Wow thanks for these amazing, varied, and so interesting responses!
So cool to hear about folks who are in the latter part of career and have made (or are contemplating making) changes.
To clarify - I would never leave this job that I love unless I had something absolutely great lined up (with a clear desire to move or assume full remote) - i.e., a documented, accepted offer w/start date What I was thinking about was the possibility that the new job might go south (for some reason?) and then I’d be in the position of trying to track down a second new job (current position is pretty stable- just trying to imagine new scenarios in less stable environments).
Thanks for the suggestions re: possible modification of current position. In my organization remote (or even hybrid) is explicitly not a possibility. So I’d be living where I am (far from kids) indefinitely. That’s pretty much my reason for exploring.
I have to say I’ve done some of what’s been suggested (new professional headshots - that was a ton of fun; polishing my tech skills; zoom networking with professional organizations - delightful to talk to the mixed aged people there - from young women just starting out to accomplished more senior people).
I am working on the resume now, but can see that this networking, learning aspect can be very rich and interesting.
I’m going to keep laying the foundation for options and learning more - and would love to hear any and all ideas/experiences! And good luck to all those taking steps along a new path of career exploration and change at this stage!!
There’s a problem if you’re worried about a back up job for a job you don’t even have yet. Is this an indication of how much you are satisfied with your current job??
abasket - hmmm, I’d say it’s more of an awareness of how much healthcare costs if you don’t have it w/deep discount through an employer, and how fast savings can be depleted w/a short stint between jobs.
So it’s more of a comparison between the known (pretty stable job) and the unknown (unpredictable stability). I like to have back-up plans!
But you would know your health care perks or coverage before you switched jobs.
Any new job comes with some risk you won’t like it. Most don’t have guaranteed longevity. And it’s rare that people will have a back up opportunity job in case the new job doesn’t work out.
I get the risk and the potential risk of loss of savings if a job doesn’t work out. But that’s there no matter your age.
That’s true. I just have seen some of the rough figures for marketplace healthcare and they are so steep! I know there are no guarantees - just trying to balance some of the potential risks and not start something without at least an awareness that things could not work out!
It’s good you are doing research, learning about important factors … including those dreaded medical insurance costs. The networking is key. You still need good qualification, LinkedIn entries etc…. but so many job placements these days seem to involve knowing somebody.
JackH2021- for sure not! In this day and age (!) there is no guarantee that almost anyone (particularly people in 20s/30s) will be somewhere permanently. Jobs change, grad school locations change, preferences change, etc.
So any place I’d move would have to be somewhere I’d 100% want to continue to live and thrive in even if kids left. However, the place I’m thinking of is enjoyed/loved by both kids - so future visits even if they moved would hopefully be likely…
Bottom line - if I was going to move somewhere- why not be in a place the kids already are in and love - vs. someplace else (as long as that place aligns with my goals/preferences also)?
Could you imagine going the self-employed route and working on different client projects as a consultant? That would provide flexibility, variety, etc. although it might be less stable (fluctuating income) and you’d have to pick up certain costs.
Lostintheshuffle - Interesting…my long-term plan is to develop an engaging/creative side-hustle (while working at regular job) so when retirement gets closer, can ramp that up and do through retirement to limit 401k withdrawals and fund travel. Need to get that up and running, though, and a long ways before relying on it!
- I would never leave this job that I love unless I had something absolutely great lined up (with a clear desire to move or assume full remote) - i.e., a documented, accepted offer w/start date What I was thinking about was the possibility that the new job might go south (for some reason?) and then I’d be in the position of trying to track down a second new job (current position is pretty stable- just trying to imagine new scenarios in less stable environments).