Dos and don’ts for a midlife career change

Hi, very useful post. I've just bumped into it and found it concrete and useful, very straight to the point. With your tips and some tricks I've heard during the webinars organized by http://www.blog.ivyexec.com I'm sure I'll easily go through career change. Thanks once again!

And listening to what it is urging you to do. I just decided that I'm not gonna go after an associates degree in Accounting (backpedal), I'm gonna enroll in an MBA program and set myself up for the CPA exam. This'll get me closer to my ultimate (new) career goal more quickly, and it's been a matter of internal struggle in my mind about which route would be the best. But it really comes down to how passionate you are about your chosen path...and I don't just wanna be a Clerk.

Yeah, I agree with what KC said about not asking too many people for advice, and trusting you intuition

I have stopped my career 2 years ago because it had turned toxic. I started grad school as full time student and I love it.

I am not looking for "accomplishments", "goals" or to "compartimentalize" or "prioritize" anithing: I hope I left all this garbage in the past. Just enjoying the road...

I am following my mid-life dream career change. At age 52 I am completing my Master's in General Psychology online; unfortunately this is non-clinical and I have to figure out a way to get counseling experience and if I would have to have more classes in counseling-like I can afford more student loans at my age!
I want to follow my instincts with this, but for how long? To make matters worse, my husband wants to move away from the city and back east to the country-need I say more?

At the age of 57, I too, have beenin the classroom, back in ministry, the classroom and then back in ministry as Director of formation. I love to teach, got burned out with all of the pressures of getting children ready for state testing! I still love to teach and have some opportunity to teach adults, but not always. So while I am truly grateful to have a job, I want to broaden my teaching with my music and research on scripture... all towards adult formation. So, yes, I am looking for that dream job because I'm not ready to retire even though that is many years away!

I am 53, and in my thirties I did the "back-to-school" and second career thing, and earned a Master's of Divinity in order to become a pastor. After 19 years, I am in the position of looking to start over yet again for family reasons. I want to be a pastor. I can't imagine anything else my skills would direct me to. I have no confidence about any other kind of work for my future. Yet, I can no longer yearn for what was. I must get to work. How do I even begin?

I went back to school for my undergrad when I was in my late 40's. I graduated with a degree in Legal Studies and Psychology. I am now in grad school at 57 taking a dual masters degree in Criminal Justice and Masters of Business Administration. I have thought about law school but I really want to go to work for Homeland Security in Immigration and Customs. I have applied with them but so far no luck but I will keep trying.

I'm not considering a career change, b/c that implies I have a career. Except for a couple church ministries, life has been a string of jobs, layoffs, firings, reorgs, and quits. At 58, it's time to get a career. Been through seminary and some tech schools which have prepared me for extra-curricular activities, as it were, but no career. I'm a steady free-lance writer (emphasis on "free"), adult Bible teacher, etc., but now I think it's time to make a living from what I've learned and done. If this is a mid-life crisis, then I have 58 years to go! If you want to read a book that gets into the head of us who are pursuing a dream job, try Quitter by Jon Acuff. He's been there, done that. Don't quit your day job, but don't quit pursuing the dream, either!

Well, I know where my passion lies....teaching. However, at the age of 55 with an MBA, 2 college and 1 middle school students I can't afford the pay cut.

I coach youth sports, have been a scout leader, I'm on the local school board, and am married to a teacher....guess I should have followed my passion at the age of 18 and become a teacher. Back then teachers didn't make enough to support a family. So, I choose the Business world.

So what, Now what?

Just got "downsized on Monday" many decisions to be made. Unfortunately I don't see the ecomomy improving. So wake up take a shower and go to work everyday looking for a job.

What an utterly useless and uninformative article. Three questions? What? Did the economy force them to save on hard drive space too? I wish people luckl who are seeking to do what the title of this article suggest. They're going to need it.

Access is power. Did you make that phrase up there Kristin? That Dilbert-ism goes right up there with "let's synergize our core principles to achieve a new paradigm"

In other words, a useless nonsensical statement that only makes you look smart to the unwashed masses. More intelligent people see right through this swill for what it is; blathering by a liberal arts major.

Wow, is this article ever timely. Just about two weeks ago I was faced with a 70% pay cut, going from $90,000.00 down to $36,000.00, doing exactly the same thing with all the same requirements, and the same required sale goals. ( Failure to meet these goals will result in unemployment.) I have worked in the same field for 36 years and like other have been laid off because of downsizing,and some poor business decisions made by the owner, so my longest stretch is 7 years with one company. I am about to turn 56 and am now contemplating starting my own business. I have been doing this new venture part time for at least 8 years. The nervy part is going from a job with a monthly check too the unknown. The one thing I will say there is a certain amount for freedom knowing I can't be laid off because of someones irresponsible choices.

