Traditionally, being in your 20s is seen as the time to be a little footloose and fancy-free, to finish your education, to explore some possible career paths, and to work out what you want to do with the rest of your life. By the time you reach your 30s, it’s expected that you will have chosen your career and should be working on ways to advance in your career path.
However, if you’re in your 30s and finding that your career isn’t fulfilling you, you don’t have to spend the rest of your life hating your job and feeling sick whenever the alarm clock rings. You still have time to make a change and go in a completely different direction with a new career. Just be prepared for doubters who will question whether this is really a good idea.
There are some common myths that are often shared, that you can expect to hear from your loved ones, about changing careers in your 30s. Hopefully you can find some inspiration from learning a new skill to how to get oil rig job. So many possibilities!
That’s Really Impractical. You Should Already Know What You Want To Do
This is a very common myth about career changes. It’s a myth based on a fear of change, which can lead you to stick with a decision that you have already made, even if it’s one that is making you unhappy. Just remember that is completely acceptable to change your mind, even about your career. Think about when you were a child and somebody asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. The answer you gave then is probably not the same one as you would give now.
As you get older, your ideas and your vision about yourself will change over time. This is just part of being a person. A lot of people spend up to (and even over) 40 hours a week at work. That’s 2000 hours a year. This is a lot of time over a lifetime, so you ought to ask yourself if your job will let you use your strengths and skills, and let you be the best version of yourself that you can be.
Instead of accepting being unhappy at work, learn to listen to your intuition. Your intuition is the inner force that urges you to make a change and grow. If you decide to do this, you will need to be prepared to meet with other people’s fears, as well as your own ingrained ideas about what is practical or realistic. If you’re worried about this myth, see if you can find some alternative viewpoints, perhaps through podcasts or leadership books, that can help to boost your confidence to finally apply for that other job or start exploring how to become a charter pilot.
You can use this technique to reinvent yourself. Remember that a realist will never change the world. You have to be a little unrealistic sometimes and be prepared to take a risk.
You’re Too Old. It’s Too Late.
Who gets to decide when it’s too late to make a change to your life? If you’re working in a corporate world, but dreaming of leaving your job to become a writer, it can be hard to share your dream with others. The first few people that you decide to share your dreams with might express some doubt about such a huge change. A lot of people are going to tell you that you’ve left it too late and should just stick with what you’re already doing. Don’t listen to these doubts. Instead, what you can do is to start small. If you want to be a writer, set aside a chunk of time in your morning to write every day before work, and again in the evenings. It’s never too late to make a change like this.
Or, if you love helping people or are considering going into a more medical-orientated direction, online psych NP programs are the perfect solution for you. These programs will educate and qualify you to help people overcome obstacles in their lives and improve their mental wellbeing. Considering careers like these are always possible, and you’re never too old to start out with something new. After all, you’ll never know if you don’t try!
There’s another important thing to take into account if you’re 32 and panicking that you’re too old to pivot into a new career. It’s likely that you aren’t very far past the halfway mark to retirement. The workplace is a lot more fluid than it used to be, which means that skillsets are more fluid too. Your skills can probably be applied to several different jobs and careers.
No One Is Going To Hire You
Changing your job in your 30s is fine, and nobody will bat an eyelid at this. However, changing careers is a different concept, which is a bigger thing to do. How will an employer view a job candidate of your age who is applying for their very first job in the field you want to change to? It’s natural to worry about this, but in reality, they will probably view you in exactly the same way as they view the other candidates. They might even be impressed by your bravery for making the leap and taking the risk to follow your dreams.
Be prepared to talk about why you’re doing this. When you’re getting ready for the interview, make some notes on what transferable skills you have that could be used in your target industry, and make sure you can talk about what those skills are.
It can help you to network to find a job in a new field. Make use of your alumni network. Set up some informal meetings, ask to take someone out for coffee, and ask lots of questions about what they do, what the trends are in the industry, their company, and the challenges of the field.
Use LinkedIn too. Don’t just set up the basics on this network. Tailor your profile to the role you want and the industry you want to break into. Use keywords that are relevant to the industry so that recruiters find you.
Other good tricks to help you out on LinkedIn, include:
- Set job alerts
- Follow relevant companies
- Join relevant groups, including alumni and industry groups
- Use it to find contacts in specific fields and reach out for information
- Use the new mentorship platform
If You Get Hired, You’ll Have To Start At The Bottom
Plenty of people will tell you that you’ll have to take an entry-level position if you change industry. It is unlikely that you’ll be able to jump right into a senior position, but you also won’t find yourself spending years trying to get re-established. Don’t discount the years of experience that you already have. You have skills and talents from your career, and those can be transferred to your new career too.
You’ll Have To Go Back To School, Which Is Expensive And Will Take Too Much Time
It is true that a career change can require some more training and education, but that doesn’t have to be another degree. You might be able to get a certificate or take some training to help you out and patch up any gaps in your qualifications, skills, and knowledge.
If you know that you will need to go back to school full-time, start making your plans as soon as possible. There are lots of flexible educational programs out there that can be worked around other time commitments like work and family. Lots of these programs are online, some are in the evenings or at weekends, so they can be fitted into your existing schedules. There are also some grants and scholarships that you could apply for to help with the costs. These are often based on your major, age, location, and other factors.
Changing your career in your 30s isn’t easy, but it can be done. Now you know the myths, you can make an informed choice.
