Who's successfully changed career later in life?

[Chris]

I've changed careers a few times. Army -> Teaching young offenders -> Online computer game customer support -> Software Testing -> Senior management in the software engineering world.

The first few of these were relatively easy given I was on low pay, single and didn't own a home. Now I am married, own a home and am on a decent salary. But I am not happy in what I do. Then again, I also don't really know what I DO want to do, other than I want it to be contributing to society in some way and not just sat at a desk.

Has anyone sacked off chasing the bigger bucks and completely changed career in your 30s or later to do something that actually makes you happy? What did you do? What challenges did you face?

 

[Pattree]

I went from forest labourer through various levels of arboriculture to Management Development but I’d had a background of training with both the Forestry Commission and agricultural sales training. Moving to trainer with the Road Transport Industry Training Board and then to my own business was straight forward even though I knew nothing about cars (and still don’t). I knew a lot about people. I was aided considerably by voluntary redundancy packages.

One of my daughters and my son in law set out with post graduate specialisms. Chloe was an engineering geologist and Dave (who married a different daughter!) specialised in river and coastal flow dynamics (I think). Both of them rose to a point where their specialism no longer mattered. They are both senior project managers. My daughter has moved around several engineering companies to get where she is. My son in law now works for a project management consultancy which has nothing to do with his original expertise.

Admittedly these changes are stages rather than leaps but later in life generalists beat specialists for mobility for sure.

Would you get a voluntary redundancy package?
Do you have good connections with your envisaged career?
Are you prepared to move?
Could you work from home? (thereby reducing costs.)
Could you start your own business/consultancy?

 

[oldtimer]

I went from working in local government where I was paid peanuts for working a five and a half day week and only ten days leave a year to train as a teacher. As a mature student, I got a grant which enough to pay a small mortgage which was handy as our first son was born then. We didn't lack for babysitters amongst my younger, female fellow students and it was fun being a student in the 60s. After qualifying I still got paid peanuts but the holidays were good. I also got support to up my qualifications which led to promotion and better pay. I've been living on my teacher's pension for the last 26 years, being paid for doing nothing : not to be sniffed at!

 

[Woody girl]

I did standard factory work for years. Never lasted long as I hated it, so usualy lasted about 9 months before boredom reared its ugly head, and I went in search of something else to do. Made a huge move across country, and worked in nightclubs for a while, which gave me a good bit of freedom during the day, but ened up sleeping most of it!
Then I got into working for small woodlands, restoring old woodland and loved being outside in all weather's and seeing the woods come to life again. Not well paid, but it was my happy place, so that made up for it. I've always been low waged, despite that, I managed twice to buy a house in my life. Now retired, and renting and free from repair worries.
Life was easier in the 70s, hate your job? Get another by the end of the week, homes were cheaper and it was easier to save a deposit and get a mortgage. (Both my houses were just under 20,00)
I never could consider a desk job. I hated being stuck inside on a lovely day. I'd happily live in a bender in the woods, and have done so. Luckily I didn't have children untill later in life, so was able to do what I did while young without the added responsibility of children.
Life might have been very different had it been otherwise.
I've never had a career as such, being homeless at 16 didn't give me much of an opportunity to study for anything. First priority was a job..any job that paid for a roof food transport and clothes, and hope to save a bit here and there.
I still don't have much money, but I'm free of many of life's pressures, as ive never felt the need for a TV , computer,or microwave and dishwasher to help me manage my life. I just keep on as I always have...a real old luddite and fossil of the 1st degree. But I'm happy.

 

[John Fenna]

I went from Outdoor Skills Instructor and Expedition Leader to Care Worker supporting Adult with Learning Disability to Iron Age Warrior (interpreting the Iron Age to tourists and schools at Castell Henllys Iron Age fort Pembrokeshire ... with side lines in Outdoor journalism (mainly gear reviews and walking/cycling routes), Clothing Designer (Craghoppers, Snowdon Clothing, Climbing 4 and others), leather and wood crafter .... and more.
I initially trained as a "Computer Programmer" but hated the work and quit after 12 months in the job...

