Are you thinking about changing career but worried you’ve left it too late now you’re in your thirties?
Cate Sutherland left her steady job in marketing to tackle to the world of journalism, and hers isn’t the only success story. Read these other accounts and get inspired for your career reinvention...
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Justine's story
Justine left a successful career with the Energy Savings Trust at 36 to start her own consultancy, and hopped sectors again at 40, to lead a flourishing coffee business.
I’d wanted to have my own business since I can remember. I’d looked into lots of different ideas over the years but never quite landed on ‘the one’ until I finally reached a point in my mid-thirties where I felt something had to change.
My boss had offered me a great promotion and for the first time ever I said: ‘I need some time to think about it.’ I was going to New York on holiday and left it right until the last boarding call to say thanks, but no thanks. That was first time I said no to someone else’s idea of what I should do.
Allowing some mental space to consider my options was really important. From there it was all about research and planning to ensure I had some savings to fall back on when my salary stopped!
My top tip is join something like the British Library Business and IP centre – you have access to excellent research, networking, workshops and a great place to work if you don’t have an office. Also talk to other people who are doing what you want to do, most are happy to share their time as they remember what it was like starting out.
With Curators Coffee, I’ve taken the best of what I’ve learned in other people’s businesses and created a venture that people want to work for and customers want to enjoy.
Eric's story
Eric left a VP role with JP Morgan at 30 to start his own software company and at 46, turned his passion for cycling into a massive multiplayer game.
When I was about 30, I looked at my boss and asked myself: do I want to be like my boss? And I said: ‘No!’ I thought if I’m going to take a risk, now is the time to do it.
I started a company to build a trading platform. Everything from writing a business plan, raising money and executing on that plan was new to my partner and myself. We went through highs and lows for 15 years, until I said to my partner: ‘we need to do something different. We call ourselves entrepreneurs but we’ve only done this once!’
Cycling was the last thing I looked at because mixing hobbies with your career can be a recipe for losing money. But our concept for Zwift was something different. People had been trying to make it happen for twenty years but had mistimed it.
We spent time talking to the industry and the feedback was really positive. From there it was a matter of pulling the right team together, building the prototype, convincing people to invest. We also put money into it; people like to see founders writing cheques.
You have to believe. Even if you’re wrong, you have to believe. And that has to come across to investors. I’d say the best time to start a business is when you’ve got nothing to lose or when you can afford to lose. But I have no plan B. For me, there’s only plan A!
Belinda's story
Belinda left a successful career in operations at BP to become a solicitor at 30, and joined the Victorian Bar as a criminal law barrister at 32.
At university, there was a very strong theme that you don’t make money working in criminal law. Whilst it’s very interesting and engaging, it’s not a realistic career path. So I dismissed it completely and took a graduate role at BP.
It wasn’t until I had worked in a large corporation (which I hated), that I thought: if I’m good at it, I’ll be well remunerated. I just wanted to do something I was passionate about.
I decided on criminal law from having a really keen, almost obsessive, interest in true crime. From true crime books to shows, the legal side of it all fascinated me. Not just the blood and the guts, but the mechanics of court cases.
My advice for someone looking to making a similar change is to be sure about why you’re going into a certain career, particularly if there’s a financial sacrifice involved. And choose something you know you’re good at and very passionate about so you can fast track your way through.
Making the move at 30 meant I felt some anxiety that my best years were behind me, that I would encounter all these young and hungry lawyers. But when I got there, my life experience was actually a really big asset – being perceptive and making the right decisions about what you’re going to communicate. I didn’t have that same judgment when I left university.
Scott's story
Scott left a successful marketing career at 41 to turn his passion and talent for photography into a freelance business.
After 8 years’ service with EE, the redundancy package was a nice comfort blanket as I didn’t feel as though I had to rush into anything. I was already doing photography as a side-line but I wasn’t set up as a proper business.
I took time out to focus on creating a brand around Scotty Robson photography – developed a logo, re-did my website and all my social media touch points.
The piecework nature of photography meant I could pick up work at weekends whilst I was still in a full time job. This gave me valuable experience and the chance to figure out if it was going to work for me. If the industry you want to go into allows you to ‘try before you buy’, then I would certainly recommend doing that first.
My biggest fear is not being able to find clients in an industry like photography, where there is so much competition. Anybody can pick up a digital camera and take some shots; the fundamental thing is I have confidence in myself and the quality of my images.
For anybody who goes it alone, that self-criticism of ‘am I doing this to a level someone will pay for’ is a difficult step to get over. You need to believe in your own ability, and that confidence needs to be portrayed to clients as well.
READ MORE: Top tips for changing your career in your thirties