I trained as a special needs teacher in 1996, and up to 2008 only taught profoundly disabled kids. I assumed that I would always stay in the world of special education.
Then the greasy pole of career called and I got promoted to Deputy Head in a school in the midlands. I absolutely hated it, and left after a year.
I had reached 40. I had reached an impasse. Get out of education or change phase. So I did some mainstream primary supply teaching and loved it. Then, since January this year I have been teaching a Year 5 class in a lovely village school.
It's great and the message I would send to the Massive is: it's never too late. I thought after my promotion and the debacle of a year I had that it was all over. I was wrong. So - good luck if you are out there and in the same boat.
LIfe begins at 40!

I changed Careers(If you can call them that) when I was 34. I used to run pubs,trendy bars and discos and was good at it but got sick of dealing with drugged up idiots.Then I moved abroad to become an English teacher.I've fallen into a place where I teach trainee motorcycle mechanics how to read manuals in English. It's fine. I enjoy it but can i see myself doing it for another 20 years ? No. I've never going to earn a "proper" living from it. Then again,been poor all my life might as well go the whole hog.
Whatever you decide RC,Good luck with it

decent(ish) salary, son starting university, twins 14 and growing almost visibly daily. I hate my job, but I have a job so I'm staying put and have a 5 year plan to be out of the rat race when I hit 50. Unless I win the lottery of course.

My GLW did a physics degree, taught physics for 4 years, married me, worked as an reliability engineer for 7 years, then 4 years off with the kids, then retrained as a midwife, did that for 5 years, then retrained again as a health visitor. Now she wants to do a Spanish degree. Is that enough changes? Me? - been doing the same job for 29 years. I think the lesson is 'it's never too late'

for the repro company that deals with The Word and which shares the same premises. Actually worked on The Word for a few years (as well as other mags and books) until last year I was made redundant on my 37th birthday!! After failing to find another job I eventually turned to one of my hobbies - videography. I now run by own business filming weddings and other events which, so far, is going ok. It can be really stressful sometimes but I've had some lovely responses to my work which makes it all worthwhile. After my next couple of shoots I'm going to take a breather, re-evaluate my pricing and packages, re-work my website and offer other video services and, hopefully, really make something of myself. So, I agree - it really is never too late.

Aged 54 and a full time carer until my dear old Mum is reunited with the love of her life.What I am going to do with what ever time remains to me then I really don't have a clue.I guess I'll do what I've always done follow my heart.

Went from a job in retail management which was killing me (insomnia, panic attacks and chest pains) to data wrangling in local government. Best move I ever made.

I was organising beach parties for Spanish students. At 36, I was in Croydon, writing a magazine about fridges. At the time it felt like the end of the world, but now, 10 years and a couple of steps up the journalistic ladder later... no, I'd still rather be on the beach

... who as of next week will be definately "between contracts" this has been on my mind a great deal. Frankly I have skipped between artsy silly media jobs for quite a few years now, it has been lovely, but the current climate is blooming cold to put it mildly. Perhaps I could become a bailiff or something...

I was made redundant from a fairly undemanding office job at the end of 2008. Having a bit of money & no dependants, I took off for a few months to do some mountaineering. This confirmed my desire not to return to sitting on my arse in front of a screen for 8 hours a day.

With fortunate timing, I learnt about a job with the British Antarctic Survey. I applied, was interviewed, and to my great surprise, was accepted. I worked in British Antarctic Territory, mostly out at field airstrips, for the Antarctic summer (UK winter). A truly unique and inspiring job, literally the experience of a lifetime.

Back in the UK, I decided to retrain as a teacher. I did some research, went back to my old school to see how they do things now, and applied as a mature student.

I've now got a place at Leeds Uni, to study for a PGCE in Physics. I start in January with a refresher course (the last formal science learning I had was nearly 30 years ago!) then onto the PGCE & a new career as a teacher. So for the new couple of years I'll be skint, but happy.

The office is a long, long way away now!

Changed career at 38 and became ... a university careers adviser (ie the cushy end of the careers advice market, I realise).

