How I Changed Career At 40

When you consider that most of us will spend around a third of our adult lives working, doesn’t it make sense to do something for a living that you enjoy? These days it is not uncommon for the average person to have as many as five different careers in their lifetime. So if you’re unhappy with your present job, why not change?

Sounds like a simple solution to your workplace woes. However, a total change of occupation usually means retraining to acquire new skills. Doing this, around work and family commitments is a challenge most people would not even attempt.

I was in my late thirties when I went in search of a new vocation. As a father of two with a full-time job, studying for my new career wasn’t easy.  I managed to pass six exams and secure a role within an up and coming company when all around me said it could not be done by someone my age.

On Sunday afternoons, I’d start to feel a bit down. It would be a matter of hours before my week would start all over again and I’d be back at work in a job I really hated. I didn’t like this feeling so I decided to do something about it.

When deciding upon a new line of work, I considered many factors. Money was definitely an issue. I wanted a career that would allow me to provide a decent standard of living for my family. I knew, however, that starting all over again would mean a cut in pay, at least in the early days. The other thing I had to think about was how I was going to get qualified for my new occupation. Would it be evening classes or distance learning – studying from home? How long would it take and how much would it cost?

After much self-analysis and research into several occupations, I shortlisted several possibilities, one of which was furthering my existing career.

I read an article written by a recruitment specialist which provided advice on how to change your occupation. One of the recommendations was to examine your present line of work and asked the following questions:  Would a change of employer or department help? Could acquiring new skills gain a promotion?

At the time, I had worked as an estate agent for ten years and thought about training to become a surveyor. I knew many people in that field so researching the profession was not difficult. Unfortunately, the requirements for qualifying and the timescale involved were just not practical for someone in my position. I decided to leave the property business altogether.
 
The IT industry was my chosen field and I decided on a distance learning course to help me get the required qualifications.
 
Using books, CDs, DVDs and the internet, I studied from home. There was email and telephone support from qualified tutors and practice tests online to help prepare for the exams.
 
What most attracted me to this method of learning was the flexibility it offered. I could put the kids to bed, then get on with my reading in the next room. At times, I would get up at 5.30 in the morning so that I could study for a couple of hours before my daughters would wake. This allowed me to concentrate without distraction and enabled me to spend time with my children when I got home from work in the evening. It was very tiring and sometimes I almost fell asleep at the keyboard.

Were there any drawbacks to studying from home?

The difficulty comes when it’s eleven o’clock at night and you’re reading a chapter that contains stuff you don’t understand. Unlike when in a classroom, you can’t raise your hand to get the teacher’s immediate assistance. You can make notes, then email or call the tutor the next day, but right then, it stops your flow – it’s no good moving to step two when you haven’t understood step one!

Sometimes, I’d be so tired it was extremely hard to focus. I would read a page several times and still not grasp the material. My mind would wander and I’d start thinking about the bills and my other commitments.

Having passed my first two exams, I set about trying to find a job within computing and this is an area I found quite challenging.

My experience as an estate agent meant that I came across as quite confident at job interviews. One potential employer commented on how well I’d conducted myself during our meeting but, even though he was impressed, he didn’t give me the job. His reasoning - the starting salary would be too low for me!

I had to convince several interviewers that I was prepared to accept a pay cut in relation to my previous occupation, just so that I could get started in IT.

Looking for that first job in a new industry can be quite a testing experience. It seemed like almost every position advertised required candidates to be experienced and those that didn’t were attracting 30 or 40 and sometimes over a hundred applications. At moments it felt as if I was trying to get an audition for the X Factor!
 
The process of applying for jobs and attending interviews can be a time consuming activity.

I was quite fortunate in that I secured a position as an entry level technician after five interviews; however, I’d made 20 times as many applications. I would browse websites daily for newly posted vacancies and immediately submit my CV with the application. Within a couple of days, I’d follow up with an email or a phone call. It got to the point that my persistence was beginning to annoy some of the recruitment consultants I dealt with – I could hear it in their tone.

If you’re an average person trying to break into an industry of which you have little or no experience – learn to brush off being ignored. I applied for over a hundred advertised jobs for some of which I met all the prerequisite requirements. Did I get a reply? No, and although it did upset me, I carried on. I would get phone calls telling me that I’d been shortlisted for interview from 28 candidates and never hear from them again.

One employer, after a two hour interview, closed by telling me that he felt that I’d fit in very well with my team and that he would contact me within the week. This was two years ago!

Prior to a meeting with a prospective employer, I would visualise a positive outcome – them making me a job offer and shaking my hand. I would psych myself up by telling myself over and over that the interview would go well. It worked! I had a phone call from the recruitment agency telling me that the employer was impressed and that a formal offer was in the post.

This was a fantastic achievement but as it was a junior role, I had to work hard to apply my training to the real world and gain valuable experience. 

When there was a task ahead, I’d volunteer. I wanted to learn as much as possible and at the same time, I was studying for further exams. A new shift rota was introduced for my department which meant I’d be working some nights, weekends and bank holidays. This was a difficult time for me, but I persevered as I knew at the very beginning that I’d have to prove myself.

Those late nights and early mornings of study paid off for me. Six exams later, I am a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician and a Microsoft Certified Systems and Messaging Administrator.

After almost two years with the company, my salary now exceeds that of my previous occupation and my benefits include private medical insurance, gym membership, share options and a pension scheme. A promotion means no more night and weekend shifts and I now work normal office hours.

What advice would I give to someone considering a similar vocational path?

If you’re going for a career move later in life, you can’t afford to be negative about your age – there will be many people who will do that for you. The best advice that I was given was to do everything in stages. Achieve one goal and then move on to the next. Whatever you do, finish what you start and above all else, never give up.
 
Good Luck
MikeM