If my experience returning to work at age 48 after a SAHM-absence is any indication, the best advice I can give for those over 50 considering a career change: Turn back the clock. Age discrimination is a real thing. I have friends who were “downsized” during the auto industry purgings that agree. Sad thing is, people our age are likely to stay in a job longer than the young folks!
Yes, I have more time and flexability now than previously, as kids are grown and out of the house. We can and do travel in our own dime and time for networking and to increase knowledge. It makes feel great, helping advance awareness and doing advocacy for an important cause. It is essential to have the patient voice represented in clinical trials and national policy.
A few years back I had a diagnostic sonogram and was chatting with the sonogram technician. There seems to be growth in the field and the training isn’t super lengthy. I always associated in with pregnancy but its used on all kinds of body parts for different diagnostic reasons.
I also know someone who has done well making a career change to become a surveyor.
I plan to write the next Great American Novel. 
It might help to know what the person’s current job/experience/education is in order to best suggest alternatives/transitions. Someone mentioned real estate. Thats an option. So is geriatric care management, or estate sales, or senior move managers. Lots of need for assistance with older adults.
I’d like to run a bed and breakfast in the caribbean. I also think running a kids program (for school-aged kids) in the summer and during school vacations can prove to be profitable. How about a college consulting business? Goodness knows we log some hours here lol.
I think real estate is about the only thing I could successfully sell. I’ve known other architects who have gone that route. You have the advantage of being able to point out what small changes could be made to a house to make it better and know what is a big problem vs a little one. That said the agent I know best (because he throws me a lot of work) is very, very good at what he does. I doubt I’d ever be as good as he is! (He was a baker for his first career.)
I’ve known a bunch of women who have managed to sell themselves as interior designers without any relevant education.
And I know a few people who fell into catering.
I hear that becoming a professional organizer is an up and coming thing to do.
I have to say, I like being self-employed. No one can fire me. I work with a lot of different type of people and get recommendations via contractors, building departments and former clients. I’ve never spent a dime on advertising except to have a website.
Medical billing.
Also, our insurance broker is wildly successful. He worked on Wall Street, but quit his job to open a State Farm office. I am sure his business skills came very handy - he was ranked the top SF broker in the city, and opened the second office a year ago.
One of my sisters was an investment banker but then 22 years ago became a stay-at-home-mom. There was no way in hell she could have re-entered that world when she was ready to reenter the workplace a couple of years ago, despite all the “on-ramp” programs that are supposedly out there. The world has passed her by. It is s completely different world.
When she was ready to reenter the workplace, she got a teaching credential with a special ed certificate and got lots of job offers right away. The pay is not great but it is rewarding work.
I’m surprised that so many people are suggesting radiologic technologist / mri technician etc. I happen to know people in that field. It is a very low paying and physically demanding field. I don’t see it as a field with a lot of opportunity for the over 55 crowd.
Yes, know several folks who had “encore” careers as teachers or substitute teachers. I also know some who have gone to their community colleges to become paralegals or respiratory therapists.
Look at your skill set and see what health field best fits it. The health industry is growing fast. If you’re good with data, go with becoming a big data person. One of my doctors suggested genetic counseling as a possible career/job possibility. Health advocates / social workers are needed in hospitals, retirement communities, hospices. A neighbor went to community college to become a radiology technician and quickly got job after completing her program (she was mid 40’s at the time).
Maybe if the person is a college alum who lives relatively close to their alma mater (within three hours), check out the school’s career counseling center for, well, career counseling. They may offer services to alum. (Mine does)
good luck
For the first ten years of my career, I worked as an editor and writer.
Then I went to business school for an MBA and switched into the employee benefits field.
I’m now semi-retired and handle benefits communications – a perfect mix of my benefits knowledge and my writing/editing skills. I work part-time for a large, global HR consulting firm and handle projects for their clients.
I also work from home, and am genuinely enjoying this gig. I plan to continue it at least until I’m 70 and can get full Social Security.
As an Occupational Therapist in her early 50s, I would not recommend PT, OTR ,PTA or COTA. Physical therapist programs are now doctorate level and occupational therapy programs are now masters level . It is an extremely physically demanding job, and I myself and looking at positions within my field that are less physically demanding as I age. That being said, there are other health related careers that are less physically demanding for example respiratory therapy, radiology tech, ultrasound tech etc that would be very appropriate.
My friend who is a retired school teacher recently got a job as an investigator for the solicitor’s office. I thought paralegal may be another good choice .
What was your original career? Maybe you can still do something closely related to that.
That’s a very physically demanding job, and the pay is generally not great.
One of my best friends is an OT. She had shoulder surgery last year. Her company kept her on to do assessments. She is as busy as ever, but does little lifting.
I teach accounting and just attended an accounting educators conference sponsored by my state society of CPAs. One of the speakers, a partner with a Big 4 firm, spoke about the difficulties for older students finding jobs and defined older as those in their late 30s. I’m not saying there aren’t jobs out there in accounting for middle agers, but the mindset at larger firms is definitely geared towards the 20-somethings.
There are other opportunities for accountants besides accounting firms. I would recommend corporate accounting which is where I have spent my entire career (I am a CPA). After 10 years at home, I re entered the job force at age 50. I am no longer in management, but have risen up and have a job I enjoy with great salary and benefits.
@bookworm Your friend was fortunate that her company was able to make temporary accommodations for her during her recovery from shoulder surgery. I would say making longterm accommodations would be more difficult for many companies. A lot also depends on the supply of OTRs in that area.
In the last few years I did switch to Big Data technology because I missed being more hands on. I got to a point of my career that I was just managing people and budget, and I was also a target for others to shoot me down. It is in high demand. I run a smaller group, instead of worrying about how much money I have in my budget, I am thinking about what’s the next new technology we can add to the platform. It did take me some time to make the switch because many employers didn’t think I could be hands on after so many years of operating at a high level. I self taught and learned on the job. I feel like this is my next career.