 

[TeeDee]

Has anyone sacked off chasing the bigger bucks and completely changed career in your 30s or later to do something that actually makes you happy? What did you do? What challenges did you face?

I think some people are giving great reports of change but maybe missing Chris main question - has your training and retraining made you happier?

Chris - feel for you you - In the same boat. But equally I count my blessings.

 

[Megatramp]

I've never chased money, only experience and been lucky enough to get away with it so far. I can't stand being indoors so I always look for opportunities for outdoor employment and that way it doesn't seem like a chore to me. I also have many, many sidelines.

The Mrs. on the other hand went to university, worked for the EA and became technical director for several food manufacturing companies which she enjoyed the benefits of but not the actual process. She left it all behind 10 years ago, and been happier for it, and is now a carer which she finds very rewarding.

Work takes up a lot of most folks' lives and if they're not happy there, it'll affect other aspects.

I think, providing it doesn't leave you and you're family penniless/homeless, opportunities are there that you can't even comprehend whilst you're comfortable in your current job.

 

[TeeDee]

I've changed careers a few times. Army -> Teaching young offenders -> Online computer game customer support -> Software Testing -> Senior management in the software engineering world.

The first few of these were relatively easy given I was on low pay, single and didn't own a home. Now I am married, own a home and am on a decent salary. But I am not happy in what I do. Then again, I also don't really know what I DO want to do, other than I want it to be contributing to society in some way and not just sat at a desk.

Has anyone sacked off chasing the bigger bucks and completely changed career in your 30s or later to do something that actually makes you happy? What did you do? What challenges did you face?

I will probably get somewhat flamed for this ( and maybe rightly so..) for this view but I do think there exists an inherent pressure felt on one side of the gender fence still once we have enter a serious long term relationship committed to an anticipated future together. Its , optimistic and idealistic to say ' do what makes you happy - one life ' and I wish that was easy to live by, however the cost of living crisis , imposed financial requirements and demands do exist ( or maybe only exist if you let them?)

I guess what I relate to it the " The first few of these were relatively easy given I was on low pay, single and didn't own a home. Now I am married, own a home and am on a decent salary."

When you are on your own - I think we know we are purely and solely accountable for our experience of life. When we choose or take that step to cojoin with another in that pursuit I do feel there are implied expectations and pressures.

 

[Chris]

I've never chased money, only experience and been lucky enough to get away with it so far. I can't stand being indoors so I always look for opportunities for outdoor employment and that way it doesn't seem like a chore to me. I also have many, many sidelines.

The Mrs. on the other hand went to university, worked for the EA and became technical director for several food manufacturing companies which she enjoyed the benefits of but not the actual process. She left it all behind 10 years ago, and been happier for it, and is now a carer which she finds very rewarding.

Work takes up a lot of most folks' lives and if they're not happy there, it'll affect other aspects.

I think, providing it doesn't leave you and you're family penniless/homeless, opportunities are there that you can't even comprehend whilst you're comfortable in your current job.

Would you mind giving an example of what sort of outdoor jobs there are? I haven't had much exposure to that side of things beyond the obvious ones like builder or park rangers or such. And even those seem to require years of training or qualifications for entry level jobs these days.

 

[Kepis]

I worked in the aerospace industry for over 20 years, firstly gaining an engineering apprenticeship at the local airfield working on stuff like Pitts Specials & Extra 230's, then moving onto working at a big Flight Simulator company, then i moved to working in the aircraft spares industry (commercial & military spares) where i stayed for about 20 years and only worked for two companies in all that time, went all over the world with the second one who were a specialist distributor rather than a general spares broker.

I left in 2010 with a view to working for a competitor but it didn't work out, so i set up my own small outdoor business and spent ten years working for myself visiting schools, conservation groups etc and doing outdoor shows and Church fetes where i demoed green woodworking, i also ran a number of short courses teaching people things like spoon & bowl carving, ash gate hurdle making and stuff like that.

