CTT’s guide to a career change at 40

Deciding to change careers is a daunting task at any point in life; considering a career change at 40 can feel impossible. You need to be sure that the career you choose will offer you stability, be rewarding, and is the correct choice for you. 

Knowing is half the battle, and to take the plunge and step into an unknown career trajectory in middle age takes bravery, planning, and self-belief. You have too many responsibilities to go for a long stretch without income. You need to be sure that the career you choose is right, but how can you know?

We at CTT have a solution for you, and it’s probably one you’ve never thought about: become a will writer and estate planner.

Is it realistic to switch careers at 40?

It’s never too late to change careers. ‘Never leave for tomorrow what you can achieve today,’ as someone once said. Romantic notions aside, switching careers at 40 is entirely possible and if you’re one of the 66% of people that want to change their career path, read on!

We value your time, and don’t fill our training with extraneous information designed to pad out our courses. Thanks to our expert Foundation course trainers and intuitive Legacy Software, you’ll be able to hit the ground running.

Retraining at 40

Making sure the transition from one career to another is smooth and seamless will be one of your top priorities. It isn’t a certainty but is far more likely that you will have financial burdens by the time you’re 40 that you can’t simply ignore.

Paying your mortgage, bills, food, car insurance, holidays for the kids (and yourself!) – the list is endless. And the prospect of time out of work while you figure out what to do isn’t an option.

The best thing to do would be to retrain for your new career while you are still working. One of the major things that holds people back from changing careers is the feeling that you lack the skills to get a job in a new field. 34% of UK adults feel this way, and if you’re one of them, we want you to know that this is one of the main reasons we have structured our training the way we have.

We know your time is precious, so we designed our training courses to be held remotely, ideal for you to carry out in the comfort of your own home. They are delivered in easy-to-absorb sessions of no more than a few hours each, making it ideal for you to retrain with us while still working your current job.

The best part is that training with CTT all but guarantees you a career in the personal adviser sector after the Foundation course.

Reasons you might be wanting to change careers at 40

You know you need to change careers; do you know why?

Getting to the root of the disquiet you feel inside can take some real effort and introspection. You must be sure that your issues stem from a lack of satisfaction with your work life and not some other underlying issue.

Taking stock of your life as you reach middle age is only natural, though it can be easy to target your career as a source of dissatisfaction when in fact there are other areas that need attention first.

If you are in any way unsure, make a list detailing the reasons why you feel you need to change careers. Be specific, don’t hold back, and be honest with yourself.

Why people often think about a career change:

Quality of life – 1 in 3 UK employees feel that they don’t have a good work/life balance. Burnout is an unfortunate and very real thing. 88% of workers in the UK say they’ve experienced burnout in the last 2 years alone. Prioritising your own wellbeing is more important than any job.

Better financial prospects – Don’t be ashamed to admit that you want a job that pays better. In times of economic hardship, hunting out a job with a better salary benefits you in the short term but in the long run as well. The only significant pay rises most people experience are from switching jobs, rather than being promoted.

Career stability – Your industry may be undergoing unprecedented instability. What once seemed like a solid role in a viable sector has evaporated due to economically uncertain times. There is nothing worse than having the rug pulled out from under you. Preparing to leave your current role for a more stable field is a reasonable attitude to take and an intelligent use of your time.

Job satisfaction – Finding something to do with your life that you are satisfied with is of the highest importance. Whether you want to admit it or not, you’ll probably spend the bulk of your time at work, so you should enjoy it! In 2022 only 17% of the British workforce said they loved their jobs. That’s kind of sad when you think about it. It’s never too late to seek out a job that allows you to do the things you love.

Flexibility – You may be feeling that your current career doesn’t offer you the freedom you would like. This goes back to the point about work/life balance we mentioned above. Needing time to look after the kids, or simply to improve your quality of life can be enough of a catalyst to bring about change. Something covid taught us all is how important being around other people is; gaining the flexibility to work from home when we needed to, not having to schedule our entire lives around work and still being as productive as before was an important realisation for many.

What are the best careers for a job change at 40?

