Best over 50 career changes
Have you found yourself stuck in a career that you no longer have any passion for?
Are you ready for a new challenge? Your professional life doesn’t have to go into decline just because you’re over 50. In fact, you can take advantage of your age to create a turning point that will leave you feeling energised and ready to make use of all of your years of experience in the workplace.
Explore some of the best career changes for over the 50s and see if there’s one that inspires you to make a big change.
Starting a second career
There are some professions that are better suited to a late start than others. Ideally, you want to choose a new career path that will allow you to utilise some of the skills you’ve already honed and that doesn’t require several years of study. Chron has put together a list of some different jobs that take these factors into consideration. It suggests making the most of your experience by becoming a career coach, seeing some more of the world as a tour guide or unleashing your creativity as a ghost-writer.
Chron has also chosen a few of the best professions to consider when you’re looking for a second career. Its top picks include a career in the fine arts or entering home health care. Many people find that when they’re looking for a change in career, they have different priorities to the ones they had when they first entered the job market. This means that philanthropic or community-based roles tend to be particularly popular, offering a rewarding experience as well as financial benefits.
Best jobs for over 50s
For some advice about the financial and practical impact of changing your career, be sure to have a read of this interesting article about second careers from Monster. There’s also some very useful advice available from Moneywise. Its guide to switching careers discusses the more accessible professions to consider and offers a breakdown of the kind of salaries you might be able to expect.
If you’re feeling worried about the thought of retraining to start a second career, there’s an article about employment over 50 in The Telegraph that you might find useful. It discusses the various challenges you might face as well as explaining that the current job market is changing and that there is a large number of people in their 50s who are signing up for apprentice schemes and looking for alternative careers. Retraining can be an excellent way to reaffirm your usefulness and introduce you to talents you never knew you had.
Forbes also has an excellent article that focuses specifically on how women can reinvent their careers when they’re over 50, which has some inspiring real life examples. Don’t look at the next decade or two of work with dread, find a new career that will make it much easier for you to get up in the morning and look forward to the day ahead.


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I just came across this site. I was made redundant at the end of 2016. Been looking for a job since with plenty of interviews and no offers. Now running out of savings ideas and mental strength. I need to find something soon. It is time to start looking at alternative careers. Struggling to know where to go from here.
I too am working for the NHS, as I noticed many here are like me, in NHS and seeking a new direction in their life, as am I.
Working nights, i just want out of it. Yeah some normality back into my life too. Ideally would like to decide on the hours i want to do, rather than being told i have to work set hours.
Illook forward to what this site can offer, ideally it's a bit more than a cup of coffee and a couple of biscuits...
Cheers for now!
I want my life back before it kills me. I have had several work related injuries and it is now impacting on my life. Sad really as I love being a paramedic, but it comes with a cost that most people don't realise.
I'm 50 and hate my job, I'm working as a support worker for woman escaping domestic violence, I used to work for the probation service working with offenders over a 20 year period but I was made redundant in 2015 and I must say I was treated disgustingly but that's another story, I find myself stuck in a job I have no heart for I'm just ticking boxes and tolerating things I should have to tolerate at all, I want to retrain but I don't know where to start looking or what I want to train as , it seems everything is targeted towards younger people when it comes to training, I don't know I'm kinda lost right now and it's getting me down , any ideas anyone ? Thanks .
Just sick of teaching
I am 46 and have been a middle manager go 5 years.
The changes in education now are ridiculous, or am I just getting long in the tooth.
S still enjoying the classroom but that's about all. All the other stuff linked to running a large department is just bureaucratic nonsense and meeting after meeting. Totally dull and uninspiring.
Anyone got any ideas if I said I still wanted to earn the same
I am a newbie to this site. I have a number of health issues and need a change of career.
I have a degree and an NVQ level 2 and 3. I need something quiet as I get tired really easily. I am 56 years old. Any ideas welcome
I am new on here and need help in making a decision I am 53 and woutdoor like to retrain either as a social worker or lecturer. Am I to old to either of these.
just read your thread regards retraining as a social worker. I am 49 and been out of work for 18 months after working with offenders for 15yrs. I am interested in putting this experience to good use and social work seems the logical route though it seems that i now need a maths gcse ( i have the old cse grade 2) to get on a uni course which i find a nonsense considering my experience.
I would really appreciate any guidance if possible.
thanks
Went to university at 18, but nothing came of it. Took IT certification but only manage minimum wage jobs where I lose the skills I had.
Now I don't know where to turn. Any ideas?
Many thanks