Ask the Readers | Second Careers
Hi Kristen! Have you ever done a general Q&A post about second careers? Your stories about nursing school have me wondering what other careers people have transferred to later in life. I’ve been a SAHM, and out of the workforce for awhile, but now that my kids are all school age, I’d like to take advantage of my extra time to do something fulfilling and add to the household income.
-Jen
I don't think we've ever discussed this here, at least not specifically.
I love this topic, though! I'll share a few thoughts and then open it up for discussion.
In midlife, you've still got time
Sometimes we think the career path we chose at 18-22 years old is the one we have to stick with for our whole lives.
But the truth is that an average lifespan leaves a lot more time to pivot than we think.
Take me, for example. I taught piano lessons for almost 20 years (I started when I was 14), I was a paid church musician for 10 years, and I've been blogging for over 16 years.
(Obviously, those jobs overlapped each other.)
Plus, I raised four kids and homeschooled them all from kindergarten through high school.
Even with all of that, though, I've still got time for another career.
Years ago, I used to say, "Oh, if I had another lifetime, I'd become a labor and delivery nurse." And at some point I realized, I would sort of have a second lifetime available to me, because I was only going to be 45 when Zoe graduated from high school!
So, here I am, planning to graduate with my RN in May, at the age of 47.
People say to me, "Oh, I think I'm just too old to go to nursing school." and yes, I am usually one of the oldest people in my class. But I really, really don't think this degree is going to be a waste because (assuming an average lifespan) I still have time!
Even if I retire at age 65, this graduation date gives me 18 years to practice nursing if I want.
That is not an insignificant amount of time, but somehow we tend to write off those 18 years, while thinking the 18 years from age 22-40 are more significant.
On a related note:
The years will pass no matter what you do
If I said to myself, "Ugh, well, I will already be 47 by the time I have my degree! That's so old to be starting out in a career.", I might not have started school.
But if I didn't go back to school, I'd still be turning 47 this year; the only difference is that I wouldn't have an RN degree to my name.
So, I'm glad I started. Time passes either way!
You get to pick a second career with your adult brain
One of the very nice things about picking a career as an adult is that...your brain is fully developed. You know more about life and you also know more about yourself, which is so helpful.
When I was 18, I would not have picked nursing as a career, so if I'd completed college back then, I'd be holding a degree my 46-year-old self doesn't want!
But since I'm getting a degree later in life, I'm able to pick exactly what current-me wants to do.
You get to bring soft skills into a second career
To state the obvious, I'm getting basically the same scientific/practical nursing education I'd have gotten if I went to school for this degree in my 20s (with the caveat that medical science is always updating, so things change in that sense.)
But a big advantage of going into nursing at my age is that I've got a bunch of soft skills now, the type you accumulate just by living life.
Compared to my 20-year-old self, I have more interpersonal skills, more time management skills, and I bring lots of life experience as well. I'm just a more well-rounded individual at this point, and I think that is going to make me more valuable at work.
In midlife, your career choice can be less about money
When we are just starting out as adults, money is necessarily a big driver when it comes to career choice.
But when you pivot to a new career later in life, you often have more financial wiggle room. And when that's true, you can choose a career more for the love of it than for the money.
___________________
And now I want to hear from you:
Tell us about your second career experiences/plans!
Tips? Advice? Dos/don'ts? Tell us.
I like this idea! Mine is more of a pivot—I taught for 7 years and then back to school at 30 to become a speech therapist. I still work in the school setting, so I use a lot of the skills from my teaching “toolbox.” It’s been a great decision as it allowed me to work part time when my kids were small.
Even at (almost) 45, I still dream about other jobs I’d like to try! Chiefly, travel-related or a librarian!
Isn’t it wonderful that we have time to pivot multiple times in a lifetime?
@Lauren, I’m a speech therapist too but in the medical setting. I’ve been doing it full time, part time, and per diem for 30 years. I’m ready for a pivot but haven’t decided into what….
@Lauren, I first read your last line as a “traveling librarian”. It made me think of those old photos of horse drawn carriages filled with books, bringing the library to people in more rural areas. I guess the modern day equivalent would be a book mobile.
@JenRR,
I grew up so rural that we did have a traveling librarian and a traveling library. The bookmobile would drive around parking in various lots so you could borrow books.
It was a lifeline from the boredom and isolation and such a wonderful idea. I do wonder what kinda gas mileage it got, loaded with books!
@Lauren,
My second career was working as an SLP in the public schools starting at the age of 40. I throughly enjoyed it and retired recently after 18 years. My original degree was in animal science. I will have to say I think I found my true calling with my second career.
@Lauren,
Being a librarian would be my third career if I decide to work part time in retirement. I became an accountant at the age of 20. Work in retail & investment banking and government. Became an RN at age 45. Practiced for 7 years and back to being an accountant due to family circumstances. We'll never know what the future brings but it's great to have goals.
@Lauren, In our state, they'll hire anyone with a master's degree as a school librarian. There may be a small bit of training or test-taking involved, but if you have the degree, I'm told it is easy to get in. (Sadly, I only have a bachelor's.) With your teaching experience, it should be a breeze.
@Lauren, I've thought that being a school librarian could end up being my dream job later on. I love systematic organization, love reading to children, and love helping kids pick out books!
@Lisa, and @Lauren,
I'm a hospital dietitian, and the speech therapists I work with are worth their weight in gold! Thank you for what you do. I do understand the desire for a career pivot, though.
@Liz B., Thanks so much! It's a privilege to come alongside folks and help with their communication skills.
@Ruth T, Me, too!! It's a passion of mine, especially after living overseas in a country with only private libraries. Public libraries for the win. Such a precious resource. My kids are now recommending books to me, which is a very fun stage as a reader and a as a mom.
@Fru-gal Lisa, oooh, thanks for the tip!
@Lucy, 100%. Just dreaming, for sure, but fun to think about.
@Barb, that's so encouraging to hear! Your students are lucky to have worked with you! I think it's a great career. I learn something every day!
@JenRR, 100%. Maybe that should be my dream third career, haha. It will fill both boxes. Have you ever read "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek"? It's a tough story at points, inspired by historical book women (and men). Definitely a great read.
@Lauren, I agree! It's such a good book!
@ms.b214@gmail.com, I loved the book mobile. It came to our rural school, which did not have a library. The van probably got about two miles to a gallon in those Arab oil crisis days, but it was so beautifully outfitted with wooden shelves and smelled like books. It would be great to recreate that look for a van to live in.
@Liz B., ditto, and good hospital dieticians are worth their weight in gold, as well!
@Lauren, speaking as someone who became a medical librarian at 40, I highly support this dream! Go for it!
I'm going to be very interested in reading other people's answers to this. I have never been career- or job-driven, in that I actually do not want to work outside my home. I have, of course, and still do, but those are more jobs that sort of found me, or I more or less fell into. I've never once considered going back to school for anything, and I have no career aspirations in my 40s that I didn't have in my 20s. I am a homemaker, have always been no matter what paid job I have had, and hope to always be. I would just like to be a homemaker that doesn't work outside my home anymore. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, do you think you would like to work outside of the home when your children have all flown the nest?
@Victoria, Probably not in a regular job. I just don't like having a boss and expectations, I suppose. It's the rebel in me. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, I can relate to that. I’m an introverted homebody.
@kristin @ going country, I once tried working a "regular job," and I lasted precisely two months. (Good thing, too, because I would have murdered my supervisor if I'd gotten the chance.) But through connections I'd made while doing free-lance copyediting, I fell into the job of my dreams: full-time, on-staff telecommuting. The Age of Miracles may be over, but it lasted long enough for me to snag that one. If something turns up for you that works for your maverick tendencies, think about it.
And in retirement, I seem to have found two callings: (1) volunteer proofreading/copyediting for JASNA, and (2) being a volunteer geriatric social worker. As DH used to say, "It's a full life we lead, if not necessarily a remunerative one."
@kristin @ going country, it might be good to come up with a tentative plan for your life when your kids are gone. My mom was a SAHM and really lost her purpose, especially after my dad died youngish. You have more gumption than my mom, so you’ll probably cope just fine, becoming a self-employed advisor to others struggling with a career of homemaking. I’m with you in hating the idea of being an employee, subject to the whims of a boss, who is usually dumber and lazier than me. Major ugh.
@kristin @ going country,
I feel the same though I am lucky enough to be able to be at home. I always found I didn't suffer fools gladly.
@auntiali, I have an Anne Taintor magnet on my fridge: "I don't suffer fools gladly...but I do gladly make fools suffer." 😀
@A. Marie, I love that! Lol!!
@kristin @ going country, From what I can tell, you are most excellent at homemaking and you wear the title proudly (which I find very refreshing since homemaker is a frequently maligned title/occupation!) You are a role model for contentment. We should all be so lucky!
@A. Marie, “It’s a full life we lead, if not necessarily a remunerative one.” Love that!!
@A. Marie,
Oh, I love that quote!
I will copy that for my fridge!
@A. Marie,
Congratulations on finding work you can do independently and enjoy.
The good news today is that there are far more opportunities to work independently and to create second jobs (YouTube, Blogging, etc. albeit requiring skills, commitment and work but doable based on one's own experience, skills and interests. Just see what's out there online. So much diversity.)
The reality is when you work, whether volunteer or paid, you have a "boss" albeit with a different name in the case of one's own business: That is, the customer. That was the biggest change when I went from a so-called (but not) stable corporate world position to being an independent contractor doing different work in different industries. (It was, in the end, more demanding than working full time in the corporate world, but...I had the power to say Yes or No to potential clients (and, of course, deal with what that meant in terms of my free time, income, etc. ) and that was the freedom I sought, albeit at a price. But still more rewarding
I think what we both have issues with is poor management and unskilled management being the "bosses" or leaders that seem to populate organizations of any size. I've worked with and for some brilliant people (few and far between alas, and they, too left the corporate world because they wearied of dealing with the less than competent that they had to compensate for / in other words, doing the boss' job and not getting paid or acknowledged as such).
I have always been bent on getting things done and, for most, but not all, this is why you get hired as an outside contractor: Get it done. Our staff couldn't, now you do it. Not easy and has its own issues, but infinitely preferable to climbing the corporate ladder.
FYI: It's my belief that men or women who are in the home, are actually unpaid workers who make daily life work for so many others (spouses, kids, neighbors, etc) . Some folks still act as if a mom or dad who stays home to raise kids, etc. is not working. Given what it takes on a daily basis to run a functioning family and house/home, these individuals are often working longer and harder than any job outside the home. Women in particular often have a hard time when they go job hunting after dedicating themselves to raising their kids and running the household to convince people to hire them because they, themselves, don't value their own contributions over the years.
