Why It’s never too late to change career

The decisions you make when you’re at school about what you want to do with your life are always subject to change. Even people who seem to have the clearest ideas or a calling to a specific career can find their interests and abilities taking them in new directions. No matter what age you are, you always have a chance to change your life for the better, and being older shouldn’t prevent you from achieving your goals.

If you discover a new passion in your life, or a previously unknown talent comes to the surface, you can’t normally just switch to a new career without undergoing training and very often achieving qualifications in your new field. You’ll need to go through a period where you’re learning and adapting your existing skills to become adept in your new role, which takes an investment in time and money.

The first step is identifying what you want to do with your life. Some people choose a dramatic change, for example giving up a medical career to pursue a path in music, or saying goodbye to the corporate world for a rural farm. In other cases, the change may be less dramatic because there’s still a relationship between the old career and the new. 

For example, someone who works in a marketing department for a commercial business would be making a significant change in career if they left to take up a role working in the charity sector. Two very different types of organization built on different philosophies, but the principle skills you’d need would be the same in both positions.

Once you’re sure of what you want to do, you can assess your existing skills and identify where you need training, experience, and further qualifications. Some folk do manage to carve out successful careers in their chosen field without having all the letters after their name, but they are in the minority. It’s far better to have the certificates that show prospective employers and clients that you’ve taken part in an approved programme of education and achieved the required standard of competency.

In many cases, you’ll find that you have the chance to study part-time or by distance learning, so you can continue earning an income while you learn your new trade. Even higher degrees can be obtained by distance learning at some universities, so whatever your ambitions are, there should be an option that fits with your lifestyle and your financial situation. If your dreams of a new life seem to be hampered by your age or abilities, don’t give up hope. It’s well worth exploring the alternatives that take you as close to your dreams as possible.

You might be wishing you’d taken up a more physical career when you were younger; after all, surely contemplating training as a gym instructor or yoga teacher in your middle and later years is unrealistic? Not so, in fact there are many over fifties who can easily out perform clients twenty or thirty years younger than them, and there are many examples of people who even in older age are still able to participate at a high level in their chosen activity.

If you have limitations because of chronic health issues, don’t let that dissuade you from taking up the challenge. You may not feel you have the strength and stamina to work full time as a personal trainer for instance, but there are part-time roles, or you can freelance and do as much or as little as you choose. Or you could diversify and get yourself a qualification as a sports massage therapist, as featured at https://origympersonaltrainercourses.co.uk/course/sports-massage-courses.

If running a Zumba class or spending the day riding horses feels too energetic, how about training as a yoga or Tai Chi instructor, or taking your teaching qualification and becoming a riding instructor? There are many ways in which you can fulfil your desire to have a career in a certain niche without requiring the innate strength and stamina of the younger generations. All physical activities need coaches and trainers, or if that level of physicality isn’t possible for you, then explore the opportunities in research or the behind the scenes roles that keep sports organisations running.

However old you are, or whatever limitations you may have, there’s a good chance that you can become involved in the world to which you’re drawn and where your true interests lay. Don’t be dissuaded by your date of birth or the number of medications you have to take every day; you can fulfil your dreams in one way or another, whatever they may be.