OT - mid-life career changes

I did a mid career switch from NGO/non-profit world to federal government and haven’t regretted it for a second. I was able to get on a quicker career ladder, have much more reasonable hours and see instant impact of my work helping people on a daily basis (regulator). 
 

Totally different field from you, but it helps to keep a couple irons in the fire and have those networking conversations early so that you can be ready to jump when the right gig presents itself. 

The coding world is becoming all about data, data, data. 

As a foundational skill, learn Structured Query Language (SQL).  It is the primary language for data-access, and it is used everywhere in everything.  

Data analytics in general is a great way to go, jobs are in high demand.  It also has this hidden employment advantage:  Much of the time the data you are accessing is sensitive data.  So the jobs can't just be outsourced oversees to the cheapest bidder.

Jobs that are just based on JavaScript, Python, etc. coding are too easily outsourced. 

Congrats!

Close friend zipped through college while married, made CPA in shortest time possible, mid-life career change: teaching elementary public school in Detroit.  Never looked back.

Follow your passion. Each of us is born with a unique skill set.  Use it to help others and the rest falls into place.

This is from a guy older than dirt, so in the do as I say, not as I did, category, to a large extent.

I walked out of my only law firm job in October 1981 with no regrets.  I was not getting the support I needed to properly serve the clients.

Self employed ever since.

I was not, and am not,  waiting to live my life until retirement - which is not in the picture regardless.

I usually went for the experience.  My kids remember watching the Hudson building blown up from my then downtown office.  They remember the 1997 Rose Parade and the older one, then 7, remembers the game that day.

I went to almost all the sporting events of their teams through high school and helped coach when asked and minimally competent.

I don't remember how much money I made any of those years.  Children know what is important to their parents by how their time is spent. Not by how much money you spend on them.

When they grow up and leave they are gone.  You cannot get that time back.

I made plenty of mistakes but never pretended I was some kind of super adult.

Well, that was longer than I thought it would be.

But you asked. :)

Good luck and God bless!

I am in the process of switching careers from an outside sales rep to stock trader. When I started out I simply just read and watched anything online pertaining to stocks. I started out small and slowly built up my account. Hoping in the next year or two I’ll be able to fully give my resignation at my company. 

I left the Air Force in my late twenties as a captain - maybe not mid career but definitely was a big change and felt pretty scary to get out to "the real world." I just thought of it as betting on myself, and honestly that kinda ensured I'd work to be successful at what came next

Where I work, almost all of the coders are foreign contractors.  Even if you're better, there's a sweatshop somewhere that can do it cheaper.  And since web code is on regular release schedules these days, no one cares if it's buggy.  Just fix it in the next release!

If you're looking to get ahead, I'm no help.  I lucked into an admin position that pays OK and allows me to WFH, which is crucial because I do a lot of caregiving.  I desperately need it to be my last job because the job search process has become a way to exclude autistics from society altogether.  Basically the only reason I got this gig was because the hiring manager has a neurodiverse family member so he had an idea of what he was getting into.

It's kind of infuriating.  FWIW when I was tested for autism the report indicated I had an IQ of 134 but every HR out there is all, "He doesn't make eye contact and he's weird so let's move on."  For all that's said about capability, hiring is intensely social in nature.

So I guess my advice is. . . don't be different?  Lie on the resume, charm the pants off the HR screener, dazzle the hiring manager with bullshit and you'll go much farther than anyone who can get into Mensa.  You can learn the stuff later; IT folk are always in training anyway.

Uh, so here was your wet blanket moment.

What a great post, and fascinating answers.

I've had too many jobs to fit any normal sense of career switch (7-8 jobs, at least a dozen part-time jobs).

Still, it's interesting to read stories of those who've done it. 

I'm on my 5th career, which I just started last month after moving to a different state.  I have greatly enjoyed 4 out of the five.  And the one I hated helped me realize (after leaving) how lucky I was to be working somewhere else.  One thing I have noticed: the higher my salary, the less happy I was in the job.  My last two stops have been working for cash-strapped non-profits and I've never been happier.  Despite my meager pay, my children never wanted for anything.

My motto: I'm always looking for something new to fail at.

I think you are doing the right thing, for the right reasons and therefore it's going to end well for you even if there will be tough times at first while you grow.  And you will soon find way's to apply both experiences to carve out a new niche and therefore become valuable.

My story: In the first 10 years of my career I switched from Army officer, to Aerospace (building satellites), to chemical manufacturing.   

