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

Parents Forum
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<p>I haven’t read this thread (not enough time) – but I did switch careers and here are my comments:

  1. You do NOT need to go to school unless you have a very specific career goal in mind. I love what I do, I am respected – and I have not spent a dime on education other than buying some how-to books and occasionally attending a conference related to my field. </p>

<p>2) START by seeing a career counselor. A good counselor will give you some interest/aptitude/personality tests – they are fun tests to fill out that give a good profile of strengths/weaknesses/interests – and then the counselor will have a list of all sorts of jobs that you never knew existed. (Seriously: my job right now doesn’t even have an easy category – I just ended up figuring out what I wanted to do and carving my own niche doing it.)</p>

<p>3) Then NETWORK and start by taking on tasks that mesh with your interests. If money isn’t the primary goal, then you’ve got a lot of flexibility – and if you can identify a need you can begin to fill it.</p>

<p>4) Even if you are not using them, your pre-existing credentials can be an asset – ESPECIALLY when you shift to a different field. My law degree became much more valuable, in terms of people taking me seriously, when I wasn’t a lawyer any more – simply because I was then working among a group of people who were impressed that I had one. I also think it enabled me to walk right into a managerial position – that is, they assumed that someone at my age with my education would be able to take on significant responsibility.<br>
So in a sense, you don’t want to diminish the value of your Ph.D. by going after some further, different credential – unless it is a credential that is necessary for your field. But many credentials are not obtained through traditional schooling – for example, a real estate license is a valuable credential to have, but not one that has any formal educational requirements. </p>

<p>Hope this helps. I do think that the biggest revelation to me when I switched careers was understanding that I did NOT NEED any sort of different educational attainment or credential to do what I wanted to do. Middle-agers who think that they need to go back to school in order to shift careers are often erecting a large, self-imposed barrier.</p>

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<p>We may not be relevant, but we are fun. At least meet us in the Cafe for a beverage every now and then.</p>

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<p>dunno–I have a college junior & senior myself & find very interesting opinions & folks here that I don’t find elsewhere–never used this site much for college prep or apps anyway, since my kids did their own thing.</p>

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<p>I don’t know what kind of job you want to try?
If you are going to do a kind of sales representative job, you do not have to go back to school? Maybe by your experience in your life and the way you can communicate with friend and people you can be a good representative.
I’m really interesting in being a sales because I can learn a lot through the process
I’m Master of Chemistry, but I feel sales job is more interesting than staying in LAB.
Hope you can find out your way soon</p>

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<p>I am laid off from a job of 20 years and haven’t found a new job yet. I have only been laid off of 3 1/2 months which I have been told in this economy isn’t long. I wonder since I can’t find a job that pays nearly what I used to make if I should go back to school? The problem is I am 56 and have to work to pay the bills so I would only go parttime and this would take about 4 years. I don’t have a husband anymore since I am divorced so there is nobody to support me and I am not sure I should take on the debt, and also even with the degree someone would hire me when I graduate at 60 years old. I guess I am trying to get different opinions on this whole idea.</p>

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<p>This is a three yr old thread. You will get better advice if you start a new one.
I suggest seeing what your state offers re: training/ job placement before you take on additional debt,</p>

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<p>Interesting topic, but its a 3 year old thread…</p>

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<p>Keep the topic going, on this or another thread. This is a thread I NEED… seriously, I’m very interested in how people maneuver career changes in this age range as I’m really seriously overdue for one!</p>

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<p>Wow, I have to hand it to all you 55 year olds going back to school… If I went back to school right now, I’d lose my car in the school parking lot because I’d have forgotten where I parked it. Then I’d forget what building the class was in. Let’s not even talk about retaining the class material!</p>

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<p>Mom483, I have that problem, but I started using the disabled spaces, & now I can find my car fast!
( I have a disabled tag- I can’t wait till it starts raining! )
;)</p>

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<p>Wow – I can not believe I missed this thread! I also have a PhD. I went back to school starting at 45 for a clinical doctorate (not an MD, but a doctoral degree in another health care field.) I am done with classes and finishing my full time internship in May when I will graduate.</p>

<p>I used to be a college professor and shortly after I got tenure, I left that career (around age 37). The main reason was that one of our kids has a disability and required a lot of educational intervention. It was a lot more rewarding to me to spend time with my kids and to invest my energies in teaching my child. With me not working, we were not spending money on child care, and my husband’s income was much better. We could live comfortably with me not working.</p>

<p>What’s it like going back to school with a bunch of 22-year-olds? Well, it is a little weird. My class is small (about 8 students) so everyone gets to know each other. My social life is quite different from my classmates, understandably, so at times it was awkward, but mostly not.</p>

