Questions for making a successful midlife career change

When considering career plans or career transitions, one is often advised to “follow the passion” and a career path will emerge. However, there are two problems with this: 1) There is no direct correlation between “doing what you love” and the money you earn; and 2) Surprisingly, 15-25% of working people do not have identifiable passions.  If you are considering a career change, instead of relying on passion to determine the next step, ask yourself the questions below.

Why are you interested in making a career change at this point in your life?

Are you dissatisfied with the actual work, the working environment, or the people surrounding you? Or do you feel you have achieved all that you can in your current career, and are looking for new challenges? There are a variety of reasons people want to change careers, from boredom to necessity. It’s important to be clear that internal, not external, factors are usually the strongest driving force for change.  Understand the why behind your desire to change careers before jumping into something new, or you may find yourself experiencing all the same frustrations once again. Read more on getting unstuck here.

What are the financial risks of staying versus leaving your current career?

Be realistic. Are you making enough now to meet your human needs of food, clothing, shelter, etc.? Where can you cut current living costs? Can you sustain a period without any income? How long will it take to establish a new career? In the long run, you may earn more and be more satisfied with your career, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy. You need a clear financial plan that forecasts your anticipated earnings both during the period of transition, and for the first few years following it.

What are the transferable skills you have that can move from one career path to another?

Transferable skills are those you use, not those formally required in a previous position.  For instance, some transferable skills you might claim include persuasion, presentation, negotiation, communication, leadership, and human relations.  Leverage your experience. Experience is an advantage because it cannot be bought or learned in book or a seminar. Real life experience can be a useful selling point for older workers.

Are there new skills you can learn quickly to move into a new career?

Make sure you thoroughly research the career you want to enter.  If you have been a hospitality worker and you now want to move into computer technology, perhaps it is time to consider enrolling in a programming course or understanding how artificial intelligence uses large language models.  Keep your day job: Learn new things after your regular hours to get a taste of the work you are considering. Determine if it really is as interesting as you initially thought Understanding key words and the particular industry jargon shows you are up to date.

What strengths do you bring to changing careers?

The myth that career growth is best achieved by improving weak skill sets has been disproved by psychological studies. It is better to operate from strength. You will do your work better if you are good at it! Pay attention to the times hen your job performance was excellent. Were you engaging in leadership, operating from integrity with curiosity? Or doing something else? Building on the your strongest talents for successful outcomes.

People hang onto jobs they do not particularly like in times of economic uncertainty. However, if you were given the option of going to your current work versus getting a root canal, and you find it difficult to decide which is the least painful, it may be time to seriously consider a midlife career change.

If you want help with managing a midlife career change, schedule your free 20-minute, no-obligation session with Hillary.