I'm 56. Am I Too Old To Change Careers?

I'm 56. Am I Too Old To Change Careers?



Do you feel stuck in your job? Do you dread going to work on Monday mornings? Do you want to do work that matters? The Ken Coleman Show is for you! Join the conversation with #1 bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio host, Ken Coleman as he delivers practical advice to help you discover the role you were born to play—and map out a plan to get there. You have what it takes to make your dream job a reality!

[jaredpoort]

Telling your boss how overwhelmed you are at 56 years old is a great way to ensure they start looking for your younger replacement

[Candlewick]

I'm 43 and just got cancer. I desperately want to change my path from finance to early childhood teaching. I need courage.

[bellydancerocks]

Clear away all of your debt. Down size and sell off most of your stuff. Create a clear date that you want to leave, giving you time to save up a good chunk of cash and to plan out what you want to do. If you need retraining, get it while you are working so you can afford it. Plug away at learning whatever new skills you need. Tell NO ONE your plans. Go to work as usual and keep focused on your exit plan. To do it any other way, in this day and age, would be a HUGE mistake. People will not understand why you would ever want to leave such a "good" job. They will not understand your desire for something else. This is how it is. This how it works. This is how people are. Trust me, I have been there. Don't be afraid to take the leap. Your inner self is sending you a clear message that you need a change. That change may be that your body no longer wants to be subjected to such high stress. Do not take this lightly. Change must come, or the continued high stress could result in some sort of serious illness. Our bodies give little signals. But, we must listen and do something about it. Also, please consider the possibility that in order to acquire a job or career that is less stressful and more meaningful, a lower wage may come with it. I hope this helps. Best wishes. :)

[AnnMitt]

Age discrimination is real. I've seen it with others and see it now with myself currently.

[atlantasfaithsmom]

I'm dealing with age discrimination in my job search.

[remopiccioni]

Fellow Pennsylvanian going through this at 52.

[traceejohnson]

Actually, most employees are not valued, unfortunately if you leave today, replaced tomorrow.

[vickikendricks]

As an HR representative, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ken is saying.

[davidfredericks]

Kimberly, if you don't build your own dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs.

[everythingiseverything]

I love my work, but noticed lots of ageism happening in my late 50's. I am in a pretty young business with the average age of 35. I noticed less and less work each year, so being forced to change career. I am applying for jobs I am well qualified for, but nothing yet.

[charleshurstreinvention]

Not at all. You can attempt anything as long as you are still breathing. This is my weekly topic for my own subscribers. Career. One thing that can really bring a person into depression is 40 hours a week of hating their job. The job is literally almost half of the waking life. The problem many people have is that they have a craving for security. The person will tolerate being unhappy if that is their normality. People would rather have secure bitterness than the fear of stepping off the cliff. The fact is that you can change your career anytime. At 40 or 50. I once knew a car salesman of 30 years who did really well but started to hate his job--so became a nurse at 57. He is now a travel contractor. His friends told him he would be 57 by the time he got licensed as an RN. He told them he would be 57 anyway. So he will now spend the next ten years doing something he likes instead of something he hates. But you have to decide if it is life on the sea you hate or just that ship you're traveling on. In other words--do you hate your trade or just the company you're at? But whatever you aren't happy with you must change and continue to advance yourself. Hope this helps someone---Charles.

[MD-wqon]

Policy and procedures constantly changing is a red flag, unless it's a startup company.

[EppingForest]

It's not about her age, she just sounds over-loaded with work

[backyardgrillmaster]

The baby steps are there to get you out of that keep you out of debt but really to get your freedom back to go do what you want to do😊

[lorieclark]

Hi first time I watched your show…I wanna say you are amazing help for breaking through thoughts.I m pleased.

[hollyprincipato]

What about 58 years old and disabled? Is there anything I can do within my many interests?
Point 1: My Interests
I am interested in so many things. I love Music. Family members have put down my talent of Singing. I have been told to "Shut up" for so long that I don't even try to sing with favorites anymore. My vocals have gone from almost professional quality to nothing.
I am also interested in Animals. Schools want you to stand for at least 150 hours. With this disability I can't stand for more than a few minutes. I was born with Scoliosis. At about 45 years old I started having problems. Mostly from pain. I receive disability benefits at about $795 a month. Not near enough.
I am also interested in Archaeology, Making videos, Psychology, Supernatural or Paranormal, History...Just to name a few.
At 58 I have been told to give it up. I am way too old to thinking about a Career.

[ErrorPagenotFound-igcy]

At 56 making $80k i’d say suck it up, focus on doing the job, focus on that retirement.

[kleakatrah]

I tried to make suggestions but this boss was never going to acknowledge that a woman employee had any worthy ideas, let alone any other employee. Employees complained that he never gave compliments or praise. He did that because he didn't want to be expected to give raises. So one time he decided to smack me on the ass in front of all other employees to praise me..."good job" . I was mortified but all I could do was eventually quit. If I was to try to sue him, MY reputation would be at stake!! Nobody would want to hire a potential employee that tried to sue for sexual harassment. Especially small industries the word gets around. That's not the only unethical thing that he committed either.
I ended up going to college at 55yo to get a degree but had to sacrifice my education because my elderly parents were ill and needed care.

Great advise. But nobody ever talks about an older woman, 60, changing careers, with a huge gap in your resume because you were a caregiver and many other things but without a W2. Then what can you do? It's really hard to find answers for this scenario or predicament ! Talk about stress and fear!!!!

[backyardgrillmaster]

See this is the perfect call to listen to this is why Dave says follow the baby steps follow the baby steps and whatever age when you get to Baby Steps at 4:05 and 6:00 man you you're there you shouldn't be tied down to a job because of what they pay you you take the job because that's what you want to do I mean you're going to take the job because of the pain because you still you still got to follow my baby steps but you're free you're free to do whatever you want get get your freedom I don't care if you 20 30 40 50 60 70 get your freedom and then go do what you want

[loc]

My concern is you're seen as 'old', with withoutdated skills and lack the mental flexability to adapt. But that said I'm coming from the I.T. perspective and it might be different if you're in or looking for a job involving people (but not marketing).

People don't seem to have really changed over time (they're as bad now as ever) and as people get older they seem to get progressively better at dealing with the kinds of problems that handing people brings with it.