Making a mid-life career change is a lot harder than making a career change when you are young. You've got a lot more to lose because you may have already worked your way a good bit up the ladder of success at the career you are in today.
Many who have remained in jobs they didn't like longer than they should have because the job seemed "good enough." Many times that's a mistake. When you are forming an assessment as to whether a job is "good enough," you usually focus on whether the pay and benefits are good. That sort of analysis misses the mark.
What you earn is only part of the total pay package you obtain from the work you do. Your paycheck represents your day-to-day profits. The skills you develop are the result of your long-term research and development project. A company that ignores research and development because today's profits are acceptable is a company with a less than favorable future. Don't fall into this trap.
There is a good bit of wisdom in the "Do What You Love" maxim. It really is true that the most financially rewarding jobs go to those doing work that so motivates them that they possess the energy to become the absolute best at what they do.
When planning a mid-life career change, you need to answer the question: When will the money follow? If you don't get a reliable income stream in place in time, you might not be able to stick it out long enough at the new career to see the benefits of doing what you love ever generate real-world financial profits for you.
You need to have a plan in place before making a mid-life career change. Not just a career plan. You need a financial plan to protect you from the downside risks you take on in making such a dramatic life transition.
There are lots of work issues that need to be taken into account in putting together a plan for a mid-life career change. You need to take tests to learn what sorts of things you are best equipped to do. You need to talk to people now working in the career you hope to enter to see whether jobs in that field are as enjoyable to those on the inside as they appear to be to those on the outside.
Doing that sort of thing is not enough because, no matter how much you plan; you will never be able to anticipate every possible future development that will affect your job satisfaction years down the road. Jump to a new career without putting a financial plan into place to smooth out both the current and future transitions, and there is a good chance that a few years down the road you will be back in the same sorts of circumstances that caused you to want to make the first mid-life career change.
Even career changes that are successful in the short-term are often not so successful after a number of years pass by. You must explore new career options if you are dissatisfied with the career you are in today.
But you must also accumulate the financial resources that will open up options for future changes. Otherwise, you may find yourself five or ten years from now as dissatisfied as you are today but also five or ten years older. Not a good plan.
John Groth is a former HR executive and career coach. Find Career Changing Ideas, valuable articles and a Free seven day career planning guide. Discover up to date career and recruitment strategies at our Midlife Career Ideas all to assist you in advancing and managing your career.
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