{"id":34841,"date":"2019-03-11T12:35:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T12:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flashpacknew.wpengine.com\/?p=34841"},"modified":"2023-04-18T16:48:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T15:48:43","slug":"myth-changing-careers-in-your-40s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/solo\/careers\/myth-changing-careers-in-your-40s\/","title":{"rendered":"The big myth about changing careers in your 40s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thinking about changing careers in your 40s? Writer Tracy King explains why it’s the best time to take a risk; despite what we’re taught about stability and a career for life<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, there was such a thing as a job for life. This was partly a good thing \u2013 the security and consistency of a job for life enabled sound financial and family planning \u2013 but partly also a bad thing.<\/p>\n

Working for one company for your entire life could lead to job stagnation and wage ceilings, and many people had to sacrifice professional progress and personal happiness for the sort of security that comes with loyalty to one firm.<\/p>\n

But then, the job for life was replaced with personal careers. As companies ceased to be family-run and no longer loyal to long-serving employees, workers stopped giving loyalty in return, and instead started prioritising professional and personal development. This kept wages competitive, and forced companies to offer other incentives to encourage loyalty.<\/p>\n

In pursuit of passion<\/h3>\n

\"purpose\"<\/p>\n

Even so, by the time I entered the job market in the mid-90s, it was generally accepted that you would stay in one job for a couple of years and then either move companies, or get promoted internally.<\/p>\n

At the time, I hated the idea of a 9-to-5 office job. When I started my working life, I wanted to be a musician. I worked casual jobs in shops and pubs to support my chosen career. When you\u2019re 19 or 20, you have youth and few responsibilities on your side.<\/p>\n

Read more: Want a happy career? Replace what with why<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It was perfectly sensible to at least try for a career in the arts, even though success was statistically unlikely in a very crowded playing field.<\/p>\n

But, I tried, and I had several very good years which peaked with gigs at world-renowned jazz club Ronnie Scotts. Sadly, it wasn\u2019t to last. Without relocating to London, I couldn\u2019t find enough opportunities to sustain myself, so I decided to change careers.<\/p>\n

The freelance dream<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I got an entry level job in the marketing department of a local newspaper group. I discovered that I was a natural marketeer and office jobs were, in fact, no bad thing.<\/p>\n

And so began my second career. I was very good at marketing, and worked my way up until eventually I was experienced enough to branch out on my own.<\/p>\n

Read more: Overloaded? Try an unstructured day of play<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After a decade working in marketing for other people, I set up my own marketing and PR agency. It was a blast. The sacrifices that come with being self-employed are enormous, but the autonomy was glorious.<\/p>\n

I spent my early thirties being my own boss and travelling around the world for clients, who ranged from tiny little start ups to huge banking corporations. For the first time in my life, I had money and options.<\/p>\n

Staying true to what you love<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But of course, the pull of the arts never leaves you. I started to use my marketing and PR skills to help friends \u2013 writers and performers \u2013promote their work.<\/p>\n

I had some major viral successes on YouTube which coincided with me at last moving from Birmingham to London. Such a major change of location inspired another change. In my mid-thirties I decided I would take another risk and change careers once again.<\/p>\n

I became a producer and writer, first mainly working on YouTube videos, then eventually branching out into journalism and podcasts. As a freelance writer and producer who mostly finds work online, I\u2019m part of what\u2019s known as the gig economy.<\/p>\n

Flexible working in the gig economy<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019m far from the only one. A 2018 study<\/a> from the Department of Work and Pensions estimates that nearly three million Brits per year work in the gig economy, everything from courier or taxi services to freelance writers like me.<\/p>\n

The benefits are obvious \u2013 flexibility and autonomy. Many are in further education, or have childcare responsibilities they need to work around.<\/p>\n

Read more: Want a career break? Don’t overthink it<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Flexible, no-commitment work can be ideal for myriad reasons. The DWP report suggests that the majority of people who work in the gig economy don\u2019t use it full time, but to supplement other income.<\/p>\n

But there are downsides, too. Average hourly earnings are lower than minimum wage, for example, and there is no holiday or sick pay. There certainly isn\u2019t any job security.<\/p>\n

But for me that\u2019s a trade-off I\u2019m happy with for a couple of years. Unlike my young self, age 19 and trying to get a record deal, I have two decades of working experience and transferable skills to fall back on.<\/p>\n

Changing careers: an ambition for any age<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If anything, my early 40s is the best time to take the risk of changing career. I now have the time to work on my first book, and I\u2019m even considering finally pursuing a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Many of my family and friends are making similar changes \u2013 one family member learned to drive in her forties and changed careers from graphic designer to social work, and a solicitor friend recently gave up the law to retrain as a primary school teacher.<\/p>\n

I believe it\u2019s possible to change career at any age, if you have a clear idea of where you\u2019re going and how to get there.<\/p>\n

With more and more professionals choosing to take a travel or parenting break, mid-life can be the perfect time to re-assess whether the career path you\u2019re on is the right one.<\/p>\n

It may take a few sacrifices, but you\u2019ll be making them at a time when you\u2019re old enough, wise enough and confident enough to weather the storm.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s no such thing as a job for life, then there doesn\u2019t have to be a career for life either.<\/p>\n

\n

Take time out to rethink your career<\/h3>\n

Grab some head space with one of these brilliant escapes<\/p>\n

Let loose in the jungle hills of Bali<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"solo<\/p>\n

Soothe your soul in a unique riverside retreat by the jungle hills of Ubud, with anti-gravity yoga and rousing treks. Then, climb a live volcano at sunrise, snorkel a shipwreck and wind down on the idyllic traffic-free island of Gili Air. Dreamy.<\/p>\n

Hey there, Bali<\/a><\/p>\n

Think big on the plains of Zimbabwe<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"sunset<\/p>\n

There’s nothing like the golden plains of Zimbabwe \u2013 with all her majestic wildlife \u2013 for putting life into perspective. Join us on safari across one of the country’s best-loved nature reserves, along with luxury camps, river rafting and a helicopter ride above Victoria Falls.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe, you beauty<\/a><\/p>\n

Reset your work-life balance in Chile<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Knock back red wine at sunset in the Atacama Desert, white-water raft down the Petrohu\u00e9 River and sail between glaciers in Chilean Patagonia. Not to mention an epic day-long hike through Torres del Paine National Park.<\/p>\n

Chile so fine<\/a><\/p>\n

Images: Shutterstock<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thinking about changing careers in your 40s? Writer Tracy King explains why it’s the best…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":69221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9038,9031],"tags":[389,936,5101,464,433,443,595,491,434,2329,5102,498,495,450],"class_list":["post-34841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-change","category-careers","tag-career-break","tag-career-development","tag-changing-careers","tag-discover","tag-escape","tag-explore","tag-flexible-working","tag-fulfillment","tag-happiness","tag-life-in-your-30s","tag-life-in-your-40s","tag-purpose","tag-sabbatical","tag-work-life-balance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}