When I was growing up, pretty much every woman was in the home (if the family could afford for her not to work). They were some of the busiest people I knew, between monitoring their kids' education (oh the PTA and other meetings; having to make and sell stuff for the schools! The car pooling, the after school classes, the scheduling of doctors' appointments and the zillion other things for their kids and their spouse/partner (cars and homes maintained; paperwork for all kinds of financial stuff, dealing with finding and hiring vendors). These moms were more experienced in the skills needed for all kinds of jobs than the many degree-owning folks who had the jobs.
So, just saying, never underestimate what you know and your experience as you seek to transition from SAHM to employed OUTSIDE the home (You were always employed, albeit with a traditional salary) .
Reminds me of the story from decades ago of a woman who was the wife of a prominent CEO and when he sought divorce, she got a sensational lawyer who listed all that she had done over the years (Including vast amounts of entertaining that was part of her husband's job but that he had nothing to do with other than supplying a guest list) in the house and attached a value for each of the items. What became clear was that she had created the lifestyle that had enabled him to focus solely on his work and to raise in the ranks. She got some serious cash and I remember that I was like: YES. You deserve it.
As the writer of this query to Kristen, I'd say: Think long and hard and list all that you've been doing in your home with the house, your spouse/partner and the kids and translate that into the skills and experience that you can take elsewhere.
Think about what you do that gives you joy, no matter how hard. Think about the compliments people have given you directly and indirectly over the years. Think about any volunteer work you've done. These should give you clues as to where you are comfortable and enjoying yourself and can lead you to exploring other opportunities, either with you creating your own business (My sister in law, at my urging, began to offer paid services to educate other parents with children on the autism spectrum, on how to navigate for their children to get the care they needed, to understand where to go for help and related issues. She was smarter than anyone with an MA or PA she encountered, mainly because she was raising a child on the autism spectrum and had first hand knowledge. Perhaps do the same with a similar skill you have acquired over the years? Think about who you go to in the "Mother" network, including yourself, to get info...
Whatever you do, do not undervalue your work experience while working, unpaid, in your home.
@JenRR,
Same here! If I could pivot into a work from home librarian job, that would be my dream job. 🙂
@A. Marie,
I adore Anne Taintor's creations!!
@Irena,
"Men or women who are in the home are actually unpaid workers who make other people's life so much easier and actually work...."
Exactly! I always compared our home to Cape Canaveral - if it is not taken care off properly any rocket/missile launch will fail.
@Irena, Thank you for that. (I’m the writer)
@A. Marie, on-staff, full time telecommuting still exists. That's what I do. Some companies have chosen to die on the RTO hill, smarter ones are not. Some have RTO if you live within x miles of a "hub".
I absolutely, when I was in my twenties, never thought I could/should go to nursing school. The #1 reason was I thought I was horrible at math. And because I thought I was horrible at math, I hated math because it made me think I was stupid because I wasn't good at math like my brother. Very logical. In retrospect, I had really bad teachers, who resented that I need more help than my brother had in math. One literally said to me, "I'm not going to help you; you should be able to understand this, you're X's little sister."
Well. Years of teaching elementary math to my kids, plus being married to a guy who is good at math and explaining it, seem to have helped a lot. You can always learn. A lot of people think they're too "old" to learn new things, but that's just not so.
100% agreed on the effects of teaching math to your children! Getting four kids from kindergarten math to high school senior math was a serious education for me. Ha.
And I forgot to mention that after getting a bachelor's in psychology and a master's in English, I think I've picked up plenty of "soft skills" to help. And I don't regret taking that path; both of those have helped me in homeschooling my kids!
Plus, I think life experience helps so much with soft skills!
@Karen A.,
Same experience. Family of engineers and a high school full of aspiring engineers. I was told I was just lazy.
Fast forward to a new thankfully urban area, and the school system was thrilled at the amount of math I had in high school.
They convinced me to take an equivalency test which I amazingly passed with a tutor. I taught math for 20 years and even ran my own tutoring business in math.
I admit my anger at those teachers has not abated much. But I used it to drive my teaching and make sure no kid EVER felt like that again.
Ridiculous side note coming. Years later, I found out my sister had gone to school with my math teacher and turned him down for prom. I suspect it wasn't my abilities causing the issue:-(
Oh the joys of being a menopause baby when all of your teachers were the age of your siblings!
@ms.b214@gmail.com, What a success story! On behalf of another formerly beleaguered math student, thank you for being a great teacher. That math teacher was incredibly unprofessional to allow his issues to affect how he taught.
@Karen A.,
My son - now almost 15 - struggled with math from first grade through maybe 4th grade. We got him tutoring, and that did help, but I think somewhere along the line he was told "you're not good at math", or he internalized that sentiment. He also had undiagnosed ADHD during those early school years, which may have been part of it, too (and his 3rd grade teacher in particular was not a good fit for him. She definitely played favorites, and he was not one of them). Years later, he does very well in math, though it is not a favorite subject. Having a good teacher makes such a difference.
I don't know that I'll have an opportunity to take on a second career. I'm 49 and my youngest will turn 9 in a month, so we have a ways to go yet to shepherd kids into adulthood. The exact right thing will have to present itself to make that shift desirable between now and age 58, and similar afterwards.
In hindsight, young me should probably have gone into something that blends actual products and math, perhaps architecture, or welding/engineering. It is OK to admire from over here, though.
Meanwhile, to riff on the question, my particular interest in this is people who choose or are called to ministry as a second career. So many pastors of my acquaintance are later in life and did some other thing first — sales, or administration, or social work, or whatever. I think it makes them better as pastors, frankly.
@Karen., assuming you live to 95, and your kid is out of the house by 20, you'll have plenty of time left to do something you enjoy. Maybe start thinking about it now. Do something today your future self will thank you for.
@Karen., I had a dear friend whose father was president of a huge company in the Northeast. When he retired, he became an Episcopal priest. He was wonderful! Sadly, both he and his daughter have passed on, but they made the world a better place while they were here.
@Karen.,
One of the editors at my first newspaper ended up as a pastor. But to get her seminary training and support her family, she worked the night shift at our newspaper Tuesday-Saturday (? think it was), took early morning classes at a divinity school 100 miles away M-F, preached Sunday mornings at rural churches....all this while having young children to care for. Her classes got out at noon and she reported to work at 2 p.m., always on time, having eaten a sandwich lunch in the car en route. Her husband was a huge help to her; he was disabled so he became a stay-at-home daddy. She tape-recorded the lectures and played them in her car while driving those long distances, and she somehow got a big academic award for being the most dedicated/accomplished/promising student. I don't know how she did it because just hearing about her schedule tired me out! She was a master at time management!
@Karen.,
My former priest felt called to the ministry after he finished being a Navy Seal then a successful businessman.
@Fru-gal Lisa,
This dedication is an example of what many men and women do as they pivot to something else in their lives. Sacrifice is involved and sometimes it is not possible because of financial and other commitments. There is a cost involved in change and the reason so many can make those sacrifices is that they value their lives and know that change is a necessity.
I firmly believe that the "late in life" students, for example, are far more committed to learning and growing and improving themselves in order to get a different/better job or career.
Think about so many kids in college today. So many just go to party and hardly study. Many graduate, barely, with no real knowledge and no real skills (and yet so many expect a starting job at $100,ooo and up a year. Seriously.)
Awhile ago, I attended night school classes (particular area to enhance my portfolio) and was amazed at the dedication of the folks in class, who came straight from work for three to four hours of class and lab. Very little absenteeism (although a lot of clearly tired folks!) unlike the rates for the college day students in the same classes!
Our lives will most likely be longer than those who came before us and very few people who retire (if they can even afford it), still want something to occupy their time and keep involved in their communities.
It's a lot of work sometimes to find what inspires and motivates us to learn, grow and change ourselves to live more productive and enjoyable lives. Today especially so much volunteer help is needed (and if you look at so many volunteers, they are people still working full time. It just matters so much to them to be able to help.)
When you want work, you'll find it. No matter the age.
And more and more, we are, finally , dropping some forms of ageism.
To me, I didn't think twice when Kristen wanted to become a nurse. It was like: Yea, she wants to do this. Great.
I challenged myself to become a lifeguard at the age of 49. It started with myself admiring the older guards at the pool I swim at. Then it turned into I wanted to get in shape. Following this, I challenged myself to take the certification course and I passed. Now, I work part-time as a lifeguard, in addition to my first job as a school nurse. Passing the lifeguard certification course was so tough as an older person, but I did it. It challenges me to keep in shape as I age into my 50's.
@Michelle, How inspiring! I love this.
@Michelle, that is jaw-droppingly admirable! Not many women would choose a career that requires wearing a swimsuit in public, much less chase fitness and certification to that degree.
@Michelle, I love your story.
@Michelle, That is wonderful! It was hard to become a lifeguard and WSI at 20. Well done, you!
@Michelle, Huzzah!!! Huge smiles over here
OOf! My pivot was at age 32, when with a 4 year degree I was still unable to make much more than minimum wage. With a 1 yr old and 3 yr old I went to community college for Radiography. I said to my mother, but I'll be 34 when I finish in 2 years! She said, how old will you be if you don't? I've now been an X-Ray tech for 30 years, and had two more kids. My job in the medical world has allowed me to do so many things for my family and my own future. And my prior life experience and BA greatly enhanced my life, enriching it to the benefit of my current career.
Side note: the medical field is FULL of people who have started "later" in life. Never stop learning.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, I like your mother's response.
@Gina from The Cannary Family,
I remember reading in one of the old-time newspaper advice columns - maybe it was Ann Landers - someone had written in to her, asking if they "should" go back to school and get a degree, because they'd be {x older age} by the time they graduated. Ms. Lander's response was similar: you'll still be {x older age} whether you go to school or not. That has stuck with me all these years!
This reminds me of what I regularly tell young women, particularly engaged or newly married women about being a stay at home mom: it doesn’t have to be a 20 or 30 year choice. It can be a choice you make 6 months or 2 years or 5 years at a time. I think we have the idea that the choice we make in our early 20’s somehow locks us into that career forever. And doesn’t have to be true. I have so much respect for people like you, Kristen, who show how it can be done!
@Hannah, I like this thought a lot. Looking for the next right thing, the next right step.
@Hannah,
I would always advise people who are marrying young or before they've really done much living to keep track of who and what they wanted to do and be as individuals. It's easy to lose track completely and then feel trapped at 50.
@Caro, I agree! I think especially (as much as you can) to be very careful that the person you are marrying supports/is headed in the same direction as the person you want to be. Very few things have as much power to make you feel trapped as an unsupportive spouse who is headed in a different direction than you want to be. I'm grateful that my 21 year old self who fell in love with my husband, was able to see (as much as I could) that he was the type of person who would continue to support and encourage me, and I, him.
