It is now officially confirmed that 40 is the new 30, but that doesn’t mean that it will be smooth sailing. You may have stopped counting birthdays and acknowledged that there is a certain gravitas to telling someone you’re over 40. You may have some financial and family stability and you know what you like and what you want. After 40, you may have certain large accomplishments in the bag already and from now there is generally no pre-determined life path to walk down anymore.
With fewer big life changes and more monotony, you must carve out your own way – an exciting career change could be on the cards which means you could be edging towards the most interesting years of your life right now.
I have a great network of friends, colleagues and peers that know me in my current role, how can I just abandon them?
I have a mortgage, bills to pay and a family to support – how can I justify the risk involved with career change?
I’m just starting to earn a senior salary now and if I change career, I will lose it all.
Many people feel that changing careers at 40 is starting from scratch. It is not, as we have accumulated transferable skills which we can put to good use. You know your talents, you know what gives you meaning and purpose at work. And if you don’t, with a little bit of help, and with a program like Purposeek, you can easily find your drivers.
At 40, you already have a network of people that you know in different industries that you can leverage to get insight into what your next career could be. This network didn’t exist when you are 25- so maximise it to help with your career change.
The beauty of being 40 and thinking about a new career is that now you know what you like and what you want. This means that you can choose wisely which may be different to when you started or fell into your first career.
Other questions that you may be asking yourself are:
Have you found your purpose in life by the age of 40?
Is work-life balance important these days? Are you currently getting this at 40y old?
Do you need to change your career now or perhaps in the future?
It could be argued that career change is a vital skill. As technology continues to evolve at such a rapid rate, our future will involve significant job automation, job change and job creation. Many of us will need to learn new skills, techniques, and tools. Much of the work required in the future will be with careers and jobs that currently don’t exist right now, and the definition of traditional work model will be very different from what it is now.
As our life expectancy continues to increase, we will need to work for more years before we retire. Working from home is now normal and we are continually dependent on new technology in many different facets of our lives and careers. As technology brings about new opportunities, it also causes disruption to many sectors and has forced companies into restructuring. We are now increasingly working in an economy with more opportunities for freelance, gig, and portfolio careers.
Changes due to COVID-19 and the variants of the virus combined with the push for sustainability have made a massive impact on the structures of work and the economy. If we don’t show the flexibility or understanding to be able to or think about work change, we may be hindering our future selves and our future lives.
Career change is not for everyone, the timing might not be right for you at the moment. However, if you are 40 years old there is a significant chance that you will find yourself in a new or transitional career within the next 30 years.
Tips to change career at 40:
- Take small, calculated steps to make the change.
At 40, Career change doesn’t have to be a big dramatic shift. Small, calculated steps in new directions including experimenting in different areas are some of the best ways to start.
- Upgrade your social network
By talking to people that you already know and those you don’t know about your plans and projects can really help clarify what you want, where you want to get to and how you will get there.
- Career change takes time.
Career transition can take around 12- 18 months. Take small steps consistently over time to build up your momentum.
Good luck with your career transitions and change. If in doubt, help someone else who is also thinking about the same thing as this will help clarify your thoughts.
