Mid-life career change is it possible? is it a good idea?

[ApatheticNoMore]

Well I'm still unemployed, looking hard for work but it's not looking very hopeful (not that it's 100% hopeless either of course). So what other alternative is there I guess but to do something entirely new.

I know there are all sorts of huge obstacles one will likely hit trying to retrain for and change a career in mid-life (like huge age discrimination especially if just starting out in a career, it's one thing to start out in a new career in your 20s and 30s but ...). But this depends somewhat on what one switches to as well, some careers are maybe more open to people starting in them even if they are over 40 or 50 (I'm in my early 40s but after I retrained I certainly won't be any younger). Does anyone know what these careers might be?

Also what would you consider if you were retraining? Yes of course one considers if there are jobs in the field. But again if there are hidden barriers like age to enter a new field these aren't easy to suss out. Also if a field REALLY ISN'T that great and doesn't have that many openings period compared to applicants, it isn't always that easy to tell by jobs ads either, because there might be job ads and an ok amount, but it might also be the case of employers being flooding with enough resumes that they are able to be EXTREMELY picky in who they actually consider (what I am encountering now to an almost absurd degree - the purple squirrel phenomena in full effect) so that almost noone even gets considered for an interview.

If the problem was me screwing up interviews rather than the job market seeming very very very tough out there so that interviews are very sparse, then I wouldn't be thinking career change, but I am. It could be this part of the country isn't so hot for anything I've done, but I don't plan on relocation either (or I would relocate in the area perhaps but not moving cross country - my man and my mom are here what can I say). Yea training for a new career would be expensive, time consuming, and PLENTY risky as well, but it may be the best option.

[nswef]

Is there a way to repackage your skills into a new job where they would pay for the retraining?

[JaneV2.0]

I went back to school in my mid-fifties to get certificates in technical writing and editing. My career trajectory was on point--I had a paid internship, and was getting interviews--until the great IT crash of 2000 happened. So I think mid-life career changes are possible.

[Teacher Terry]

I finished my master's in social work at the age of 39. Human service and teaching are all careers where they value age over youth.

[catherine]

I began my entry level job in market research at the age of 46, never having had any experience, other than typing up other people's reports. One of the best decisions I ever made from a financial perspective. I think what helped me was a genuine interest in the field and a fortuitous blend of skills needed that just happened to match skills I had accumulated over my adult life. As nswef suggested, it was kind of a serendipitous repurposing of assorted things I was already good at.

[Tammy]

I started my nursing career at age 37. It’s been good for me and we take people of any age in healthcare.

An ancillary role like radiology tech or lab tech would only require less than a year of training I think, and they are in high demand.

[Teacher Terry]

Here a rad tech needs an associate degree (2 years). Might be a good idea to look up jobs in the medical field with a year or less of training. Here a phlebotomist can train in just a few months.

[rosarugosa]

I was definitely thinking nursing or other positions in the medical field.

[oldhat]

I think medical support positions look promising. My BFF from high school is in hospital administration and he says such jobs are usually in demand. RNs are golden, of course--you can write your own ticket. But like others have said here, there are all kinds of support positions you can train for. I'd check your local community college(s) to see what's on offer.

I wouldn't put too much stock in the current popularity of any given job type. Obviously, don't retrain for a profession that is clearly circling the drain, like journalism. But pick something you think you'll like. At the community college see if you can talk to some alums from any given program.

I wouldn't be overly concerned with age, either. At my job (corporate writing/editing) I've seen a number of recent hires of people in their 50s. If you've got the skills they're looking for, you'll get hired.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Well an update of sorts. I will see soon if I can get unemployment (fired for a mistake like I said and from an abusive work environment, without any warnings etc.).

I interviewed with a different company each of the last 3 weeks. Quite a winning streak for me. HOWEVER, I got none of those jobs and I usually don't have such winning streaks, interviews are harder to come by. So things are hard here and I don't know when or if I'll find work.

I don't know about healthcare as a field for me because 1) I REALLY don't have the background, I really have NO science background BEYOND general ed type science courses for non-science majors. So I don't know what that really leaves without a long time acquiring a biological science background first. My dad switched to lab tech from doing low level chemist work late in mid-life but he had science courses, had done pre-med and even some med school years earlier (a med school dropout). So I don't know how directly applicable that is to me who hasn't gone in that direction in life at all. 2) I'm not sure I have the temperament, I mean we are talking can't watch violent movies due to blood so ... yea I can do jobs I don't love, I pretty much always have. But we do have to ask not what we love (that question is indeed a waste of time) but rather what we can *tolerate* and what we can't.