The choice is yours, and it will vary from person to person, but looking at which sectors are experiencing a particular surge in interest is a good place to start. Though you should ideally look into an area that you have a personal interest in.

If you feel the need to change careers, you should do so for a job that is in a field you enjoy working in. Although it can be tempting to opt for the first thing that comes along, when changing careers, you should consider carefully. As much as it might not feel like it, you do have time. 

Here are our top 5 picks for the best jobs to consider:

1. Estate planner – Okay so we’re somewhat biased on this one, but it’s worth considering. Will writing and estate planning is an essential service. You don’t need any formal legal training to do the job and with our comprehensive training and support systems, we make the process as easy and low-risk as possible. You will be offering a service that above all requires compassion and people skills, so if you’re empathetic and thrive in a client-facing role, this is for you!

2. Estate agent – Helping guide clients through the process of buying, selling, and renting property – being an estate agent offers a service that is also essential and requires nothing more than some people skills and enthusiasm to get going. There are plenty of courses to help you get into the industry, and they cover every level of experience from complete beginner to those that are only looking for some further professional development.

3. Teacher – Another great choice, the career of a teacher is both rewarding and varied. Teachers are always in demand, and there are a number of pathways to becoming a successful teacher. No matter your previous experience or qualifications, there will be an avenue for you to explore to get into teaching. It should be said that although it is a very fulfilling career, it is also one that will be quite stressful at times and will require a good amount of empathy and patience.

4. Software developer – Something about old dogs and new tricks springs to mind. There are various resources on the internet to learn coding, and once you have this bedrock of knowledge, you’ll be able to work in software development. You can learn to code in your spare time, there are many courses to enrol in online and even websites where you can learn coding basics for free. Even if you discover a career in development is not for you, learning to code is an extremely useful skill and transferable to any number of other careers.

5. Event planner – To help scratch that creative itch, there’s no reason you can’t pivot into a career where you get to exercise your creativity. As an event planner you’ll help organise weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings, bringing flair and imagination to moments that will be remembered forever. This career path will require more of a social network and an outgoing personality than the others. Succeeding in this field will take a lot of self-promotion, and experience working on other’s events, as well as drawing from friends and family to build a foundation of testimonials and success stories to help promote yourself.
These are only suggestions to help give you a good idea of what is possible. As you may have noticed, a lot of these jobs have overlapping skillsets. One of the keys to switching career tracks is to utilise your transferable skills as much as possible.

Tips for changing career at 40

You know what you need to do, but how do you do it?

Once you have decided that a career change is needed, and you know which direction you want to go in, it’s time to get serious, get your head down, and do the work. In short: the boring part.

One of the most important things we can’t stress enough is to reach out for help if you need it. Don’t be afraid to have frank conversations within your network and use the skills and connections of others to aid you in reaching your goal. Most people will be happy to help!

Set career and life goals – When reaching the impasse of discovering that you are in the wrong career, it is easy to let despair and hopelessness take root. A good place to bring things into focus is to concentrate on what it is you want from your work and your life.

People need to engage in activities that are nourishing to the mind as well as the body. Your work will, more often than not, be what you spend a good amount of mental energy on. If the job is unsatisfying or mundane this could lead to burnout or other mental health issues.

By setting down your goals in clear and concise language it helps to focus the mind and bring those things that are the most important to you into the foreground of your life.

Don’t let the Sunk Cost Fallacy keep you in a career that is unfulfilling. It’s natural to feel like you’ve wasted your time if you realise a certain career path is not for you, especially one you may have been in for decades, but there is always hope and there is always help.

If you have trouble putting into words what you want out of your life, just start. Literally write anything down, as long as it’s to do with what you enjoy doing, what you once enjoyed doing, a hobby, an activity that brings you joy, and then go from there.

Research jobs around what interests you – With your goals in mind, you’ll have a better understanding of the direction you want to go in. Look into the various methods to enter your dream career. Cast your net wide and look outside your comfort zone, you may be surprised at the options you discover.

