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Unconventional Tip #1:
Each day you remain at a job because it is not fulfilling your financial goals is another day you postpone your financial freedom.
If you're over 40 you probably already recognize that making a career change when you're young is a lot easier than making a career change when you're older. Typically, the older you are the more you've invested in your current career and the more you potentially have to lose. Many mid-life career professionals remained in careers that were not fulfilling because they felt that their job was “satisfactory.”
If this sounds like you, don't let the fears cause you to stay in a job that isn't satisfying your long term financial objectives. The risks of staying in a career that is not meeting your financial goals are often greater than the financial risks of making a strategic move to a career that you enjoy more and that has the long-term potential you desire.
Unconventional Tip #2:
Tip number two is not to believe that if you love what you're doing you're bound to make money.
While there is quite a bit of wisdom in the maxim "Do What You Love", there is not a direct correlation between loving your job and meeting your financial goals. If money is an important consideration in your career change make sure that you thoroughly research your new career to make sure that if you become the best at what you do that the money will follow.
Unconventional Tip #3:
The third unconventional mid-life career change tip is to focus on money issues -- not work issues.
When making a mid-life career change it is important to thoroughly explore your new career to ensure that it's going to be professional and that you're qualified for the job. However, no matter how much you feel you're going to enjoy a career change and no matter how qualified you feel for a new position don't hand in your resignation at your current job until you've solidified your financial future. No matter how much planning you do you can't anticipate everything that is going to occur down the road. If you're taking a large financial risk by making a career change you may just find yourself in the exact same position in the future -- just 10 years older without the financial resources to make another career change.
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Great article, the key advice for me is that you need to be clear WHy you want a career change and HOW you are going to go about it. Women still need to learn to protect their financial futures. Time and again I work with women who have no financial provision.
ReplyDeleteWise content I believe. However, sentence structure errors get in the way.
ReplyDeleteOpen thinking in a new era. Sometimes the out of the box is a perfect fit.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for change! I am so very ready!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post...it made me think.
ReplyDeleteYou say that there is not a direct correlation between doing what you love and making more money. Do you have empirical evidence to show that is true? I don't find that to be the fact and think that belief is based on a faulty, and very American, assumption that a grande paycheck translates into mucho happiness. I can testify, at least at the anecdotal level, that that is simply not true.
Behavioral psychology tell us people do what they want to do. Knowing this is true, that means that having a job that you like or love means you are more likely to work harder and succeed.
Which challenges the concept that money equals happiness. I think it can give one security, but it does not ensure happiness in any way. A person can have a job they hate, make a ton of cash, and be miserable every day all day long. Meanwhile that same person can barely get by, love their work and work long hours, and I am willing to bet they would rate themselves as being far more satisfied with their life. Based on scientific facts, I think the second scenario is much more likely to create a happy life.
So career-changers beware. Believing that BIG PAY = SMILES is a dangerous philosophy that my work tells me is simply not true.
Number 1 is a load of BS.
ReplyDeleteOver 40, 20+ years education experience in both classroom and administrative positions, post-graduate degree in school administration/management, 9+ years in electrical wholesale and construction in management positions: out of work for 4 years.
Simply, the older you are, the less likely you are to get a job. Between health issues (or the perception of health issues due to age), good education, strong work ethic, and loads of experience; no one wants you. Your too experience, too informed, and might make them look bad by showing up to work on time, doing the job your asked to do (and more), holding others responsible for doing their jobs, and almost always knowing more than your superior/supervisor (because the "moved up the ladder").
Add to this the reality of the current economy, which isn't going to turn around quickly (despite what the pundits, economic advisors, and others "in-the-know" are saying). It is flat out stupid to think of a career move when that job might be the only one you can get (due to the above).
Poor advice from an author who hasn't been there; a person who speaks theory, but has no practical application to back it up.
@Anonymous: Maybe you didn't follow number 3, eh?
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with Tip 1. Unless you're a poor planner, it is actually easier to change careers when you're older than when you're younger. When you're older you should have a good financial base (to cover the time it takes to begin making good money again) and you should be wiser (understand the field that you want to enter and also how business works). Although it's true that some workers become ingrained in their jobs (and become afraid to leave, no matter how much they hate those jobs), those are not likely the audience reading this article.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the reality that older you are it's harder to change careers or even get a new job. There is reality and their is what we'd like to happen.
ReplyDeleteAs in, experience, hard work and intelligence would be rewarded.
Instead, it's who you know. We end up working for people who take advantage of their jobs in corporations to feather their own nests and those of their friends (and relatives - speaking of small cities like where I live)and working for people who are terrified you are going to show them up.
It's a sad state of affairs but one must continue to try.
Ever wondered why self-employment is touted as being so darn wonderful? It's often people who have been turfed out of their jobs and don't have a choice.
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ReplyDeleteMy name is Absolutely Abby & I am a recruiter who is on a mission to help one million job seekers land. My most recent success story was John C who landed in a engineering job that he LOVES after an 18 month search. He is 65 years old and had a positive attitude the whole way through. He had been listening to my FREE Career Wake Up Calls for inspiration and motivation. To join in, please visit www.CareerWakeUpCalls.com
ReplyDeleteYour good post has stirred up a lot of controversy.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of career paths where securing a new job when you're older is difficult. I am turning 60, have 35+ experience as a graphic designer and editor. I wrote letters to leaders in the hospitality industry, received a call, and got a job. It only lasted a couple of months before I was "burned out," not able to work as efficiently as a younger worker and learn the peculiarities of the employer. I quit that job.
Unemployment is high where I live, but it is possible to get that interview using some unconventional techniques to get to the hiring manager. Getting a desired job --- and keeping it! --- make the hill more difficult to climb as we get older.
A career change strategy for an individual may not guarantee success for another. This is why if you are planning on changing careers sometime in the future, careful planning is needed. Learning unconventional ways on how to shift careers may be applied to your advantage. Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteYour career is made up of choices. You choose what you want to do, where you will do it, and what type of education will get you there. Some of your choices empower you and others hold you back. Either way, you have power over what you choose in your career.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the concept of "wellbeing". Scientifc research indicates, there are a few critical components, that make up your overall "wellbeing". For each individual, the weighting of those factors is different. Consequently it makes sense to focus on $, if that is a large contributor to your "wellbeing". Others may thrive by other factors and should favor those over financials.
ReplyDeleteIt is about balance and net effect (extremes like black/white, right/wrong, good/bad are seldom effective models of reality).
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