Midlife Career Change Success Story; "Never be afraid to jump ship from a job where you're unhappy or being mistreated"

It started with a message on LinkedIn from Walter O'Brien, an old colleague from the music business who I hadn't spoken to in nearly 20 years. Because LinkedIn allows you to see the professional biographies of those who you are talking to, I was able to see that Walter had made a significant career change in midlife. By "significant" I mean he left a successful long-term career in the entertainment industry then went back to college to finish the degree he had left nearly three decades before to become the "new kid" at a local newspaper.

This piqued my interest for a variety of reasons. Most notably because one of the most common emails we receive at LifeTwo is about wanted and unwanted career changes. For many, such switches in middle age are scary, daunting and put off all of the wrong reasons. In response, I asked Walter if he would share his experiences and some tips for others considering doing the same thing.

One of the most common emails we get at LifeTwo concerns the seemingly insurmountable challenges of changing careers in midlife. You did it both dramatically and successfully going from the music business to journalism including a return to college to finish your degree. Before we get into the specifics of how, can you tell us why you made such a dramatic change in your life?

O'Brien: Not to be overly melodramatic, there were a number of issues that all piled up, some minor but annoying, some literally life changing. In 2001, I had settled into a new home out in the country, almost a two hour commute into New York City, where my office was in lower Manhattan. In June I had an accident at home and broke my leg in three places which meant I spent most of the summer at home working via phone, which was not fun. Pantera, the largest band on my roster and clearly our flagship act, was starting to fall apart at that time. Then came Sept. 11 just a few blocks away at the World Trade Center, changing everything about being in lower Manhattan, keeping us out of our office for weeks, and creating four to six hour daily commutes once we could return to the area, and once the Holland Tunnel reopened. And in December of 2001, I turned 50, which felt like a milestone. I had enough of smoky clubs, late nights, long commutes, and air travel had become unbearable, and I couldn't see how I could continue, especially watching my top act for 13 years crumble, which was very sad as well as financially unhelpful.

Did you always think about going back to school and pursuing journalism or was it something you didn't really consider until later in life?

Let me jump back quickly to explain the lapse in school first. I attended Livingston College of Rutgers University in its first four years of existence in 1969 through 1973, and as anyone related to the university at the time can tell you, turmoil would be an understatement. So after four years, I had enough credits technically to graduate, but the school changed rules on independent study classes and interdisciplinary majors. I was a "Media" major at the time, because the school had linked their Journalism school to the Urban Studies department and it took a completely different tone, so I became part Art, part Journalism and Film. When the school didn't "grandfather" in previous agreements, I found myself behind a full year with enough credits IN any major to graduate. Rather than put another year into a frustrating experience, I took a job offer in the music business, which is where I wanted to be all along. But in the back of my head, not finishing that degree was always there, nagging away. So as soon as I retired, it was the first thing I decided to take on. Even if I wasn't going to use it for anything, I wanted to finally have that task completed.

Has the experience changed you in ways that you didn't foresee?

Well, I am surprised that after a few years I do occasionally miss the music business, but what I mostly miss is all my friends in the business and the ability to use those 30 plus years of knowledge and experience in the field. I think the only changes are that my health is much better and I'm much more relaxed.

How important was it that you had built a successful business and may have had financial resources that others might not have? In other words, could you have made this change without such previous success?

It would have been very tough. When I chose to go back, tuition and books and supplies were not an issue, neither was surviving while going back to school. I didn't need student loans to get by either. It might have been possible, but it would have been a lot tougher.

Did you have a fallback and/or did you give yourself a timeline whereby if you weren't successful in your new career by a certain time you'd go back to your previous career?

No, not at all. I was DONE with the music business. My alternate choice was selling the current house, getting something smaller and not working ever again. But I get bored too easily to really do that. I was already freelancing for the Courier News while I was finishing the return to school for the degree, so it was looking pretty good, and I was already doing freelance writing and public relations services for local small businesses, so starting a public relations and writing / newsletter / website company for local small business was another option.

How were you welcomed in your new career and what's it like being "the new kid" again?

I'm still a little shocked at how easy it was. I told many people in school the second time that what I really wanted to do was become the Hunterdon County (my home county) reporter for the Courier News. So when I repeated that line at a party and found out that a friend at the party worked at the Courier News as an editor, she offered to read my writing. She actually used my final exam paper for News Reporting 102 as a cover feature story, complete with my own photographs. From there I eventually worked for half a dozen other editors at the paper, and after about two years of freelancing, was invited to join as a staff writer. Imagine my surprise getting the call from the managing editor asking me to become - the Hunterdon County reporter for the Courier News. So for the second time in life, I was getting to do exactly the career I wanted.

What advice would you give others considering similar changes in their lives?

Never be afraid to jump ship from a job where you're unhappy or being mistreated. Or for that matter, where others are being mistreated. Eventually it will be your turn to get mistreated! Do what you can to be prepared to be able to make that jump of course, or be willing to take the consequences. Even during my struggling years in the music business, if I wasn't happy, I just jumped with no safety net. Fear of not surviving is quite a motivator. But don't ever think you can't do better, and never underestimate what you can do if you put your mind to it. Oh, and always, always, make your own luck. Start lining things around you up in the direction you want to head, put out clues and feelers everywhere. You never know who might be at that party listening.

Finally, is this it or are you a candidate for another major career change in 20-30 years?

The only thing I can imagine after this is morphing the writing into public relations in my own company. I do miss being in charge of my own time and keeping most of the money. But I really enjoy the writing, I'm learning quite a bit every day and becoming a better writer. I might have to take on the "memoirs" book my friends keep telling me I should write someday. But if I'm still here in 20-30 years, I plan on being just plain retired. Again.

Thank you Walter and good luck with your new career.

For those of you looking for a resource about career changes, we recommend Mari Alboher's book "One Person, Multiple Careers"