Career guidance/advice for adults?

[mushtafa]

Does such a thing exist?

Im 39 this year and decided I need a change in career, but have so many ideas in my head, I'm not sure which way would be best to go (work life, money, benefits cost of training etc).

I feel that at my age I've probably only got time for one change, so want to make sure I make the right decision!

 

[dowie]

There is a national careers service, I'm not sure some random person employed there is going to have too much detail on various careers but they might have some guidance on career boot camps or something for entry-level roles.

Careers advice - job profiles, information and resources | National Careers Service

nationalcareers.service.gov.uk

Also, this service is usually used by independent schools but seems they have a bit on their website for career changers:

Career Guidance for Job Changers - Your Next Step

Uncover a world of opportunities, transform your career outlook and discover enriching opportunities using our intelligent careers guidance platform.

www.morrisby.com

If you're really stuck for suggestions then a psychometric test could throw some up for you.

Most recruiters are either inhouse people at a large company or independent agency types working to fill a particular role or a couple of roles and in the latter case they're mostly just trying to close that deal. You might find some that are interested in talking to you if you have a particularly valuable skill set that is transferable and useful for the roles they recruit for (especially if they're high paying) but generally, they're just people to express interest to and send your CV/Linkedin etc.. across to if you fit within their remit.

You may find some ex-recruiters and ex-HR people who offer some career consultancy services to individuals, they could be worth talking to re: help with your CV, applications etc.. those sorts of people also offer all sorts of advice re: negotiations for say mid-career people etc. Note this is different to so-called life coaches/executive coaches - I'm talking about people with experience in HR/recruitment offering practical advice whereas if you start getting into coaches you're basically talking something akin to a combination of a therapist and a Tony Robins motivation guru.

 

[HangTime]

You can get a coach of which I imagine some are tailored towards career advice. It probably depends what you are looking for, if it's less about general direction and approach, more about specific career options then a coach is perhaps not the right route and you need more of a 'library' of options.

If you have "lots of ideas" then I'd suggest just researching those ideas, you are are a step ahead of some people who don't even have that and need help with the idea generation. I'm in my 40s and have a 'career' but that's more by happenstance, I haven't yet decided what I want to do when I grow up.
Come up with a list of options and the pros and cons against each. Identify where you need to learn more and seek out info via searching, specialist forms, reading up on LinkedIn about people in those sorts of roles etc.

 

[Kautya]

I am in a similar boat as you. But the prospect of paying a mortgage has kept me in my current role although I am not enjoying it and want to shift my career. But I am equally worried that I would have to take a severe step down pay wise and would take me a decade to be back upto where I am now.

 

[ljt]

I am in a similar situation, 40 in April. Although slightly different circumstances (Redundancy after 20 years in telecoms last July) Retrained in IT via self study of CompTIA A+ and Network+, just starting in March as a trainee IT support technician. It is a rather large drop in pay, but that's life. However with fibre being the future of telecoms (and I was only copper trained), I didn't see the point in continuing a long that path, as fibre needs far less maintenance and thus less people working on it.

Check via your local council - they have links to local funds for free courses in all sorts of areas. I found out too late - I'd already paid for my CompTIA stuff, but later found out I could have gotten them for free via the West Midlands Combined Authority, but you live and learn.

 

[Raumarik]

If you are just starting out down the IT route keep an eye out for IT and/or cyber associate or graduate posts in the civil service.
They will typically pay for any training as part of employment so you can rack up some MS, Cisco, SANS etc certs.

Barrier to entry is typically kept fairly flexible as they look for the right people, not just a list of experience and quals.