@Hannah,
I was 30 when I had my first child!
@Lauren, I’ve decided that my life’s mantra is “do the next right thing” I have anxiety and my mil said that to me one time. It has been my saving grace many a time.
@Hannah, My father was a man ahead of his time because he drilled into his girls that they needed a career before marriage, just in case the marriage didn't work out or the husband died young. The boys married young, the girls not until after 30 with full-fledged careers that paid well. This is the same father who used to read us news articles on men who abused or killed their wives, always with the warning that this could happen to one of us if we didn't leave the man the first time we felt afraid of him and we would need a career to be able to do that.
@Hannah,
The best advice I ever received was from a high school teacher, who told all the girls "Do not ever get married or have children until you have the skills and education/training to support yourself and your kids should your husband not be there." She explained that some husbands leave, die or become disabled and the women don't always get enough to support their household from the life insurance, SSI or child support. ( The latter is a joke in this state bc most of the men never pay up, and our state does not award alimony. And disability checks are very puny, esp. if there are medical expenses. )
A few years later, she told me to go an extra semester and get a teacher's certification and I wish I'd listened, but at 22 when you get hired for a newspaper job, you think it'll last forever. Had I listened, I could have transitioned directly from the first newspaper to a school and I would have been much better off. Having to look for a job in your 40's is the pits.
@Fru-gal Lisa, I also got the lesson about getting an education and the ability to support yourself early on. I was an architect with my own little house when I met my husband. I got married at age 30, had my first child at 32, and decided to be a SAHM when I was 33. Unfortunately, after nearly 15 years of not being employed, it feels like starting over again and I am not secure in my ability to provide for myself and my family, if necessary. Technology has also changed some reeducation would definitely be required for a good paying entry job.
It's worth noting that sometimes life will throw a curveball and one has to retrain or start a new career. After two decades or more working for NASDAQ, my uncle was terminated before he was able to access his 401K (this is how he explained it). He was in his 60s with no retirement, and having been an Army medic in Vietnam, he decided to go back to school and train as a phlebotomist. He recently retired for real.
My husband is currently planning to work for an electrician's license. He has an engineering license and a PhD in electrical engineering, but in case the current administration decides to downsize his organization or RIFF his position, he would be able to start a new living as an electrician. I think being open to a second career is important, you never know what's going to happen.
@Karen A., My father got his bachelors in electrical engineering while working full time to support his family and going to night school on the GI Bill. He was hired by what was then Sylvania just as the television industry was taking off. Lots of the neighbors didn't have TVs but there were several in our house stacked up on top of one another. Lots of job changes and promotions over the years until he was sending me postcards from Knott's Berry Farm in California where he was working on the Echo satellites in the space program. And then I was flying to see him in Iran where he was managing an avionics contract with the Iranian Air Force (the Shah was still in power and a valuable US ally). And so on and so forth. So, yeah! "You never know what's going to happen"!
I was around the same age as you, Kristen, when I did a career pivot from a job where I felt underpaid and underappreciated and had "maxed" out on what I could do.
I don't think I would have been brave enough to make the switch if it had not been for covid which challenged a lot of our usual assumptions. I also felt motivated to find a job where I could spend more time with my mother and other family overseas. Finally, it meant actually getting a job in that country. I rephrased my previous skills in a way that I had not considered before, which was more marketable.
We decided not to make the move permanent and I had to again look for another job in the U.S. when I returned, but this time I had some work experience in a new industry, which enabled me to get a much more higher-paying job than before, and keep a new career phase going.
So, I felt like I did a successful career pivot not by getting a whole new education, but by reconsidering my skills and assumptions.
Funny enough. I am starting my training for my second career TODAY. I just retired from 30 years of teaching in June of 2024.
I googled “ jobs for retired teachers” and went from there.
Woohoo for a fellow pivoter!
@Stephanie, that's great! What are you doing now?
@Stephanie, Congratulations on your retirement! I hope you look back on your 30 years of teaching and feel pride. Think of how many students you helped!
@Cecilia L., I am working for a major power company. I will be giving presentations to elementary students on energy conservation and safety. Part time!!
@CrunchyCake, thank you. I taught thousands of students! Over 125 a year x30 years!
I feel fortunate that the education I chose when I was 18 lead to a career that I enjoy. My friends at work and I talk about our "encore" careers when we retire from the defense industry. Options we discuss include things like wood working, custom furniture painting, crafting, landscaping, etc., mostly things that would allow us to be more creative after careers spent doing engineering work. None of us expect these careers to be full time but just augment our retirement funds and keep our brains and bodies busy in retirement.
I have few regrets, but I do wish that I had gone back to school in my early 40s. I had always wanted to be an architect like my father, but my mother had talked me out of it. After the financial chaos of the 1970s, she believed I needed a more stable career. However, I would have been happier with a more creative career.
I do remember thinking that 40 was so old. Of course, in hindsight, I know this is not true. Even if it would’ve taken me five years to get my degree, I still would’ve had at least 20 years to practice.
When I retired at 50, I found outlets for my pent up creativity. My family and friends know that I’ll happily tell them (when asked) what walls need to be that down, where their furniture needs to go, and what colors their wall should be painted. I have helped my children renovate their houses. In the long run, I suppose it all turned out well.,
Really, if you wanna do something with your life, whether you’re 25 or 45 or 65, just do it!!! Where there is a will there’s a way. BTW Kristen, I think you’re a wonderful example to women everywhere, and especially those who have entered the second half of their lives.
@Bee
You are SO RIGHT in your last paragraph! Wish more people would think like that 🙂
Yes, yes, yes, odds are very good that we still have lots of time when we are in our 40s!
And thank you. 🙂
@Bee, amen to your last paragraph in general and your praise of Kristen in particular. And a big shout-out to all of us out there who are doing our best to deal with life's curveballs with courage and grace.
@Bee, I met an attorney who started law school at 60 and specialized in geriatric law when she graduated. I think she worked for almost 20 years before finally retiring.
I sort of stumbled into a career I love (printing) in my 20s, although I have taken some detours with real estate and raising racing greyhounds. I have now been happily employed with a local printer for 27 years - but at age 49 I realized a dream I abandoned for all the wrong reasons (long story) in my 20s and went back to school for a degree in Technical Theater, emphasis Costume Design. I knew I would never actually work in that field because I am not a Big City person, and I was already a homeowner, etc. However, that degree (BFA Theater Arts, 2008) has led to a very satisfying side hustle, sewing for local dance troupes, doing freelance alterations, and working part time for the theater program where I got my degree. In my 70s now, and still loving it!
@L, I like the idea of getting more education just because one likes the subject matter. Doing it for its own sake is also worthwhile.
Pivoting engages hidden superpowers in all of us. I am pivoting now back to full time work at age 56. We can do hard things and THRIVE! Can this be a regular topic? Maybe people who are on the fence about trying something new might get the ongoing support they need.
@JDS, That’s awesome. What work did you decide to do?
I haven't made that kind of change, but interestingly my medical school class had a small number of people who were pursuing medicine as a second career. Some were in adjacent fields (one of my close friends had been an RN; another colleague had been a paramedic) but some had non-science backgrounds, like social work, teaching, and one professional dancer. Medicine is such a long haul that it can be hard to imagine starting "late" but it's the same logic as Kristen used: the time will pass anyway.
@Meira@meirathebear,
My daughter's father-in-law became a surgeon after being an engineer. And my daughter (just got her MD this year) mentioned that many people in her class had worked elsewhere before entering. I think it gives the aspiring doctor some more flexibility and soft skills if they had real world experience before entering the exalted realm of med school.
@Meira@meirathebear, I can remember when med schools did not take people who were older, as in 25!
I think asking an 18 year to pick a career for life is crazy. I have a degree in education and subbed for a while. But it was a terrible time to get a job in education.
I then started working in a customer service job in an office and discovered problem solving skills I didn't know I had. When I had kids I took 5 years off and went to work in payroll processing. Finally about 6 years ago I went to work as an instructor for a technical school.
It would all sound a little boring without my real career 2nd career which I have done for 20+ year. I am an Enrolled Agent and prepare taxes. I needed a side job and this fit. I love it. I have to educate myself every year and train but I hope to do with until retirement. I also think if I told 18 year old me I would be doing this I would have laughed.
Agreed; when we are 18, our brains aren't even fully developed, but we are expected to make a career decision to last the rest of our lives? It's wild!
@Amy cheapohmom, your comment makes me realize how fortunate I was to grow up in a family of lifetime learners. The idea of changing a job or a field seems perfectly normal. My brother stayed in the same kind of work throughout his career; I had three different ones.
In fact there's very little I would have trusted 18-year-old me to pick accurately for the rest of my life. Not only was that person young and without experience or practice choosing, the person I am now is very different. The right choices then are not the right choices now.
@Amy cheapohmom,
I agree that 18 years old is too young to determine your life’s path. I think that it is very important for younger people to have experiences and learn about themselves before they decide on a career.
Of my three children, only one actually knew what he wanted to do early on. The others were in their late 20s before they decided what they really wanted to do. As a result, they spent a great deal of money on education. I wished I had encouraged them to take a gap year or 5.
I started school for library science, then that got interrupted when I moved to Florida. I found that although my old university offered it as a bachelor's program, the universities here only offered it as a master's. I was burned out on school (I stupidly crammed an AA and an AS into two years, and the semester I took right after those were complete, I took the shortened summer semester for 16 hours credit while I worked a job; I was completely exhausted) so I "took a break" and got a job in a bank (with low pay, yay), got remarried, had kids, and school fell by the wayside. I stayed home for a few short years to care for my mother-in-law with Alzheimer's, then with having my babies, but I went back to work after that - for that same low pay at the same bank, and I realized, this is stupid. Fourteen years after leaving college, in my 30's, with young kids, I signed up to get a BA in a different major, completed it and got hired right away by an engineering company. I've been working for engineers for over 30 years now. So my career change came earlier than in my forties, but not by much. I'm about to retire from it in about a year. I doubt I will go back to work, even part time. I'm ready to be home.
DH encouraged our kids to attend college and told them to go for what they wanted, within reason, and he would support them in their schooling. He also told them to bear in mind that their degree might get used differently from how they planned or from what they were told, which turned out to be true for both of our kids.
I know as an older student, I had a better work/study ethic than many - but not all! - of the students with whom I went to college, and my life experiences helped me, especially in classes like creative writing. I also didn't roll in to class hungover on Fridays (if they showed up at all), ha. Life skills learned over the years should be highly valued, I am 100% with Kristen on that.