Research what training you will need to undertake in order to get a job in that industry. Enquire with trainers, course leaders, seek out testimonials, and get a good sense of whether their courses are right for you; see if they fit around your schedule and are a realistic undertaking. It can be frustrating but sometimes retraining takes time, especially if it is in an industry you are unfamiliar with.

There will be plenty of resources to help you learn the skills you need to. Like our support systems that guide you through the process of learning new skills and using them to begin a successful career in will writing and estate planning, there are other companies that will offer a similar all-round service to get you up and running.

Transferable skills – Changing careers from one industry into another can feel like you are starting back at square one, though we can guarantee, this is not the case.

Being a little older and a little wiser has its own advantages. The accumulated skills you will have learned, no matter your career, will be useful going forward. These are usually termed “soft” skills and are abilities many learn without even knowing it. These skills are coveted in any workplace due to how useful they are and the fact they are much harder to teach than technical skills.

Examples of transferable skills are:

• Problem solving

• Analytical reasoning

• Critical thinking

• Project management

• Data analysis

• Organisation

If you can demonstrate any of these in a quantifiable way, they are worth adding to your CV. Even skills like empathy, adaptability, dependability, communication, and time management are worth noting. As long as you can back up your claim, listing skills such as these shows that you have an openness to learning, change, and are a good team player. All positive attributes that show you will be a benefit to any employer.

Gain new qualifications or accreditations – Feeling like you’re underqualified or lack the experience to switch into a new career is natural. Although we can guarantee your skills are going to be more relevant than you think, there is no getting around the specific knowledge needed to carry out any job. Luckily, there are plenty of courses and opportunities to learn.

The internet is an abundant resource of information and finding the right places to look can feel overwhelming; this is why we created the CTT Professional Services programme. We noticed that having a welcoming space where people can begin their journey into the professional adviser sector was sorely missing, and professionals in other industries have begun to do the same.

Finding fully accredited and legitimate educational resources to procure the all-important skills necessary to switch careers is easier than ever.

Take advantage of your network – It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Something many of us have heard in life, and in many ways, there is truth to it. This can be equal parts frustrating and useful as it will depend entirely on your network or whether you have a network at all!

Although not essential, if you are able, use every resource at your disposal to achieve your goal of switching careers, and this includes the people around you: close friends, professional connections, even mild acquaintances… there is no harm in asking and the very worst you’re going to hear is a ‘no’.

Deciding to change careers is a big deal; if you have reached the point where you have decided it’s the right thing to do, don’t let any feelings of embarrassment or inadequacy stop you. You have come this far, so why not go a little further?

Training is one thing, but making sure you have a job to go into, or at the very least some prospects, is equally important. One of the best resources at your disposal will be your social network. Chances are, no matter how tangentially, someone you know will have a contact for you to follow up on.

Find support – Connected to the point above, you don’t need to go it on your own. Support structures exist to help you make the transition from one career into another.

This support could be in the form of government services like the National Careers Service, which is a good place to start when looking for career-focused guidance, a mentor from the industry you want to move into, a life or career coach to help guide you as you progress toward your goal, or a complete support network like the one available through CTT.

How CTT support people wanting to change careers at 40

With a highly adaptable, confidence building, up-to-date digital solution for entering a new career for anyone – not just those at 40 – CTT’s Professional Services provide incredible support every step of the way.

Over a free, one-hour consultation, we’ll have a frank, honest conversation about your personal and professional goals, and most importantly, we’ll discuss the best ways we can help you to achieve those goals.

If you’re looking for a career change as you enter mid-life, there’s no better place to begin that journey than with CTT. If you think a career as a professional adviser, will writer, or estate planner sounds like something you’d be interested in, book a consultation today.

Realising that you’ve been in the wrong career for the bulk of your life can feel debilitating and disheartening. It’s important to know that no matter when this realisation happens, whether you’re looking to switch careers at 30 or 40 or at any time, you have options.

We at CTT have ensured that our system supports and guides you as much as you need. If you’re going to switch careers at 40, follow the guidelines above, good luck, and know that there are incredible support networks out there created to bring you into the career of your dreams.