During the late autumn to spring when course work declined, i worked in forestry for the local landed gentry and also helped a mate with his tree surgery business.

On top of that i also worked as the Fishery Manager for a local complex of private fishing lakes & ponds.

I've always been self motivated, disciplined and do tend to push myself hard (something the physios etc have noted on my record when i was in hospital, always trying to do too much) and having the experience of working on my own a lot and the discipline you need to do that,, setting up my own business wasn't that difficult, i had the drive to do it and i knew that initially it was going to be hard work whilst i got established, and just as i got established i got hit with multiple medical issues and am now medically retired.

When i left the aerospace game to set up on my own it was a massive drop in income and i lost a lot of things like private healthcare, corporate jaunts to things like the British Grand Prix, world travel at someone elses expense etc, but i was happy, i left all the stress, office politics and associated BS of working for a large corporation (of which we were just a small cog), sure there was still stress to deal with, like "how am i going to pay for that?", but i had made sure i had put a sizable chunk of money away so i could support myself and any stress i had to deal with was one heck of lot less than that imposed by corporate America and easy to deal with, i knew i had made the right decision when my sister turned round one day and said she had her brother back.

Good times and a good life, which i hope to get back to after the next three surgeries.

 

[Chris]

I will probably get somewhat flamed for this ( and maybe rightly so..) for this view but I do think there exists an inherent pressure felt on one side of the gender fence still once we have enter a serious long term relationship committed to an anticipated future together. Its , optimistic and idealistic to say ' do what makes you happy - one life ' and I wish that was easy to live by, however the cost of living crisis , imposed financial requirements and demands do exist ( or maybe only exist if you let them?)

I guess what I relate to it the " The first few of these were relatively easy given I was on low pay, single and didn't own a home. Now I am married, own a home and am on a decent salary."

When you are on your own - I think we know we are purely and solely accountable for our experience of life. When we choose or take that step to cojoin with another in that pursuit I do feel there are implied expectations and pressures.

It's absolutely true that when my decisions only impacted me, I was able to take more risk and just up and move across the country, which I did for each of these job changes. Now I have a family (albeit my wife and dog with no kids, still my family) to provide for and look after, it literally wouldn't be viable for me to take a minimum wage job, for example, without losing our home. I could do a minimum wage job for a year or two and supplement it with savings if it meant afterwards I could get paid a bit more, but we're not able to afford for me to have a minimum wage job in the long term for example. I also consider things like Death in Service benefits - knowing that my wife would get a chunk of money to ensure her wellbeing in the event I suddenly drop dead gives me some comfort.

Although I am not yet supposed to know, I am soon to find myself 'looking for another opportunity'. Which has prompted me to decide whether I stick with the money in the hope that I can live a life fulfilled by using money to buy some freedom to offset the drudgery of desk work (which it does, it opens doors), or whether there are opportunities to live a more financially humble life doing something that I feel is worthwhile, whilst also not losing my house and putting my family at risk. Hearing from other people who've done this is my hope.

 

[TeeDee]

It's absolutely true that when my decisions only impacted me, I was able to take more risk and just up and move across the country, which I did for each of these job changes. Now I have a family (albeit my wife and dog with no kids, still my family) to provide for and look after, it literally wouldn't be viable for me to take a minimum wage job, for example, without losing our home. I could do a minimum wage job for a year or two and supplement it with savings if it meant afterwards I could get paid a bit more, but we're not able to afford for me to have a minimum wage job in the long term for example. I also consider things like Death in Service benefits - knowing that my wife would get a chunk of money to ensure her wellbeing in the event I suddenly drop dead gives me some comfort.

