5 Obstacles to a Successful Midlife Career Change and How to Deal with Them

Mid-life Career Changers

Switching careers midway through life or well into an established first career can be a difficult but worthwhile journey. Just over four years ago, I decided to switch professions at 38 years old, after 12 years’ worth of toil in another line of work, and during the worst economic climate I hope to ever know. Not very far into my new career, my first child was born.

Despite imperfect personal and financial conditions, I felt I had no choice but to try something new and interesting. Call it career fatigue or a midlife crisis, it was time to switch gears.

The following are obstacles I have either faced or currently confront as I progress in my new profession:

Money

Expect to make less of it and plan appropriately. My wife and I had to drastically cut back on our discretionary spending after I left my well-paying IT job. I’m sure this is one of the biggest reasons people decide against changing careers.

Save as much money as you can before leaving your current job, then prepare to live on less for a while.

Decisions

So what exactly do you want to do with your life? I’m still not sure the answer to that question, but I feel like I’m on the right track. When the opportunity to change directions presented itself, I had a few interests I wanted to pursue: writing, internet marketing, and web design.

I wrote pieces for internet content sites. I took a low-paying contract gig managing pay-per-click campaigns. I designed a website for a friend. I took an editing class. I worked as a copywriter for a web design agency. I started an internet marketing business. Now I work full-time for a large hospitality company.

Explore your interests and see where they lead you.

Finding Work

This is tough. A polished resume (hire a professional if necessary) that makes your past skills relevant to a new industry is important. One thing that worked for me was accepting low-paying jobs and/or free assignments to help build my credentials.

Check out some local Meetup groups related to your new line of work and consider joining professional associations. This way, you can learn new things and network at the same time.

Learning and Acceptance

It takes several years to become good at something. You may suck at first, but eventually you’ll gain competence and confidence.

Accept that you are a neophyte, try not to get too flustered when you make mistakes, and ask lots of questions. Enjoy the learning process.

Change of Status

I don’t command the salary or respect I used to. I went straight from being a Cisco network administrator, responsible for the communication equipment of an entire toll road system, to a web content writer. I now work for a large hotel chain as a content editor and copywriter, and nobody there gives a crap about my past … and why should they?

Don’t let your change in rank get you frustrated. If you’re learning new things, having fun in your new profession, and making money, then you’re doing fine. You may miss certain things about your last career, but keep in mind the reasons that made you leave it behind in the first place.

Bewley’s Gold Blend Tea: Smooth Move

Bewley's Gold Blend Tea Review

Another Irish tea review, another notch under my belt. It seems I’ve gone through most of the major Irish brands except for Nambarrie.

Bewley’s Gold Blend Tea lives up to the ‘Gold’ in its name — that is, if ‘Gold’ means a rich, rounded taste. Included in the blend are Assam, Kenyan, and Rwandan teas.

This tea does not offer great contrast in aroma and flavor; it’s a simple, singular tea with a creamy texture and smooth ending — no bright notes or astringent finish.

Brewed for the right length of time — 2–3 minutes in my opinion — the resulting tea has a full, thick, and silky body. This tea is still strong, so I take mine with milk and honey. Be careful not to oversteep.

Aroma: Mossy, chalky, sweet
Body: Full
Flavor: Creamy, malty
Color: Dark amber

My Inaugural Japanese Sencha

Adagio Sencha Overture Tea Review

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President Obama’s second inauguration, and a day off from work — what to do? Try a new tea, that’s what.

I’ve heard lots of good things about Japanese green tea, so I decided to initiate myself with a sample of Sencha Overture from Adagio Teas. Green tea (this one in particular) is delicate and must be brewed at a lower temperature than black tea. Sometimes a little trial and error is necessary to find the optimal temperature.

In my first attempt, I steeped the loose tea leaves in 170°F water for two minutes, as recommended on the packaging. The result was too bitter for my taste, so I did some research.