[JaneV2.0]

Medical records management, medical equipment repair? I always said the only medical job that would suit me was forensic pathology, but there's more variety out there now.

[Yppej]

My grandfather switched from farming to x-ray technician late in life. He did have some college from when he studied agriculture prior to going back to school.

[SteveinMN]

How about something in pharmacy, like pharmacy assistant? Dental tech, building prosthetics and the like? Or (forgive me, I don't know what your recent job entailed) doing the same thing as your previous job in a medical practice or hospital?

[mschrisgo2]

I ran into a friend who totally changed careers 4 years ago and went into the medical field, When asked, she said "decent people skills, good team player, ease with computers, are the prerequisites for all of the imaging, teach, lab jobs. Pck something and train intensely, one of the 4 or 5 month full time trainings, and pick one with an internship. Once you get in as an intern, they see you, they like you, the interview becomes just a formality."

[ApatheticNoMore]

How about something in pharmacy, like pharmacy assistant? Dental tech, building prosthetics and the like? Or (forgive me, I don't know what your recent job entailed) doing the same thing as your previous job in a medical practice or hospital?

database development, but apparently not in any capacity fancy or maybe senior enough that the phone is ringing off the hook, though I did produce real, and lasting, and even complimented work in the last job (for the end results, and even asking all the right questions to get there etc.). Then again I guess this isn't silicon valley here either, ha to the extent that databases are ever that sexy :laff:. Ok they probably aren't ... boring and unappreciated, what a combo (truthfully didn't mind it at the time though). Maybe I don't choose the very best jobs, although even bad jobs are better than no job now.

Maybe being unemployed 4-5-6 months OR MORE is actually kind of NORMAL these days, sometimes I get that impression from some people locally, though I'm not that at ease with it! Training does start to sound better, although I am skeptical (not because it's impossible or anything, but because easy solutions aren't always).

[ApatheticNoMore]

Well an interview this week for a contact position, so that's 4 weeks in a row. I guess when my problem isn't getting interviews (and I wasn't getting so many before), it's still getting a job. I may have to admit that the interview process for me is grueling, and yea getting a job via internship sounds like paradise at this point! But hope something works out sometime soon. Ok unemployment is only so interesting. It's just pain and life contains much pain we can just endure and keep keeping on.

If nothing works, I'll have to get a new career, if stuff works, eh well I still might end up doing something different eventually but I'll take work, as I still do think about a career where age isn't an issue etc.. Unemployment does give one time to think.

[dado potato]

ApatheticNoMore,

I wish you a life of ease and comfort, with secure and satisfying work.

I see that Tammy and others have mentioned health-related fields, and I agree there is tremendous demand there. I never undertook a mid-life career change, because luckily I was never terminated. However, I did have a
"Plan B", just in case. And that was (drumroll, please...) learning how to take care of old people's feet.

One good thing about that line of work is: one doesn't see blood. (One hopes!). I thought there would be possibilities to set my own hours, income and working radius. (Have Emory Board, Will Travel). There may be a licensing requirement where you live.

[ApatheticNoMore]

It's my 3rd time unemployed in my life and I've been though almost all scenarios (laid off due to financial conditions at company, quit an untenable situation, fired). I'm not always losing jobs or anything, I have decent tenure at several companies (at least for the modern world private sector where people don't stay at a job forever, as some recruiters have even said it is a selling point - my "long" tenure some places). But yea one does get tired of it: unemployment, YET AGAIN? There may be reasons it takes me awhile to find a job when I am unemployed again (though not so much for lack of looking). This time has been hard.

[KayLR]

What kind of work gives you the most joy?

[iris lilies]

I dont know, ANM, I like databases. Working with the data was the interesting part of my job. The humans, not so much. :~) I couldnt have done it without you
IT types.

[Gardenarian]

Hey ANM, It sounds like you are feeling pretty bad. I'm so sorry. Do you really want to change fields, or is more that you feel you have to? How close are you to FI/ early retirement?

It's definitely possible to change. Heck, 50 sounds young to me these days, and you're not close to that.

Libraries don't pay a lot, but a librarian with a background in database development could pick and choose her job. You usually need an MLS, which many people nowadays get online.
I love Library work. You're neither sitting or standing all day, which is something I would look for in a job. There is really no age discrimination in libraries, not that I've seen in my 35 years in the field. Colleges pay MUCH better than public libraries; both generally offer great pension plans (you're still in CA, yes?)

Teaching is another field that would be fairly easy to break into. You need to get certified, but to start as a substitute all you need is a BA/BS.

I bet you could get some good ideas browsing around MMM.

I hope things are looking up for you.