Women (or even just, “people”!) who started a fulfilling career after 40: please tell me your story!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a lawyer turned SAHM and over several years and two degrees I transitioned into working in oncology clinical trials. The money is not great by DCUM standards but I LOVE it. I barely worked before I had kids and I was extremely daunted about restarting my career, but I did and and you can too!

Curious- What’s was your role with these trials?

I’m a Clinical Research Coordinator- so I screen patients, enroll them and manage their treatment, as well as reporting all the data to the study sponsor.

Can I ask which degrees you have to get in order to apply for jobs like this? I have a degree in biology but it's been 5 years since I quit to stay home and I'd love to build a second career like this.

I'm not the PP, but if you have a degree in biology, you're off to a good start. Look into getting SOCRA certifications. I lead recruiting for a government contractor and we might have some openings in May/June for a variety of coordinators from junior to senior level at NIH, if you are interested. I'm not sure if you need to have clinical trial experience to qualify to take the SOCRA certification exams or not. I tried to check but their website is having some issues.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this. Very interested in second careers. Similar to other posters I am an 40+ year old attorney ready to move to another career. I’m open to all options and dont know where to start -even going back to school for a bit (1-2 years)- so would love to hear what others have done and any additional education needed to get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a lawyer turned SAHM and over several years and two degrees I transitioned into working in oncology clinical trials. The money is not great by DCUM standards but I LOVE it. I barely worked before I had kids and I was extremely daunted about restarting my career, but I did and and you can too!

Curious- What’s was your role with these trials?

I’m a Clinical Research Coordinator- so I screen patients, enroll them and manage their treatment, as well as reporting all the data to the study sponsor.

Can I ask which degrees you have to get in order to apply for jobs like this? I have a degree in biology but it's been 5 years since I quit to stay home and I'd love to build a second career like this.

I'm not the PP, but if you have a degree in biology, you're off to a good start. Look into getting SOCRA certifications. I lead recruiting for a government contractor and we might have some openings in May/June for a variety of coordinators from junior to senior level at NIH, if you are interested. I'm not sure if you need to have clinical trial experience to qualify to take the SOCRA certification exams or not. I tried to check but their website is having some issues.

PP who asked the question here- thank you! I've never heard of SOCRA and the website seems to be down as you said so I can't check eligibility, but will definitely look into it later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a former lawyer (in house for most of my career). Never had kids. Got divorced very unexpectedly at 42, and after grieving for some time decided to look for the opportunity within the profound change to my life. I ended up taking the foreign service exam and am now a career FSO. I've lived in three countries and appreciate the work, the people, and the adventure. My friends thought I was crazy at the time, but they've also visited me in places like Athens since then...

This is my dream job.

I know someone with the exact same track-- lawyer turned FSO around the same age after a divorce.

Hmm. I am an FSO who joined at 30 and am thinking of what to do for my next career when I retire at 50! Can't wait to do something else. The tutoring thing seems really interesting and meaningful.

[Anonymous]

Love this thread. I am also curious about paths people have taken midlife (I am 50 so a bit older). My aunt was an RN who stayed home to raise 3 kids, then got her PhD in Psychology while her littlest was a toddler & became a therapist & professor. Her husband was military (pretty senior) who got an MBA & did work with defense contracting after he retired. Really amazing transitions for both in their 50s.

[Anonymous]

My mother started a small business at about 45. It was worth over a million when she died 30 years later. She was her own boss after years of working at a very low level position. It meant everything to her and I'm proud that she could do it.

[Anonymous]

I was laid off in 2011, I went back to college and earned a degree in Information Technology. I graduated in 2015 at 45 years old. I got a job as an Analyst with a small tech firm. I am now an IT Project Manager at a local government agency. I really enjoy my job, I work from home (even before the pandemic), and the money is good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My mother started a small business at about 45. It was worth over a million when she died 30 years later. She was her own boss after years of working at a very low level position. It meant everything to her and I'm proud that she could do it.

What was her business?

[Anonymous]

Hoping to open small retail shop in my 40s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this. Very interested in second careers. Similar to other posters I am an 40+ year old attorney ready to move to another career. I’m open to all options and dont know where to start -even going back to school for a bit (1-2 years)- so would love to hear what others have done and any additional education needed to get there.

UDC has several Master's degree programs if you want to become a teacher. Quite cheap also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Becoming an OG tutor is very expensive. After you take the classes you have to pay a mentor. It ends up being about $8K.

The costs do vary by program and location. My AOGPE associate certification was about 4K total. I was able to do paid tutoring for my practicum, so I more than broke even the first year with 2 paying students. Now that the courses are virtual, you have more geographic flexibility and can study with a Fellow in a lower-cost area.

For those considering tutoring- there are programs that offer lower cost training. The Reed Charitable Foundation is funding public school teachers to get trained for free. Private pay is just $200. I know this will fill fast.

https://www.facebook.com/113200350145560/posts/275229160609344/?d=n

Boon is another charitable foundation funding this sort of training. I love these programs to support teachers and also give them a marketable skill.

[Anonymous]

Tina Turner was 45 when she recorded Private Dancer, which included "Whats Love Got to do With it"

[Anonymous]

I went back to work at 38 after being a SAHM to 3 kids for 12 years. Randomly applied to an admin job with the federal govt and moved up to analyst. Originally had an accounting background.

[Anonymous]

Research coordinator here - I got a BS in psychology focusing on stats and research methods, then a masters in bioethics focusing on research ethics. Took me 3.5 years. That being said, entry level research jobs don’t have many educational requirements, some of my colleagues do not have college degrees. It’s just a matter of getting your foot in the door and being willing to work your way up! And to get SOCRA certification you need 2000 hours experience, I’ll probably take the exam this fall.

[Anonymous]

Love this thread...I am a CPA..
Looking for something with better timings and less stressful