Why it’s never too late for a career change

This is a collaborative post 

From world-renowned fashion designer Vera Wang, who only started creating clothes at the age of 40, to Buzzfeed and Huffington Post co-founder Jonah Peretti, who made the switch from teaching to online social news and entertainment in his 30s, there are plenty of successful people who have changed tack in their career.

In this blog, we take a look at a few of the reasons why you should never assume it’s too late to switch things up when it comes to your career.

Retraining may not be as hard as you think

Especially if you have family and financial commitments, the prospect of retraining might seem daunting. Perhaps you think you simply don’t have the time or money to invest in reskilling. However, picking up new knowledge and skills might be easier than you think. After all, you don’t have to return to full-time study at university or college. Instead, you could give distance learning a go. Lots of training providers now offer e-learning packages that make it much easier to fit your studies around your existing schedule. For example, if you’re thinking about retraining to become a mortgage advisor, training specialist Simply Academy offers CeMAP distance learning courses that are tailored to give students added flexibility to work at their own pace.

Whether you fit your studies in during the evenings, at weekends or at other times, this could free you up to develop your knowledge without meaning you have to sacrifice in other areas of your life.

You have a range of life skills to draw on

Rather than being a disadvantage, having extra life experience when you’re reskilling can be a significant benefit. The years you’ve spent working, looking after your family and enjoying your hobbies mean you’re bound to be able to bring a whole series of useful skills to your new career. For example, perhaps you’ve got particularly strong organisational abilities, or maybe you pride yourself on being able to communicate with a wide range of people. Being able to draw on these strengths can make adapting to a different career much easier.

It could transform your life

It’s all too easy to settle for something you’re not entirely happy with because of a fear of the unknown. But being brave and making the decision to change direction has the potential to dramatically change your life for the better. Trying something new could give you much greater focus and drive, and it could help you to feel freer and more fulfilled. As well as making you happier at work, this could have positive knock-on effects on your family and personal life.

As long as you have a clear idea of what sort of career you’d like to transition to and how to get there, it’s never too late to give something new a go.