in so many settings.

But if I was good at and enjoyed maths (I’m not) I’d go down that route.

I worked in retail management, then hospitality for 18 years and went back to college to study and I now work in early years.

a total difference but I’m loving it.

I used to have a very boring - but secure - job as a research manager.

Retrained when my kids were in primary school. Did a PGCE and then a Masters in children's psychotherapy as I loved the pastoral side.

Currently work between a charity and a school delivering one to one counselling sessions and also group sessions.

No regrets, although covid has changed the landscape of children's mental health beyond all recognition since the point I enter4ed training.

I have a degree in Pharmacology and worked in Pharma clinical trials after uni and until I had my children. When I turned 40 I did a Primary PGCE and have been a teacher for 10 years.

I changed from being a PA in university education to being a PA in travel. Yes some of the skills are the same but the culture and work are so different. I know with covid and the cost of living, the travel industry is risky but absolutely love it. Everyone is really nice, my boss is amazing and I've never been happier.

Call centre for a bank to Social Work.

Hi @shakespeareanconquest.

Would you mind saying more about how covid has changed things and what they look like now? Child psychotherapy is something I am interested in.
I have a relevant degree.

Do you mind if I PM you?

I was made redundant from being a department manager at John Lewis. I now work as an in-house recruiter for the civil service and get a much better salary and great pension contributions. Never worked in recruitment before and flourishing.

I retrained in my early 40s to become an acupuncturist. Love it.

I'm almost 40 and going back to uni in sept to train in perinatal education.

Big changed but I'm super excited. I was a management consultant before.

I’m 50 and will be retraining as a paraplanner in our business. I used to do PR and marketing / internal communications and have had a career break with my daughter (with a tiny bit of freelancing during that time). I’ve not started studying yet as my father is terminally ill, but it will happen once I’m able to focus and my dad has passed. Dad is super proud of me for everything I do in life and he tells his nurses what I’m going to do. I’ll just need some time afterwards to get my head together. If I’m learning anything in life right now, it is to go for what you want and live your life. Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to make changes just because you are older. In fact I’d say make those changes. Just go for it. We are only here the once. Have no regrets.

There is a huge demand for sustainability, carbon accounting and lifestyle analysis.

At 50 I got an HR qualification after being a PA for many years. I love my job and helping people find solutions to problems in the workplace but also am interested in employment law and the workplace needs of the younger generations.

If you are good at maths and enjoy it go down that route software development or similar - jobs I see advertised £££ and flexible working. I'm mid 30s in my final year of psychology degree and deciding what to do next too!

Sure, feel free to PM me :)

Im 41 and beginning a part time OT course in Sept. 1 day a week for 4 years. With OT it opens up a lot of opportunities within the nhs or the council and when u get bored in one speciality u can diverse to another area of OT. If you have a lot of common sense and enjoy variety go for OT. There are post graduate conversion courses available.

I retrained in photography at age 50 after working as a social worker. I then pursued a career in Photography, arts outreach and music - that's more like it!!

I was a housing officer for 12 years. I have taken a couple of years of after having my youngest, I'm currently doing a health and social care undergraduate degree with the ou. Hoping to do the step up to social work course when I finished and hopefully become a social worker working with children. Going to go back to work in September when my youngest starts reception as either a family support worker or a teaching assistant working with children with send to try and gain experience.

I started midwifery training at age 35. I worked in law before.

I had children and just couldn't picture myself going back to working in the legal world. When I was a kid I had always wanted to be a nurse so becoming a midwife kind of completed the circle.

As a broad generalisation, the careers that are maths-focused (data science, web design, cyber-security, software development) will pay more and be more flexible (as in allow you to work from home).

People-based jobs are less likely to be WFH and generally pay less as well.

Just supply and demand. Maths and logical abstract thinking is a rarer skill set than people skills. As is the ability to enjoy or at least tolerate some pretty dry stuff.

Hi OP

Came across this thread and wondered if you made the switch? I’m similar to you, have had a nice career in the creative industry but as I’m approaching 40, and a parent too, I’m looking for something with more security that will take me to retirement age.

Hi Iced coffeeee

No major switch but a lot of shuffling. Around the time of this post I made a huge amount of applications to tech based apprenticeships (I can’t afford go go to uni/college) but I really couldn’t stomach the application processes at all 😂 don’t know when the last time you applied for jobs but applying for stuff in 2024 is very very different from 15 years ago. You submit a CV and if it’s up to standard you are invited to play a computer game/series of games which assesses your basic intelligence/aptitude/propensity for risk, if you pass them you are invited to record a video of yourself, if the bot approves of your video you get invited for a video interview with a human and then if that goes well you get a real live interview…🤖🤖🤖

So I’m back in my creative job for now which I have actually realised suits me perfectly. I do have a one day a week permanent post in a community organisation and that gives me a little backbone of security that I can pack freelance stuff around.

Good luck in your switch ! It’s not easy at all. I will say that when they’re so little and their care needs are so all consuming it’s pretty inevitable that we would crave security. That’s exactly where I was when I wrote this post but i definitely feel less daunted by freelance insecurity now that my child is 4.