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Jerod
Student
Gresham, Oregon
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What ? Career advice can I get about starting over from scratch at age 56?
What career advice can I get about staring over from scratch at 56?
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2 answers
Michelle M.
Entertainment Industry
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Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Jerod !
The advice that you would need would be tailored to which type of work you want to do and/or what major you're interested in as a returning student. Starting over from scratch will also depend on so many factors, one being if you already have one Bachelors Degree or not. This way, we can suggest good transitional careers for you. Realistically, you'd have to receive advice about age friendly fields of work, so more information provided by you would be very helpful for advice.
Do not let age enter into it. That is, don't let it hold you back. Sure, there are some aspects of being a mature worker that can be a concern, but all people are different and your opportunities will unfold as you go along especially if you attend college. You may want to consider a career you can have by obtaining an Associates Degree, but make sure it is an age friendly field of work. A couple of fields that come to mind are anything in the performing or fine arts and something in the social services realm. I left a link below for a list with other possibilities that you may consider.
Remember that there are scholarships and grants available for older students, too. You can do an internet search for those and many others that will help you with college costs.
I can't speak for everyone, but as a young college student out of high school, I went to college during an era of enormous amounts of returning students who were in their forties and fifties. It was newly after the Vietnam conflict era as well as the height of the women's movement so there were great numbers and also great support for these returning older students. I very much enjoyed the older students and became friends with some in my major, too. No one seemed to think it was unusual, as college is there for everyone. Definitely start looking at colleges and attend orientations so that you can get a feel for the college. My own mother went back to college at age 40 and she did well, so people do it and so can you. Just be specific about what information you need and you could be guided appropriately.
I hope that this helps and I also invite you to return here with more questions ! Best wishes for the special decisions you will be making !
JOB FIELDS FOR OLDER WORKERS https://www.aarp.org/work/job-search/in-demand-job-fields-workers-over-50/
The advice that you would need would be tailored to which type of work you want to do and/or what major you're interested in as a returning student. Starting over from scratch will also depend on so many factors, one being if you already have one Bachelors Degree or not. This way, we can suggest good transitional careers for you. Realistically, you'd have to receive advice about age friendly fields of work, so more information provided by you would be very helpful for advice.
Do not let age enter into it. That is, don't let it hold you back. Sure, there are some aspects of being a mature worker that can be a concern, but all people are different and your opportunities will unfold as you go along especially if you attend college. You may want to consider a career you can have by obtaining an Associates Degree, but make sure it is an age friendly field of work. A couple of fields that come to mind are anything in the performing or fine arts and something in the social services realm. I left a link below for a list with other possibilities that you may consider.
Remember that there are scholarships and grants available for older students, too. You can do an internet search for those and many others that will help you with college costs.
I can't speak for everyone, but as a young college student out of high school, I went to college during an era of enormous amounts of returning students who were in their forties and fifties. It was newly after the Vietnam conflict era as well as the height of the women's movement so there were great numbers and also great support for these returning older students. I very much enjoyed the older students and became friends with some in my major, too. No one seemed to think it was unusual, as college is there for everyone. Definitely start looking at colleges and attend orientations so that you can get a feel for the college. My own mother went back to college at age 40 and she did well, so people do it and so can you. Just be specific about what information you need and you could be guided appropriately.
I hope that this helps and I also invite you to return here with more questions ! Best wishes for the special decisions you will be making !
Michelle recommends the following next steps:
Jessica Ortiz, PHR, MBA, MPA
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Jessica’s Answer
What type of work are you interested in? If you like talking to people and helping them, a coaching certification would be a great path to consider.