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‘I don’t want to go back’: Australians are reinventing themselves in middle age
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‘I don’t want to go back’: Australians are reinventing themselves in middle age

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For more information about starting over in midlife, watch the Insight episode Turning 50 on SBS on request.
Rachael Paxton has made more than one career turning point, transitioning from psychologist to professional triathlete before making her biggest leap of all.
This final twist slowly crept up on her in her thirties.
“After seven years of competing, I didn’t really enjoy the racing side of triathlon anymore. So I started working more as a physio, but I got restless and started thinking, ‘Is this all there is?’ I wanted to push myself further,” she told Insight.
While she was thinking about doing something else, a light bulb moment occurred in the car one evening while listening to a podcast.

“The host was interviewing a state coroner, and that seemed like a really good job. I went home and found an undergraduate law course online that was offered remotely, and I applied and was accepted.”

Rachael knew she had a mountain to climb: the degree would take her six years part-time if she continued to work, and would require significant financial sacrifice (a degree in Australia costs between $8,500 and $50,000 for domestic students).
“When you go back to college in your 30s or 40s, most people still need an income because they have bills to pay. And college comes with financial constraints; you have to put your financial and real estate dreams on hold, so that’s a big consideration,” she said.

And for those who have become experts in their field, starting over from scratch is “a very uncomfortable place to be,” she said.

A portrait photo of a woman with long hair smiling at the camera.

Rachael Paxton says changing careers in midlife brings both challenges and benefits. Source: Delivered / Caroline Rich

But Rachael believes that retraining in something new in middle age can also be beneficial.

“Having career and life experience has definitely helped me with job applications and interviews. I am very capable and comfortable asking for help or being aware of my strengths and limitations.”
Now that she has completed her studies and started a graduate role at a commercial law firm – a far cry from her dream of becoming a coroner – she has no regrets, despite taking a significant pay cut from her physio role.

“I will never work another day as a physio. I have invested in a different future and I don’t want to go back; I am very happy that I have made this change.”

The power of reinvention

Julie (not her real name) has also made two career changes in her life, as her values ​​and priorities have changed.
After working in banking for 26 years, she became a beautician and now, at the age of fifty, she is retraining as a nurse.
“I have always maintained that when my values ​​diverge from those of the company, it is time to move on,” she said.
She said her senior banking role was extremely demanding, with employees encouraged to pursue success at the expense of their families. When her father died and she had to spend more time caring for her mother, the demands became unbearable.
Julie decided that beauty therapy would give her the flexibility she needed, so she enrolled in a year-long beauty course.
But a few years later she became bored and sought more meaning in her work, hence her decision to return to university.

“As I get older, I want to learn more about the human body and give back. I’ve only completed my first year of nursing, so I’m nowhere near ready to make a difference, but I love helping people,” she said.

A nurse stands and speaks to a patient in a bed in a hospital ward

Julie (not pictured) is now in her 50s and studying nursing “to learn more about the human body and give something back”. Source: Getty / SolStock

Julie is fortunate that her years in banking have given her the financial freedom to explore different career paths. She admits that her moves were scary at times, but she has also learned that learning new things makes her feel alive.

“I’ve always been about reinvention and change. Even when I was in banking, I never had the same job for more than two or three years.

“I believe you have to take risks in life. What’s the worst that can happen? You have to go back to what you can already do.”

Building a portfolio career

Sarah Vizer wasn’t given the luxury of choice when changing careers; she was forced to leave her twenty-year leadership role at the age of forty due to illness.
“I was at the top of my game, but burnout hit me like a ton of bricks. I look back now and realize my job didn’t give me the right balance; it was a pretty tough environment,” she said.
The burnout developed into chronic fatigue syndrome, which Sarah still lives with.

“I don’t blame work, I blame myself for not really understanding what I want out of life.”

But it wasn’t easy to understand what she wanted.
“I went through a really intense time where I thought, ‘Well, if I’m not my career, then who am I?'”
Sarah has now used her leadership skills and love for people to become an executive coach, she has written a book about living with chronic fatigue, and she also makes money as an artist.
Since she can’t work all day, her portfolio career gives her a sense of purpose while also taking her disability into account.

