A midlife career change may be a great option for you.
This may be the case if you are no longer satisfied with your current profession, there are very few opportunities for growth in your field, or you want to have a newfound sense of fulfillment in your work and everyday life. In the modern day, you may be able to change careers at any stage of your life. The stigma of switching careers is not as prevalent as it was even 10 years ago.
The best midlife career change is the one that improves your quality of life. You may find some career change jobs with no experience required, while other jobs will require you to get licenses or complete certain courses. Fortunately, you may be able to transfer many of your skills from a previous career to a new one. There are also some skills you may have developed that are always valuable in every industry.
Recruiter
A recruiter helps a company or organization enlist or enroll employees. There are two main types of recruiters: corporate recruiters and contingency recruiters. A corporate recruiter is typically employed by a company, while a contingency recruiter only gets paid when his or her recruits are hired by a company. The job usually entails reaching out to qualified candidates, phone screenings, initial interviews and more.
A recruiter salary ranges from $48,714 to $61,575, and the median base salary is around $55,869. A career in recruiting may be an excellent choice for you if you enjoy connecting with new people and have the discipline to work for yourself. In fact, there are even remote recruiter jobs that may be available to you, especially if you use online platforms to connect with candidates. In general, you will have a greater chance at landing a recruiter job if you have a bachelor’s degree, customer service or sales experience and work well in team environments.
Real Estate Agent
A real estate agent is someone who represents the sellers or buyers of real estate or real property and acts as a negotiator. An agent gets paid through commission, meaning he or she is paid a certain percentage of the property price. If the agent is working with rentals, however, the seller or buyer may pay the agent a set amount, depending on the market and the state. Some states require the seller or landlord or seller to pay the real estate agent, even if he or she was hired by the buyer.
A real estate agent salary varies tremendously and depends on the amount of work put into the job. According to one study, agents who are part-time and work less than 20 hours each week typically make $30,000 per year on real estate. Agents who work 21 to 40 hours each week may earn about $56,000. Agents who work 60 hours or more each week earn an average of $123,024.
Real estate agent jobs require you to have a real estate agent license, which means you will need to complete a course and take an exam. However, real estate is known for welcoming career changers to the field. According to the National Association of Realtors, only 5 percent of agents reported that real estate was their first career.
Social Media Manager
A social media manager oversees a brand’s social media channels. He or she is responsible for monitoring audience participation, such as sharing, liking or commenting on a social media post. Social media managers also coordinate partnerships with other brands on social media and help to create content, such as videos and photos, to promote the brand. On the analytical side, a manager is responsible for gathering and interpreting data from campaigns, promotions and partnerships. He or she tracks how much traffic different posts receive and determines which marketing strategies garner the most audience participation and sales of products.
According to one study, the average social media manager salary is $49,340, though this rate may significantly increase or decrease depending on the brand. Another perk is that a social media manager may freelance and work from home, given that the majority of his or her work happens online. Many of the skills required for marketing careers and other careers can easily be transferred to this position.
Financial Planner
A financial planner is someone who manages the personal finances of his or her clients. He or she will have experience in investments and will work with clients to help them meet their financial goals. This may include finding suitable investments and carefully distributing a client’s savings, tax planning, asset allocation, risk management and more.
The average financial planner salary is $66,210, though very experienced financial planners may earn much more. In addition, many financial planners report that they originally worked in a different industry. Common college majors of financial planners include economics, business and psychology. One of the best assets a planner can have includes excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Wondering how to become a financial planner? You must have licenses in order to sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds and insurance, which means you will have to study for and take certain exams. If you have previous experience with investments, risk management and similar subjects, you may find it easier to pass the required exams.
Fundraiser
If you are looking for the best careers to start at 30 years old or older, you may consider becoming a fundraiser. A simple fundraiser job description states that the fundraiser helps an organization raise money. However, there are many tasks and skills involved in this process. The fundraiser will usually organize activities, market the organization, increase donor bases, find and coordinate partnership activities and more. Even non-profits, educational institutions, and hospitals will pay a fundraiser well, because the fundraiser may be able to dramatically increase the organization’s success.
A fundraiser salary ranges from $65,000 to $75,000, though very successful fundraisers may earn much more. This is because a fundraiser must have a lot of skills, including excellent communication and interpersonal skills, marketing experience, organizational and time management skills, an ability to multitask and more. In addition, many organizations require their fundraisers to have bachelor’s degrees. Career changers may have success in applying for fundraiser positions because most of these skills required are transferable from previous jobs.