Admittedly, I'd got previous - gone from chemistry grad, to software engineer, to grad recruiter, to HR manager, to manufacturing manager, all without consciously deciding to change career - I'd only worked for 2 employers all that time.

First career change tip - try moving sideways with the same employer if you can. If you're known for good work in one job and make the right internal contacts, they may take a chance on you in a completely different career. Often easier than trying to change career and employer at the same time.

Love my current job, & could happily do it until I retire, but know I could make some more major career shifts if it all goes belly up.

really is in your own hands. It is frustrating to be in a job you don't like or in a city, town or country that is increasingly annoying the tits off you. I have this problem so I will be moving to Thailand with Mrs Shoes in the next 2-3 years after selling off my CDs and vinyl and most other material possessions. I will be packing my clothes, guitar and banjo and get the hell out of Dodge. If it doesn't work out I'll come back but at least I can say I tried. It's harder with kids in the frame so the time is right at the moment. You only get one shot....

At the ripe old age of 49, I am on the verge of having to look for a career change, as my current job (Mortgage Broker) is beginning to feel a bit like that of VCR repairman, or cassette-tape salesman. Have worked in financial services all my life, and with 3 children and an FPO to support, am feeling a bit lost. Any suggestions from the Massive?

I was working in jobs I hated. When I finally got made redundant I went back to college to study journalism. Now I'm editor of a national magazine or two.

It worked for me.

When I was a critter, all I ever wanted to do was go to sea.

I joined the Royal Navy at 15, had a great time, took the rough with the smooth, saw a lot of the world, did a lot of rascalling, left when I was 40 (contract over) - no regrets whatsoever.

I then got a decent job in a small power station, working for a good company, everthing (sort of) OK.

For quite a while I missed the navy & was pining for it, but I was wrong, I was actually pining for my (relative) youth & fitness.

I am now empty nested as my youngest son left home recently, I love the space & quiet, but miss the camaraderie of my younger days all the more.

hey ho, thats life.

...and I've had the crushing feeling that my trigger has been jammed, the gun rusted out of action or the bullet spent for the past 3 or 4 years. I'm in a terribly depressing dead-end public sector job and I'm 42.

But... I've recently been accepted to be a volunteer adviser for the local Citizens Advice Bureau (11 weeks of one day a week training, then a one day a week commitment thereafter) which will probably mean downsizing my already poorly paid paid job to 4 days a week - which will be tough, and I don't think I'll be able to afford much in the way of hobbies for a while - but its the most positive thing I've seen coming over the horizen for ages.

And to feel positive about something, anything, after months of mind-numbing frustration trying to deal with zero prospects, zero job satisfaction multiplied by seemingly insoluble issues with public sector human resource b*****ds who sap you of any will to live, feels great!

So yes, over the next year or so - aside from the feeling of usefulness to society which I'm hoping the CAB volunteering will give me - I'll be accumulating transferrable skills/experience and trying to change jobs entirely. I won't say career, because I don't have one, but something that pays that bills, gets you through life and doesn't kill your soul would be good.

I wouldn't say life begins at 40, but to be able to say that it doesn't necessarily end at 40 would be a result...

You get to meet great people but the pay is bloody terrible.

Actually I was always doing management accountancy since I left school at 16. Worked full-time in various industries; knicker factory, brewery, soap makers, paper mill designers, industrial fan manufacturers, exhibition centre and finally activated carbon importers. I was made redundant 4 times in my long career. Working in temporary posts and being treated like shit did it for me.

I had been the honorary treasurer for over 20 years of a national charity that has become a family business. At 54 I became the general secretary, charged to making sure it survives the recession and being responsible for admin, accounts, fundraising, etc. Not a 9 to 5 job, I can work from home and I don't want to ever have to get back on the treadmill of being bossed around badly by someone younger and less qualified/experienced because they know it too.

I have a good feeling about it. And good luck to your pal, too!

