Can We Ever Say It's 'Too Late' To Change Career?

Can we really change career no matter what age we are or is there a cut-off point after which it becomes a whole lot harder? Well, according to career change expert, Andrea Perry, 'it depends'. She offers her advice on how to approach career change later on in life.

Research from the Careers Advice Service found that nearly half of adults aged over 50 say they’d still like to find their dream job. The older we are, the clearer we get about our passions, skills and strengths, and we may feel that life is too short to waste in an area that no longer brings us fulfilment. We may want to ‘put something back’ or learn new skills in a working world we consider worthwhile.

How realistic is this? Is there too much age-related prejudice to be taken seriously in a new field? Is it just wishful thinking, or are we using our age as a great excuse not take the plunge? Can we ever say ‘It’s too late’ to change career?

Like many questions, this one is likely to be answered with ‘it depends’. It’s not simply a question of determination. Whether you can change career in your 50s, or indeed at any age, is likely to depend on what career you want to change to (and from), how many factors may be beyond your control, what resources you have (for example, financial, time, energy, support and resilience) and how precisely you determine what role would satisfy you in that new field.

Imagine yourself in your ideal role, and then the steps you need to take to get there

One useful way forward is to imagine yourself in the new role, and then work out the steps you’d have to take from where you are now. At each point, identify what you’d need and what you could and could not control about the outcome. Here’s an extreme example:

You’re Clara, a 53 year old marketing executive, and you really want to become a doctor. In fact, not ‘just’ a doctor - a brain surgeon. You’ve got a number of challenges. First, to find a medical school willing to accept you (which may mean taking a whole new raft of ‘A’ levels first). Secondly, to pay for the training (you’re likely to have to fund yourself) and all your living expenses. Third, to apply for the limited number of brain surgery training posts. Fourth, qualify as a brain surgeon and find a hospital willing to employ you.

Realistically, we can see that this course of action is going to be

1. based on several factors beyond your control – for example, whether any medical school would be willing to train you, whether your health will allow you to get through the course and do the work, how good the competition is for the kind of post you want, how good you turn out to be at the work
2. hugely expensive, hugely time consuming, and hugely demanding of energy and commitment. You probably wouldn’t get to where you want to go until you’re in your mid-60’s, at the absolute earliest

Now Clara might be that very rare marketing executive who might still think – “I’m willing to take all those risks, put in all that work and effort, and even if I don’t get there, at least I’ll have tried”. The rest of us might think the odds against succeeding might be just too long. But does that mean we simply have to tuck away all our dreams in a box labelled “Things I regret never doing”? (I hope that’s a very small box, by the way). I don’t believe we do.

We might have to accept that we can’t do precisely the work we envisaged would satisfy us. But if we can work out what we think that role would give us, we can identify a myriad other opportunities to exercise those skills and qualities in other satisfying ways.

Identify the core career drivers or ingredients you need in your new career

So if Clara was going to look at a career change this way, her next step would be to really get inside her idea of what a brain surgeon does to find out what attracted her. For example, she might think that a surgeon -

• Helps people by attending to their physical health
• Has a profound and up-to-date understanding of how the body and brain work, and a training role with junior staff
• Uses their hands, equipment and technology in a detailed and sensitive way
• Works as a respected member of a team, in a focussed and intense atmosphere

Clara’s next challenge is to think what else she could do to satisfy her wish to channel her energy and interests in similar directions. She might invite a friend or a coach to help her identify alternatives that appeal to her. Here are some suggestions, matching each of the points above

• Apply for a shorter or part-time hands-on training in the professions complementary to medicine – for example physiotherapy, dental technician, radiology, massage, reflexology
• Volunteer for the Red Cross or St John’s Ambulance
• Take up an OU part-time or evening course on human anatomy or brain science. Subscribe to online publications about latest developments in surgery. Write or make presentations to groups about specific areas of interest in a paid or voluntary health promotion capacity.
• Take up a handicraft and sell her products in aid of a medical charity
• Join a drama group, become part of a fund-raising group for a health-related charity

Notice that Clara could do many of these things without leaving her marketing job. That way she’d not only be satisfying some of what she imagined she would be doing as a brain surgeon now (rather than having to wait 12 years), but she’ll be acquiring concrete, real-world experience of the actuality of using similar skills and abilities, which may be very different to her fantasy. She may even decide that marketing is not that bad! Once she’s also got a role as the company First Aider, has become a trustee on a Health Foundation Board and has joined a sculpture-for-charity group in her spare time.

However, if Clara does decide to leave marketing, she’ll have far more experience and confidence to take to any future employer or training, and she’ll have far more information and made many more connections with people working in the areas she’s interested in. She is building a bridge towards a more satisfying future, brick by realistic brick.

Leave a comment below: If you are unable to get the exact role you would like to have, what are all the other ways you can serve your passions, interests and career ingredients?

Andrea Perry is a consultant and therapist who has created two successful companies, and has extensive experience of helping people make postive change. She also broadcasts on psychological issues, and is a published author both in print and online. Her coaching draws on best practice from all these worlds, underpinned by her belief in non-violent approaches to personal and professional development.