At 35 I went back to school and received my BS in Food Science from K-State in 1996 and then went on to receive my MS in Grain science also from Kansas State University. The one thing I would tell anyone changing is sometimes you must at the bottom regardless of your previous experience. Most employers do not give you credit for your life time of experience because they do not know how to compare it to recent grads, but regardless do what your heart tells you. At the end you will be happier. I know I am even though I am behind my peer group because I did not go into my field directly out of high school.

well I'm in my mid 20s, but it doesn't matter what you really do. If you don't know anyone in the industry, or you're not on the Dean's list, chances are, you will not get a good paying job :/

I have a Bachelors in finance, and have yet to get a job that deals with the subject. I got stuck as an office manager for 3 years now, and things are sure looking bright with 15 million unemployeed workers. this economy blows!

I am a 53 year old single mom of a teenager.I have been working as a sales rep in the telecommunications field for the last 7 years (since my divorce). Three years ago I went back to school (online) to obtain a Master's in Psychology which I will receive in two weeks!! I am looking for employment in that field but it is very difficult to make the switch from Telecom. It is an uphill battle to be sure.

I am trying to decide whether I sure go on for a PhD or do volunteer work in my spare time (lol) to get some experience in the field. I am certain about making the change...just uncertain as to how.

Congrats on your perserverance. I too am in the fab 50 club and went back for my masters in marriage family counseling at 51. It has been a long process, but I graduate in November. By the time I am able to take my state exams for licensing, I will probably be about 55. I am cool with that because through this process, I have learned so much about myself and feel great about beginning a new career in this stage of life, especially a career that I feel can really make a difference in someone elses life. Because of the economy and the many people that are educated now, it probably will be difficult to find work initially (I hear that about my career choice) but where there is a desire, the universe will make a way for it. Stay on your path and don't allow negative words and circumstances to knock you off course.

Wow. Lots of great ideas here. I am both impressed yet depressed on other levels. I am 46 years old and was laid off from a retail management position a year ago. Everyone is stating that going back to school is where its at,yet some people do and still don't find jobs. I have a son who is 16, and will be going to college soon, so any resources I have will go to him, not me. I have never collected unemployement in my life, and now here I am a year later with it about to run out, and still no job. Very disheartening when you are willing a nd able to work, yet can't. I trust God has a plan for me.

See comment number 79!

What about us old geasures thats 60 ish and don't want to just lie down and die . To start over,college etc would be impractical. I started a business 37 years ago and frankly I'm burned out. Something in medicine since my business is somewhat related would be great but how do I get there? I don't want to push patients around or do the laundry; my passion since college has been surgery. Surgical techs sometimes require extensive training etc. I don't need to make a lot of money I just want a change doing something I can get more personal satisfaction from.Any suggestions?

I went back to school to finish my MBA degree. I got one more test and a thesis to complete. I started the program online and should be finishing up in a year if I went back to school. I hesitate to finish my education because I currently work for an unemployment office, where I process unemployment claims. With the economy the way it is, I don't feel my degree would change anything. I have seen more people on unemployment struggling to pay their school loans. Why add another school loan, when you are in you mid life? I would rather same the money and create a "bucket list". I just hiked "angles landing" and encourage every one that is healthy to do so. You cannot take material things with you when you die. So why not create memories while you still can remember things!

My transformation came when I realized that at the age of 51, I didn't have any plan for retirement. Nothing. And with all the debt I had acquired from various life issues, I decided I needed to do something dramatic.
The answer came in the form of a postion that inspired me. I was working as a secretary for the local Radiation Regulatory Agency issuing tech licenses to xray techs and started thinking about what that job would be like.

Flexible work hours, opportunity for a "snowbird" lifestyle, and pretty good pay. After enrolling in the community college for the prerequisites I discovered that working as a Health Unit Coordinator while I'm on the 2 year waiting list for the Rad Tech program would enable me to leave my current job and enter the hospital environment more readily. I also discovered that I could spend one more year after obtaining my license and be a Radiation Therapist for an even better pay scale.
I've been so bored and frustrated with secretarial work. It's like a light came on and I see a really promising, more rewarding future ahead. The nurturer in me finally gets to come out to play. What a great decision!

I recently completed a movie "Garage Dwellers" that deals with this subject. I'm also trying to make a midlife career change from IT to movie making. Still working at it and don't plan to give up ever. I've been trying to make this change for over 10 years now and there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel, but in my heart I know it's going to happen. The recession and life's problems tried to keep us all down. But if we don't give up we'll eventually make it. Dreams don't have an expiration date; they take as long as it takes to accomplish them.