<p>Is there age discrimination? I think maybe there is. I can’t say it is overt. There certainly wasn’t any at grad school (round 2, that is), but I wonder if in the job search there will be. Sometimes I wonder if people (like in clinical placements) actually expect more out of me because I am older, even though in this new field I don’t have any more hands-on clinical experience than any of my classmates. I sometimes feel unfairly judged, sort of like a giant baby that people think is a year older than he really is and expect more of.</p>

<p>Is this “self indulgent”? I don’t think so because I really love what I am doing now and don’t have any desire to go back to what I was doing before. I know I will contribute positively to the field and am already doing so by helping people every day. But does it take a large investment of time and money? Yes. I would not have done it if this would have meant a struggle or had meant that our children’s college choices would be limited. It is definitely cheaper than college for a kid because I don’t have to pay living expenses we weren’t already paying! But it is still a lot of money, and it will take me probably 2 years of work to match what I’ve spent. (Not that anyone is counting or holding me to it.)</p>

<p>A final thought is that even though I have no desire to go back to what I was doing, it sometimes dawns on me that the other faculty I came in to the university with as new assistant professors are now full professors and department chairs. The friends from my PhD program who went into industry are really high up in their careers. If I had stayed, that is where I would be. I don’t know if “rank” really matters, but I left behind a whole lot of practical experience, only some of which I will be able to apply in the new career. In the new career, I am at the very beginning. I realize that just due to time constraints of life, I will probably never attain the level and experience of some of my role models in this new field. I just don’t have the time. But I do hope to make a difference. </p>

<p>I am sending this to you as a private message as well since this thread is already 3 weeks old. If you have any questions for me, I’d be glad to answer.</p>

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<p>Boy, do. Feel silly. With all the recent posts, I didn’t think to check the original year! Oops! :-)</p>

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<p>Talking about inspiration! You guys are amazing! This is one reason why I like CC.</p>

<p>To LBowie, I’d say that older is desirable in some field such as being a psychologist I’d hope. Also, you and your colleagues have different life experiences. Who’s happier is the key.</p>

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<p>I love this thread. I am glad it was resurrected. I missed it the first time.</p>

<p>What happened to Northstarmom?
Consolation, what is your husband doing?
Mythmom, what are you doing?
It is amazing how many posters from 3 years ago are still here.
I also found it interesting that many people involved in teaching are burned out, while many look at second careers in teaching.</p>

<p>I am 56. I have been lucky in that I have been able to choose my hours or choose what I want to do for 33 years. There were many years where I worked part time or barely worked at all so I could watch my kids grow
up. I am a dad by the way. I did not put my career first. Or second. Lol. My dad said he regretted not being home more and
I thought I am not going to do that. So I didn’t.</p>

<p>But now…now…my latest job is going to end shortly and I am unsure about what I am going to do. I can not keep doing what I am doing and I don’t want to anyway.</p>

<p>It is a weird feeling, that this time, I am not going to be working and it is not my choice. I like things better when I choose, not when the choice is made by somebody else. (the company is going to be sold). I did not realize I was a control freak.</p>

<p>Anyway, I am writing this because it is a weird feeling …not being in control and not knowing what I am going to do. Is that two feelings? Lol</p>

<p>And… I like reading about others feelings, thoughts and experiences on this subject.</p>

<p>So good luck to everybody… including me. :)</p>

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<p>Good luck, dstark. When I returned to work 4 years ago, it was a whole different work world than the one I left in 1989 (and I was almost 50, which didn’t help). The hardest part for me has been monetary. I feel that I am worth so much more than I earn, but I have finally come to terms with the fact that doing what I like is more important than earning more. It was a bit tough when my 23 year old got a job that paid more than I make! However, I have had 3 jobs in the past 4 years (by choice), and I recently landed a job that is perfect for me (other than the fact that I still don’t earn as much as I’d like). I can see myself working in this job until at least 65.</p>

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<p>Thanks, kelsmom.</p>

<p>I don’t want to down play money, but how somebody spends his/her time is very, very important. </p>

<p>", and I recently landed a job that is perfect for me"
I don’t know what the perfect job is for me. You have found your perfect job…</p>

<p>If a person likes her job, that is huge. You like your job. You are doing well. I like what you wrote.</p>

<p>It is weird that young people out of college can make more than people who have been working for years. </p>

<p>I am the oldest person working with my firm. That is strange too. </p>

<p>Over 30 years ago, I was one of the youngest guys. Now,
I am old. What happened? :)</p>

<p>I want my kids to make more than I make, if that is what they want.
(Might be weird). If the kids want something else instead of money, that is fine too. I want my kids to enjoy their time.</p>

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<p>The problem is that there has been hyper-inflation in graduate school tuition over the past 7 years or so. Do not go into debt to get another degree, especially when it sounds like you do not know what you want to do next. Be very careful with tuition loans.</p>