Change of career at 52

pearl123

simpywimpy wrote: »

Has anyone changed career direction over 50?

Ive just finished a BSc degree with the open university and work in admin but feel with a good 15yrs work left to do, I should be aiming for a career rather than a job and am thinking of training for HR.

Its expensive however and I wonder whether employment wise I'm a bit over the hill to start something new?

Congratulations on getting your Degree. Do what you think will make you happiest.

supersaver1000

Hi Pearl

Congrats on your degree. I finished my degree last year and am over 50.

Before I started my degree I took a big leap into a serious management role, then took a big leap back - it knocked my confidence for a while. But now I've got my degree I would like to try again. But this time instead of leaping, I'm going to ask work if I can take on more responsibilities/take on a project in the area I wish to work in.

I don't know if you can do that in your role? Or, like someone suggested can you ask your HR department if you can gain some experience there? My best ever work-life balance was when I had two part-time jobs - I would love it if I could stay in my current job but have a day or two in a different role or on a project. I would even be willing to reduce my hours and take on a part-time job in my chosen field at another firm.

You might find that they even pay for your training.

Fifteen years is a long time - I spent about five years in each of my first three jobs, so roughly the same :eek:

I'd like to think that as I get older my skills would be in demand so I could perhaps pick and choose my hours.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

supersaver1000

supersaver1000 wrote: »

Hi Pearl

Congrats on your degree. I finished my degree last year and am over 50.

Before I started my degree I took a big leap into a serious management role, then took a big leap back - it knocked my confidence for a while. But now I've got my degree I would like to try again. But this time instead of leaping, I'm going to ask work if I can take on more responsibilities/take on a project in the area I wish to work in.

I don't know if you can do that in your role? Or, like someone suggested can you ask your HR department if you can gain some experience there? My best ever work-life balance was when I had two part-time jobs - I would love it if I could stay in my current job but have a day or two in a different role or on a project. I would even be willing to reduce my hours and take on a part-time job in my chosen field at another firm.

You might find that they even pay for your training.

Fifteen years is a long time - I spent about five years in each of my first three jobs, so roughly the same :eek:

I'd like to think that as I get older my skills would be in demand so I could perhaps pick and choose my hours.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Sorry, congrats SimpyWimpy!

dunroving

Anything is possible. I went back to "college" (US) in my late 30's and 6 years later, with a freshly minted PhD, I started my second career and my first occupational pension at age 40 (ish). I recently retired at age 60.

My career change wasn't quite as late as yours, but I also moved job and country at age 50.

Whether you are over the hill is up to you. Whether you are perceived as over the hill by employers is also largely up to you, but also may be sector-specific.

Voyager2002

Congratulations on the degree, but do be aware of 'ageism' before spending lots of your own money on HR training.

fishybusiness

Completed a Psychology degree mid forties. Previous experience was aerospace engineering for 20 years so plenty of transferable skills.

The job market was full of minimum wage jobs, which I wasn't prepared for and I thought about a Masters, specialise I thought, but even after that it would have been tough to find well paid employment. Didn't seem right to spend yet more money with only a 'possibility' of a worthwhile job.

Also although it shouldn't be so, after a couple of casual chats with managers in larger companies, I was told it was likely they would pass me by for employment as they look for younger staff.

So, left that behind me, work in voluntary sector once a week, and changed direction. I turned 50 last month and run a successful gardening business - totally off the wall.

Bit of a Jackanory story, I guess the point is that I found more barriers than I expected, both in my needs for a solid living wage and finding an employer wanting to take me on.