Anybody here changed career or learnt a trade in their mid 30s or later?

jdgm

Hello
I was a self-employed guitar teacher for 12 yrs from the mid-1980s, based in Guildford. For the 1st decade it was great - hard work but mostly rewarding - but I then made a couple of mistakes. Moved to the wrong part of town, wrong side of the A3 and too far away from bus/rail links for potential customers....and also hooked up with a (slightly dodgy) business which employed guitar teachers in schools.
Teaching in schools was something I should never have done - very stressful, you get a cold every 6 wks - and I got burnt out and completely fed up within 2 yrs. Then the ACM started up in Guildford and I took the decision to close my business in 1997 - by that time I had neighbours from hell too.
Fortunately I'd learned basic grade 1 typing as I saw the IT revolution coming. I relocated to Farnham and (to my own surprise) got a job as a trainee computer programmer....but the firm went bust and I was made redundant. I hated computer programming anyway, was lousy at it.
Back into temp work, light industrial, finally got a good job in education admin (due to my teaching skills and experience) where I stayed for the next 13 yrs until redundancy and early retirement end of 2014. I put as much salary as I could into the pension scheme and into paying off my home, and that has made all the difference.
I say follow your heart, do not stay in a job you hate if you can see an alternative. Always pay your NI stamp and do not lie on your CV.
Good luck, best wishes.

Emp_Fab

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