Help! Mid-50's and want a completely different career-Should I go back to school?

Parents Forum
21

<p>I was surprised at the negativity here about this new path. And for the person who mentioned making your kids move, why would that even come up? I didn’t get that at all from your original post, and trying to take care of your work for the next 2 decades is certainly not self-indulgent. Most people over a certain age are not doing residential college.</p>

<p>I am 58 and never finished my BA (it was the 60’s, I went off to work in Appalachia and then raise veggies in Vt., then work with the homeless, then 23 years of childraising, but no degree, just single courses for years at a time). I am still taking classes at our state U., when I have the money, and enjoy every single one. There is something to be said, once over 55 or so, for doing school to learn, to think about life, to get perspective, and also to contribute: we have a lot to say in a classroom.</p>

<p>I would also mention programs like Goddard and Union Institute, which have “low residency” programs. These programs often have a lot of older students. Union has an 82 year-old attending. At Goddard, you spend a week/semester on campus, then work independently with constant contact with a faculty mentor, and send packets of work back. At Union, you can do the one week, or a weekend/month, or an online program. These programs are not expensive, and cost less than the state U.</p>

<p>It sounds like you already have a PhD. It is not at all clear what job has burned you out. Some people switch careers at this age, to make more of a contribution, but if you have been teaching, you may want something more reflective or more in your control. </p>

<p>Volunteering can be a better way to test out what you want. Especially if you already have academic degrees. Even without a degree, I have been building more of a resume volunteering than by going to school. I go to school out of interest in the material, not to get a job. I am not after a career anymore, just a job!</p>

<p>Whatever you want to do, go for it. Thinking about the future makes us feel young. Some of the best minds really blossom in late middle age, and even later. Good luck!</p>

22

<p>I have had a few career shifts (all consecutive):
full-time attorney
full-time mom & community volunteer & PTA
part-time special ed hearings officer
part time judge</p>

<p>One of the biggest shifts is the one I recently took at nearly age 50 to full-time (tho paid part-time, since no money) patient advocate, grantwriter & non-profit public health advocate. It is something I did NOT have much formal coursework in (tho I go to medical conferences & read a lot of journal articles on-line). I did also take a 6-week course in forming non-profits, which taught me more about the subject than I can recall from law school (where I didn’t take anything in non-profits tho did take corporate law). I am very fortunate that we are able to pay our bills even tho my salary is so meager because hubby has a great job with benefits (not sure I could otherwise afford this).</p>

<p>My mom went back to school for her masters in special ed when she was in her 40s/50s & started teached special ed after her many years as full-time mom raising us (so she could help with our college tuitions).</p>

<p>My neighbor completed her MD at about age 50 or so & is now a palliative care doc at Kaiser; she finds it very fulfilling.</p>

23

<p>Just open a business. You don’t need years of additional schooling, and you won’t need someone to give you a job.</p>

24

<p>Is there something different you can do with your current credentials?</p>

<p>Remember the last episode of the old Bob Newhart show? He gave up his clinical psychology practice and accepted a teaching job at a small college. A totally new career without going back to school – and a drastic job switch. </p>

<p>People sometimes do the same thing in the real world. I’m a science writer working for a government contractor. I have been a science writer for a long time, but I never worked in a government contracting environment until I started this job a little more than a year ago; there has been much for me to learn. Some of my colleagues have made more drastic switches; one, for example, used to be a science teacher. </p>

<p>Can you take your current expertise into another line of business, as I did? Or apply your skills in a different way, the way my colleague did?</p>

<p>I’m not saying that additional education would be a bad idea – just that you might be able to make a switch without it.</p>

25

<p>I received my Ph.D. just before my 43rd birthday, and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Now, just before I turn 50, I’m about to take a real estate course so I can become an agent. I, too, have burnout (teaching for 25+ years) and am ready to embark on a new adventure. It took me 2 years of searching and stewing to realize that selling real estate (and eventually becoming a broker so I can own my own business) is the right career for me. </p>

<p>Go for it. Think how you would feel at the end of your life if you missed this opportunity. Fulfill all your potential and live as many dreams as you can.</p>

26

<p>OP, where did you go?! I’m really curious to hear what new path you are interested in taking.</p>

27

<p>All these stories are inspirations. Congratulations to all of you who have boldly changed your lives. That’s very, very exciting.</p>

<p>I am a college prof and have a bit a burn out. But a 58 I can’t imagine finding something that demands so few hours of me. Important for some various health reasons. </p>

<p>However, I have just recently written two novels and am looking for an agent, so there may be some relief in sight. I don’t plan on earning enough from writing to stop working (doesn’t seem realistic) but I do hope to eventually garner enough success to teach creative writing at a different institution.</p>

<p>I teach literature and basic writing at a community college and it’s very hard work. Rewarding, but difficult.</p>

28

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<p>I think continuing to take classes and learn stuff is great no matter what your age. But that’s rather different from beginning college to get a new degree in your mid-50s and then setting out to get a job in a whole new field when you are nearing age 60. As I said, not many firms are going to hire a beginner at that age. It might work if you are going to open your own business or consulting practice or something like that, but competing with a bunch of 22 year olds for a permanent, salaried, entry-level career position is going to be tough.</p>

29

<p>Ever heard about that supposed shortage of math teachers? H went back to school and obtained a teaching credential…$20K debt…no jobs. Schools would prefer to hire someone with a BA straight out of college than someone with an MBA/CFA years in investment industry well along to a master’s in education. It’s cheaper. </p>

<p>I would very strongly concur with post #28.</p>

30

<p>So sorry Consolation. How about CC teaching? And some school districts are now hiring older workers because they never get to the top tier in terms of salaries so it’s cheaper in the long run.</p>

