Is It Too Late To Make A Career Change At My Age?

Is it really as easy to merely change our thinking about our job, and emotional change will follow? When people find they dread going to work or fear they may have chosen the wrong career path, is it too late to shift professions after 40?

It is critical that we first identify what factors may contribute to our unhappiness at work. Is it the work environment, the difficulty tolerating a narcissistic manager, poor pay, or lack of growth opportunities? Despite these potential factors, do you still enjoy the actual work? One of the first questions I ask a new individual starting therapy due to lack of interest in their job is, “Did you ever have any fantasies about other careers you once desired but did not pursue?” Often times they will identify the once desired occupation, followed by the statement, “but now it is too late."

Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist, viewed life before 40 years old as an external search for rewards and approval while developing one’s identity in society. He believed that careers were often based upon this somewhat limited information, as it was only after the age of 40 that there would begin a shift to our inner emotional self. Pulling away from the external demands allows for the development and identification of our “authentic inner meaning” and the identification of wishes and yearnings based upon our unique needs. Thus, the availability of this information informs our career choice. Freud, contrary to Jung’s beliefs, described a rigidity and loss of elasticity in adults as they reach 40 years old (older adults). So tough luck. Freud believed you are not in “the afternoon of your life,” a reference coined by Jung.

In my practice I have had the pleasure of working with individuals who have successfully entered medical school, become attorneys, left finance to pursue the life of a chef, and even become psychotherapists after a career in banking—all at the age of 40 plus years old. Many bestselling authors did not publish their first books until they were in their 40s or 50s. Frank McCourt hadn’t published his Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela’s Ashes, until he was 66. Toni Morrison was 40 years old when her debut novel was released. Did you happen to read in The Washington Post about Dr. Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft, who graduated from medical school at age 72?