This website has published some very popular articles on over 50 career changes. They cover topics like fast track career training or top jobs for midlife career changes. Many of these articles concentrated on jobs that could be picked up very quickly as many older people need a quick change.
However, some older workers have been out of work quite awhile. Some of these people have the resources to invest in a a solid career change that may take a bit longer to train for. In addition, many job seekers already have some of the qualifications so they could speed up the time they have to use getting trained for a new career, and some can be trained for while performing another interim job. And finally, some job seekers would not mind a career change, but they want to leap into a real professional job which will offer them a decent salary, pride in their work, and of course, stability!
So I guess we should call this article the Not So Fast Over 50 Career Change. If this interests you, please read on!
Accountant – Accounting jobs are not going away. This profession lends itself to employment and self employment too. A traditional accountant may need an accounting degree and also have to pass the CPA exam. However, if you already have a degree, your state may allow you to just complete an additional 30 (or so) hours of accounting coursework to qualify to sit for a CPA exam. So if you have a year to go back to school, you may be able to emerge with a new profession!
If you would like to set your goals a bit lower, you can take some pretty quick online book-keeping courses in order to train for real world work. Training in popular book keeping software may only take weeks, and some of it can be done online!
ParaLegal – This is another job with an expected demand boom over the next decade. If you do not have a degree, you may need an associates degree. If you have already graduated from college, you may just need to get a para-legal certificate. Some para-legal certificate programs only take about 3 months. And some para-legal jobs do not even require a certificate.
Teachers – The US Department of Labor also predicts a growth in job demand for qualified teachers. If you already have a degree, you may find alternative certification programs in your local school district to help them fill that demand. Some of these programs are held in the evening, or on week-ends, so you can hold a job while training. You may be able to get a job as a teacher’s aid or substitute to gain some useful experience and networking that will help you land that job when you graduate!
What are your thoughts about mid-life career changes? As always, we invite your comments.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