At 30 years old, I finally switched to biotech, where I've stayed for almost 20 years.  I knew nothing at the time and I felt old to be starting a completely new career. Since then, biotech has allowed me to completely switch roles several times in last 20 years.  So I've actually had many "careers" within biotech:  engineering, manufacturing leadership, project management and I am currently reinventing myself as a technical advisor.

Many folks like to specialize in something and move up in 1 track throughout their career.  This is valid and I often work well with these subject matter experts to get things done.   But I didn't do it that way.    My theory:   Reinvent and challenge yourself to gain new skills, evolve with the times and avoid boredom.  I often took challenging jobs without a  pay raise (sometimes even a pay cut)  just so I could learn something new and prove myself.  Turns out that my strategy resulted in me being a highly compensated person who now get's to chose his role. 

Thinking of starting a property management company and investing in vacation rental properties, particularly in the Ann Arbor area between Pauline and Stadium.

I don't know what's better, posting Properties on VRBO, AirBnB, or privately list them to avoid fees???

Good for you, Z. I wish you luck in the future. 

I would change careers if I had any idea how (although I appreciate the advice from everyone here). I can't even get a job in my chosen field right now. So, I basically don't have any career to speak of at the moment. I left a great job in DC years ago to move to the midwest and it totally ruined my career. No one will hire me and I have no idea why. At this point I've been out of work or underemployed for so long that employers won't touch me. It's infuriating. 

My takeaway from this is that HR/hiring managers are the absolute worst. In my experience, they've been totally incompetent and unprofessional. I wish I knew what job I should transition to but I just don't know. I worked hard to build a career in my previous field and I feel like it's a waste to abandon that now.  And I don't know how an employer in a different industry would take me if ones in my own field won't.

(sorry for the cranky rant.)

I made several changes. Went to school for engineering, but left home and started working in an unrelated field to get out of the house as my parents were divorcing. Stayed in that field until 2008 when everything went upside down, and got back into engineering. Stayed in Michigan working mechanical and manufacturing logistics until my sister went through a similar change.

She was running a steel company, but the demands were too extreme, so she moved cross country to work for a charity. When she got married and had children my mother relocated to be near her grandchildren, and eventually I followed as well. Started over in oil and gas, and eventually transitioned to Civil where I'm at today.

My friends all code and run various sized software companies and wanted me to try it. I could do it, but it was like writing with my offhand or reading backwards, while computer design and construction was just natural to me and fulfilling, so I stuck with it, even though it pays less. I could be in another state making a little more, but I'm close to my family, making more than I need as it is, and enjoying what I do, so I'm happy with my choices.

At the moment software companies seem to be growing fastest in the field of 3rd party office automation. HR software, accounting services, job and hourly labor tracking, insurance processing, data processing, and the like, but that's just my opinion.

I'd advise you to not wait until you're ready or fully qualified to begin applying and working. Do a few online academies, a few simple builds to hang your hat on, and practice coding tests that might pop up in potential interviews. Developing personal contacts will get you in the door fastest, and already having executive skills should make you an attractive hiring prospect at any software company.

I was a mechanical engineer that transitioned to software engineering back in 2018.  I’m now a senior software engineer developing on Salesforce.  

I’m open to chat if you feel it would be worthwhile on your end.  Brief background - I ended up doing 2 boot camps (12 month self-paced and then 4 month full time immersive) as well as worked as a technical coach of one of the boot camps for 1.5 years, so I have seen a lot of stories, as well as lived one, of those transitioning to programming.

Impressed you're making the switch and good luck.  I went from being a lawyer to tech in my 30s (backend development) but my undergrad was in Comp Eng. so the technical barriers weren't as great.  In all honesty it'll likely be a tough go of it early on, not because you're not talented or motivated but because you're at an experience deficit that can't really be compensated for via classes and tutorials.  For example, as a backend engineer you're often asked to write code that is performant at scale (e.g. millions of requests an hour even during spiked usage, large-scale background jobs that can be completed in narrow-ish windows, etc.) but is difficult to really experience and refine until you've worked in that environment.  But especially early on employers want to see that experience, which you don't have because you're new to the field and you need to be hired at said place, and you can see the treadmill you get stuck on.  But if you can get a couple of years under your belt building front-end sites that work well on both mobile as well as web, leverage the best usability and security practices, and look nice you'll find it rewarding.

