Prelude for Changing Careers in Middle Age

If you are in middle age and it has been awhile since you changed careers, buckle up for an experience quite unlike the last time around. Your situation is different, you are different, and the world is different.

Your Situation Has Changed

Changing careers in middle age is very different than changing jobs in middle age or embarking on a new career at a younger age. Your world is most likely very different. You may own a house, have a mortgage, be married, and have kids.

Middle age is traditionally the peak earning period in most people's careers. It is the time when workers achieve their highest rank, their fattest salaries, and their most prestigious achievements.

In other words the financial sacrifice you make will be significantly greater than any time previous in your life. When you do start in your new career you may have to start lower down the organization than your current career and work your way up. The good news is that because you have more life experience you're likely to rise more quickly than your younger counterparts.

You Have Changed as Well

Your attitude toward tolerating work that you do not enjoy has probably changed as well. Most likely this is why you’re looking at a new career. In the past, potential cash compensation may have dominated your decision-making. This time around a whole slew of new considerations may now have to be weighed and “job satisfaction” will probably be one of the most important.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal (link) "satisfying" jobs provide:

* Good intellectual stimulation
* Strong job security
* High level of control and freedom in what to do
* Extensive direct contact with customers/clients

You now have a network of contacts that you may not have had the last time you entered into a new field. While not all of these will apply directly to your new area, you’ll be surprised at exactly how many that do. [Read this post for help in this area.]

You also know far more about how to manage people and are more well-rounded in other areas. Make sure that you are aware of your competencies. People are often blind to what they are good unless they hear it from others. Take the time to talk to a few trusted souls about what they think your strengths are. Things that you might be obvious to (or take for granted) might be exactly the types of things that you want to play up in your new career.

The World Has Changed

When you last picked a career there may have been no commercial Internet, no globalization, and no outsourcing. During your last interview it's possible when no one wondered about an applicant's technology skills unless they were in the IT department.

Even more jarring, if you your last career change was 10 to 15 years ago, you might have been one of the “young” guys. This time around you might be one of the “old” guys who is perceived to not be able to work late or go out with co-workers or on weekends because you have non-work responsibilities. While none of this is fatal, per se, you need to understand that this might put you a little out of sync with the culture of your new career an at a minimum you want to go in with your eyes open.

In response to the three factors above you need to be prepared and armed with all information possible. Reading LifeTwo's midlife career change FAQ is a great place to get started.