4 Real Life Stories Proving It's Never Too Late to Start A New Career

A common worry that I hear a lot from clients is that they think they might be too old to change careers.

They've invested A LOT of time, energy, and often money on their current career and worry that they'd be throwing all that away if they move to a different career. I have yet to come across someone who was thinking about a career that they'd be barred from because of their age. Even if the career they were considering required going back to school, it's still not too late for that. 

If you're still not convinced, here are four women who are proof positive that changing careers midstream IS possible. Keep reading and be inspired! 

Vera Wang: Wang started her career as a fashion editor at Vogue and then became an accessories design director for Ralph Lauren. It wasn’t until she was 40 that she started seriously thinking about becoming a wedding dress designer. As you well know, she’s built an empire that extends beyond just wedding dresses, including a mattress collection! 

Read more at https://hbr.org/2019/07/lifes-work-an-interview-with-vera-wang

Julia Child: During World War II, Child worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA. I like to imagine her as a very tall spy. It wasn’t until after the war and when her husband, who worked in the foreign service field, was assigned to Paris that her interest in cooking started to develop. She didn’t even learn how to cook until she was 36! Not only that! Her show, The French Chef, premiered when she was 51.

Read more at  https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/julia-child

Grandma Moses: When her arthritis made embroidering difficult, Grandma Moses switched to painting. Guess how old she was when she started painting? 76 freaking years old! Proof that you’re never too old to try new things and develop your talents. 

Read more at https://bit.ly/3LUaYmu

Nina Zagat: Zagat started her professional career as a corporate attorney. While working in Paris, she and her husband, Tim, had the idea of writing a different kind of restaurant review guide. Their first guide, Zagat, was published in 1979 when Nina was 39.

Read more at https://www.vassar.edu/vq/issues/2013/02/eat/nina-zagat.html

So how can you make a similar transition? 

• First, you have to change your mindset and believe that you can successfully change careers. Seriously, getting past your fears is the single most important part of the journey.
• Next, really tune into your passions. Get clear on which passions are things that are fun to do but that you wouldn’t want to do as a career and which passions you’d like to pursue as a career. You may enjoy baking cakes for friends and family but not the idea of doing it day in and day out. 
• Then research those career options. Read articles and books about it. Talk to people in the field. Try it out as an internship or on a volunteer basis. 
• Finally, test the waters and apply to those positions or start that business on the side until you can do it full-time. 

As one of my favorite mindset coaches, Denise Duffield-Thomas likes to say, “Now is your time. You are ready for the next step!”

If you're in the middle of or starting a career transition and would like one-on-one coaching to guide you during your journey, shoot me an email at [email protected], and let's chat about how I can help!