I often hear scientists say they’d love to transition to a particular career, but it’s too late. One person recently told me that he disliked his job and had been miserable going in every day, ever since the company was sold and his position changed. However, he didn’t want to look for a new position, he was “just going to tough it out for the next 8 years”, until he could retire. What a depressing future!
He felt he was too old to start doing something different. But upon looking closer, it turns out he had actually changed what he was doing many times over the course of his career. He had not thought of them as career changes, just as a natural progression. But by broadening his outlook a little, it would be possible to see a number of “natural next steps”, many of which would fit his needs better than what he was currently doing. Not to mention making his next 8 years enjoyable!
So before you say sometimes you’re too old to change careers, check out the story of Glen Butler, who became a jocky at age 42. It was his lifelong dream, and he finally went back and accomplished it. It’s never too late to make a change!