On the hobbies front, having recently created a prog/folk/chamber instrumental album inspired by Gavis Francis' and Joanna Kavenna's Arctic travelogue/history books 'True North' and 'The Ice Museum', I'm hoping to complete an album of vocal music before my 'spare money' runs out. Well, it has already, to be honest, but you know what I mean! And then I'll try and be seriously frugal and uncreative for a while...

But if you - or indeed anyone else in the massive - think you might enjoy the instrumental record, please do drop me a line and I'll be happy to post a copy.

in my 40s (had to) and was looking to change career (well, job more than career) - antiquarian bookselling, urban regeneration or playing for Leeds United. Did a lot of voluntary work but nobody could offer paid work. None of the above worked out, have had to go back to travel and am now bored. Have reached fine old age and time to start again but no point in applying for jobs and going through all the pointless interview rigmarole. It was profoundly depressing 5 years ago and have even less patience now. Don't know if I have the motivation to work for myself at home so am a thrashing about a bit. Quite fancy the idea of removing my book collection into a van and running a mobile library service though with the sodding parking regulations in London, I''ll probably end up owing. I probably need to learn how to drive as well. Still, fancy doing something community based. If I can offer any intelligent advice, the voluntary angle related to interests is a good start though you do have to give a commitment on how long you can work unpaid and if a good job comes up in the interim, you may find yourself in a quandary. Good luck to all who do change though - life ain't a dress rehearsal as some bumptious careers advisor once told me.

Mine came after several years of doing admin jobs which bored me and a failed attempt at an artistic career. Doing an OU degree in my spare time to keep my brain working through the boredom was the key. It opened my eyes to new possibilities and made me determined to use my new degree in some way, so I did a postgrad qualification in careers guidance (after meeting advisers in one of my admin jobs). Initially worked with schools and school leavers then, like Milly above (we have met !) made the switch to a university. Still trying to keep the art going in the background through p/t courses and planning more flexible working to give a bit more time to it.

In my work and personal life I've come accross some fantastic career shifts - opera singer to probation officer, professional musician to social worker are just two - it can be done !

I rather jokingly have said 9/11 changed my life, but it did sort of. Not long after the events in the US the British economy was a little jittery and the insurance sector more so. I was made redundant from my job as a software developer in the London Insurance Market in late 2001 and took this, at the ripe old age of 35 and a bit, as my opportunity to try something different.

Eschewing sensible career choices I returned to University to study for an MA in Politics. It had been about fifteen years since my first degree and returning to University was an absolute blast. I am probably not alone in thinking that I had not made the most of my
opportunities first time around and subsequently returning to college later on in life was just fantastic. It wasn't long before I'd signed up to carry on my studies with a PhD.

The post-9/11 world intervened once again as while working in London in the 1990s I had also done a bit of work with Iraqi groups opposed to Saddam Hussein (it's a long story). Just coming to the end of my MA I then found myself deploying this knowledge and working for the FCO in London and Iraq for about twelve months before returning to University to start my PhD. The whole process of the PhD was less fun than a taught degree and you go through a series of highs and lows. Just as I was completing my studies I got a short-term lecturing post and hand on heart it is, for me, the best job in the world. After a life of writing computer code to swap if for a job that pays me to read books and then spout off about what is in them seems pretty cool.

The downside of this is I've swapped the relative financial security of my old industry for the insecurity of the public sector at a time of slash and burn government policy and I can't emphasise quite how frightening that is at the moment.

The upsides are probably too numerous to mention, not least that I met my better half about two years into the whole career change thing. In the last eight years I have done so many things that I never thought I would or could do. And on balance I think it was worth it. Good luck if you decide to take the plunge.

when I was already a mortgage-paying, married father. Various professional and personal things conspired to push me (us I should say) and a voluntary redundancy package made it seem possible.

6 years later has it worked? Yes, with caveats. We didn't plan much, it was very impulsive, and as a result we came very close to ballsing everything up royally. Happily we more or less sorted things out and we're now better off - in ever sense of the word - than we were in the UK. Funnilly enough the desired career change didn't materialise and I do something very similar to what I did in the UK but somehow it doesn't piss me off as much here..

