Blossoming in mid life

By VIKKI BLAND

What induces a publican to become a university economics professor or a teacher to become a lawyer? Why would a high-flying marketing executive leave a successful position with a world-renowned firm to become a cat motelier? The answer may have something to do with turning 30.

Mark Rainier, a career counsellor and head of counselling for Massey University's Palmerston North campus, says he suspects what drives people to pursue a different career mid-life is more about what happened when they left school than their present circumstances.

"When they left school they made job decisions based on external criteria, such as what their friends were doing or what they thought was a good job based on hearsay, TV, or the media," says Rainier.

He says some people are also influenced by what their parents want.

"By mid-life, the reality of what they have embarked on is becoming clear and they decide whether they are going to stagnate or reinvent themselves," says Rainier.

Of course, some about-face career changes are forced through the ill health of the primary income earner or member of the family - think executive managers with stress-related issues who are told to pursue a healthier lifestyle, or people who have to move closer to a hospital to care for a loved one.

Career change can also result from having children or being made redundant. As noted in a recent New Zealand Herald career article, redundancy is sometimes a positive, if enforced, springboard for people to change track.

Wellington businessman and author Michael Fitzsimons says radical career change is typically driven by personal reflection, health issues or redundancy - but whatever the reason it requires an inner depth of conviction. "It is not something people do on a whim," he says.

With business partner Nigel Beckford, Fitzsimons is compiling an as yet untitled book profiling the lives of more than 15 mid-life career changers.

The book includes the examples of publican-turned-university lecturer, marketer-turned-cat motelier, and a profile on former Fair Go television presenter-turned-amusement park manager, Liane Clark.

Fitzsimons says while a radical career change can give people a new lease on life, it can also be a difficult time for those who help support a young family.

"If you have young children heavily dependant on the main income that's not perhaps the best time to [change career]," he says.

Fitzsimons says one young father interviewed is a former health and safety inspector who retrained as a pharmacist.

"The impact [of the career change] on his family was considerable. He lived in Christchurch but the training was available only in Dunedin, so he was only home on the weekend. The [couple] had to have some savings and tighten the belt, plus his wife worked."

Rainier says the disadvantages of severe career change may include family stress through loss of income and possible re-location, conflicts around altered spousal roles and relationships - for example, when a wife suddenly has to work to support a husband's study or steps outside an established family role to study herself.

This all begs the question: why not stay where you are, take the good money, and improve your holidays or outside-work interests instead of changing an established career?

Fitzsimons says it's not that simple. "As people get older, they desire to have work that's more in line with their values. They want to fulfil talents that may have previously lain dormant."

He says while money is important to people in their 20s who need to pay off a student loan or buy a house, mid-life career change often results in financial downshift.

"We interviewed 15 mid-life career changers and none had changed their career for more money."

What does this say about New Zealand employees? With increasing emphasis on the importance of a healthy work/life balance, are New Zealanders under-valuing financial rewards, preferring instead to pick and choose emotionally satisfying careers in what is still a strong job market?

Fitzsimons says while people reach a point in life where money is not a big driver, the length of time they are likely to be in the workforce also has something to do with their desire for change.

"Ask anyone if they like more money, they will always say yes, but people are ready to trade off money for better job satisfaction."

He says employees are waking up to the fact the workforce is ageing, people are working longer and there will be more jobs available for the later years.

"We have interviewed people in their 40s and 50s making big changes like going to law school. The willingness of older people to go back and retrain is astounding," he says.

Rainier says people look for a career balance where the pay and working conditions are good but where they also receive respect, challenge, support and friendships, and have the time and energy for other life roles.

"People have a fundamental need to feel good about themselves and believe in what they are doing. At work, the rewards can be internal and external but few people keep going if there are only external rewards."

For those in their 30s, a gradual move towards a career change is sometimes preferred.

Pat Martin, editor for Massey University Extramural Association magazine Off Campus, says extramural retraining or study is no longer the domain of people "tucked away in the back blocks".

Trevor Weir, student liaison adviser for the extramural arm of Massey University, believes the driving points for extramural study in older students include the need to upskill as work roles and responsibilities change.

"For some, there is a realisation that they are not in a job or career which is providing the satisfaction and challenge they want," says Weir.

The Graduate Diploma in Business Studies is the most popular extramural programme for older students seeking a change of career direction, and common interest areas include counselling and wider health training, such as rehabilitation.

While radical career changes can make amusing reading or be considered risky by the super-cautious, Fitzsimons says the future could belong to "those people with skills, qualifications and a willingness to learn at any age".


Thinking of something new?


If you think a radical career change could be just the ticket, here are some tips and guidelines:

* Use a career counsellor or guidance service to help you determine the right career move. Following your heart won't work if you lack the right personal or academic skills for your desired career. A counsellor will introduce careers you have never thought of.

* Think long and hard about the job you have - do you really want a career change or do you just need a job restructure? Or better work/life balance? Talk with your employer - most will work hard to retain talent.

* Be realistic about your need to eventually draw a living from your new career.

* Draw up a realistic budget for the costs involved in launching a new career while maintaining everyday outgoings.

* Carefully consider the personal impact of a major career change on yourself and family members. Is everyone behind you? Their support will matter later on.

* Is studying part-time towards a new career a better option than full-time study?

* Investigate various forms of industry funding and scholarships before paying for retraining.

* Carefully vet academic institutions, particularly non-university, non-polytechnic organisations that only carry an NZQA rating. How is the training delivered? What qualifications are guaranteed and how useful are they? Of those who have previously taken the course, how many are now employed in that career area?