“When I was younger, I only had one model in mind, which was a corporate job and you do that work until you drop at your desk. Being forced to move away from full-time work has allowed me to explore other interests and talents. It has allowed me to flourish,” she said.

A woman holding a work of art in her studio.

Sarah Vizer says creating a portfolio career with different things she loves has “allowed her to thrive.” Source: Delivered

Sarah believes that what works for us in our 20s and 30s often doesn’t work in our 40s – and she has adjusted her lifestyle expectations to accommodate these changes.

“My life used to revolve around: ‘Where can I travel? Where can I go out?'”

“Now I enjoy walking my dogs so much. I have become much more aware of the small, meaningful things that don’t necessarily cost a lot.”

Gain clarity about values ​​and priorities

Sydney-based career coach Therese Rahme says the appetite for reinvention is “definitely increasing”.

“Many people in their late 30s and early 40s are reconsidering their career direction earlier than previous generations – often driven by becoming new parents, wanting more flexibility or rethinking what work should look like alongside family life,” she said.

A graphic card showing some statistics about our working world.

Source: SBS

With many courses offered part-time and remotely for those who work full-time, making a pivot is easier than ever. But for those considering a leap, she suggests thinking before rushing into action.

“Make it clear what you want more of, what you want less of, and what is no longer working,” she said.
“Identify your transferable skills – most people are surprised at how many they have. Talking to people in the field, taking short courses or even volunteering can help you test ideas in a low-risk way. Take it one step at a time.

“Once people see it as a structured and supported process, the anxiety tends to calm down.”

She added that when people take up work that suits their stage of life, they often describe “a renewed sense of purpose and energy.”

“People in midlife tend to have more clarity about what’s important to them – whether that’s flexibility, meaning, creativity or stability. A career change can open up new networks, different ways to contribute and often a healthier work-life balance.”

When it doesn’t work

If you try a new career and it doesn’t work out, that’s okay too, as Erin O’Dwyer discovered.
She worked as a journalist for 20 years before switching to corporate communications roles, which she said she hated.
It brought about a radical change.
“A friend of mine was running a small immigration law firm, and she said to me, ‘Why don’t you complete your admission as a lawyer and come work for me?’ At that moment I just wanted to get as far away from communication as possible.”

Erin had graduated in the arts/law in her twenties and had to complete her Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice to be admitted. So she began completing the twelve-month course and started working as a paralegal and later as a junior lawyer.

A woman giving a presentation in front of a whiteboard.

Erin O’Dwyer left her career in journalism before returning to it years later. Source: Delivered

Initially, she loved the human stories that came with her work as an immigration attorney. But when she was given a policy role, she found it annoying. Additionally, she did not feel like she was playing to her strengths, and going back to a junior level and salary was difficult.

“I had to leave my ego at the door. Plus, I hated the details of the law. Eighteen months later, I was very unhappy,” she said.
In her mid-40s, she decided to return to journalism and set up a small storytelling agency, a move she describes as ’empowerment’.

“Being an expert in my field gave me back the seniority and sense of satisfaction that I derived from my experience.”

No experience wasted

But Erin says she has no regrets about her experiment in law.
“I tried, but I don’t need to do it again. And it’s basically come full circle. Clients who want help telling their stories come to me because I have that legal lens.”
She advises others considering a career change to do the internal work.
“Look at yourself very objectively in the mirror and say, ‘Okay, what’s really going on here?’ Be honest with yourself about what’s involved in terms of training and costs. Maybe you can pursue this new passion as a hobby.”
Former director Sarah, meanwhile, says deciphering what you want the rest of your working life to look like is something to celebrate.
“A lot of people seem to have a point of reckoning in the middle of their lives where you wake up and go. I’m not really sure what I’m doing here. That can feel scary, but it’s a gift.
“That gift, if you are brave enough to face it, is setting yourself up for the next part of life.”

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