Although I am not yet supposed to know, I am soon to find myself 'looking for another opportunity'. Which has prompted me to decide whether I stick with the money in the hope that I can live a life fulfilled by using money to buy some freedom to offset the drudgery of desk work (which it does, it opens doors), or whether there are opportunities to live a more financially humble life doing something that I feel is worthwhile, whilst also not losing my house and putting my family at risk. Hearing from other people who've done this is my hope.

I think like looking for a nice home to live it - its may start with a tickbox lists of 'musts' but experience shows it can become more about finding a middle ground of acceptable compromises..

If you can feel like you re-balance the life grind vs enjoyment with activities outside of work and can and want to stick with it ( some wages are hard to move away from.. ) then I guess that is a third option of sorts.

From my own experience I've found myself happiest on the dirtiest , most manual , sometimes physically exhausting jobs with no ' real ' prospects. Money - not great , but a good banter , good vibe and no requirement to over think or stress whilst on the job. Maybe later thoughts of , "is this enough? shouldn't I be pushing to be more" etc ...

Most unhappy working in Aviation engineering. Reasonable money - real benefit being shiftwork so working less than half the years. Stressful , lots of egos and McManagers to deal with.


I don't think I could at any point allow myself to ( speaking about only Me ) tell my partner I want to pack X in and do something more basic and Its only going to have this much salary connected to it. I just feel too much responsibility to give myself the required internal permission.

If I was by myself - divorce , death , etc - I probably only could then.

 

[nigelp]

......

 

[nigelp]

I hit return too soon above so some additional words!
My biggest take away is that life is too short and if you are not happy in what you do then don’t do it. Make a change if you can, while you can.

 

[Mesquite]

I started off as a groundsman looking after various sports facilities up to county level for 23 years.

I then left that and worked for the probation service for 13 years as a project mananger sourcing and monitoring community service projects for offenders before I was made redundant.

Spent a year seeking employment before I took on the job of a project supervisor for a benefits return to work organisation. That was the worst 2 years and I hated it. I was so glad when I was made redundant from that.

After 4 months on the dole I landed a job with the Evironment Agency on the waste regulation team where I still am 8 years later. I can truthfully say that my current job is the best I've ever had and have no plans on changing it.

 

[Megatramp]

Would you mind giving an example of what sort of outdoor jobs there are? I haven't had much exposure to that side of things beyond the obvious ones like builder or park rangers or such. And even those seem to require years of training or qualifications for entry level jobs these days.

Whilst the title of park ranger no longer exists in my district, the work still needs doing and that is what I'm lucky enough to do. My path started many moons ago with a LANTRA chainsaw ticket for a felling contract. That lead to me volunteering with the BTCV which was great experience and stood me well for my latest job. I am blessed.

But in between I've had other jobs that suit my need for experience.

 

[oldtimer]

Our elder son always knew what he wanted to when he grew up. Through hard work and ability he rose from unpaid volunteer to a senior position in one of the largest international charities, travelling all over the world. He is now a charity consultant. He's not rich but well respected in his field.

Our younger son always knew what he didn't want to do when he grew up. After a few useful but low paid jobs working for numpties he realised that he didn't like working for a boss and decided to be his own boss. After starting, building up and then selling on a few small businesses, he moved to Spain where he bought a piece of land which he runs as a conservation charity funded by hosting social events, conferences and workshops. He grows most of his own food. He has a lot of friends all over Europe.

Although their career paths have been totally different, they are both happy and have achieved an enviable work/life balance.

 

[Tengu]

I found a job late in life, get paid to socialise, muck around and make things. (Stuff I do naturally)

As I am Autistic, Society wants me chained to a computer (and kept away from people and sharp things)

Do you think AI will come for my job?

 

[Paul_B]

I can't say I changed careers so much as morphed it into something else over 2 plus decades. I went into an SME as a tech support engineer. Not an engineer in real terms just a dogbody who did techie stuff like lab and microscope work through eventually doing everything from designing products, prototyping, costing an element of procurement and buying, technical sales, some IT support backup to things in production to quality inspections and assurance.