My only advice - plan, and have some idea of what you're going to do. And don't move to Spain at the moment...

I started out as a radio presenter and promo producer. I absolutely loved it, but eventually wanted to get out (for reasons including horrible writer's block, feeling I'd gone as far as I'd wanted to, and also that I had other skills that I wasn't using).

In every job I've done, I'd always adopted some sort of training role (I just love teaching people new skills). So eventually, I changed careers and became a broadcast IT trainer and technical author. It was all good fun for a few years.

Now, I want to change things again. I now have two young daughters and I'd like to find a job that fits around them. I was trying to get established as a piano teacher, but that's not really worked out. I also looked at establishing mother and baby music classes, but that was an absolute admin nightmare.

So, I'm currently full time housewife (which is sort of like another career change). Bloody hard work, but enjoying it.

Planning to go back to work in the future - not sure whether back to radio, back into training, might give the piano teaching a go again... or I might try and re-train as a primary school teacher as that's something else I've always fancied.

Ultimately - life is short. If you're not entirely happy with what you're doing, and something else is calling you, then give it a go. At worse, you can always go back to your original job if the new career isn't everything you'd planned.

I have a friend who left PR to re-train as a paramedic. He lasted three months in the new job (and is happily back at the old one), but doesn't regret a day of it. Much better to go for it rather than spend the rest of your life mumbling "What if?".

I made my change 2 years into a retail management career that peaked as the customer service manager for Sainsburys in Guildford High Street at the age of 21. I have spent the next 22 years buying things for big companies. I really enjoy most of it - you meet a lot of interesting people, you get a reasonable sense of satisfaction regularly and most people I work seem to appreciate what we do for them (at least to my face).

I had been in hotel management for 17 years and was made redundant at 41...three weeks later the wife left after 18 years of marriage so it was not the best month i have ever had! I spent time looking after my kids and after a brief return as a Front of House Manager for a year or so, i realised i did not want to deal any more with all the shit that went with that job.The fact that the whole weekend,bank holiday working did not fit in with looking after the kids also was a major factor. I needed a job with a structure to it and regular office hours (something i had never done) so changed to bookkeeping and took some exams.I swiftly got a job after that which lasted a year until the recession hit and have been doing temp jobs for the last year gaining experience with a few different types of companies.I am finding it really hard to get a perm job and even if i do money is poor at my level and am totally skint but i knew i had to go backwards to go forwards.I need to push on with the CIMA exams and try to get up the ladder a bit and increase my knowledge. Its scary as I was never really that good at exams but I realise that i am not as dense as was made out at school, and i sort of feel that i need to know if i can really understand the world of accounts for my good and self esteem.
I find the difficulty at this age is that I need to crack on really quickly and a two year course is a lot of time when you are not time rich at 48.
Good luck to all who are changing career and i hope it goes well for you.

First was enforced when a computer company (think blue) decided it coul manage without me and I then worked for an MP for six years. As there is no career path for MP's dogsbodies and not wanting to go through a second (and tougher) election I joined the Home Office. Like the job but can see with the massive cuts coming up that it may not see me to retirement in the way that I envisaged.

...as an IT body at one of our larger banks. Redundancy (and the large amounts of cash) always seemed to pass me by, so just prior to 40, my wife and I decided to emigrate. This meant selling our lovingly done up house at precisely the wrong time (Initial asking price $399K, sold for $310K and lucky to get that), quitting the job a few weeks after aforementioned 10 years, and saying goodbye to friends, family and driving on the left.

Three months of idleness (no job, not looking for a job); stress (waiting for house sale to clear back in the UK, whilst watching GBP slide against USD - every time it dropped a cent, I "lost" $1000!); panic (need to find good school!!!).

Slid into an exciting new job with a software company, a new circle (small, but widening) of friends and neighbours, a splendid new hobby (all-grain brewing! Who knew you could make clones of all your favourite bitters!) and yet another house to do up, only this time it's made largely of wood and all the DIY parts have different names (don't ask for twin core and earth, it's Romex here,etc).