I found instructions on a website dedicated to Japanese tea which suggested brewing in 158°F water for one minute. By the way, I boiled the water, poured it into a Pyrex measuring cup, stuck a meat thermometer in it, and waited until the water cooled down to the right temperature before adding it to the tea leaves. Success!

This brew, light green in color, has a heartier texture than I expected, yet it delivers a fairly clean finish. Its strong aroma can be likened to freshly cut grass or seaweed. If you want bitterness, steep a little longer or at a higher temperature like I did the first time.

Aroma: Freshly cut grass, seaweed
Body: Light to medium
Flavor: Sour, sweet, and bitter
Color: Light green; tea becomes cloudy after a minute or so

The Subtlety of Stash English Breakfast

Stash English Breakfast - Black Tea

Stash English Breakfast features an interesting blend of teas: Ceylon, Assam, Nilgiri, and Keemun. A smoky Chinese black tea, Keemun once defined English tea until being surpassed in popularity by Assam, a malty Indian tea.

If it’s a bolder tea you expect — think Tazo Awake or PG Tips — you will be disappointed. I would describe this tea as subtle and smooth. I can taste the smoky Keemun, detect the malty Assam, and maybe even a little of that bright Ceylon (I haven’t a clue what Nilgiri tastes or smells like), none of which are pronounced. Five minutes of brewing doesn’t produce any bitterness.

Aroma: Smoke and citrus
Body: Medium
Flavor: Mild and smooth with a medium level of astrigency
Color: Medium amber

Full English Breakfast, Deep in my Heart … and Arteries

Should you ever find yourself in Austin, Texas with a particular craving for British bangers, back bacon, fried eggs, fried bread, roasted tomatoes, and mushrooms, you’re in luck. Yes, there’s a place that serves the aforementioned in addition to tea and other British foods, and it’s called Full English Cafe. Though difficult to spot, this tiny place just off Manchaca Rd. (on Southern Oaks Dr.) is worth the search.

High Tea

Besides upscale hotels and restaurants, there a few places to enjoy afternoon tea in the United States. Full English Cafe fills this void successfully, offering High Tea (really afternoon tea unless you’re stoned, of course) almost any time of day in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere. For a reasonable price, you get a tiered tray full of made-from-scratch sandwiches, scones, cakes, and biscuits (cookies) served with a pot of tea or coffee.

Full English Breakfast

Full English Cafe offers three versions of English breakfast, which vary in measure and quality (free-range vs non-free-range eggs and meats). Made in-house, the bangers contain locally sourced pork.

For those days when the Big British Breakfast isn’t big enough, you can add more bangers, bacon, eggs, cheese, salad, bread, tomatoes, mushrooms, and even Heinz beans — all available as side items.

Round out your English breakfast with an English-style pancake — thinner than its American counterpart, pan sized, and traditionally topped with lemon and sugar. If you need a more compact breakfast, try one of the Full English Cafe’s breakfast sandwiches, served on bread from Sweetish Hill bakery.

Order off the ‘On Toast’ portion of the menu for a lighter breakfast or snack. On toast options include two fried eggs, butter and marmalade, and of course Heinz beans, the perfect catalyst for extra wind at your back.

Tea

A great place to enjoy a proper cuppa with your friends or solo, Full English Cafe features some British household staples from across the pond as well as some local Austin blends from Zhi Tea. Order PG Tips, Tetley, or Twinings English Breakfast by the cup or pot.

Other brand-name teas available include Lipton Yellow Label and Brooke Bond Red Label. Chai latte (hot or cold) and Austin Breakfast, Dragonwell Green, and Ginger Peach Oolong from Zhi round out the tea menu.

Other British Foods

Full English Cafe serves supper on Friday and Saturday night. The supper menu is a surprise and may include shepherd’s/cottage pie, bangers and mash, various pasties, and sausage rolls.

It’s hard to do this place full justice in a blog post. Just visit and see for yourself. Cheers.