Mid-Life Career Change: Am I Crazy or Just Getting Started?

Okay, so let’s be real. Career change after 40? It sounded insane to me. I’d spent the last 18 years climbing the corporate ladder in marketing. Decent salary, okay benefits, the soul-crushing feeling of attending the same meetings about the same problems every single week… you know the drill. But lately, that soul-crushing feeling was winning. Was it the pandemic? A late-stage existential crisis? Who even knows anymore? All I knew was, I couldn’t keep doing it. I felt…stuck. Really, really stuck. So, I started thinking about switching careers. Problem was, to what?

The Great Escape (and the Panic Attacks)

First came the daydreams. Of opening a little bookstore. Or becoming a travel photographer. Or maybe even…a baker? I even stayed up until 3 a.m. one night researching how to start an alpaca farm. Don’t ask. It was a rabbit hole. Then came the reality check. A bookstore? In *this* economy? Travel photography with Instagram influencers dominating everything? And me, baking? My attempts at baking usually end in a smoke alarm symphony. It quickly became clear that while I wanted “out,” I hadn’t a clue what I wanted “into.” That’s when the panic started setting in. I mean, a mortgage needs paying, right? Retirement accounts need…well, accounting. Could I really just throw it all away? My friends thought I was losing it. My parents definitely thought I was losing it. “Stability!” they’d lecture. “Think about your future!” Easy for them to say, they’ve both been in the same jobs since forever.

The turning point, I think, was a conversation with my former college roommate, Sarah. She’d completely reinvented herself at 45, going back to school to become a registered nurse. I remember thinking she was nuts at the time. But hearing her talk about her work, the fulfillment she got from *actually* helping people…it hit me. Maybe it wasn’t about escaping something, but about *finding* something. Something that actually mattered. Funny thing is, it took Sarah years to convince herself she could pull it off. So, I guess I wasn’t alone in feeling like an imposter, right?

From Marketing Metrics to…Coding Bootcamp?

So, Sarah inspired me. But inspired to do *what* exactly? The alpaca farm was definitely off the table. That’s when I started dabbling in coding. I know, right? From marketing to coding? It sounds like a terrible joke. The thing is, I’d always been fascinated by tech. I’m the one family calls when the WiFi goes down, and I’m pretty good at figuring out new software. A friend suggested I try Codecademy, and I found myself hooked. I spent every spare moment learning Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS…the alphabet soup of the tech world. Was I any good? Honestly, probably not. But I was learning, I was challenged, and, most importantly, I was *excited*.

I even started networking with people in the tech industry, attending online workshops, and stalking (I mean, following) developers on LinkedIn. It was terrifying. I felt like a complete outsider, surrounded by people who spoke a language I barely understood. I’ll admit, I almost gave up a few times. I remember one particularly frustrating evening when I spent four hours trying to debug a single line of code. Ugh, what a mess! I wanted to throw my laptop out the window. But something kept me going. A stubborn refusal to admit defeat, maybe. Or maybe just the tiny glimmer of hope that I could actually do this.

Taking the Leap (and Landing…Sort Of)

After months of agonizing, researching, and a truly impressive amount of coffee, I decided to take the plunge. I enrolled in a three-month coding bootcamp. It was expensive. It was intense. It was absolutely terrifying. I was surrounded by people half my age who already seemed to know everything. I felt like the oldest, dumbest person in the room. But I pushed myself. I stayed up late studying. I asked (lots of) stupid questions. And, slowly but surely, I started to get it.

Did I become a coding ninja in three months? Nope. Definitely not. I’m still very much a junior developer. But I got a job. Not my dream job, maybe, but a job. As a junior front-end developer at a small startup. The pay is less than what I was making in marketing (ouch), but the work is a million times more fulfilling. I actually look forward to going to work every day. Who knew that was even possible? I still have a lot to learn, and I make mistakes all the time. But I’m learning, growing, and challenging myself in ways I never thought possible.

Would I Do It Again? (The Honest Answer)

So, would I recommend a mid-life career change? Honestly, I don’t know. It’s not for the faint of heart. It requires a huge amount of courage, resilience, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty. There were days when I seriously doubted my sanity. Days when I thought I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. But then there were days when I felt like I was finally on the right path. Days when I felt alive and engaged and excited about the future. If you’re thinking about a career change, just remember it’s okay to feel scared. It’s okay to feel uncertain. It’s okay to not have all the answers. The important thing is to listen to that inner voice that’s telling you there’s something more out there.

And, if you’re feeling particularly brave (or crazy), maybe consider that alpaca farm. (Just kidding… mostly). If you’re as curious as I was, you might want to dig into online resources for career changers. They’re surprisingly helpful. And remember Sarah? We grab coffee now, and I get to hear all about her nursing adventures. Maybe one day, she’ll come to work with me and see what coding is all about. Who knows what’s next? What I do know is that sometimes, the scariest decisions are the ones that lead to the greatest rewards.