It also was/is fun to be the one person in class and at work - all of my current employers and co-workers are 15-46 years younger than me - who actually knows things that are history to them, but hey, I was there! The interns are in awe that yes, I remember when President Kennedy was killed. I was in SCHOOL that day.
@JD, what is your BA in that qualifies you to work at an engineering company as anything other than an engineer?? (Inquiring minds need to know these things!)
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
You would not think this would make me valuable in engineering, but I received a BA in English Lit with Business minor. I can't guarantee this as true for everyone, but the engineers I have asked to this date have all told me they had only one semester of English required of them in college, yet much of their job involves written communication of important information to each other, clients, authorities and the public. They have me edit their writing, help them state what they want to say, and write up a lot of external communications for them. I also am office manager, so they get two for one with me. I performed almost the exact same functions at my last job, which was also with engineers.
I went back to school for a second degree and new career starting when I was in my late 40's. I am now a registered dietitian and I am so happy that I did go back to school and have a second career I absolutely love. It was tough and there were days when I was wondering why I decided tondo this at my age but I stuck it out.
Haha, I occasionally have those kinds of days too, but I do still think this is the right path for me. I just get a little tired of exams sometimes!
I can tell you that my mom had a chance to go back to school in her 40s, get a degree and move her way up in education (this is when my siblings and I were in middle and high school so not needing child care.) Now, would that have paid off right away? Probably not but she was too worried about the here and now and not planning for the future and continued to retirement in her path of being underpaid.
What's crazy is how in my first year out of college I immediately outearned her and I always felt she resented that, reminding me how I was "lucky" to go to college at 18. Had she gone to get that degree (or even some more certifications) in her 40s, that would not have been the case.
But my family, not to toss them under the bus, are like a lot of people who only concentrate on right this moment. They never assumed they would move up or change and it became a self fulfilling prophesy.
I will tell you that as a mom, if my kids out-earn me right out of college, I will be delighted for them, not resentful. I'm sorry your mom's reaction wasn't like that!
@Kristen, So agree! Our two boys outearn us by miles even though my DH and I earned very well, increasing every year, which continues in retirement via pensions. And we are beyond thrilled about it!
We want every good thing for them and until this minute I never dreamed that parents would want to be jealous of successful kids.
I did not dream of it until I observed it. And I still do not understand it.
I also do not understand people who are jealous of their spouse's success. It boggles my mind.
@Kristen, yeah, they are fine about it now for the most part but they still attribute a lot of my financial stuff to "luck." So I just move on from it.
Yeah, if my child grows up and is super successful and outearns me then I will be thrilled as well. My upbringing I'm learning more and more was not normal so I am essentially learning to not repeat some mistakes my parents may have made.
I think when people are envious or dismissive of a family member, friend or spouse from earnings, it's often that they don't want to think that they themselves did something wrong or that the other person is just better than they are. It has to be luck or trickery or because of something that they didn't work for and were just born with.
Specifically with a spouse I think it's because they will be viewed as "less than" in a relationship if they aren't able to bring 50:50. In the end there is no "My money" or "Your money" in a marriage, just "Our money"
@Battra92, I am so sorry your family was not a giant cheering section for you. My father was embarrassingly proud of my degrees, naming them when he introduced me to someone new. I had to beg him to stop doing that; he was so proud of achieving the American Dream of not only doing well financially himself but having a child who exceeded him in education and salary that it was hard to finally stop doing that.
By seeing yourself as proud, rather than threatened, by the success of your child, you have done better than your family in more than monetary ways.
We love to see cycle-breaking!
@Lindsey, I think that I would have liked your father. I’m one of those people who love to hear friends talk about their kiddos! Like me many think their children are their best and most important work. Nothing makes me happier than seeing children grow into happy, healthy, and successful adults.
@Battra92, I’m sorry that your parents did not give you the support that you needed. Some parents are not able to do this for some reason. However, I see that you are trying to give your daughter her best life. I believe everyone has an a unique set of gifts and I think you have many.
I graduated from nursing school at 40 and was also one of the older students in class but there were a handful of us in their late 30s to early 40s. I couldn’t agree more about choosing a second career with your adult brain! I chose nursing because there is so much you can do with a nursing license that does not always include bedside nursing, nurses will always be in demand and the pay is typically good (dependent on area I believe). I completed my MSN at 52 so it is all doable. Plus the patients do not usually ask an older nurse if they have “done this before” or “how many time have you done this” when you walk in the room! I did ICU for 8 years then moved to nursing education in the hospital and am looking at making a jump to a work from home nursing position. The possibilities in nursing are pretty much endless with so many options to choose from.
Great topic! My first career move came at the ripe old age of 25 when I realized my financial consulting job out of college was draining me of life. I was encouraged to get into sales, which offered flexibility and travel, and soon I was making the generous income I had at my financial job. At age 36, a few years after having kids, the travel began to be difficult for us all and I ended up taking time away from outside work altogether. I look back on that 2 years away from outside work as a happy time, even though I was ready to get back to work by the end of it. Seeking to use my business development and sales skills positively -- I had become very disenfranchised with corporate America-- I got a development job with a local arts non-profit at the beginning of 2020. The timing was hard, but I got to use my "figure it out" skills and enjoyed being in such an important role at the non-profit. Ultimately, COVID intervened and the job was not what we needed in terms of income so I took a role in my former sales field that I've been at since 2021.
I still dream of doing something else, but that will need to wait a few years until our kids are launched into adulthood. At that point, I hope to pivot to something outdoors-related or perhaps with a non-profit again. I've learned that taking a chance usually works out. Even when it didn't fully work for me, the non-profit job ultimately allowed me to build new skills and meet new people. I am still doing a portion of that job as a side hustle to keep my skills alive and contribute to that organization.
Like kristin-with-an-I, I had no real career thoughts growing up, loved being a SAHM and homeschooling our two youngest. I worked from home as a seamstress for a clothing company (making broomstick skirts) until they were out of school, then worked in a variety of office settings until retirement. I’m not sure I’d do anything any differently if I started over. My husband’s career path (building contractor)was quite different from his degree (television production and management) and something he sort of fell into. 3/4 of our children are business owners (contractors and oilfield service). I have to say that owning my own business with employees carries a stress level I wouldn’t like. I do find now that I am older and there are so many jobs in our area that go up filled, I find myself thinking “I could do that!’ Mostly I just wanted to do the best job I could wherever I was.
I recommend reaching out to your friends/family. I mentioned to a friend that I was looking for full-time work, and she helped me get an informational interview with her employer, an investor-owned utility, which led to a new career. I have found that many utilities put a priority on developing their employees at all ages and providing advancement for those who want it. Be willing to explore fields you may not have considered previously.
This was my question. Yay! I’m enjoying reading the responses so far.
My biggest problem is that I really don’t know what I want to do! My degree is in architecture, but the real work of it left me jaded. I’ve also worked in a couple libraries and enjoy the work, but the combination of only being offered hours on evenings and weekends (the only time my family is home), plus dealing with the public (who can be surprisingly difficult even at a library) made it a bad situation for me.
I’m hoping to get a brainstorm going after reading all these.
@JenRR, It was a great question, as you can see! And knowing what you DON'T want to do? Priceless.
@JenRR, you could pair up with local builders and do their design/drafting without having to get that architectural certification (or whatever it is. . . it dang near killed one of my former drawing students!) Builders often do their own designing, so I think both they and their customers could benefit from someone with more developed skills and ideas.
@JenRR, I recommend starting by making a list of what you hate or don't want. Your college's placement office may be able to help also. I know many, especially graduate schools, not only work w older students but help long-ago grads as well.
@JDinNM, I’m an expert at the knowing what I don’t want part! If only I could use that as a marketable skill.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I’ve been thinking about getting into my local Habitat for Humanity womens group and have signed up for a Saturday clinic. I’m hoping to learn some new skills and see how everything works here. Maybe I can figure out who does their design/drafting. If they had a paid job I’d love it. Combining my loves of creativity, organizing, and helping others (in my own quiet way) would be where I’d find my dream job.
@WilliamB, Reading all these is helping me get into brainstorming so I agree a list would be good. My biggest obstacle is being an anxious introvert! So many opportunities I come across are teaching or other jobs related to directly working with the public. It never occurred to me to contact my college placement office, even when I was a student there.
@JenRR, you can! A big part of my job is coaching clients through what they do and don’t want, first out of their project and second out of their architect. But that aside, what did you love about architecture that got you through your degree to start with?
I see ex-architects in all kinds of roles these days, from sustainbility consultants and assessors, through BIM technicians (all the drawing, none of the unsociable hours), retraining as brand reps or material librarians (yes, it’s a thing!), working as design managers, project managers, or estimators for big contractors, you could retrain as a quantity surveyor/cost consultant, run community engagement or consultation consultancy, work for your local authority in planning approvals, or for your local heritage or historical society in planning guidance or conservation or historical research.
@JenRR,
A friend of mine's mother went to school to learn drafting in her 50's, then went to work for her county, doing plats for the property offices. It was a small county, so a small workforce and she really enjoyed it.
As an example of using but not actually using a degree, my daughter's friend has a job working on educational software development and testing. Her degree is for teaching math in middle and high school, but with this job, she works from home and doesn't deal with any students.
Definitely ask around to see what's out there!
@Jules the First, The thing I love most about architecture is the emotional connection to the space. I spent my tween and teen years filling notebooks with homes and neighborhoods I designed. I imagined how people would feel and interact in these places, and how they could influence both connection and away spaces. The real world work was more about getting as much space as cheaply as possible. It was also so hard to see old buildings torn apart to be replaced by the new lifeless stuff. I’m apparently more than a bit nostalgic about old buildings and probably should have gone into something along the lines of historic preservation.
@JenRR, sounds like community consultation or your county planning or zoning commission would be right up your street! It’s also not too late to retrain (upskill?) in heritage preservation and conservation (did I mention that heritage garden design and maintenance is also a thing?!)
After graduating from college I worked as a translator, first for an international company, then for the German government but here in the USA, military position. There was travel.
Then came kids and I stayed home to raise them. When they were in the upper elementary school, I took a job in a fine art museum that was right in town, to still be close to home. I retrained, when back to college for the appropriate degree and was promoted to curator and spend 20 years bringing exhibitions to life and publishing books on art and artists.
Like Kristen, I always enjoyed writing. So, I had a sideline as a food and lifestyle columnist for several magazines as well.
I lived all of my careers and would recommend changing careers to fit your life as it evolves.
@ErikaJS, Just changing jobs and positions within the same career can also be a good thing, and a growth experience.