I'd suggest that since your background is in finance, look at companies in that space (especially smaller ones) that might find your previous skillset particularly interesting and relevant.  My most recent positions have been in the health and financial spaces and those are two pretty regulated industries so my previous legal experience and exposure to various acronyms related to compliance has been helpful. 

Good luck.

I am a Corporate Director in the Finance/Accounting/Reimbursement area in Healthcare, once worked 5 months in a row without a day off (including weekends).  Sadly, I don't think I will make to 60 years old because of the stress of the job.  At this point, I'm just maximizing my retirement and Roth to leave enough behind for my wife and children so they don't have to work as hard as I have and can enjoy life without having to go down my path.  

I spent 20 years as an executive for a big-box retail chain. Last fall, as the holiday planning season was starting to ramp up, I realized I was already totally checked out. After 20 years of the constant grind, endless hours, and countless nights on the road, I decided it was time to reevaluate and prioritize how I was spending my time.  My children were 9, 6, and 2 at the time and I had missed entirely too many sports games, school functions, etc. After a brief and entirely supportive conversation with my wife, we decided it was time to step away, and I did. 
 

I had no idea what I was going to do. I was lucky enough to be in a position financially that I was Anel to take a few months off over the holidays to figure it out.  During that time I did homework, coached my sons flag football team, and made and ate dinner with my family seven days per week. It was fucking awesome. 

I was also reminded during that time that I was really handy. I always did renovations around our home during vacations, and loved doing so.  I ended up starting an LLC and now own my own home renovation business. I work for myself, take time off when I need it, and absolutely love going to work every day.  I’m physically home every night, and I’m actually present when I’m home. There are no conference calls. I make a fraction of what I once did, but truly don’t give a shit.
Life is great. 

TL/DR: I quit my job so I could build shit and see my family every night, and I love it. 

I've been on tech data teams for most of my career and have worked with quite a few CPAs that have converted to data analytics and data science careers. They're very complimentary skillsets, and basically every tech company needs data folks to enable their finance and accounting teams.

My advice would be to get really good at SQL and pretty good at python (just learn the basics and the pandas library). You should get picked up quick in an analytics role with your CPA background if you can show you know SQL in a technical interview.

SQLbolt is a great primer for SQL, and I'd maybe try some Code Academy and an O'Reilly book to learn python.

I always tell people "I retired first".  Straight out of college (back in the Dark Ages), I worked for a finance company and then a psychiatric hospital (in the business office).  So medical and finance.  But then I got married and had kids, and my husband and I decided to live on a shoestring budget and let me focus on the kids.  I homeschooled them and got them all sent off to college, and then I went back to work, first at a hospital and now for the state of Kansas, always in some form of health or finance (now I'm in the Health Care Finance department, so very familiar territory).  I've learned you can usually live on less than you think, and most kids would rather have time with their parents than money.  I didn't change careers much, but changing jobs is always a stressor.  In my experience, finding people I wanted to work with was more important than what I was doing.

I'm seriously considering changing careers from being a marsupial exterminator to being an arsonist.  

Bravo to you! I changed from teaching English as a second language to programming 10 years ago, and now teach others through bootcamps based out of UM, NC State and San Diego State. I had planned on travelling the world spending 3-4 years in each country to get to know different cultures, but when my sister passed, I needed a career that would let me stay closer to home. I will say, programming has been amazing for me as a career with a pretty clear ladder for how you get in and how you move up. Getting that first job can be difficult - any connections or contact you can make will help - but the path after that can definitely be fulfilling and I think you'll surprise yourself how far you'll go. Especially with your financial background and the boom in fintech, that will give you a leg up in a lot of interviews. 

How is JavaScript going so far?

-Robb

I've zigged and zagged a few times. Started as an electrical engineer at GM Tech Center, decided after 4 years to go management route so moved to Ann Arbor and got MBA (back when UM had an Evening Program).  Spent 15 more years working up the corporate ladder, then a week before our third child was born I stepped off the career treadmill (I was a marketing VP at a mid-size software co in A2) and became full time parent at 42. We were fortunate that my wife is a staff physician at UM, so we had a stable income with great benefits.  I spent the next 4 years full time at home and then slowly built up a consulting business that allowed me flexibility to still spend a lot of time parenting, to the point where my oldest daughter, in 6th grade at the time, asked me "why do you spend so much time at school?". Cub Scout leader, basketball coach, Science Olympiad, Robotics team - you name it. 