I chose to change careers in 2008, after being a cosmetologist for 25+ years. I was hurting my body more than could be fixed. I went back to school and got a certificate in PC specialist. I have been searching for work for 2 1/2 years. I can not get a job anywhere because I do not have experience. Have been to employment agencies and nothing. What can I do???

I'm 40 and currently working a fulltime job. I want to go back and get my PhD and teach at the college level. Any advice on how to do this since you have to quit working and work for the college living on the money they pay between $20K to $30K?

Online is not an option since most universities do not hire professors who receive their PhD online.

Thank you.

Mid-life career change is nowhere NEAR as "easy" as these people claim it is. For too many Americans, like myself, we were dumped, from jobs, when, as middle-age came on, we began having health concerns, just as our OWn parents did, before us. Thanks to modern labor, employers are, now, allowed to FIRE middle-aged workers, without facing prosecution. How? When a middle-aged person receives a doctors restriction note, the employer simply places the worker into a job, which directly VIOLATES the restriction. When the worker is un-able to perform the job, the employer FIRES the worker. To "cover" themselves, the employer makes a point of never telling the worker that, for the restriction to be legally binding, that the employer must SIGN, and DATE, atleast TWO copies, of the restriction note. One copy, for employee records, and one, for company files. So long as workers do NOT know about this law (in states such as Illinois), employers can violate workers health restrictions, then DENY any knowleedge that such restrictions ever existed. THIS is the nature of the modern work-force.

As for changing jobs, in Illinois, atleast, the state does NOT allow change of career. If one has been a janitor, for 20 years, this is the ONLY field which Illinois will consider placing the un-employed in. Re-training, is ONLY for TEENS, in Illinois. There is NO re-training money, for middle-aged people, in Illinois.

I do state that the facts, presented here, are true, and correct, with a full knowledge of the penalty for Perjury.

Werlcome to life, in Illinois.

I went back to school at 47 after finding myself unemployed. Although I already had a PhD, I entered a Master's program in the field of Medical Physics. Now, instead of making extremely boring and practically meaningless measurements on silicon wafers, I am part of a team that helps people fight cancer (I am also a cancer survivor). My wife has now returned to school full time to advance from a LPN to an RN.

i am on unemployment- cant find work as an technician, electrician, electronics tech-- been looking for work for a year now and no one will hire me because of my age-- not old enough to retire-- or collect ss. not sure what i will do now-- unemployed in rochester, ny----

I am a 59 y/o man who has been a field service tech/eng for over thirty years. Three years ago I was laid off from a national machine manufacture. Now I have a bad back and can no longer do what I did and loved for so long. I cannot find work of any kind and like a lot of folks I am in jeopardy of losing all that I have worked for. I would love to go back to school, but most of my time is spent just keeping the lights on. I have no Idea of what I want to do for a second career. The things that I would like to do I fear that I would not be able to because of medical problems. Any suggestions?

I have worked for 35 years and now unemployed- did electrical, electronic and mechanical work and cant find a job in rochester ny to save my life-- been trying hard and now giving up- money will run out, then what- have to make some kind of decision soon-- been on unemployment too long--- need a life change- they are not hiring because i am too old- age discrimination but try and prove it-- too young to retire---- too old to be hired-- life is a bitch---

I made the change to the Healthcare field after being in a family business for 20 years. Though the paycut hurts I wouldnt change a thing and am reminded I made the right move verytime I meet and overcome a new challenge.

At age 54, I’ve just completed my second career transition. With a degree in Geography, I had my dream job right out of college as a Cartographer (making maps) for the federal government. When my employer closed up shop and left town, I hired on with a telecom company and worked in IT for 20 years, though I’m not really an IT person. Laid off in 2009, for me it wasn’t as much of a “mid-life crisis,” thing, but more of a “what do I do now?” thing. The answer for me was that my passion is geography and mapping. So, I went back to school (ouch!), did a short internship, did a short stint as a contractor for the Gulf oil spill (ouch!), and now have a “Term” position with the government for a year as a Cartographer again, at a significant cut in pay, of course. I’m hoping that either my current job gets extended, or that I can get another permanent government job, because with 8 years of prior federal service, I could retire at 65, with 20 years, and get a full pension. The bottom line: it is tough starting over, and definitely a tough time for career transitions. So far, though, in my case it’s been worth it because I really enjoy my job now. I’ve trusted the Lord to guide me through this adventure and hope this is helpful for anyone caught in the same situation.

My husband went back to graduate school at the age of 42 after several job layoffs. We sold our house and moved - with our three children. My husband started out in School Guidence and Counseling then added School Psychology. After 3 years of going to school he got his Master's and a job as a School Psychologist. Those were three tough years for us - we we re living on my income - $21,000 a year. We downsized to nothing - the cars were paid for, no long distance, no cable, the kids got clothes only absolutely needed and we rented.