My story is a little different. I quit college where I started as a pre-law major and quickly switched to a sociology/psychology degree. Got married at 20 and then discovered tax prep which lead me back to school and a career as a CPA. At that point my husband headed back to school followed by seminary. We had our first child after 12 years of marriage and I desperately needed to be a mom and homemaker and pastor's wife. When my first child was headed into his senior year and my youngest was in middle school, we realized we probably needed additional income to help with children going off to college and I went back to accounting but found a job working with non-profits which was able to capture my heart. Now my children are grown and I retired in 2023 and have returned primarily to my homemaking and pastor's wife and gramma roles which feels like coming home. I still help one non profit a few hours a week to get out among friends.
I didn't switch to a new career but changed emphasis to find meaning and when I retired I had to give myself grace to enjoy homemaking and not feel like I "had to do more".
I recommend considering work in a library setting. It is very fulfilling, and many people come to librarianship later in life, so the career pivot would not be very noticeable. There are so many kinds of libraries to choose from: public, genealogy, academic, museum, corporate, legal, etc. You can choose something that speaks to your interests and skills. The pay is nothing to shout about, but the work is very gratifying.
@Stephanie D., Hi! This was my question and funny enough, I did work at a library for awhile, and really enjoy the work. The downside was that the part-timer hours are always evenings and weekends, when my family was home, and dealing with the public was very difficult. If I could organize and process books, and occasionally help someone find a book, all during school hours, it would be great!
@JenRR, I worked part time in a library when I was first married and when my oldest was very young. I had aspirations of going to get my degree in library science and I did in fact sign up for a class to start the program, but the class itself was soul-draining. I can't even remember really what they were trying to teach, just that it was incomprehensible. Then we moved from that state and I started homeschooling full time.
The library was not the best work schedule for my family, either--like you said, they offered evenings and weekends, and my DH was working on his dissertation and starting his career as a professor, so we had to hire a babysitter and that ended up not being ideal. It was a case of "good idea, wrong time" so I shelved that plan.
@JenRR, If you enjoy processing books, look into working for a company like Ingram, they do the book processing for most libraries these days.
@Karen A., My mom was a librarian with a masters. I definitely don’t have that level of passion! It’s funny because she started with a bachelors in education, taught one year and quit, worked in computer programming, then went to part-time library work after having kids. Several years later, she combined her education degree and computer experience to be the computer lab monitor at a high school. When the old high school librarian left, she was in a great spot to apply for the job! I’m not sure at what point she started her studies with library science, but the high school incentivized her to get a masters with a nice pay raise!
@Bobi, Thanks for the suggestion!
I taught for 5 years, and I was great at it, but I hated that the pay was so pathetic, and I hated hearing, “Those who can do; those who can’t teach.” There’s a lot of disrespect for teachers in the US. Part of the problem is that it’s seen as “women’s work”.
It wasn’t midlife, but I changed careers and became a computer programmer. I was good at that too! The teaching background came in handy since I was usually the only person who was comfortable with any form of public speaking, so if a presentation needed to occur, I got to do it.
I always thought I’d go back to teaching after retirement, but I’m pretty happy being retired at the moment.
The good news is that, out of necessity, I became very frugal while I was a teacher, and the habits never went away!
@Ann on the farm, It’s terrible people think that of teachers. I hate that saying! I doubt most people could last a full week as a teacher.
@Ann on the farm, I should add that, since I had my kids late, I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years after I retired! It worked well because I was keeping a close eye on things in the years when they were too old for “after school care”. Also, I was able to drive them to extracurricular activities. People thought I was my youngest child’s very involved grandmother. Sigh.
@Ann on the farm, and there’s been a farm going on behind all this, and it does provide an income (usually) and it’s hard work!
@JenRR, Exactly! It’s terrible.
I married young and worked retail to put my husband through school. Later we started a family and I stayed home. After the kids were all in school I started back to work so we could afford that family. I learned a lot of software skills (I wrote code for the computer system-seld taught) at the job I had for 13 years and when the plant closed down and moved to China my husband suggested I get my 4 year degree. By this time our last child had graduated from high school and was attending massage school the other two were out of college. I started an adult degree program. I graduated at the age of 54 with a BS in computer science. I got a job before I actually graduated as a new college grad working for a very large sports ware company helping to build websites. I worked there until I retired at the age of 67. My earning power was amazing and I was able to save lots for retirement. Especially since the kids were grown and we no longer had that big expense. Because of my career choice I did become the department ‘mother’ for a bunch of young men. It was those soft skills that got me promotions. Those organizational skills of having run a household and managed a budget helped me run departments and projects and stay within budget. It helped me run productive meetings I know that is not always possible but I had had raised kids and I knew how to shut down red herring that tried to drag us off the main subject. We almost always left feeling like the goal had been accomplished. So yes find a second career you enjoy and go for it.
@Nancy H, the true ism in the professional world is that companies hire for hard skills and promote for soft skills.
I taught for 35 years. I was a natural. As many teachers around me changed to other careers out of burn out or misery, I found the strength, the art and the meaning every day. I have floated many other future careers while teaching. I got my Diamond Gemologist degree from GIA, I earned an MFA in Creative Writing publishing a story, and I took some steps to be an adventure travel guide. I was not a natural, gifted or above average with any of the jobs. They were not meant to be. I am still glad I pursued them because it kep my mind active and I enjoy learning.
6 mos into retirement, I wonder if I will find another avocation. Right now, I am wholly available to the nonagenarians in my life, my 22 year old spreading his wings, a farmer husband, and women who are escaping from the hell of alcoholism. I am a natural with these people and as the cliche says, "I have a particular set of skills.". So maybe volunteerism is my destiny in the fourth quarter of my life.
@Jen, if I were in your shoes, I’d look at all the lists of ways to make money at home, the “side hustle” approach. See what floats your boat, try it, and if it feels like a good fit for you, develop it further.
Another thing to do is to make a list of all that you are good at doing AND that you enjoy. See if there are any skills that translate into work or a career if you pursue more education. For example, I’m great at organization, efficiency, typing, proofreading, phones, but I HATED being a secretary. . . so being good and enjoying are both critical. (I had some horrid bosses, and it galled me to be treated like a minion by a slob.)
After many years of full time art (with many variations—commissions, lessons, reproductions, little art shows, solo shows, going from only pencil to oil and murals with occasional logo design, and publishing 2 books of my art), I discovered a great interest in editing, proofreading (a skill from a couple of print shop jobs), and helping local authors get their books to print-worthy level. (SHOCKING how many people self-publish with zero understanding of books, so embarrassing)
Sometimes I wonder if I should have pursued a degree or certificate or ?? and become an editor, but then I realize that I would have hated living in a city (my college was pre-interwebs era) and wished I could be an artist instead.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Thanks for all the suggestions. I love both organization and creativity, so I guess it’s fitting that I enjoy books, architecture, gardening, etc. I had never made the connection that that’s what they all have in common, an organized method of creativity! It’s funny that you mention editing, because my husband mentioned that to me the other day. I have been looking into options with my love of growing plants, but so far the options for non-retail employment have been for field work (my back says no to that), and supervising positions. I am planning to get my Master Gardener certification, even if it’s just to help my own garden, but I have to wait until April when registration opens up again. It’s not really a work thing, though, just a me thing!
@JenRR, that Master Gardener certification is wonderful, something that has tempted me, but the commute to the city to obtain it and the fact that I have more than enough going on has stopped me. This could morph into some kind of consulting for you, or maybe helping someone publish a book about gardening. Those “me things” can become income producers.
@JenRR, one idea from the peanut gallery: pursue "informational interviews" if you haven't been doing that already. In business school, our career services office encouraged us to use these to learn more about what it is actually like to work in different jobs. You aren't asking someone for a job in their company, just to share their experience working there, what they like the most about it, what has surprised them or been different from their expectations, their greatest challenges, that sort of thing. If you time limit it ("I will ensure the conversation would take no more than 10 minutes of your time") and can maybe offer something in exchange (buy them a coffee or tea? a sweet treat?), it makes it much easier for people to say yes. Not everyone will bite, but a lot of people welcome an opportunity to help someone else and nearly everyone enjoys talking about themselves and their own career 🙂
@JenRR, I took the classes last year and passed the Master Gardener test last May. The classes are fascinating, and I find that I am most interested in the classes that pertain to my own yard and garden. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I get to meet so many fascinating fellow Master Gardeners at every event or project. It's a great me thing!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, and Jen RR,
In Missouri, the Extension Office offers at least types of Master Gardener Training: in person and Zoom online and sometimes a third with a combination of the two. Might see it that's offered.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I’m so happy they offer an online program here that you can do at your own pace. They also have an in person option, but if it’s sitting and listening to lectures, I have a very hard time staying focused. Both programs include a requirement for volunteer work that helps the community, so the skills and exposure could eventually lead to something more.
Sometimes the pivot doesn’t have to be big when switching careers later in life.
I received my degree in elementary education and used it to teach in or lead programs in informal education settings (afterschool, museums, year-round school off time, community centers). I then was a stay-at-home mom for 5 years. Once my son went back to school I entered the world of event planning. I currently plan education events for medical professionals. I’m using my degree but in a very different way!
I started college planning on majoring in nursing, and ended up dropping out when I realized that wasn't right for me. After a couple of years I returned to college part time and got my degree in Medical Technology (now called Medical Laboratory Science) when I was 27. Dropping out felt scary, because everyone else seemed to know what they wanted, and I'm sure my parents were disappointed. But it ended up being the BEST decision. I didn't waste my money on something I knew I wasn't going to like. And when I did finally go back, I ended up with a career that I loved and am still doing 30 years later. So...not exactly a second career, but a longer path getting to that first one. I think that extra time helped me zero in on something that was a much better fit for me.
I'm in my mid 50s, and I have had several careers. In the first I was a translator, but that eventually fell apart around 15 years ago due to the advent of machine assisted translation software and Google translate. Anyway, I saw the writing on the wall before then, so I trained as a massage therapist. I did that for a short while, then spent over a decade working in the front office of medical clinics. In my early 40s, I was interested in becoming an acupuncturist, but that would have cost me between $60K and $100K, and I just wasn't interested in that kind of debt.
