It’s Never Too Late To Change Your Career — At Any Age

Are you bored with your job? Switching careers or learning new skills may be what you need

I have tried different jobs for most of my life. I worked in my father’s store, sold footlong hot dogs at a stadium, worked as a university professor’s research assistant, and did many other part-time and casual jobs.

I worked in so many places that I could name them on a full sheet of paper.

Years ago, as a young freelance writer, I boarded a Russian ship and wrote about it in a community paper. While on board, I walked around empty decks, listened to Russian music, and was amazed at seeing a large picture of Lenin displayed in one of the rooms.

If you are thinking of changing careers (like leaving your job), this is a big step and you may want to consider all the pros and cons. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Do You Need To Go Back To School To Change Careers?

How much would it cost and if you quit, would it cause you and your family financial issues? Perhaps you can take night school courses or pay off your course or program on a payment plan?

You may need to do some personal research to determine the answer to these questions.

There are many online courses available where you can learn a skill at rock-bottom prices. You can find something to study for free on Youtube, or you can take a course on Udemy.com where there are courses for $13.99.

I forgot how to add an excel sheet for a gig on Fiverr, and watched a few videos on Youtube where I learned how to add and delete rows.

One site offers more than 4000 courses for free on a range of topics, from languages to business courses. Alison.com offers courses for personal use, and there are options to get a certificate or diploma.

2. You May Not Have To Leave Your Company

Check openings for other roles in your company and determine if there are other internal jobs available that provide a change in responsibilities and open the door for you to learn new things.

3. Volunteer Work May Lead To Other Roles

If you love music, you can volunteer in a music camp for kids. You may be able to use your new skills to teach music virtually or open your own music camp!

As of this writing, it is now 801 days before the Paris 2024 Olympic games. Imagine going to the City of Lights and spending time with other volunteers and checking out the great sites. There is still time to volunteer and bring home some volunteer swag, too. You may even be on national TV waving your arms and cheering on the Olympic athletes during the Olympic opening ceremonies!

4. Other Opportunities

You can explore other opportunities that could use your expertise in other areas, such as teaching a skill or becoming a writer on Medium.

You may also want to explore side gigs like working on Fiverr or taking kids across the street as a school crossing guard. I retired early from my regular job, and I was snapped up quickly to work as an on-call school crossing guard! I wrote about it here:

I know a few friends who are teaching in Japan and also using their certification to teach ESL online to students.

Now that the pandemic is winding down, people are traveling and pets need to be looked after. Consider a job as a pet sitter or dog walker.

If you have always been fascinated with the makings of a movie, consider being a film extra. The average salary of a film extra is about $23 an hour in the United States, or about $48,000 a year.

On some sets, you get an hourly wage and catered food to boot! Oh, yes, I have worked as an extra, too. As an extra, you may be selected to be in a crowd scene or some other minor background role. As an extra in a local film, I sat around a lot and read a book to pass the time. And yes, at times I felt that I was getting paid for doing nothing!

That’s all today.

Let’s hear from one of my followers and please check out his story. Duane Michael

Hope this article gave you things you didn’t know before.

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