Forget the second career. Think you're too young to retire? Think again. The key is to watch your spending and save as much as you can so you can buy your freedom someday. I equate retired with being free. I lost my job in Oct 2008 after I had just turned 59. My employer offered to pay a firm to help me find another job but I decided to just retire instead. The only reason I was able to retire was because I never got sucked into a 30 year mortgage. I think this option would be open to more people if we simply could end exclusionary zoning so people could live where they want in a home they could afford. I bought a singlewide mobile home ($30,000 total including improvements I've made to it) but could only live in a mobile home park and pay a monthly lot rent. But that was so much more affordable than buying a regular site built home. The guy across the street paid $170,000 for his home and he paid $2,400 in annual property taxes. My lot rent came to $3,720 a year even though my home and lot was worth at most $37,500. So I was paying 7 times the property tax rate that he was paying. And the mobile home park was getting about a 50% return on their investment since I was actually paying enough lot rent every two years to buy the lot. When you figure out the price per square foot (lot was 26 ft by 60 ft) and extrapolate that to an acre the rate came out to $8,656 per acre per month. I lived in the mobile home park from Aug of 1991 to May of 2009. I figure I'd be about $45,000 better off today if I could've just bought a lot, put my singlewide mobile home on it and paid property taxes like everyone else. But I had saved a lot more money by doing this vs buying the home like the guy across the street did. He's got all that money locked up in a house. He thinks he owns that house but that house owns him. He's got that mortgage to pay every month which includes the cost of the home and all the interest. He's got to have property insurance. And ofcourse the property taxes. As I saved my money I started buying single premium immediate annuties (SPIA). So I got income for life. So when my job ended I had already bought two of those SPIAs. As soon as I turned 59.5 I bought a third SPIA with my 401K money. So I only pay income taxes on that money at year end when I file my income taxes. The income is low but instead of staying in that mobile home park I moved my singlewide to a place that allowed me to place it on a lot that I bought. The lot cost $12,500 and it cost $10,000 to move and place the home on the lot. Now I'm paying property taxes like everyone else and saving about $3,000 a year compared to what I was paying to the mobile home park. The employer that I worked at for about 20 years has a pension plan that I will elect to start collecting when I'm 65. I'll wait until I'm 70 to start collecting social security. The point I'm making here is that if we could just end exclusionary zoning then America would be a lot stronger because people would so much more financially secure and have so much more financial self determination. The company I worked at for over 20 years was purchased by another company. The new company let me go after 18 months. And I wasn't the only one. All those people who were locked into their expensive site built homes were sweating bullets. They didn't have the flexibility that I had. One guy from my first company actually was invited to work for the new company several years prior to the sale. He took the offer but after he got there the new company wanted to fire him. He had to go to court to keep his job. So by the time the new company bought my old company the new company had a policy that said they were an 'at will' company. They make no promise as to how long they will employ you. The company is free to terminate you at any time and you are free to leave at any time 'at will'. Anyway that poor guy sold his site built home in order to move to the new company and ofcourse bought another site built home. So I guess he felt so financially locked into his home that he decided to fight like hell to keep his job. So he's still working there in what must be hellish circumstances. When the new company first bought my old company I sent him an email to inquire how he was doing and he didn't even respond. I were kinda friendly at the old company. But after working for the new company for 18 months and then being let go I can understand why he didn't even bother to reply to my email. The new company is running a sweat shop. Man am I happy to be retired and free. So my advice is to look for a good employer. A bad employer can make any job very unpleasant for you. Once you are financially free then you might look at a second career with no worry about having to work. As for me 'all day long I biddy biddy bum' and I'm not even a rich man. LOL.

Reading the comments has helped me really focus on the decision that I've made recently. To make a change in my career. I am 51, and am a licensed childcare provider. Although working with children is very rewarding, it is extremely exhausting as well. I work with babies (6 wks to 3 yrs of age) and this line of work is taking it's toll. I went back to school as well to become a childcare provider since I had been laid off corp america in 2005, along with 100,000 other employees globally. I have been living in the US for 24 years now and love it! However, I now would love to see more of my family who all still live in Canada. Best scenario: 6 months in each country! That is my goal. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that I MUST start making my living online. Although I have NO marketing skills and only basic computer skills, I believe I can make this happen. I am fortunate that I can work on this while maintaining my current career. I'm giving myself a two year timeframe, and go from there.

To Diane: I say the sky is the limit regardless of age! Follow your dreams! Your health is already telling you that your doing the right thing!

here is a doozey. I want a career change and heading towards it but my spouse also has a career change but to spend more time with family. He is family man and I appreciate that but I am a go getter out of the box kind of person and always involved in something that changes things.