Anyway, with my divorce last year, I was left trying to figure out how to make a living for myself. I work part time in a day spa as a massage therapist (The spa would probably hire me at full time if I wanted, but it's quite hard on your body and I am no longer young). One day a week I do admin work in an acupuncture office. And I am doing text writing work in trade for a series of classes that will become another income stream in a year or two. I'm not fully self-supporting yet, but I will get there. Thankfully I have some savings to fall back on until I get to that point.
you are such an inspiration to so many. thank you. i spent 40 years at the same company in the same job. i was a switchboard operator. remember those? although i couldn't transfer out of my department, i was allowed to read at my desk. worked for a publishing firm with it's own library i could use. hello? i am so grateful for the things i learned from that library.
the benefits were bad in the beginning. but when people from a union came to organize,
the benefits improved. in my youth my medical bills were out of sight. now in my old age
my dr. visits are free because my husband works for the u of pennsylvania and we have a terrific medicare supplement. because i have such great medical professionals i only see a few drs. it is so amazing compared to when i was young. the one health issue i have is a tremor that i have had for 35 years in my dominant hand. it drives me mad but thank g-d it is not parkison's.
i volunteered at a hospice for ten years while i worked my regular job. and i became an outside travel agent to pay my dentist bills and to travel of course. i lived in brooklyn, and an ad in the paper said "learn while you earn", a local travel agent held classes at her office.
now i am a stay-at-home mom and i am thrilled. good luck jen at starting your career. it is never too late. perhaps you might start by volunteering someplace. that might lead to a job or you may be able to narrow down what type of work you would like to do.
@Anita Isaac, Being a stay-at-home mom has been a very rewarding experience. When I stopped my original career to stay home with my son, it felt like I was living a dream. It was definitely a privilege for me.
I am starting to look into finding new volunteer work. There are so many options for volunteering around here. I’m going to check out a women’s group with Habitat for Humanity, plus I want to start studying to get my Master Gardener certification which will also include volunteer work. Part of me is anxious to start getting a paycheck, but the other part wants to figure out something potentially more long term and meaningful.
Being on the other side of retirement, I have a slightly different perspective. Was an administrative assistant (secretary/bookkeeper) for 40+ years and the job allowed me many different experiences. Now I am a caregiver for HWP (Parkinsons) and dementia which is not in any way where I am gifted. I also have the joy of helping out with my granddaughters so my daughter can work. If this didn't keep me busy, I would love to have a part-time job but that isn't in the cards at this time. Life certainly throws some interesting curves and I admire those who are able to have new careers during their adult lives.
I love this so much!! It intersects with some of the things I've been noticing and wanting to voice. I got my doctorate in education all before getting married and having kids. I don't regret it, it shaped me in significant ways. And it was definitely God's will for my life. However, I have grown TREMENDOUSLY through the process of having and raising my three children in ways I never would have anticipated back in my 20s. This has hugely impacted both my passions and desires for how I would like to spend my non-kid-raising years as well as developed what you called soft skills. I see so many women avoiding or delaying having a family because they want to focus on degrees and careers and lifestyles. They think that these things are more significant and fear that not pursuing those in their 20s will prevent them from having a fulfilling career, etc. I cannot imagine myself in my mid-40s without the benefit of the "education" and "career" of the last decade of marriage and motherhood. When I get to my second career in another decade, post-children raising, I imagine I'll know my strengths and passions and skills far more deeply than I ever did before taking a couple decades to devote my time to kids and marriage. I'm not saying one path is better than the other. But I am saying that women shouldn't feel like they are irrevocably losing something by devoting 10-20 years to family. I see it as a net gain. Having lived my entire 20s single (I got married early 30s), I can compare the two paths fairly well and I wouldn't trade the fork in the road that my life took in my mid-30s when I started embracing motherhood and family.
I'm going to throw a caveat into the works. I graduated with a bachelor's degree at the age of 40, with majors in business and English. My previous work experience was gained while following my military husband around the US, so I could type and answer the phone. Unfortunately my degree wasn't specific enough; companies couldn't see me as entry-level management but always asked me if I could type, and if so, how fast. I know times have changed in the 35 years since I graduated, but my one piece of advice is to do what Kristen did by training for a very specific field (with lots of varied career paths!). One of your major advantages is that you are finished having children, and will be able to offer 20+ uninterrupted years of service; your major disadvantage will be your age, unfortunately. You will no longer be a "girl," and age discrimination is almost impossible to prove. I am certain that one day the world will be overtaken by women over the age of 40 who are no longer girls.
@Jean, I agree. I think it isn’t just older women who get discriminated against. It’s the younger women too, and gender discrimination is just as hard to prove. The reason I initially went into teaching was because I couldn’t seem to get a corporate job, though my male classmates had no trouble. So, yes, I think jobs with very specific qualifications or certifications are the way to go.
I worked in a candy factory before birthing 5 children. My first job back was a part-time assistant at our city library. I was able to refine office skills and learned to use updated computer programs on the job. Visibility in the community landed a job at city hall. I moved to a county position with better benefits (great vision and dental for five kids!). This job also provided yearly training classes. I tried to stay at least five years with each position to establish a good work history. After kids, this segwayed into an executive secretary position with a private business.
I have just a high school diploma and tried going back to school part time at our local community college but I just wasn't into it. I worked as a clerk typist or secretary - without short hand. I just hated being expected to wait on the bosses. Like in the old days. Plus my mom went back to work the minute I was in kindergarten and I hated not having a mom who could come to my plays/shows/etc. She went back to work cause she loved to work and make her own money. I was an original latch key kid in the late 60's.
So now that my kids are out of the house and in their 30's and even before that I had no desire to go back to work. Amy D. saved my life when I became a sahm. I know I'm not like other women though. I knew I couldn't handle the stress of working full time and taking care of the kids even though dh did a lot in that area. I just remember feeling weird not having a mom at my shows, etc.
@auntiali, I also couldn’t handle the stress of all the kid stuff, especially when they were young, while also working full time. I have appreciated my opportunities to attend school events and all the extra time with my kids. Now that they are 10 and 15, I have a full day with an empty schedule five days a week. I still do not want to work full time, but I don’t feel fulfilled sitting in an empty house, and would like to do more for myself and my family in that time.
My daughter-in-law's father, a surgeon, pursued his lifelong dream after retirement -- he became a welder!
@Book Club Elaine, Depending on what kind of surgery he performed, welding might not be that big a stretch!
I never had a specific job title or career area; I guess I've never really thought of it this way but I'm always changing careers:
Age 22: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Business specialization
Age 22: Bookkeeper
Age 25: MBA
Age 26: Systems Consultant with big accounting Firm
Age 28: Program Manager with a major computer manufacturer
Age 30: Strategic Initiatives ->Director of Dept 1->Sr. Director of completely different dept. at an insurance company
Age 34: Stay at Home Mom
Age 42: Research Administrator at a University
Age 47: Engagement Officer at a nonprofit
For me it's been less about what I know specifically and more about how I can apply the skills I do have and my willingness to learn. I've been given opportunities because someone saw my potential and I had a good attitude. Granted, I've never made a MAJOR shift but I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. My point is...don't limit yourself.
I have loved reading about all the interesting and varied careers of readers here! Last year I ended my 21-year career in economic consulting, doing expert witness work on corporation litigation. During that time, I had a couple short detours, most significantly working as the finance manager for a natural foods grocery co-op. Now, age 46, I am working full-time as a financial coach, teaching DIY tax preparation, how to utilize retirements accounts, and the like, and also started to offer traditional tax prep. When I was in college, I dreamed of helping other women with their finances, but I was not interested in being a financial advisor to high net worth individuals. Today's digital tools (thank you for online video calls!) and other kinds of coaching (like personal trainers) have paved the way for new business models in financial services and I am so grateful for it. Every time I meet with a client and hear feedback that I really helped them, I pinch myself that I am finally doing something my 20-year-old self dreamed of.
For 25 years (with a gap after year 20, being a family caregiver until my terminally-ill relative died bc we don't have good nursing homes here), I was a newspaper reporter. That career field is, very sadly, going the way of Pony Express riders for anyone not working for a major daily newspaper in a large metropolis. And even the biggies are cutting staff, using wire service reports and press releases (from organizations/businesses/politicians/special interest groups/institutions/etc. touting themselves instead of "telling it like it is") and using (and ripping off!) freelance writers instead of hiring full-time reporters. This bodes ill for our democracy because too many shady backroom deals are going on without the public's full and complete knowledge.
Anyway, off my soapbox.
When the newspaper jobs fizzled out, I was over 40 and had a very hard time getting hired anywhere. So I went back to community college and got a teacher's certification, based on my bachelor's degree and taking additional education courses and state exams. It took almost forever to get a FT teacher's job, and we're talking 5+ YEARS, so in the meantime, I substitute taught and then worked the night shift at a call center interviewing insurance applicants. Then a friend hired me as a teacher's aide at a disciplinary alternative school when someone quit mid-semester.
I finally got hired in a job nobody else wanted -- as a classroom teacher (not just an aide) in an institution for emotionally disturbed adolescents. That was rough! It got worse over the years. My dept. chair left after getting body slammed into a wall and her cop husband warned me that it was too dangerous to continue. I should've listened; the next year, I almost got killed in a gang fight, no joke. I left that day and never went back.
After that, I worked in the insurance field, mostly call centers again. Some were really rotten so I didn't last. The "good" call center went belly up during the pandemic. When the quarantine lifted I went back to substitute teaching (at safe, suburban schools) and working as a cashier on weekends. I did NOT take Social Security as soon as I could, opting to wait so I could get a bigger monthly check. I just pray they don't cut SS because if they do, I am toast.
At 46, I have already pivoted a few times. After multiple undergrad major changes, I graduated college with a BA in Spanish and business administration. I thought I'd get an MBA and work in international business. After a couple of years in to my first job, I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life working 9-5 in a field I didn't love.
I missed school too much, so I went back for a MA in Spanish linguistics with a teaching fellowship. Even though I was really enjoying college teaching, I still thought I'd finish there and get an alternative K-12 certification to teach high school. However, I spent a summer leading a study abroad program with rising high school seniors...About five days into that program, I signed my PhD letter of intent because it turns out I didn't like teaching high school students very much.
I got my PhD in Spanish linguistics on the same teaching fellowship, and then took a tenure-track job at my current institution. I knew I wanted to combine a bit of research with an equal amount of teaching, so I was strategic about where I applied. I've been at my current institution for almost 11 years now, and I still love teaching most days.
My research interests are in second language acquisition, which is an applied field where we constantly discover new details about the way we learn use multiple languages. Since pedagogy is driven by research findings, I fell in love with assessment and data-driven decision-making. I've now been my academic department chair for four years.
I don't know where my career will take me. I still love teaching and higher education, but it has its frustrating moments, and it feels extra precarious in my field and state right now. I'm both anxious and excited about with the future holds.
My husband changed careers a month ago and someone recently asked me if I ever thought that I would become a pastor's wife. I laughed and said, "No - I was marrying a college volleyball coach!" That career was great for the first part of our marriage, then he moved into leadership at a YMCA-type/community business and that was great for that decade, and now he's moving into something different. But the skills from his first career helped prepare him for his second, then the skills he developed in his second career were excellent training for what he's doing now.
