Career change at 32?

Dael_Pix

Dael_Pix

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Might be a daft question but, can someone at 32 years old change their careers in to something else?
 
I always believe you can change a career at any time... You just need to have a plan in doing so and more importantly a fall back if the plan doesnt work. think it will come down if the transition is not going to take too much time, any skill gaps that need to be over come etc...
 
No question is daft ;)

I can only speak for myself and it does depend on what mean by career change? Doctor to lawyer perhaps uncommon/difficult..........?

In my case I went from path lab technician to specialist B2B sales and had various changes of job but each change was into a different industry, now following redundancy I am a charity fundraiser :)

IMO nothing is impossible if you have transferable skills and/or willing to train!

HTH :)

PS FWIW I am almost twice your age ;)
 
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I changed my career at 34 years old. Went from being an engineer to a visual effects technical director for film. All it takes is a bit of risk, some commitment and the support of those around you. My other half told me I could do it, stood by me and encouraged me all the way despite the fact that no money was coming in from me in that time. Best move I ever made though.
 
You are young enough to retrain in something else and still make a career out of it.
 
my missus retrained at about that from dental nurse to dental hygenist.
best choice she ever made.
 
Yes, I went back to uni for 3 years and finished that aged about 32.
 
I changed career at the age of 46. I spent 23 years as a technical consultant / project manager / software engineering manager in the rail industry, but now I run a photographic equipment hire business. Just slightly different...
 
Dael_Pix said:
Might be a daft question but, can someone at 32 years old change their careers in to something else?
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Yes. Absolutely.
I did it at 31, and at 47 I'm making another major change.
Do it! :)
 
Never had a career as such, just loads of different jobs! Mrs Nod has changed from hairdresser to sports club barmaid/reception (working her way up to manageress) until she decided that she didn't want to be working behind a bar at 40 so moved across to a more public facing receptionist role and then to being a faculty administrator in a local college. At 48 she changed again and is now dedicated to teaching Yoga and running her own Yoga studio.
 
Yep. I went from selling wine to plumber and then kitchen/bathroom fitter at 46. More enjoyment and more money :)
 
Congratulations, Ruth. :woot:
 
I changed careers at 35. Went from retail management to electrical maintenance. Best thing I ever did. :)
 
Yeah my partner has just become a psycho therapist at 37.
 
Trained to be a staff trainer at 50
Trained in IT at 38
Trained to be a photographer at 30
Trained to be a mechanic at 16

Nowadays no one expects a single career path, I'm baffled by the question TBH.
 
@Dael_Pix ofcourse you can, whether YOU can only you can answer. To me there are no limits.

@viv1969 congrats excellent news (y)
 
Hmm I guess you can change careers at any age. I appreciate everyone's replies, so thank you!

Made redundant 2013 in the food production industry due to health (I was 100% fit to work middle of 2014). Just started a work programme that may seem to be worthwhile. Emailed my advisor my CV, and changed it to basically saying that I would like to 'further my career in the production industry'. I'll have to explain to him that I don't want a career in production any more.

Not too sure which path to take to be honest and it's something that I'll have to give a long hard think about.
 
IMO in the current work climate it is better to be in a job, even if not the one you wish to end up with!

I say this because any employer will wish to see a work record, at the very least that you have the work ethic....in other words by all means try to target your chosen type of job and industry but it is better/easier to find a job and be more attractive to a potential employer if you are in a job already

Best of luck with whatever you do :)
 
Or just become self-employed - in effect, constantly looking for jobs! :)
 
nickEnackEnoo said:
there is no standard advice to fit all
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Of-course there is ;) Only the OP knows whether he can handle a career change or not. Same for everyone, no point asking strangers, it is always the OP that can answer this.
 
I was much older than 32 when I made a big change. You have to take the opportunity when it comes and there's no telling when that can be.
 
Press toolmaker up until age 50, been a powertrain development engineer for the past 3yrs. If you are capable of doing the job or can train for it, go for it.
 
I've changed from being a tax associate to tax senior associate, then tax assistant manager, tax manager, tax adviser, tax senior adviser, tax consultant and tax analyst.

I should probably get out more ;)
 
Age is not a restriction to change 'careers'.

I went through many different careers after being a Titanium specialist in aerospace through banking, industrial project management, business re-engineering, sustainability and environmental maagement, mainly via my own consultsncy business. Retired early and now dabbling in travel writing from an 'emerging' hobby.

Sometimes you are taking a risk but at 61 I am glad I did it.
 
According to my dear wife as I fast approach 71 I,m changing from a lazy t*** to a lazy old t*** ,ah well
 
As others have said, of course you can.

Whether you can afford to financially is another matter.

I earn twice what my partner does and our mortage is quite a lot (perks of living in the SE!) so if I changed career, I would need to have at least 6 months savings in the bank (which I don't, upcoming wedding) so financially I couldn't afford to.

Luckily I love my job but I couldn't change at the moment, even if I did want to.
 
We employed a 48 year old engineering graduate a couple of years back. He'd worked various jobs then decided to go back to uni at 45 - having the drive and determination to change career at that age was quite appealing to us as an employer. It was quite amusing watching him do all the graduate inductions and courses with a bunch of 21 year olds though - he had kids which were older than them!
@StewartR I work in the rail industry (for a consultancy), who did you work for?
 
I guess the problem with changing career is if you have to start from the bottom again. I think age is only an issue if you are over 50, and only then if you are looking for an employed position. Only a problem because because it can be harder to get a job.
 
BBR said:
I think age is only an issue if you ....
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.... let it be.

There might be prejudices in some industries with regards to age, as I found out myself at an earlier age, but it just means you look for something else.
 
I made my last career change at 50. If anything, it was an advantage. I was working with youngsters who lacked the social experience to cope with the interpersonal stresses which were a good half of what we did.
 
Of course! I was a young, althetic, good looking bloke in my early 20's.
It's taken a few years of training, two kids, a wife, a cat and now a dog, but I've completely transformed into an overweight, unfit, over the hill knackered junkyard almost-40-yr-old with no get up and go!

So yeah, I acheived my dreams...you chase yours like the wind!
 
I left school and went to work for my Dad who had a hotel and together we worked for 27years and then he retired and I had no job or qualifications. Dad bought a small farm, so I worked at a local farm, learnt to become a shepherdess
and bought 20 sheep, another 20 years of laughter, joy, tears and then the foot and mouth hit, the paperwork and regulations were not for a small farm and we said goodbye to my beautiful Ryeland sheep. Lots of lovely memories.:)
 
Wow just had a letter from NASA my application for astronut trading has been accepted ,apparently they were looking for applicants who are used to lying on the settee all day as it's a needed skill for the 10 year trip to alpha centuri .:runaway::runaway::runaway::whistle:
 
the black fox said:
Wow just had a letter from NASA my application for astronut trading has been accepted ,apparently they were looking for applicants who are used to lying on the settee all day as it's a needed skill for the 10 year trip to alpha centuri .:runaway::runaway::runaway::whistle:
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:wave:Jeffery, take your camera with you.
 
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