Two years on, the marriage seems to have gone down the tubes, and the job is more of the same, but life is largely good, and apart from not being able to attend the odd Word gathering, regrets are generally few. Plus the scenery is spectacular!

...it sounds like a very definite case of 'is this glass half empty or half full?'. I guess it really is all in the eyes/mind of the (be)holder (of the glass)!

I'm a passable photographer with a vague foot in the door, but can't possibly make ends meet with it, so I'm sticking with the day job... funnily enough, 90% of photographers I work alongside shooting music do day jobs too.

I'm 30 now. Would I like to be my day job when I'm 35? Maybe.

I've got by in a variety of financial customer service jobs for the last fifteen years or so, while always keeping alive my (very full-on) hobby of playing/recording in bands. I suppose I was hoping to "make it" at some point. It's only in the last year or so that I realised I was deluding myself: it comes to us all eventually I suppose!

Still, it's been a positive revelation. Without the pressure of wanting to be successful, I've started a new project: a five-piece weddings/functions/covers band. The twenty year old me would have sneered at the very thought of "selling out" in this way, but the contemporary me is a bit less precious about musical integrity. We played our debut gig at a dance last week and went down a storm, so looks like we might be getting a few bookings (fingers crossed).

You have to grit your teeth for the humiliation of playing "Beautiful Sunday" to a roomful of women all doing the slosh (is this a Scottish thing?) but the upside is singing stuff like "Twist and Shout" and "Money (That's What I Want"). Great fun. I'm just glad I had the sense to get the ball rolling before I got too old.

I worked for BT for 20 years, latterly as an Internal Auditor, before taking voluntary redundancy and chancing my arm at writing about food drink and travel for a living. I was utterly miserable at BT for the greater part of what I laughingly called my career, but I actually picked up quite a few skills that I've been able to transfer to my new job so it wasn't entirely wasted time.

I got stuck in a rut in a job I fell into rather than chose and had a great deal of difficulty seeing myself in any other role, to the point where I was going quietly doolally. I was very fortunate to get a lump sum which enabled me to take the risk of changing careers, and paid the bills while I established a reputation of sorts.

I'm currently editing and writing the food and drink pages in the Metro newspaper and editing the 60 Second celebrity interview slot which has provided me with the opportunity of interviewing a few personal favourites including Jimmy Webb and most recently Mark Radcliffe (published next Wednesday if you're interested).

A few years ago I was even interviewed for 'Find Your Dream Job' - one of those self help/personal development books. And it is true, I I have landed my dream job and it has changed my life. However, it does have its downsides (becoming a freelance journalist in the early 21st Century is not a wise move from a job security point of view) and I don't hop around with glee every waking moment, but that's mainly because I'm a bit of a miserable git by nature. It's definately been the best decision I've ever made. (Right, now back to writing that restaurant review that's needed for 9.00am tomorrow - on a bank holiday.)

...I probably am these days as well! But good for you Andy - well done for going for it! You've got to try to be happy in life - and that means taking a risk sometimes. The lump sum of cushioning against failure is the key, if you can possibly get it.

I'm anticipating a modest windfall - but enough to keep me for a year (and I'll be going off on a 'career break' as soon as it arrives) - once I get a 'job evaluation'. But even getting a manager to sign off on the submission which just starts that process has been the most painful process of life so far - five months and counting of deliberate obfuscation, hand-wringing, lies and human resource bollocks. And that's on top of a year so far of trying to remove an unauthorised and nefarious job-altering document in my personnel file.

'The banality of evil' was used to describe low level functionaries involved in Nazi war crimes; it might as well be applied to human resources b*****ds who seem to spend their lives inflicting mental cruelty on people through 'computer says no' attitudes, a disdain for truth above procedure, wilful ignorance of any kind of ethical basis to their function and playing god with peoples lives.

If the government is trying to save money from public sector waste, here's an idea: sack/pay off/exterminate everyone in a HR job with immediate effect. Result: a load of money saved, a load of grinding, ineffectual arcanery out the window and a lot of happier people doing their jobs.