For me, I used my degree heavily for my life before becoming a SAHM, but I've also used it in a number of ways since then - plus acquiring a whole bunch of other skills! I doubt that I'll go back to what I did before (working 8-5 in higher ed) but I feel like things are pretty open for my future. It's helpful to think of things as a season. I remember feeling like my SAHM with littles season would be so long, but then it ended. Now my kids are in school. I know that the work I'm doing now (both paid and volunteer) is a season and I probably won't do it forever. It takes a little bit of the pressure off and I'm trying to enjoy the season that I'm in while it's here!
I have a friend who was a CPA for 15 years before realizing that she just could not stand doing that for the rest of her life and it was time to return to her dream of being a doctor. At the time she had two teenage children and the world’s most supportive husband (the children are adults now, and she still has the husband, just realized how that sounded.) It took her a few years to get her science pre-reqs; she started medical school at 40, and has now been practicing as a family physician for several years.
My husband was a public school teacher from straight out of graduate school until he retired in his 50s (well technically, he was out of the classroom for the last several years of his career with the district, but it was still education, and it was the same school district). He now has a second career as an education director with the city parks that he absolutely loves. It combines his love of nature with his teaching experience.
I have been doing basically the same thing ever since I got out of graduate school, but the proportions of my career have changed. For the first few decades, I was primarily a performer with a side gig of teaching private lessons. Due to circumstances, I am now primarily a private teacher with a side gig of performing. I mean, that’s not how I think of myself, but that’s what our tax return says.
In the middle of my career, while our children were still relatively young, my employer shut down for a year and for the first several months of that year, we had no idea if it would ever come back. At that time, my husband had too many years invested with his district, and our children were not at a good age to move, not to mention that taking auditions is very very much harder for a middle-aged person with responsibilities than it is for 20 something person with no responsibilities. So I went back to school and took all the classes to get certified to teach high school math, with the exception of student teaching. At that point, my employer came back, and I returned to the stage with happiness and relief.
Teaching high school math was always my backup plan, never my first desire, and at this point, I am happy to say that I escaped that fate. I never had any desire to stay at home full-time, nor do I think I would have been good at it, nor do I think it would have made anyone in my family happy. If you marry a public school teacher, have three children, and have any financial aspirations beyond survival, a second full-time income is pretty much a necessity. Fortunately, I love what I do and for me it has been a calling.
I admire those of you who find your calling at home and joyfully fulfill it, and I learn something from your posts and comments every day.
At 18 I took a job as a mail clerk in a bank, hand delivering mail to neighboring businesses then moved on to do the same at other companies. At 28 I took a job as an office assistant where their accountant taught me the basics of bookkeeping. For years I works as the first bookkeeper in small businesses setting up their systems. When I got bored I would quit until tempted by another one. Sometime, probably about 48, I began writing--mostly publishing articles about model railroading online and in a national magazine. During all those years I also did volunteer work and, for most of them, raised our daughter. I have lived a long and full life and now love being retired.
It’s nice to think you can do the job of a younger person in a physically demanding job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists nursing as an occupation with one of the highest rates of work related injuries. Most studies show job performance peaks around 45 and then starts its decline. People who start a new career at an advanced age are going to experience age discrimination and not have the advantage of tenure or years of on the job experience. It helps to choose a profession that has a shortage of workers but most employers pick younger candidates for jobs. All my friends who are still working experience age discrimination from their coworkers and employers. And then there’s AI taking jobs and the mega rich in power who just want to clear the decks of all workers…and who do the old farts hire to do their dirty work? Teenagers.
When I read the comments I feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole into an alternate dimension..where do you people live?
I see a lot of older people doing door dash.
This is a great question/topic.
I wish I had changed careers when I was in my late 20s or 30s. I found out too late that being a librarian was what I really wanted to do, and my sister, who is a librarian, says I'd be a perfect person to work in an archive somewhere. The idea of getting my Masters degree in Library Science - this is in the days before there were online degree programs - of which there were exactly ZERO in my area, after working all day, was a non-starter. I was supporting myself, and was too afraid to make a change. Oh well. At some point, even after I got married, we still required my income (we do not live lavishly, but my DH had a period of unemployment, then under-employment), and the opportunity to get a new degree never seemed to present itself. To be honest, I never really pursued it, either.
Having said all of that - I do have two SAHM returning to work success stories. My sister, the librarian mentioned above, worked on her Library Science degree while being a SAHM with her two daughters. By the time both girls were in school, she had earned her degree, and ultimately found a job at a community college, which she loves. Was it easy? I'm sure it wasn't. Long days caring for her daughters, long nights studying and doing schoolwork. She has told me there were several times when she wanted to throw in the towel, but her very supportive husband talked her down. 🙂
The second one is my BFF. She was a SAHM for 13 years, having worked in communications/radio/TV/video production prior to having her two kids. When the kids were in school, she started looking around for a job - but there were few to be had, no one wanted to hire her in her previous field or pay her what she was worth. Keep in mind, she was also in her 50s, and ageism is alive and well. She ultimately got a part time job at a local university, which morphed into 2 part time jobs at the same university, where she took advantage of every opportunity to learn new skills (much of it self taught, like using Canva when creating flyers, online newsletters, etc). When she started looking for a new position, two other college departments "fought" to hire her.
So, don't be afraid to jump in or make career changes!! The hard work is worth it! I wish past me had known this.
Aside from a few years as a stay-at-home mom/caregiver for my mom, I have had three different careers. Retired now, thank goodness, as the final career was physically grueling with my arthritis and the department head was openly contemptuous of the staff.
I intended to be a librarian when I went to college, but my dad died suddenly and I felt I could not go that far away from home to study for it. Maybe I'll volunteer at one now that I have time.
I'm not quite sure what number career I am on because I have done several different things, and have often had two or three different part time jobs at the same time. I have a teaching degree, and was a part time kindergarten teacher for the first ten years after college. While teaching, I was also the secretary at my church, which I had done in high school and on and off during college. Then, I also started working part time for our local paper. I quit the church job when I had my oldest son, then the teaching job when he was almost two and just worked for the paper. Then quit that to homeschool him and his two little brothers. I did freelance writing for a while, then eight years ago, my cousin and I started an advertising flier that we still run and have expanded. And at the beginning of 2020, I started working at my old job at the church again, which I absolutely love!
The whole point I mean to make is that there are many opportunities out there if you stay open to them. And being older can help you know what type of job you want. I know now, at the age of 54, that I need a job that involves creativity and a very flexible schedule. Also, each job has provided information and insight for future jobs. For example, the things I learned at the newspaper were things I often would share with my boys when teaching. (I interviewed a lot of veterans, business owners, political figures, etc.) Also, the connections I made both through teaching and the newspaper have helped me when making connections for various things at the church.
And they all will help when I finally sit down and get to the career I have been dreaming about all of my life - writing novels! (Which this is turning into - sorry!) I am just glad that I have enjoyed each of my jobs and the people that I met and the experiences I have had because of them.
When I first started teaching, I was one of the younger ones on staff, but I found that the teachers who got their credentials later in life were almost always the best teachers. This was probably because they'd been seasoned by having kids and grandkids and could take classroom disruptions in stride. Maybe they also understood how each kids is so unique from being parents as well.
I also noticed that when I went back to teaching after being a stay-at-home mom/homeschooler for a long time, that I was a better teacher and was able to build relationships with parents more easily.
So, yes, soft skills are so important!
I went to nursing school at age 40 after a pretty good run in health research (my kids were in grade 4 and 7). I thought I wanted to pivot to hospital management and wanted some hands-on experience so it looked like I knew what I was doing. It turns out that I love bedside nursing and shift work and the freedom it affords me.
After years of the M-F 9-5 grind, I love the freedom that working 3 shifts/week gives me. I love teaching younger nurses! I am in pediatrics and love working with families.
I am so glad that I was open to trying something new!
I was an educator in one form or another my entire career with a brief side line into manufacturing when we moved and schools weren’t hiring. I did shift from physical education to special education and then went from public school to higher education. The changes in subject area and academia required graduate degrees and different skill sets although some days there didn’t seem to be that many differences between second graders and college students! What I did find was that each degree and metamorphous built on previous skills but also required me to stretch and grow to meet the needs of a different type of student. I’m glad I had some space between each degree. I think that really helped!
As an academic advisor, I counseled and guided many students who were making a career change. Exposure to the new field and the opportunity to volunteer and/or have an entry level but adjacent position were helpful in whetting their appetite or confirming their choices. That said, I did encounter a hand full of perpetual students. They didn’t stay long in any given career and were always on the move, although they did seem to build upon the previous and blend their talents.
You are a few years ahead of me, Kristen! I was 50 when I graduated as an RN. My family threw a big party and my brother-in-law called it "Graduating from Nursing School and the 40's! I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was 6 years old so I never questioned going that route after my divorce. It was anything but easy. I had 4 kids at home, a small business to run, a home that was my responsibility and a part time job at a nursing home. But it was worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears! I had a nursing career that I absolutely loved for 19 years!
Kristin, I’ve had 5 hospital births and the L&D nurses have been the very best part of those experiences! It means so much to have someone putting all their knowledge and care into you in those vulnerable times. I’m so glad you’re going to do that with your next 18 years, your time will be so meaningful and valuable to so many people.
I am right in this! I was at at home mom for 12 years (I worked until my son was 4 then was at home until he was 16) and I realized that I really needed to figure out life after intensive momming:) as while I would always be a mom and would have things I took care of at home, my son and husband both encouraged me to find something for myself. I had volunteered with the local library from time to time when I was home with my son and that overall experience coupled with my college degree qualified me to be a library assistant for a large city library. I work part time, I'm putting money into a 401k and savings (we are basically saving all of my salary and pretending it doesn't exist) and I feel like I'm contributing not only to my family, but to society as a whole. Libraries are a vital and needed service and I feel proud to be able to be a resource for my community and it's a great way for me build relationships as my previous way was by meeting parents at the library, school and playground. My one and only graduates next year and I think having a place to go a few days a week will help me when I want to cry that my baby is growing up:) So yes, if you have the time I say get out there! Volunteering in the field you are considering is a great low stress way to see if it's for you.
