Career change after 50?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s your career now? On a scale of 1-10, how much do you like it? How badly do you want to switch? Are you, generally, a risk taker or fairly risk adverse? I’d talk to a counselor or career coach before quitting your job.

Getting a job at 53 after getting an MBA may be difficult.

It would probably be an EMBA, which is $120K ish. Risk mitigation would be a school at least as good as Virginia Darden. OP, Stanford runs a program for highly successful people who are looking for a second career, usually non-profit. You might want to look it up if only for ideas.

OP here... yes, it would be an EMBA, and the idea would be to consult on areas where I already have expertise and a solid network. I have the luxury of being able to afford to do something like this without needing to worry too much about money - it might mean cutting costs a bit but it would not be a huge risk in a cosmic sense. I guess I am really just struggling with whether I could handle feeling like I am "starting over," which is why I am curious about the stories of others who have done it.

[Anonymous]

We are doing this. DH, who is about OP's age, walked away from a high-prestige, high-paying job with no plan, other than a vague idea to do something different. One thing that helped was that we moved way out of the DC area, and dramatically downsized, to a new location that we both liked. Moving out of town, made it easier to cut expenses like our club, our social expectations such as dinners out at very expensive restaurants, and our charitable giving that we can no longer afford. Moving to a much smaller house also cut our utilities, landscaping, house cleaning etc.

We are now thinking about what to do next, and consulting is the obvious answer. I have consulted off and on for many years since leaving the labor market and DH already has some offers to consult. Ultimately we just need to cover health insurance -- it is our biggest expense by far for the next 15 years.

The kids should be fine. They have already had every advantage in life and it was time for them to be cut-off anyway, except for their tuition bills which we saved in advance, like OP.

Good luck! Life is too short to be miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schizophrenia is a mental illness.

There is no such thing as sounding a little 'schizophrenic'. That is a pretty disrespectful thing to say.

For God's sake. It's a figure of speech.

+100

PP, consider what your life could be if you stopped seeing microaggressions where they don't exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s your career now? On a scale of 1-10, how much do you like it? How badly do you want to switch? Are you, generally, a risk taker or fairly risk adverse? I’d talk to a counselor or career coach before quitting your job.

Getting a job at 53 after getting an MBA may be difficult.

It would probably be an EMBA, which is $120K ish. Risk mitigation would be a school at least as good as Virginia Darden. OP, Stanford runs a program for highly successful people who are looking for a second career, usually non-profit. You might want to look it up if only for ideas.

OP here... yes, it would be an EMBA, and the idea would be to consult on areas where I already have expertise and a solid network. I have the luxury of being able to afford to do something like this without needing to worry too much about money - it might mean cutting costs a bit but it would not be a huge risk in a cosmic sense. I guess I am really just struggling with whether I could handle feeling like I am "starting over," which is why I am curious about the stories of others who have done it.

OP, I recall several “older” students in the Georgetown IEMBA program from which I graduated in the late 90s. I think they were in their 40s...maybe 50...and they did well afterwards. I suggest you call the admissions office and see about a meeting to discuss outcomes for older students. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Not worth it, ageism is rampant in employment after 50 and you yourself could easily lose your job at 55, which is what happened to me. I would just stick to the job I had and then prepare for part-time or early retirement and then do something simple. Save, save, save. You don't want to go into nursing. I've know a couple of women that went into it late and they ran into the ageism wall, they could get into either long-term care or psychiatric nursing as those are considered suitable for "old" women. You are just having a mid-life crisis and it's not worth going into debt or throwing away the bird-in-the-hand now.

Just because you are healthy now, it is meaningless. Half my childhood classmates died before 60 of cancer or weird things. My best friend ended up a doctor and then had early onset Alzheimer's at 52. All of them were extremely healthy.

[Anonymous]

Okay early onset AlZ is beyond rare and I have a family who has had ALZ. You should not make decisions based on worry about a rare disease. You could die tomorrow crossing the street. I am actually thinking about a change too OP and I too am 50. I am at the stage of figuring out what would bring me joy. I am not worried about money as I have taken care of that already. I do want to have purpose and would like to make money to pass on. I don’t know what that next step is but I have decided this year I will really look into a variety of career and decide either extra school or possibly an internship. I don’t care if I graduate and only have a few years of work (hopefully not). I want to enjoy the journey and I realize as my kids get older that I do not want to be lonely and make them worry. If I am building something then I will be happy. If you are in a job you hate then you are not building anything. You want to make every 24 hours a good experience. When kids are older you get the opportunity to remake yourself. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are doing this. DH, who is about OP's age, walked away from a high-prestige, high-paying job with no plan, other than a vague idea to do something different. One thing that helped was that we moved way out of the DC area, and dramatically downsized, to a new location that we both liked. Moving out of town, made it easier to cut expenses like our club, our social expectations such as dinners out at very expensive restaurants, and our charitable giving that we can no longer afford. Moving to a much smaller house also cut our utilities, landscaping, house cleaning etc.

