Career Change at Middle Age

"Career change at middle age." Just the words seem daunting, but in our ever-changing job market and the current economic downturn, more and more people are switching careers, some by choice, and others out of economic necessity.

One common route to a career change is further education. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2006 employees with a graduate or professional degree earned an average salary of $80K, while those with bachelor's degrees earned an average of $55K; that's a big difference in pay. If you're interested in heading back to school, check out online degree programs in the PayScale Education Center.

Managing a career change at middle age was a topic on money.cnn.com, which examined costs of going to graduate school in middle age. The article cited numbers from the Council of Graduate Schools: $22K a year for a public university and $34,100 at a private school. It also stated that the average debt for most students is $37K. With that in mind, does pursuing a degree to make career change at middle age make sense?

How would a new degree affect your salary?  Find out with the PayScale Salary Calculator.

Career Change Motivation

Some middle-aged folks might feel awkward going back to college. Visions of being the only 40-something in a sea of 20-somethings may make you feel uncomfortable, but according to the U.S. Department of Education, almost 20 percent of all first-year graduate students are 40 or older. Even President Bush had a midlife career change: from oil exploration to baseball team ownership to politics.

Loans and Grants for Career Change

How to pay for graduate schools is an important concern. For some lucky workers, your employer may pay for some of it. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 25 percent of all graduate students (40 and older) receive employer aid averaging about $3K a year. This is when your employer pays for schooling that will aid in your contribution to the company.

Here in Seattle, both Boeing and Microsoft have generous tuition payment programs; my former colleagues at Microsoft often used that benefit to earn MBAs from the University of Washington.

Career Change Scholarship

When it comes to financial aid packages, there is no age limit, and you can go to grad school part-time. While filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), keep in mind that federal aid guidelines don't include home equity or retirement accounts, and some of your savings - usually $40K to $50K - is not counted when applying for aid. In addition to $20,500 a year in Federal Stafford loans (via the FAFSA), there are also various scholarships and grants offered by private foundations.

Organizational Change Job Description

There are other ways to change careers without going back to school. CareerJournal.com suggests: "Identify unfilled needs and volunteer to do them while in your current job. You may be saddled with extra work temporarily, but it may get you into the new area or a promotion."  Another way is to start your new career on weekends and weeknights.

Retirement Jobs: After 50 Career Change

While middle-aged folks are switching careers, their older counterparts are going back to work. According to an article on csmonitor.com about retirement jobs, those over 50 can find employment listings at RetirementJobs.com.  Older workers may face age-related bias, but there are many companies looking to hire older workers such as, American Red Cross, the Peace Corps, Wells Fargo, Citizens Bank and Borders Books.

How would your salary change if you changed careers? The PayScale Salary Calculator is a quick and easy way to compare positions. When you want powerful salary data and comparisons customized for your exact position, be sure to build a complete profile by taking PayScale's full salary survey.

Cheers,

Dr. Al Lee

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Comments

[Kathy Lynn Faribanks]

Finding out late in life, that you don't like the career you are in can be a hard. Then knowing that you need to make a career change is just as difficult. But, the thought of spending more money on education at this point in the game is near depressing.

A person really needs to understand that they are making a decision to be happier and the idea of having to pay back more debt on something shouldn't be as straining than it has been. First, a person is going to be where they want to be. Second, the enjoyment of being where one wants to be should mean that paying off debt is more enjoyable than it used to be. The joy of the whole process of life is restored. And the health, returned to anti-stress status.

However, there is another solution to this whole plan. Say, if someone wanted to get into radio broadcasting, be a dj, get into voice overs or be a sportscaster. You can do this in about 6 months around your schedule now. Radio Connections doesn't cost 25-100k to make a career change. It takes 7.5k and helps with a loan process.

Radio Connection's http://www.radioconnection.com whole focus is getting you trained in the industry of your choice, and making the business connections you need. It is located near where you are now.

Rethinking how you make a career change, is a great idea. That plan should be an easy task. While the transition to a new career should be just an enjoyable as the new career itself. Good Luck!

[Natalia]

I am interested in pursuing either a masters in social work or a masters of teaching middle school English but am a career changer and am presently an assistant manager at a bank. I see myself in both professions but am unsure which I would be best suited for and am not sure which to pursue.

Both will eventually require field work so I will eventually have to leave my current position. The fear of incurring the expense of a masters with two daughters, one two years away from college and the other 11 years old and coming out in the end probably not making what I make now is frightening. I'm afraid of incurring a financial hole for my family only not to be happy in the end and start at the bottom of my career track at 45.....Help, what should I do????