The last part of my job got me experience in quality assurance enough to go from small co to big co. That for me was a huge change. It was not so much a career change but a culture change. I went from a company without a training budget to a company that practically threw training at you. A huge culture change in that small co everything had to be done and sorted quickly in terms of quality (automotive sector) to large engineering company where the minimum amount of time to get things done could be 6 months plus!!!

Am I happy now? I would say yes at times. Work is rarely all rosy and bright. There will always be good and bad with any career. Oh WOW1 I used the career word!! For me I felt I had no career just a job and no future. This new job is a career now with potential for a better future (although it is almost double my previous pay so is already a better future). So I guess that makes me happy.

What also makes me happy is the way they are enligtened at my current place of work. By that I mean they are very much into DE&I. This is as I realised is more important to me not least because I was diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year and have reasonable adjustments in place through a document that follows me if I move to another role. I have a more flexible and hybrid working than most of my colleagues. Instead of 4 days on site I can have less. I also have other adjustments too with more if I feel I need them (still working out things so no idea if I will need more). So I guess that does not completely make me happy but it is close.

I think the culture of an employer company is so very much important to me. This one is good. There is a thing about responsibility and integrity in the company behaviour of colleagues. That is written down in the corporate blurb but at my site it is practically universal. I mean they have pedestrian crossings and walkways on the site. No barriers to stop you crossing the road where you want but it is amnazing how people actively go out of their way to use those crossings then double back to where they are going on the other side. It is completely unusual in how there is this behaviour that rules are followed and people are holding themselves to a higher standard than I have ever been used to in workplaces.

As I said, I have undergone a huge change in culture with my last change in jobs and employer. I think that is what makes me most happy. Of course they are not perfect, there is another business unit that is closer and if it wasn't across the country I might have tried to get into there. I have this new outlook that I can do things, that I can change roles (they have a 1 year rule between changing roles) and I can perhaps move on up in responsibility, pay, experience and knowledge. Plus I am halfway to becoming chartered I now have letters after my name for the field I am in. Not that it matters but as a kid I wanted to become a chartered engineer. Not going to happen but I can become chartered in another field now. That is my goal before I retire.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Am I happier? This is the key part to my answer.

Yes, 100% percent.

I worked my way up through the health and social care sector, worked with pretty much every client group (apart from forensic/fully secure units). When the dreaded 'vid hit I was eyeball deep in managing units, was earmarked for all sorts of fancy sounding job titles but inside I was slowing dying, all the clichés are applicable, work ate into my life, sneaking email checks on personal phone etc.

I realised the writing was on the wall and resigned with 0 plan (not the first time),
I sank some of my savings into training which also scratched my "wasted opportunity at education" itch (otherwise known as drinking, smoking and chasing ladies).
I've trained in wilderness therapeutic interventions as well as intuitive life coaching.

since then I've made my money with a combination of agency work (first stage) PA support for adults (self employed) youth mentor with a friends company, worked with disengaged youths in an alternative provision, and I coach those with burnout or preburnout- they say do what you know.

All of these still make use of my skill set, allow me far more autonomy as to who I work with and when I work, as well as allowing me to follow my own set of ethics without compromising them because my code didn't agree with the companies.


I've done this with the full support from lady of Tanith and Son of Tanith has had it demonstrated that Dad prioritised his family over a job, hopefully a lesson that will stay with him.

This change also allowed me to be available when my father sickened without needing to ask/beg for time off, and when he died last August not only was I there for his final moments, I was able to take the entire month off work to grieve as well as support my mother, sister, wife and son through it.


Has it been stress free? Absolutely not
Had it been satisfying so far? Definitely.
Do I think I could take a contract to work for someone else? Highly unlikely

I do know I haven't considered the merits of "just a small car accident to get a bit of a break since I made the move, I've not missed anything for my son because I've been at work and this to me is far more important than hitting a KPI for the company so the director can drive a slightly fancier car.