I will say, though, that like a lot of men my age much of my self identity had been defined by my career and there were times, I hate to admit, that I second guessed things. You can only be called "Mr. Mom" so many times. Just misdirected ego. But I look back and think how lucky I was to spend so much time focused on home and community. You don't mention your kids' ages, but they grow up so fast (cliché, but any Dad here will tell you it's true), and your kids will benefit immensely from your commitment and involvement. We are moving our third child into East Quad this week! 

As for career advice, yes web development and coding will allow you to do contract work, but it's competitive. The Great Resignation has put a lot of young techy types on the market looking for gig work. I'm not saying you can't compete, but with your CPA background have you considered leveraging your professional experience by getting involved as a "virtual CFO" sort of role with early stage companies? 

If you're in Ann Arbor, the start-up ecosystem is amazing (in good economy or bad) and in my experience working with many early-stage companies, I know first-hand that having someone who can help establish financial structure, meet reg requirements, manage cash, work with VCs, etc. is worth A LOT. Do some homework if you have to and learn venture financing, finance/growth metrics (there are a ton of them that software companies follow, for example), etc.  Connect with local VCs, UM Tech Transfer (now called Innovation Partnerships), SPARK.  Ann Arbor's entrepreneurial environment is very accessible if you're willing to actively network.  If you're not in A2, your mileage may vary as to the start-up environment, but all of the advice above translates.

If you are sure you want to go the coding route, I would suggest learning to build iOS apps (Swift, Obj C, React). There are tons of resources for learning. With this skillset, you can either build your own app if you have a killer idea or do contract app development. It's more differentiated than web or general coding. The learning curve is steeper, though, so be prepared to work hard to get there.

When (if) I get to retirement, I’m planning to move to Traverse City area and make cherry wood furniture.  I’ll make 3 chairs a year 

Hope this is helpful. Good luck, and enjoy the adventure!

I went from the Marines to college. Became a disaster manager for the American Red Cross. Then worked at the University of Notre Dame, and now I'm a dean and coach at a local high school in Florida. 

It's been a crazy ride, but I'm happy.

I'm an engineer who had aspirations of climbing the company ladder.  Moving into the executive team. I'm early 40s now and realize that just isn't in the cards for me.  Moving around from company to company every ~3 years is probably the most effective way to move up, and that just isn't my style.  

I enjoy engineering, and have successfully launched many products into the world.  I realize my efforts will never get the recognition like the higher ups will, but I think I am more than happy to do my work in the "shadows" if it allows me work life balance to go see my kids play sports and spend time with them. I still think I work to much and allow work to stress me out (executives can have a tendency to believe everyone under them should put in as much work as they supposedly do, even though their compensation is drastically more than mine). 

I need to keep doing this job to afford to send my kids to college. I will probably work a long time unless my company does really well. My mission is to give my kids the freedom to take some time for themselves either in a gap year between high school and college or right after college.  Go be a white water rafting guide, or a ski bum, or something where they live pay check to pay check doing something fun and don't need to jump into work life so quick.  I do love being an engineer and creating, but I also can feel the years slipping by too quickly sometimes, and know there is more than putting in 45-50 hours of work a week.  

Anybody else have interesting stories about mid-life career changes?

I switched careers at age 45. ...but I'm not very interesting.

After Michigan, I tried to get a radio job in journalism (I worked both at the Daily and at Michigan Radio during my A2 days). In Chicago, that was tough sledding, so I did research, factchecking, and eventually editing at an educational publishing house. After 6 years there, I moved back to Michigan (Benton Harbor) and took what I thought was a short-time gig at an advertising agency as a copywriter. I stayed there 13 years, becoming a Creative Director in the process. I then turned down a VP role at the agency as I felt a call to ministry.

So my family and I sold our house and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, so I could go to seminary. Not only a mid-career change but also going from a six-figure salary to being a full-time graduate student living in campus apartment housing. I kept going south down I-65 and have been the pastor of a church in Franklin, Kentucky (45 minutes north of Nashville) since 2020. 

My older kids are now in college, my youngest just started middle school. They were troopers during this transition and I can honestly say that both our relationships and my fulfillment in my career are much improved. It's nice to be doing something that is meaningful, and working directly with the community is something I cherish.

Not sure how interesting that is, but I do find it funny to look at my career path of sportswriter, book editor, advertising creative, pastor. It's certainly not typical.