Dear Dáithí: I don't see a future in my job... is it too late to change careers? 

'For the first time in my life, I have found myself thinking about whether I could look at early retirement or a potential career change.'

Dear Dáithí,

I’m in my mid-50s and have worked in the same industry for most of my adult life. It’s an industry I knew I always wanted to work in, and I worked hard to get to the position I’m in today.

On paper, I have a wonderful job, which is fairly well paid and should see me to retirement.

A job for life, as people would say. That stability is something that has always appealed to me.

However, it’s a job that has plenty of stress, and is in an industry that, like many others, is changing rapidly as a result of AI developments. I suspect the role will look very different in a decade.

Lately, that stress has started to really take a toll on my personal life, and for the first time in my life, I have found myself thinking about whether I could look at early retirement or a potential career change.

I have no real idea about what I could potentially do next, and while my wife is very supportive of exploring the idea of changing roles, there’s a lot of things to consider, not least the practicalities of paying our bills if I did leave my position, as well as funding potential studies to help me to convert my skills to another industry.

There is a possibility that I could keep the head down and take retirement at 60, which is only a few short years away.

If I did take retirement then, I can’t see myself actually stopping working, and would be looking at working in another industry. Given I feel 60 is too young to fully retire, I wonder do I just take a hit now and start the retraining sooner rather than later.

This is never a position I imagined that I would find myself in, and I’m genuinely torn about what to do.

Any advice?

In one sense, you have been lucky you have been working in a job you like and it would seem you are very good at.

You would be of the same mindset as me when it comes to job stability and staying in the one career. When I was going to become a teacher, I was doing so with the intent of doing that for my whole life. Anyone under 35 reading this will think that is bonkers!

Young people today have a different way of looking at things; they will stay in a career for as long as they want and then make a move, and when you say it out loud, it’s the right way of thinking.

One reason why we really didn’t do this years ago is because the other jobs and options just weren’t there, so we went on our merry way with just one career and were very happy with that too.

I think you are really smart to start thinking about this move now — you can see what’s coming down the line with AI and everything and might not even recognise your job in years to come. Put a lot of stress on top of that, and you have an environment that will eventually eat you up.

You are right when you say you are too young to retire, so get that out of your head. We all dream of retiring and having the days to ourselves, but it is only a pipe dream that will upset you when you realise the bills still need to be paid, and the car needs to be changed every few years; that’s my story anyway.

You are in the best position at this very moment to be talking about this though, and the best thing of all is that nobody knows what is going through your head on this. Keep it that way — don’t tell anyone else your plans. Someone will ruin them; people can’t help themselves!

Start asking yourself now what you would really like to work at. Don’t look at what it pays, just the job for now, and see what you come up with. Then start looking at courses to train yourself up in whatever area it is. 

There are plenty of online evening courses. The best thing would be if you could do this in the evening. I did a professional coaching and mentoring course online in the evening a few years ago. It changed the way I looked at everything; it really opened my eyes. 

By doing it this way, all the bills are still being paid, and you still have an income. I know it will be a lot for a year or so, but just think of the freedom you will have after it.

You do have the support of your wife in all of this, which is great; she probably sees more than anyone else that you might need a change. Even though we all try to leave our stress at work, it often does come out on the kitchen table. 

If you did have to leave work and train for the new career, with plenty of notice, you and your wife could plan how best to manage the finances. Again, you need to keep an eye on the big picture and see what’s going to be there at the end. No pain, no gain kinda stuff, but it will be worth it.

Another thing you could do, because you still like the work you’re doing, is that you could go to your boss and say you are interested in moving up the ladder and there are courses in this area you would like to do. 

Bosses are always impressed when workers want to better themselves; this would have you in the work area you are very familiar with, but might not have the same uncertainty as the job you’re in at the moment. That said, I do feel from your letter you would like a complete change.

I know this is not a position you have ever seen yourself in, but it’s not all bad. Actually, I think it’s a great thing. You should start thinking like the youth of today and have more than one career. Let’s be clear too; you can do this at any age. Even if you have a total career change, there is lots you can still bring from your old job.

So go and have a real think of an area you think you might like, ask around about it. Pick a few areas if you like and then nail down one of them. Try and get trained up online in the evenings or at the weekend. Don’t let anyone know except your wife, and you’ll be trained and ready to go when that new job comes up. It will be like a new lease of life for you.