So, you’re not happy with your current situation, and you want to know how to change career at 50. Perhaps you have been working your current career so long, you’re just bored. Maybe circumstances have forced you to have a major re-think about your life, and where you’re headed. Or, you might have brought up a family, and decide you want to become financially independent and just travel the world.
After all, you’re 50 now, and you deserve to be getting more out of life: more freedom, more time, less stress, and be better off financially. Wouldn’t it be great to have more of the good stuff, and less of the grind? Less of the early mornings, the nose-tail commute, the long hours, and the being too tired to enjoy the weekends! What you need is more time, and more freedom to choose to do what you want to do, right?
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If this is not possible within your current work situation, there needs to be a change!
The question you ask yourself is, “How can I achieve this career change, without risking everything I’ve worked so hard for?”. Many people, myself included, are of the belief that “I’m in this steady job, and can’t afford to take the risk by changing career because I have commitments”. I totally understand. Being a reliable, responsible parent, partner, home-owner, mortgage/rent payer, are great qualities, and should be acknowledged.
But you can still be that person, and improve your life at the same time, without compromising your stability.
You can do this; there is a way!
The best time to start thinking about changing your job is way before you actually need to. Give yourself a runway. This way you can start getting things in place, so that the switch becomes a natural progression, rather than a sudden sea-change! It has to start with defining what you want to achieve. Start with the end in mind.
By setting out your goals, you’ll have something positive to aim for, and keep you motivated and focused. I would recommend writing down your goals, and keeping somewhere handy so you can reference them later. The mere act of writing your goals down will help to make them become a reality
I would suggest making these SMART goals. That is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound. This will help you create something that you can verify that is clearly achievable by a certain point in time.
Invest in yourself; start with a good book!
There are many brilliant books for every avenue of personal development out there, but the one which really got me excited was The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss. Just the very thought of working a 4-hour week was so appealing, as I was in a job that I would have been happy to leave behind ASAP! If that sounds too unrealistic, I understand, but giving it the benefit of the doubt will expand your mind to possibilities you may not yet have thought about. After all, different solutions require different thinking.
Prepare for your exit in advance!
What is required to make a confident transition, is something you can start alongside your current job so you can build up earning potential to the point that it replaces your income. What you need is a Side Hustle! You may have doubts about how achievable this is, but there are many people who have done this, and in a wide variety of ways. To gain an understanding of this world of opportunity, a good place to start is listening to a good podcast like Side Hustle School by Chris Guillebeau This weekly podcast gives bit-sized overviews of lots of different things people have done to ‘break the mould’.
Here’s what I did!
Having looked at lots of different side hustles, and other ways to make money from home, I decided that affiliate marketing offered the best way for me to achieve my own goals. It can be done just working with a computer and WIFI, so a very low barrier to entry, financially.
I chose this because there is no cap on the earning potential, and it can become a passive income in time, therefore accomplishing The 4-Hour Work Week. This will give me the freedom to travel, both in the UK, and abroad, without any money worries.
I also decided that I needed to expand my knowledge regarding this subject that I didn’t know too much about. You need to do what’s right for you and your situation, but choosing Wealthy Affiliate seems to have been a good move from my own point of view. You can read a review of what it is all about here.
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Learning new skills!
Chances are, whatever you choose to do to move to a better way of life, you will need to learn new skills. This is a great opportunity, as at this point you still have the security of your current income. If it happens that you are not working, don’t worry because the advantage of the Wealthy Affiliate opportunity is that you can start for free, and there is outstanding training.
Should you decide that the side hustle route is not for you, you will still have gained a lot of new knowledge along the way, and probably some new skills that you can use in the pursuit of your new direction, work wise.
Here’s what I should have done! Doh!
The title of this article is How To Change Career At 50. This what I should have done! To be honest, I’m a bit of a procrastinator, and came to the world of entrepreneur-ism a bit late. Had I realized the opportunity when I was 50, instead of 60, I could have been building a passive income for the last 10 years. Better late than never!
They say “The best time to start your own business is today. The second best time is yesterday!”
If you need that change, I would urge you to not put it off too long, bearing in mind that you can still maintain the security of a current job, and have a side hustle growing alongside at the same time.
Good luck!
I wish you luck with whatever direction you choose to take. May you find the work life balance you are looking for.
If you have any questions that I can answer for you, please drop me a comment below. If you have any great advice or suggestions, please drop me a comment below.
Wishing you much success……….
From The Desk Of – THE INFINITE AFFILIATE
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