Changing Careers After 40: Am I Too Old? & Other Concerns
Changing careers after 40 is not only possible, it’s becoming more and more common.
And yet, many US workers hesitate to change careers: 40% aren’t sure what field to change into, and 37% don’t feel they have the right education or experience to make that kind of change. And as for age – 31% feel like they’re too old to change careers.
Real talk, OK? I hear the same concerns expressed over and over by clients, so I thought a roundup with some responses might be helpful.
Problem 1: I’m Too Old
I’m gonna say this a lot, but: You’re not too old to change careers.
And a little louder for the people who were multi-tasking:
You’re not too old to change careers.
I swear.
Nope, I see you shaking your head – not even you.
How old is too old?
There’s no such thing. It’s true. People change careers after 40 all the time. They change careers after 50. They change careers after 60. It’s never too late.
That’s kind of like asking how old is too old to learn new things, or how old is too old to enjoy other people.
Would you say there’s an age at which you’re too old to learn new things?
Would you say there’s an age at which you’re too old to have a good time talking with other people?
Problem 2: I Don’t Have the Right Skills
Well – maybe, and maybe not.
- First off, are you sure? Have you really sat down and looked at the skills for the career you want to change into vs the skills you already have? And then looked beyond just skills, and into everything that’s required for the career you want – network, certifications, degrees, aptitudes – and compared that to your own?
- And when you make that comparison, what’s really missing from your own list? What is truly standing in your way, and what would it really take to achieve that?
You’d be amazed at how many people haven’t done this kind of comparison – but instead just think about the job title and a general impression of the career and 1 or 2 things about it, and decide that they’re just never going to be qualified, and leave it at that. And hey, no judgment – if you prefer to just give it longing sighs and admiring glances from afar, you do you.
But if you really want to explore how to get closer to your ideal career, then a comparison like the one I described is one good way to start. And if you still feel like you fall way short but still want that career above any other, then it could be helpful to look at ways you could get closer to that career from where you are.
For instance: Say you want to work in a creative field like art, and you currently work in tech: you could look for work doing what you do now, but for an employer like an art museum, an art-related nonprofit, a university that has an art museum attached or an art department. This type of move can get you a bit closer to the creative world while you’re still working.
Problem 3: I Don’t Know What Career to Choose
Sometimes you would change careers, if you only knew what career to choose. I totally get that because I’ve been there myself so many times.
And I don’t know about you, but there was something about turning 40 that made me a little more reluctant to just keep experimenting without having any kind of plan. I found myself wanting to be a bit more deliberate, and actually choose a career ahead of time that I thought would be a good fit for me.
The problem was, I had already read a zillion career change books and taken a bazillion (that’s more than a zillion, for all you math nerds out there) online interest inventory exams, personality tests, and career assessments.
Any of that sound familiar?
If so – I’ve got a couple of things you could try that might help. These are based on my own dragged-out career search experiences plus my work with clients – which is just to say, I’ve seen these work in real life.
- Values – check your values vs your employer or career values, and see how well they align. If they are a bad fit, you will probably end up stressed and unhappy – and who needs that?
- Skills – evaluate what skills and knowledge you have, and how you could apply that to other potential careers. The more you can leverage your existing skills and knowledge, the easier time you’ll have transitioning careers.
- Network – take a good look at your entire network (personal, professional, group memberships, alumni / schools, etc.). Who do you know who might be able to help you? Who do they know who might be able to help you? Make sure you let these people know what it is that you want and how they might be able to help you (specifically); if you don’t ask, they won’t know to help you. And you’ll be surprised at how often people in your network will genuinely want to help you when given the opportunity.
- Personal Brand – by “brand”, I really mean how you are perceived in public when you’re not around. This is questions like, what do people get if they search for your name online? What about searching for your name + profession, or name + skillset? Does your online profile (whether that’s on social media or somewhere else) match how you want to be perceived by potential employers, peers, and other organizations? If not – what adjustments could you make to get it closer
- Assessments & Inventories – if your uncertainty about career is due to lack of interest in everything, taking some assessments and interest inventories can be helpful. There are tons of them, but you can start by taking a few free ones for whatever topics interest you, whether that’s career topics, personality tests, values, or something else.
- Research – Look around at potential careers & employers, just following your gut. Are there any employers out there that you’d love to work for someday? Any roles out there you’d love to do someday? Or types of roles? Look around and see if you discover any themes to the types of roles, employers, or work that attracts you the most.
What About Money?
Fears about finances prevent so many of us from making the career change we want to make. And I’m not here to encourage you to disregard practical concerns – you should absolutely take that into consideration.
But don’t let fear take the wheel in your life. A few ways you can stay in control of a career decision (without letting money fears take over completely) are:
- Determine your “monthly nut” – How much money do you absolutely need to make each month to cover your household expenses? That is your “monthly nut”.
- Translate it to your career change – for instance, if you’re considering changing to a career as a business analyst, look into typical business analyst salaries at what your level would be, and look at whether that would meet / exceed your monthly nut. If you’re considering starting your own business, think about it in terms of how many customers or clients you would need (at an estimated rate or purchase amount – you’d have to estimate that, too).
This exercise, while not a perfect picture, can help to right-size those financial worries so that you can actually see what it is you’re worried about.
Wrapping Up
These are the main concerns people seem to have about changing careers when they talk with me. It doesn’t make them the ONLY concerns; these are just the most common. If you’re worried about something that’s not on this list, please tell me about it.
