Changing Careers at 50

So many people get into a rut and going through a midlife crisis, changing careers at 50 seems like a very attractive idea. Just throwing every thing aside and going for it can be very tempting but very frightening at the same time. My aim is to change career and retire with my wife to one of the most beautiful places I know.

They do say that the most stressful events in adult life are marriage, divorce, a new child and moving jobs, and not necessarily in that order. We are all individuals and different things obviously affect us in different ways.

There are may problems and obstacles to get over but in this article I will have a look at some different aspects of changing careers at 50. It actually does not even have to be 50 either, the same things can apply whatever age you are.

1. Why do you want a career change?

This has to be the first big question. I personally think that you should write down all the pros and cos of just what is driving your discontent. Is it money, or the hours you work or the area you live in? Putting your thoughts down in black and white (or if you prefer on a spreadsheet) will help you decide just what is getting you down.

I have actually seen people look at everything that they have written and say to themselves "actually maybe life is not so bad after all".

• My decision for changing careers at 50 was driven by several things.
• I have been doing the same job for over 30 years
• I could see myself (but would prefer not to) carrying on doing this into retirement age
• The money is good but the stress levels are high
• Bureaucracy is getting worse
• My pension plans need a kick
• The hours are very tying to achieve the income
• This meant that time for family was not as I would like

I could go on but I am sure that some of you reading this will see yourself in at least one of those points.

2. What are your skills?

What are you good at and also very important what do YOU enjoy doing?

Get that pen and paper going again. Ideas can become realities if you can get something more concrete down.

Do you have a hobby and could you see yourself turning it into a money making opportunity? Would you want to do that or would that then just be a different rut? Only you can answer that. It could actually be your salvation.

Think outside the box too, let your imagination run riot for a while because something might just come up. Read magazines, watch television programs and look for ideas online, see what others have done and how. It is good to let others give you ideas but remember that this has to be your future. At the next stage you can start to become practical again.

3. The Practicalities.

Time to take stock and look at each possibility and work out if it is feasible, are you prepared to jump out of your comfort zone or does a more steady approach suit you. I will tell you a little about what I am doing at the end.

4. Get more advice,

If it is simply a job change then look at the employment pages, assess what is available against your skills. If it is something more ambitious then perhaps more planning is needed but somewhere along the line you will have to take real action. Dreaming never achieved anything.

What am I doing about changing careers at 50?

I love taking photographs but it is a very hard market to get into. I am happy with a lot of my work but could I sell enough to make an income? Back to my point above I did not want to be a slave to what was a great hobby.

I do love the internet also and so I did some research and now I sell thing online. What do I sell? I do not sell my own stock but I advertise and sell for other people, I sell for companies such as Amazon along with other smaller markets. I sell downloadable products such as courses that teach you how to lose weight (along with much more obscure things) I also promote a site where I have learned how to do all this. Without the help of the people there I would still be floundering in the dark.

This is affiliate marketing and is setting me up in a real online business that one day means I will be able to quit my day job and really make a reality of a career change at 50.

It is not difficult to do but action action action is something that need to take all the time. Do not let anyone convince you that there are get rich quick solutions. Some of them may have achieved that but you can bet that it was probably at some body else's expense.

The secret is that really there is no secret.

Find a good place to learn the ropes and apply your self, because although the actual mechanics of affiliate marketing are not hard it does take a fair bit of work to start to earn something. The beauty of it is that when a site does start earning you money then it generally will keep on doing so long term with just a small amount of maintenance.

Did I say site? Yes that is something that I have learned how to do. How to create a website relatively quickly, how to help the search engines to find it and how to promote it in all sorts of other ways. My technical knowledge is not great but you do not need to know any special website coding to get started and with web hosting costing only a few dollars a month and website registration even cheaper then starting out is not necessarily an expensive undertaking. There are actually free ways to get started too and at least one of my promotions is being done that way to test the water. If I make sales then I will move it to my own site.

I love doing this kind of work. I can do it in my spare time and I can promote all the things that I enjoy talking about. I can also see how much time I will be able to free up once I do stop my day job.

Where is this taking me?

My wife and I plan to both retire at the same time and almost certainly to our favorite place. At the top is a photograph from the area which I hope shows you why we love it so much. The outdoor life and a career change at 50 that really works is steadily taking shape.

Good luck at whatever YOU decide changing careers at 50 might not be just a dream