Career path detours later on in life
Whilst the idea of celebrating your
50th birthday and having an up-coming retirement plan ready to be
put into action seems only moments away, the reality now is that retirement is
less likely to happen for another decade or two.
As state pension boundaries
persistently rise, its thought many individuals will retire closer to the age
of 80 rather than 50. Reaching those
oh-so sought-after twilight years might seem like a lifetime away when you
consider this. But, in fact, it offers you a new opportunity.
In recent years, more people over the
age of 50 are changing their jobs than ever before, according to John Lees book
How to Get a Job You Love. Whether it be the boredom, fulfilment,
stress, or the threat of pension age not being there to support them, the
result is the same — new careers, when you wouldn’t quite expect them…
The opportunity of changing your career path further down
the line has been made relatively easy to do, thanks to Higher education
institutions such as Universities offering night classes and government funded
courses. In this article we take a look at what is involved in changing your
job in the latter stages of your professional life, what opportunities it
presents, and the support on offer to you.
The all-important need to knows
As Mark Twain suggests: “choose a job
you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”, hence why it is
more crucial than ever you are in a career that is suitable for you and are
enjoying every day of it.
Many people ask, “But I don’t know what I enjoy?” Well, now
is a better time than ever to find out. Call upon the help of a careers advisor
or a recruiter and embark on completing a self-assessment — this is the perfect
way of determining what sort of person you are.
Helping categorise every individual into separate and
defined boxes can be a difficult task to do. However, by carrying out such a
task, a wide range of appropriate occupations will come to light, and ones
which are irrelevant will become apparent.
What seemed like the perfect job for you in your 20s,
doesn’t necessarily mean it is the right fit for you now. Roles which require a
lengthy stint back in education, such as that of an architect or a doctor,
could be counter-productive — although, if you feel as if you have the time and
are willing to commit, as cliché as it is, there is nothing holding you back.
In addition, think of any knowledge
and skills you have gained throughout your career and see whether they are
transferrable to other job roles. This is the time to get your head into the
books and learn what the new role involves. What will your everyday duties
entail, what are you likely to earn, and most importantly, are there sufficient
career prospects?
A new beginning
Astonishingly, the average person
will work 260 out of 365 days of the year. Considering that you spend approximately
eight hours of your day in work and however many hours commuting, if you’re
working in a job you hate, you can often find yourself wishing away Monday to
Friday. Before you know it, the week is over, and this vicious cycle repeats
itself once again.
Ultimately, changing your every day 9-5 hours to something
new will have a positive impact on your life as a whole. Someone who is happy
in their job will have a better outlook and, ultimately, better mental health.
It is relatively uncommon to hear people boast about looking
forward to their job every day, despite being an easy thing to do. Don’t get
excited by the prospect of retirement, be enthralled at what lies ahead — the
following day!
Financial support
The fundamental burden of financial
expenses and time limitations can be something that discourages career changes.
However, there are several ways this can be helped.
Now, a range of grants and bursaries are given specifically
to adults learners from the government, helping people in later life re-educate
themselves and take the next step in their professional career.
One of the ultimate determinants that
prevent adults from taking the leap of re-education is children. Of course, a
lot of looking after is needed. These
aforementioned bursaries also lend themselves to assisting with childcare
costs.
To help take the difficulty out of
applying for jobs, Zenith people are on hand. A Newcastle recruitment agency,
they use their experience to gather information on candidates and assign them
to companies which match their profile.
By having a recruiter help you
throughout the process allows you greater time to focus on learning more about
the job itself and preparing for interviews.
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