I’m menopausal, time poor and in the throws of changing career in my fifties! It’s great fun, until its not. Thankfully the ‘until its not part’ only manifests around assessment/ assignment submission times for me and the rest is enjoyable! My advice…if you really want a career change and you can manage financially, go for it! There may be valid reasons not to, but don’t let it be your age that stops you.

In telling you to go for it, I would also like to prepare you for the mine field that has been my experience when returning to university. Hopefully it won’t be your experience but forewarned is forearmed! Accessing education for mature women in Ireland is not easy! As a teenager from a poor household, that was just above the financial margins to access any grants or funding, access to education was also difficult. Not so strange given the corrupt and dysfunctional country that Ireland was and remains to be. I wasn’t poor or neglected enough to inspire institutional saviorism or to be a token for publicity. I did succeed it getting a third level education but it took a lot of blood, sweat and tears and now trying to access education in my 50s is proving very difficult and expensive!

I’d love to hear from other women in their 40s/50s about their experience with education or career changes! What are you experiencing?