<p>But yes, it’s daunting.</p>

31

<p>I’m going back to school, too. I’ll be in my late 40s when I finish a 2nd masters in teaching. They say there is demand for ESL–we’ll see. Classes don’t cost much, so I won’t have any debt. Good luck to everyone. Keep on dreaming.</p>

32

<p>go for IT? what is IT ? What is the OP’s current career? What is OP thinking about as a next career? What kind of additional training is being contemplated? 4 year out of state university or 18 months local community college? Big difference! Would next career mean being hired by a corporate bureaucracy? (I agree, this might be tough at age 60) or would it mean starting your own business? (for example if you wanted to be a psychologist or a marriage counselor or … god forbid… a college counselor!) I can’t believe all the advice being given without knowing the bear basics of the OP’s situation, except for the assumption based on username that the OP already has some kind of doctor degree.</p>

<p>There is a whole industry (including website) surrounding the idea of “Encore Careers” which is basically new careers for us burned out old folks.</p>

<p>Our local community college is quite reasonable, even out of state tuition is not bad. Although I don’t yet qualify:</p>

<p>“Exception: Students who are 65 years or older pay no tuition.”</p>

33

<p>I am with the optimists! I have changed careers and entered new fields several times, always with good results. Certainly there was some luck involved… but I do think there are many possibilities. Keep an optimistic mindset and have fun researching your options. Do not let yourself panic! You have already accomplished a lot; just be confident about your next chapter. </p>

<p>A great book for women reentering the work force after a career break ( and I know this is not the OP but I still think it is useful) is [Amazon.com:</a> Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work (9780446695800): Carol Fishman Cohen, Vivian Steir Rabin: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Back-Career-Track-Stay-at-Home-Return/dp/0446695807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252083799&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Back-Career-Track-Stay-at-Home-Return/dp/0446695807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252083799&sr=8-1) The book contains info for career changers too. There is an accompanying website called irelaunch.</p>

34

<p>I remember one of my favorite Ann Landers columns from many years ago. The reader wrote in: </p>

<p>“I’ve always wanted to go to medical school. I just got my bachelor’s degree and have the opportunity to go. But in 4 years, I’ll be 52. Should I go?”</p>

<p>Ann wrote, simply: “And how old will you be in 4 years if you don’t go to medical school?”</p>

35

<p>Why not to take up hobby? It is very relaxing. And in addition, no job should be pushing a person to the limit. Just do it for 8 hours as hard as you need, then close the door and forget about it for next 16 hours. It makes you more effcient at job too. Yes, sometime we have to work those 15 hours to take care of emergency problem. But if one is pushed to do it on a regular basis, than it is time to re-arrange either your own approach or job position (making 2 out 1, maybe).</p>

36

<p>Chedva, that is one of my favorite Ann Landers columns, too.</p>

37

<p>My mother left her long-time job as a high school teacher at age 52 to start a PhD. She got her PhD at age 61, but by that point she had already been teaching full time at the college level for five years. She continued to teach full time until she was 72 and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. So she got 16 years of college teaching in after her early 50s switch.</p>

<p>Back when I was in law school, I shared an office for six weeks at a summer job with a guy who had been President of a university. When he retired from that job, in his mid 50s, he enrolled in his university’s law school. He was 58 or so and one year away from finishing. I don’t know what happened to him – not everyone was completely comfortable with him, and it wasn’t just his young peers. Many people felt that he was a little too stuck in his ways to learn what he needed to learn. The fact that he was a social peer of the firm’s leaders was both good news and bad news. (My mother had some of the same problems, by the way. Although I like to tell her story as one of autumnal triumph, in fact she had lots of issues with her department and school. She got funded independently of them, and they left her alone, but she was never really accepted as a colleague.)</p>

38

<p>JHS,</p>

<p>I am in my late forties. I intend to live to be 100 (I am ungodly healthy and come from a family of long lived relatives), and work till I drop (though maybe not 50 hours/week).</p>

<p>I have been thinking about a legal career as my second career starting from perhaps about 65 after I retire from my primary career.</p>

<p>At that point, the money, prestige, and fast track will not be a priority. Rather, I would like to work in the field of social justice. Will there be a room for someone like me in the legal profession, or is this a complete pipe dream?</p>

39

<p>"I remember one of my favorite Ann Landers columns from many years ago. The reader wrote in:</p>

<p>“I’ve always wanted to go to medical school. I just got my bachelor’s degree and have the opportunity to go. But in 4 years, I’ll be 52. Should I go?”</p>

<p>Ann wrote, simply: “And how old will you be in 4 years if you don’t go to medical school?” </p>

<p>I read that column when I was in high school, and I’ve lived my life by it. That’s why at 58, I’m taking drawing and singing lessons even though I never thought I had talent for either. I’ve always had a longing to do both – such a longing that once I woke up crying because I dreamed that I was singing well, but realized it was just a dream. </p>

<p>The main lesson that I’ve learned since turning 50 is that if you want to learn a skill, take lessons, and don’t put yourself down because you’re unlikely to become a world renowned expert in that skill. Enjoy honing whatever talent you have, and realize that your innate talent probably is more than you think.</p>

40

<p>“At that point, the money, prestige, and fast track will not be a priority. Rather, I would like to work in the field of social justice. Will there be a room for someone like me in the legal profession, or is this a complete pipe dream?”</p>

<p>My lawyer friends tell me that there is great need for more lawyers in social justice. Many current law students aren’t going into the field because it pays poorly, and they wouldn’t be able to pay off their law school loans. </p>

<p>If you won’t need to make a lot of money, I think you’ll easily find business in that field. There are so many people who need that kind of help.</p>