Leaving professional role to do something totally different

[HettyMeg]

Has anyone left a relatively senior "office job" career to do something completely different?

I posted on here the other day about feeling like things are getting worse in the working world. Also I saw a thread from a woman asking whether a senior role is just not compatible with having young kids.

I've recently also read about 2 women who have left their professional careers, one to go into retail and another going into a trade.

I feel so sick of my industry and that there are no prospects (work in media and it's just constant negativity about people losing their jobs, AI threat, etc). While trying to parent a young child, it just all feels too much and sometimes think I'd love to do something completely different. But then I remember I have mortgage and bills to pay.

Has anyone done this?

Yes I did. I left a pretty prestigious job in my early 40s. During Covid (when I was 40) I realised I had basically already done what I had wanted to do professionally and all I really wanted to do was to have a third baby before it was too late, spend more time with the children and write things (writing was part of my job but only a part). My father died the following year which cemented my feelings further. We also moved abroad, initially temporarily but in the end we decided to stay, eventually I ditched my job (after some unpaid leave first to be sure) and went freelance. I had DS3 just after I turned 42. I am very happy but a) I was senior enough in my career to be able to get some freelance work after leaving, b) we were fortunate to have a financial cushion (and also moved to a country with much lower family-related costs), and c) even so, it was a big negotiation with DH and the whole thing freaked him out a bit. He (wrongly!) believed he'd married an inveterate "career woman". DS3 is 3 now and we are all happy and settled but it took a while to find a new equilibrium.

I have thought about going freelance and would love to eventually but my field is saturated with people doing the same and I'm the principal earner so it's too risky. However what I would consider doing is taking a part time job at the same time as trying to pick up a few freelance projects.

I did. I went from a senior corporate role to dog training. It is much more satisfying, but nowhere near as well paid.

I think you should do the maths and do it. Life is too short to have all the life sucked out of you.

I left the corporate world at 30 or so and did a rock bottom job for years, loving it, and getting slightly payrises / shifting positions for more money. I would never go back to an office, no way.

Make sure you will be OK financially and then just do it. Visualise how it will work, feel that free energy coming in and then take concrete steps.

Yes, many have left senior office roles for careers in retail, trades, or starting businesses for better work-life balance, though it can be challenging financially.

I haven't done it, but I often daydream about leaving my senior professional role and working in a little cafe somewhere, no stress, no responsibilities, just turn up do the work and go home!

But yes, I guess pay always reflects the levels of responsibility and therefore stress. So it's a balance! The only other thing I thought that could bring me a decent income on less hours / stress could be working for myself. But then that also is no walk in the park to set up, so I've decided to stay where I am.

If I could afford it I absolutely would!