We are now thinking about what to do next, and consulting is the obvious answer. I have consulted off and on for many years since leaving the labor market and DH already has some offers to consult. Ultimately we just need to cover health insurance -- it is our biggest expense by far for the next 15 years.

The kids should be fine. They have already had every advantage in life and it was time for them to be cut-off anyway, except for their tuition bills which we saved in advance, like OP.

Good luck! Life is too short to be miserable.

How do you start this?
Do you see a headhunter? I am very specialized in a field, give free advice to people around me who tell me I could do this as a paying job, but don't know how to start it. I am in DC.

[Anonymous]

Same situation. DH is retired military so we have super-cheap health insurance, and he has his military pension. We could not live in the DC area on his income alone but we could easily live in many other parts of the country. Consulting and writing can be done from anywhere. Moving out of a high cost area to a low cost area and doing freelance stuff to supplement a stable pension seems very feasible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it, ageism is rampant in employment after 50 and you yourself could easily lose your job at 55, which is what happened to me. I would just stick to the job I had and then prepare for part-time or early retirement and then do something simple. Save, save, save. You don't want to go into nursing. I've know a couple of women that went into it late and they ran into the ageism wall, they could get into either long-term care or psychiatric nursing as those are considered suitable for "old" women. You are just having a mid-life crisis and it's not worth going into debt or throwing away the bird-in-the-hand now.

Just because you are healthy now, it is meaningless. Half my childhood classmates died before 60 of cancer or weird things. My best friend ended up a doctor and then had early onset Alzheimer's at 52. All of them were extremely healthy.

+1

Check out this recent ProPublica article:

If You’re Over 50, Chances Are the Decision to Leave a Job Won’t be Yours

A new data analysis by ProPublica and the Urban Institute shows more than half of older U.S. workers are pushed out of longtime jobs before they choose to retire, suffering financial damage that is often irreversible.

https://www.propublica.org/article/older-workers-united-states-pushed-out-of-work-forced-retirement

Work for a few more years until you have enough money to really retire. Then launch your second career, which can mainly be about fun and what's most rewarding to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are doing this. DH, who is about OP's age, walked away from a high-prestige, high-paying job with no plan, other than a vague idea to do something different. One thing that helped was that we moved way out of the DC area, and dramatically downsized, to a new location that we both liked. Moving out of town, made it easier to cut expenses like our club, our social expectations such as dinners out at very expensive restaurants, and our charitable giving that we can no longer afford. Moving to a much smaller house also cut our utilities, landscaping, house cleaning etc.

We are now thinking about what to do next, and consulting is the obvious answer. I have consulted off and on for many years since leaving the labor market and DH already has some offers to consult. Ultimately we just need to cover health insurance -- it is our biggest expense by far for the next 15 years.

The kids should be fine. They have already had every advantage in life and it was time for them to be cut-off anyway, except for their tuition bills which we saved in advance, like OP.

Good luck! Life is too short to be miserable.

How do you start this?
Do you see a headhunter? I am very specialized in a field, give free advice to people around me who tell me I could do this as a paying job, but don't know how to start it. I am in DC.

The first step was to talk to people who have already started small consulting/lobbying businesses. Then get an accountant, form an LLC, and start working on communications -- new e-mail addresses, e-mail management system, better linked-in profile, and possibly a website. Mostly though it is about tapping your network. Often people start by getting a contract from their former employer. We must have at least 20 friends that consult or run small lobbying shops with varying degrees of success -- some make up to a $1 million, others much less but still have contracts. It seems to be where people turn in their 50's because the cost of hiring a 50 year old is pretty high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it, ageism is rampant in employment after 50 and you yourself could easily lose your job at 55, which is what happened to me. I would just stick to the job I had and then prepare for part-time or early retirement and then do something simple. Save, save, save. You don't want to go into nursing. I've know a couple of women that went into it late and they ran into the ageism wall, they could get into either long-term care or psychiatric nursing as those are considered suitable for "old" women. You are just having a mid-life crisis and it's not worth going into debt or throwing away the bird-in-the-hand now.

Just because you are healthy now, it is meaningless. Half my childhood classmates died before 60 of cancer or weird things. My best friend ended up a doctor and then had early onset Alzheimer's at 52. All of them were extremely healthy.

