Midlife Career Change FAQ byLifeTwo

This FAQ is lifted from apostat LifeTwo and may be distributed freely. It is intended asa resource for those contemplating a midlife career change.Your career choice impacts your quality of life, standard of living, personal identity, andmuch more.

By the time you hit middle age, career changes are far from easy,

butmany people feel a mismatch with the career that they had selected earlier in life andwant to at least explore the possibility of pursuing a new career. Are you one of thesepeople? If so, this collection of posts is written specifically for you.Author Susan Crandellsaysit best:"...it may seem surprising that at midlife so many of us are dumping career number oneand moving on to career number two. Of course, some of this migration can be creditedto restlessness: Even in a fulfilling profession, twenty years on the job can ignite acraving for something new. But many of the career changers I’ve spoken with tell me thattheir first profession simply never thrilled them.Problem was, back in our twenties when we were starting out, a lot of us just didn’t knowhow to find work that works for us.Statisticians will tell you to expect to have 3 careers in your life (a number that lifecoaches says is really 4 to 7 as the concept of corporate loyalty recedes into history andtechnology drives constantly evolving skill sets). This section (which is a work-in-progress) is aimed at providing information to those already considering a career changein middle age (even went someexperts adviseagainst it). Also understand that it will taketime and effort.

Career coaches will tell clients that it can take 2 to 6 years tosuccessfully implement a midlife career transition

during which you will be engagingin a number of career-change activities including research, networking, interviewingpeople to gather ideas, studying, trying out jobs, and possibly even returning to school.

What particular issues unique to middle age are relevant to career changes?

Prelude for middle age career changes Midlife Career Transition Myths Facts about unemployment in middle age

What to do first when contemplating a midlife career change?

Midlife Career Planning

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Assessing yourself and your next career Overcome career inertia due to 'fear of change' Consider these ways of easing the pain of midlife career changes Changing jobs or careers? Top 10 Reasons People Quit Jobs But I don’t know what I want to do?

Tips for midlife career changes?

Tips from the Washington Post Tips from WSJ's Career Journal More Tips from WSJ's Career Journal

Resources for midlife career changes?

Job search engine for 50+ CareerBuilder's self-assessment for career change

What about alternate career paths?

Middle age entrepreneurship "Telecommuting" Take a 'Vocation Vacation' Most satisfying careers

What about career coaches?

Start by being your own coach Three Step Process of Hiring a Career Coach

LifeTwo has plenty of additional information and news about midlife career issues.Try these keywords (aka "tags")

Careers Career Change Career Satisfaction Job Change Job Loss Retirement Work-Life Balance

Visit theLifeTwo homepage, where you can find posts about midlife issues such ashealth, memory, and aging. The menu bar across the top of this and every other page canshow you how we organize the site by section, topic, and -- most importantly, "tag" orkeyword. Give it a try. Our index also shows you what we cover.

Is it you or your career that needs changing?

Are you a workaholic?[Workaholic quiz]

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