For many, turning 50 brings a moment of reflection in both their personal and working life. For those still working, it might be a point for considering whether now is the right time for a change of career. With increased life expectancies and many planning to continue working for as much as another two or so decades, changing careers isn’t the radical change it once was. Here are a few considerations to approach a career change at 50 and why it might be the perfect time to pivot.
Is changing careers at 50 right for you?
Whilst you may be considering a career change, there are a few things to think about before you start.
Consider the way you want to work
Do you want to continue in full-time employment or move to part-time? Do you want to work for yourself? How about working from home or moving to hybrid working?
Your financial situation
If your next move means you could earn less, will you still be able to afford what you need? Especially if you have family or other dependents, like elderly relatives, who count on you for support?
Re-training
Will you need to earn a qualification? If you do, will you be able to afford any costs involved or take time away from your current job to re-train?
How to start changing careers
Your passions and values
Some people may know what career they want to move into next, whilst others simply have a desire to do something different. If you’re not sure about your next move, you may want to explore your hobbies and passions and see if they can be made into a new career. There may be job opportunities related to a hobby that didn’t exist not so long ago.
Not that it’s mutually exclusive to your passions, but considering your values can also inform your next career move. Something like creativity may be important to you, or wanting a better work-home life balance.
Take stock of your transferable skills
Changing careers doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. You may have many skills that easily transfer to other industries. It’s worth reflecting on what you do and have done in the past. You may have developed skills you didn’t start your career with, which you could now pursue.
It could be helpful to list out:
- tasks or projects you most enjoy being involved with;
- your hard skills, like specific technical abilities and knowledge and your soft skills, like communication, teamwork and adaptability; and
- any feedback or compliments you’ve received at work.
Once you’ve done that, you could match those to roles or industries where they’re particularly desirable. The National Careers Service Skills Assessment can help you identify your skills and what you can do with them.
Retraining or upskilling
Not all career changes require retraining. However, depending on your new direction, you may need to invest in some learning and development or gain a new qualification. There are many options to develop new skills and knowledge such as:
- Online platforms - there are many distance learning courses available at both traditional universities and online education platforms. These could give you the best flexibility for learning and accreditation.
- Apprenticeships - far from being exclusive to those starting out their careers, there are many adult apprenticeships on offer. The Apprenticeship Guide is a good place to explore what’s available.
- Volunteering - this can be a great way to gain exposure to the kind of role or industry you’d like to move into, but without such a financial commitment.
- Formal qualification or training - you could look into a part-time course, allowing you to earn a qualification over a longer period of time.
Career coaching and mentoring
A career coach can help you define and develop your goals and skills. This could help you focus on the practical steps to move forward. A career coaching service is one you typically pay for in return for advice.
Rework your CV
When changing careers, highlight your transferable skills and any relevant achievements on your CV. A skills-based CV may be most helpful in your job applications as it emphasises skills over your career history. Making what you could bring to a role clearer to prospective employers.
Tap into your network
You may have built quite an expansive network of personal and professional contacts who will, in turn, have their own connections.
Create or update your LinkedIn profile to highlight the skills you want to promote and what you could bring to your next role. It’s also a great place to reach out to people in roles you’re interested in.
Sometimes a single conversation can lead to a job lead, training opportunity, or fresh perspective.
Summary
Stepping into the relative unknown can feel daunting, but an exciting prospect at the same time. Whether your motivation includes pursuing a lifelong passion, looking for a better work-life balance or escaping burnout, a new career can be deeply rewarding.
Thankfully, there are more ways to transition careers than ever, alongside more ways to get guidance and support in making that transition. At 50, a career change isn’t about putting your past career behind you; it’s about building on it.
Resources
- Civil Service career matcher - discover careers in the Civil Service available to you based on your skill set.
- National career service skills assessment - get career suggestions based on your skills.
- Rest Less - offers tailored services for the over 50s, including working with age-diverse employers in your job hunt.
- FutureLearn - search online-only courses from more than 200 universities around the world.
- Check out episode 38 of The Pension Confident Podcast - How to shift careers, where we discuss how you can make the leap and keep your finances on track.
- Startup School for Seniors - focuses on supporting the over-50s in starting their own businesses.
Risk warning
As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.