This is a very depressing post (in fact, maybe the MOST depressing post I have ever read on DCUM) and OP should not be discouraged by it. The vast majority of people are not dead at 60 or stricken with Alzheimer’s. The the “bird in the hand”, stay at the safe job you hate mentality is equally depressing. Ignore these anecdotes and forge ahead with what you want. You only have one life and you shouldn’t live it fearing what will happen in the future. No one ever knows what will happen, but we can’t assume that it will be depressing. That is just sad. Live, don’t just wait to die.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it, ageism is rampant in employment after 50 and you yourself could easily lose your job at 55, which is what happened to me. I would just stick to the job I had and then prepare for part-time or early retirement and then do something simple. Save, save, save. You don't want to go into nursing. I've know a couple of women that went into it late and they ran into the ageism wall, they could get into either long-term care or psychiatric nursing as those are considered suitable for "old" women. You are just having a mid-life crisis and it's not worth going into debt or throwing away the bird-in-the-hand now.

Just because you are healthy now, it is meaningless. Half my childhood classmates died before 60 of cancer or weird things. My best friend ended up a doctor and then had early onset Alzheimer's at 52. All of them were extremely healthy.

This is a very depressing post (in fact, maybe the MOST depressing post I have ever read on DCUM) and OP should not be discouraged by it. The vast majority of people are not dead at 60 or stricken with Alzheimer’s. The the “bird in the hand”, stay at the safe job you hate mentality is equally depressing. Ignore these anecdotes and forge ahead with what you want. You only have one life and you shouldn’t live it fearing what will happen in the future. No one ever knows what will happen, but we can’t assume that it will be depressing. That is just sad. Live, don’t just wait to die.

PP, it is the truth for most people after age 50. Now, if you are well connected and feel confident you won't have much difficulty getting the job of your choice in the field of your choice, then by all means, go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth it, ageism is rampant in employment after 50 and you yourself could easily lose your job at 55, which is what happened to me. I would just stick to the job I had and then prepare for part-time or early retirement and then do something simple. Save, save, save. You don't want to go into nursing. I've know a couple of women that went into it late and they ran into the ageism wall, they could get into either long-term care or psychiatric nursing as those are considered suitable for "old" women. You are just having a mid-life crisis and it's not worth going into debt or throwing away the bird-in-the-hand now.

Just because you are healthy now, it is meaningless. Half my childhood classmates died before 60 of cancer or weird things. My best friend ended up a doctor and then had early onset Alzheimer's at 52. All of them were extremely healthy.

This is a very depressing post (in fact, maybe the MOST depressing post I have ever read on DCUM) and OP should not be discouraged by it. The vast majority of people are not dead at 60 or stricken with Alzheimer’s. The the “bird in the hand”, stay at the safe job you hate mentality is equally depressing. Ignore these anecdotes and forge ahead with what you want. You only have one life and you shouldn’t live it fearing what will happen in the future. No one ever knows what will happen, but we can’t assume that it will be depressing. That is just sad. Live, don’t just wait to die.

PP, it is the truth for most people after age 50. Now, if you are well connected and feel confident you won't have much difficulty getting the job of your choice in the field of your choice, then by all means, go for it.

Yes, but the focus on death, dying and dementia was a bit much. Most people aren’t dead at 60.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are doing this. DH, who is about OP's age, walked away from a high-prestige, high-paying job with no plan, other than a vague idea to do something different. One thing that helped was that we moved way out of the DC area, and dramatically downsized, to a new location that we both liked. Moving out of town, made it easier to cut expenses like our club, our social expectations such as dinners out at very expensive restaurants, and our charitable giving that we can no longer afford. Moving to a much smaller house also cut our utilities, landscaping, house cleaning etc.

We are now thinking about what to do next, and consulting is the obvious answer. I have consulted off and on for many years since leaving the labor market and DH already has some offers to consult. Ultimately we just need to cover health insurance -- it is our biggest expense by far for the next 15 years.

The kids should be fine. They have already had every advantage in life and it was time for them to be cut-off anyway, except for their tuition bills which we saved in advance, like OP.

Good luck! Life is too short to be miserable.

How do you start this?
Do you see a headhunter? I am very specialized in a field, give free advice to people around me who tell me I could do this as a paying job, but don't know how to start it. I am in DC.

The first step was to talk to people who have already started small consulting/lobbying businesses. Then get an accountant, form an LLC, and start working on communications -- new e-mail addresses, e-mail management system, better linked-in profile, and possibly a website. Mostly though it is about tapping your network. Often people start by getting a contract from their former employer. We must have at least 20 friends that consult or run small lobbying shops with varying degrees of success -- some make up to a $1 million, others much less but still have contracts. It seems to be where people turn in their 50's because the cost of hiring a 50 year old is pretty high.

Because with consulting people do not care about age, they just want the job done.

[Anonymous]

OP do you have a life insurance and health insurance and insurance in case you're unable to work due to ill health, and are these funded independently of your employer?

Because if you have those wrapped up, you can do anything, but if not, not.