Starting Over: Embracing Career Change Later in Life

Are you in a position where you have to make a career change later in life? Are you struggling over making the best decision on where to go next or are you afraid of making this large change? Well if you are facing these challenges you are not alone and there is hope in the middle of the uncertainty. I hope that the following can help you along the way.

The courage to start over

The first thing you should do is acknowledge all your emotions. The truth is that you will feel afraid and uncertain, change is a hard thing especially when it impacts many aspects of life as a career change does. It is important to face the fear head on and not be afraid to try new things because you just may find what you truly love to do.

Starting over does not mean starting from scratch

You may think that changing careers means you have to completely start over but you probably have gained many skills along the way that can transfer over to your new career path. This will be different for everyone but it is worth reflecting on the skills you already have and how you can use them in your new career.

You can also draw from any life experience like any hobbies or volunteer opportunities you have taken part in. All of these can contribute to your background and can even point you to the best career choice. For example, I had volunteered at my church many years ago and part of my task was to track donations and this later influenced my career change to bookkeeping later in my life. 

Learning, unlearning and relearning

Although you will have some transferable skills you will still have to be open and ready to learn new things. You may have to go back to school or earn certifications in order to begin your new career. Learning new things is scary but it is a good thing and it keeps you growing and improving.

Do not be afraid of being too old to learn something new because it is never too late to learn new things and it will even keep your mind going. Do not rush things, just take it one day at a time. Today there are many self paced courses you can take online so you can go at your own pace to fit your specific needs.

Building a new identity

Many people usually define themselves by what career they have and while I do not think this is wise unfortunately it seems to be necessary these days. It seems that building your brand on sites like LinkedIn is always recommended when looking for work. I would say to create a profile on there and just be yourself and share what you are learning along this new journey to your new career. You should not be ashamed of starting a new career later in life.

Some extra thoughts

I have personally had to start over later in life. I got a degree in political science in my mid twenties and thought I would have a career in the legal field. I was unable to find work for many years and about 12 years later I decided to change to a career in technology at age 37 and got a Salesforce Platform Administrator certification. I got an apprenticeship as a Salesforce Administrator and quickly realized that this was not the best fit for me. I decided to start over once again and pursue a career as a freelance bookkeeper and got my level 1 QuickBooks certification this August at age 39. 

I share this because I want to encourage you to try something new and not to give up on your dreams. I even know of people in their 60s and older who have started YouTube channels or have written books or other things like that. 

Have you gone through a career change later in life? Share your tips in the comments below.