I married young and didn't get a formal college education out of school. Thankfully, I had great jobs anyway. Only after my kids were older, I decided to go to college just for the sake of learning and I fell in love with teaching younger kids a second language. Unfortunately, teaching wasn't paying very well at the time and I took a boring administrative job to pay the bills. Fast forward seven years, and when the company I worked for closed down during the pandemic, I sat down and thought long and hard what I wanted to do when I was big 🙂 I turned 50 at the height of Covid and decided that I'd try supporting our household doing the two things I love doing most in the world - teaching and writing. I thought out of the box and managed to do well at both, until such time that I was forced to choose between the two. (Writing won!). It's good to know that if ever I want to pivot again, or if I can't make a living out of writing anymore, I can turn to teaching in a second, I'll love it equally, and I can earn myself a living. I LOVE what I do, and I'm so much happier now than I was in my younger years - career wise.
This seems to be a trending question among women today- or maybe I am late to the scene. The sky is the limit and we're , in many cases, our biggest sky limit imposer( I wish limitor was a word-haha). No one can convince us more quickly than 'self' that we will not succeed if we venture out beyond our familiar parameters. I am not a career path lady, but I have held a myriad of positions in my 38 years around the sun. I've found contentment in where I've landed in this season of life, but I am always open to new possibilities. All that to say, when asking for second career advice, the potential response seem vast. However, I am reminded how my mom advised me in my earliest years of motherhood," You called because you wish someone would tell you what to do, but that's not what you need. You need to know that your choice, right or wrong, best or not is your choice." Admittedly, that response generated frustration to the nth degree because I did want her to tell me what to do (maybe for the first time in my life). Later I understood she did. She told me exactly what I needed to do. I needed to trust the process. Choosing to stay home with my kiddos and survive on essentially one income, was hard. Homeschooling my kids whilst many of my peers opt for traditional or private school is hard. But I imagine that spending my days wondering "what if" would be a lot harder. Maybe it's vague advice,if it's advice at all, but it comes with a lot of hope that you'll see clearly what to do or not do in this season of your life-knowing your worth is not in what you do but who you are.
I went back to school when I was 40 to become a school counselor. I had been a stay-at- home mom for about 10 years and a health educator to adults prior to that. As Kristin said, you know yourself better as an adult. At 40, I knew I would only feel fulfilled in a field where I was helping others. I also knew that I would enjoy the variety of responsibilities that come with school counseling. I do academic counseling, scheduling, build behavior plans, and mental health counseling. Every day is different and I love working with my middle schoolers. I never would have chosen this career in my 20's but it is definitely the right place for me now.
I went from business degree to Dietitian. Now I think you one have to get another degree. Just see what’s out there and do it!
Yes! Even when you feel old, there is often so much time left! I suspected in undergrad that I wanted to be a psychologist, but needed a break from academics and thought 26 would feel a little young for me to counsel others. I did well in a first career and it was tempting to stay put, but I went back to school at 30, finished full licensure by 36 (that is hustling!!), and have not only become a therapist, but then very unexpectedly opened a therapy group. It is such rewarding work, and starting over gave me the chance to rethink the workaholic tendencies I'd fallen into in my 20s. I was also able to finish grad school without loans, both by saving and then by working in my old field while a student, since I commanded an experienced rate vs the low student worker pay. There were definitely downsides to being an older student, but I have so many years to enjoy this work. Good luck to anyone considering it!
I'm reading through comments and I have with one major realization--I'm living your dreams! I am a high school library assistant and so am around books and teens all day 🙂 Although my BA in English Lit is very helpful, I can't be a librarian with it, but I love my coworker who is the kindest, best librarian I've ever worked with. (Yes, I know it's a stranded preposition, but we're just casual here.) Rather than seeing my BA as a limiting thing, I've used it to work in a variety of fields. When I completed my degree long ago, I got a raise and a promotion in my current job just by having the degree. But I always end up in libraries whether I'm an employee or a volunteer. For the past six years, I've also volunteered with the Library of Congress in their By the People campaigns. I transcribe, review, & edit amazing historical documents online. Interested? You can do this, too! Sign up here: https://crowd.loc.gov/
These comments are all so interesting! I have always been a stay at home mom, raising 4 children who have all flown to their adult lives. Every fall I work at a farm stand for a couple of months. I enjoy knowing that the work is just seasonal, and really enjoy the customers. I also volunteer one day a week at the nearby hospital, am on two boards, and sing in the choir, and swim a couple of days a week. This keeps me busy and satisfied with my daily life. My husband is near retirement, so I still cook a lot (he has a recent celiac diagnosis) which I enjoy. I have the flexibility to be able to visit the kids in different states often (and go to JASNA events!) Over the years I have really appreciated that I could be home, especially when my youngest was ill for years as a child. My husband has always worked long hours and sometimes would travel. I don't know what I would have done if I had to leave the house. We made it through some tough years with 2 of the kids with mental health issues too. It is nice now to be able to read and sew during the day, and set my own schedule. What's funny is that I majored in home economics, couldn't find a job, then went back to school to become a secretary. So I feel grateful that I am able to use the education I got in my daily life.
After leaving my marriage two years ago, I began as a family support partner. My agency required shadowing at our crisis center and psychiatric hospital and I fell in love with crisis work. I now do mobile. I work with a clinician and we respond to crisis calls in the home involving families.
I love it. It’s fast paced, I help people and it’s never boring.
When I began my teaching career in 1992, I thought I would be a high school English teacher. Instead, I became a Kindergarten teacher, then an elementary school teacher, and then a wood sculpture teacher. When I was 44, I went back to school and got certified to teach English to speakers of other languages. I now teach in an urban school with a diverse population. It is my dream job. When I retire, I will have 17 or 18 years in a field I'd never thought I'd teach, with a retirement pension I'd never imagined as a 22 year old beginning teacher. I'm blessed to be able to keep growing and learning. And who knows? Maybe I'll not be ready to retire....Looking forward to every season life has to offer!
The first 20 years of my career, I spent 12 years in public accounting & became a senior manager with a “Big 4” Accounting firm. I’m still a licensed CPA. Then I spent 8 years running a department of a financial services trade org where I did conferences & executive meetings for the C-suite in finance & compliance - awesome job w/great travel. My position was eliminated in a big re-org when my son was 1. (I was 43.) While I didn’t intend to stay out of the full-time work force for as long as I did (over 15 years), I did periodic consulting projects in Finance & Business Development and community/school volunteering. My best gig was working on a conference in Southern France & the company flew me & my husband to France! I launched back w/an employment benefits company & that position was eliminated in less than a year. Now I have pivoted to being a financial advisor. I had to pass an insurance licensing test and the FINRA SIE, Series 7 & 66 exams. It took me a few tries to find the right firm for me & then I was recruited away to an amazing new firm last June & then was diagnosed with very early stage breast cancer. I’m cancer free now after a double lumpectomy & a lymph node taken on each side & as the last stop, hopefully & prayerfully, will be starting radiation soon. Many people pivot to financial advisory later in their career (granted, I’m probably very late). You don’t have to have a finance background as the training is incredible. I’m happy to talk with anyone who has an interest. There are SO many free resources if you want to pivot to a new career even if you have no idea what you want to do and there are several organizations that focus on helping women who have had a career break to launch back. I’m blanking on the names now. There are so many scholarships for women returning to a new career which Kristen has talked about (the more micro/specific the better). I like Austin Belcak’s website (cultivated culture I think). He has some unique strategies & has both free & paid programs. Work It Daily is another good site. Google Pat Romboletti - she has a free Thursday evening Zoom focusing on job-seekers and also attitude/inspiration. While she is HQ in Atlanta where I live, the participants come from every major metropolitan area & many smaller towns also. If you have no idea what you want to do, the “What Color Is Your Parachute” is a classic book which has been around forever.
I was a biology/ premed major who didn’t feel ready to apply to med school directly after graduating college. I took a position as a research scientist studying prostrate cancer.
I hated bench research!
Over the next few years I worked towards becoming an even better candidate for med school- took grad classes at night, had two volunteer positions, studied for the MCAT exam (required for med school entrance)
In the middle all of this I met someone who just started school to become a Physician Assistant. It was still a relatively new, less popular career at that time. Honestly, I figured out it was exactly what I wanted to do!
So I shifted my focus, and applied to that program instead.
I graduated as a PA at age 31, and have been in practice for 25 years.
I have love it- but left this Summer. Not because of my patients, but because I’m so incredibly disheartened by the current healthcare climate.
Unsure what my next move will be!
@Kim from Philadelphia, typo- prostate (not prostrate!) cancer.
I know for sure for sure for sure that I would hate bench research. It has way too little people interaction!
My mom went back to nursing after I graduated high school and she was 40 at the time and had several women in her class that were that age or older. Me I haven’t had my second career yet but I am looking now and I am 55. I don’t think it’s ever too late.
I love your thoughts and comments. I became an RN at 30 after thinking I wanted another degree and career. Of course, looking back I now realize how young 30 is, but at the time I felt so much older than the 21 year olds in my class! At 40 I chose to attend graduate school for my masters in nursing so I could open up other paths within nursing. No regrets ever for any of these suggestions. The amazing thing with nursing are the many opportunities to switch clinical focus, which often feels like a new career.
I love this post. I was a SAHM of 4 for around 17 years. When my youngest was in elementary school, I decided to obtain my degree in education. I was 40 years old at the time. I began going part time at first and then eventually full time. When I finally graduated and entered the classroom I was 47.
My thought process was always, "I'll stay home with my kids for 2o and then work for 20." Going back to school was hard for me. It was incredibly stressful. I was never a strong student as a kid because I did not have parental support at home. There was a lot of insecurity surrounding me being successful at the college level. What I found out was that I was a much better student as an adult then as a kid.
Teaching is hard, but I would not want to do anything else. We have one life to live and I say we live it to the fullest no matter how hard it may be to get there!
XOXO
I'm in my late 40s and was among a large number of IT folks RIFed during an outsourcing at my long time employer. I can't find work in IT for something related to what I do* or similar areas. I'd love to pivot but have no clue what I'd do. I always said I'd love to be a horse trainer, but that has come and gone. I love riding as a hobby but don't want to do it full time. I prefer an office/WFH jobs.
*What I do is very specialized. Let's say I'm a vet. I only treat brown dogs with blue tails in Smalltown, Iowa. IT is a hard job market right now. Lots of folks I work with still haven't found anything. I at least have a very p/t gig.
That really stinks; so sorry to hear of this!
I have been working as a rehabilitation assistant (physical therapy and occupationnal therapy) in hospital setting for the past 16 years. While I enjoy my work, it can get quite physically demanding and I don't see myself doing this forever. I plan on retiring from this career in 11 years, at age 55. But I don't see myself not working at all anymore pass 55, so my plan is to take my pension and go do a one-year course to become a pharmacist assistant and just work a couple days a week in a community pharmacy. Still in health care field, but much less physically demanding. If it paid as much as I do now, I would switch career now, but it's not comparable.