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Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative (and creation). There is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas & splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents & meetings & material assistance which no man could have ever dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power & magic in it. Begin it now.
-GOETHE
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Radical Shift: A Grounded Theory Approach to Midlife Career Change of Professionals
by
Brian E. Mellor
A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
CALGARY, ALBERTA
SEPTEMBER, 2006
© Brian E. Mellor 2006
ABSTRACT
There has been a modest amount of current academic research that has explored the family, situational, lifestyle, demographic, motivational, and/or life course factors that influence people in midlife to change professions. The findings expressed in this study came about through the use of an inductive grounded theory approach to analyze semi-structured interviews with former lawyers and educators who left their professions and are now engaged in unrelated careers. Major findings include: the motivations for why people leave their first careers; the link between the professional, personal, and family spheres of one’s life; the importance of spousal support and security; the transitional process undergone; the consequences of a career change on the family; and the types of new careers that were pursued. Overall, this study discusses how the lines between work, leisure, family, and lifestyle are blurred when people are successful in the proactive pursuit of a new and desirable career.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Committing oneself to an endeavour such as writing a Master’s thesis is
something that we all do at the beginning of the graduate school process, however I
believe that few of us fully comprehend the dedication, steadfastness, and sacrifice that is
involved in producing a lengthy work such as this one. The help, guidance, and support
of others has made this thesis-writing process a successful, enjoyable, and enlightening
experience.
Looking back on this process I now understand that success has many different
meanings: there is the success of writing a passable Master’s thesis; there is the success
of learning my own life lessons from the data that I collected and talking with the people
I interviewed; there is the success of engaging others in wanting to be part of this process.
There is also the success of realizing who you can count on in times of personal,
professional, and ontological crises. So many people have impacted me over the last nine
months of this thesis process (and over the course of my life) who have helped me in
different ways to achieve my success. It is those people that I would like to acknowledge
in explicit terms so that they can better understand how they have impacted me in the
development of this thesis and in fostering my own personal growth.
First off, I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the research participants
who participated in this study. Each of you volunteered your time and shared your stories
with me. We often discussed important and personal details of your lives and I am
appreciative of your openness, frankness, and sincerity. I found each of you inspiring for
many reasons: the risk you took in making your career changes, the passion you shared
iii
for both your work and your families, and your engaging, creative, and dynamic spirits.
Without you this project would not have been possible.
I would also like to thank Dr. Robert Stebbins for being my supervisor on this
project. You have been instrumental in helping bring out the nuances of this project as
well as providing me with general direction. I have greatly enjoyed our working
relationship and have appreciated your involvement as an advisor. The situation of you
being an advisor more than a supervisor allowed me to tackle many of the issues that
arose on my own, while also being able to come to you for guidance. I also enjoyed our
conversations, both professional and personal, and I look forward to maintaining contact
in the future.
Gratitude is also extended to Tim Hamilton, Anne Tingle, and Marilyn Clarke for
your support in helping me recruit my research participants. You put me in contact with
many of your friends and colleagues, and I sincerely appreciate you doing that. To Tim,
thanks also go out for taking the time to meet with me over the course of this project to
mentor me. Our discussions helped shape my ideas and interpretations of my findings,
and also guided me toward future endeavours.
My friends have been indispensable in my journey to where I am today. They
have been here to discuss issues pertaining to my thesis, to support me in life choices, and
to influence me to become the person who I am. I am grateful for my long time and new
friends alike, and hope that the end of this thesis means that I will no longer be as
consumed with my work and will be able to stay better in touch. Life’s adventure awaits,
and I look forward to exploring it with all of you.
iv
My uncle Jim is someone who deserves special mention. In recent years he and I
have reconnected. I have spent multiple summers living with him at his Beach House on
Quadra Island, British Columbia. I cherish those times: our projects, conversations,
chopping wood, drinking tea, and enjoying each others’ company. Although you have
not had direct input into this project, your influence over the last several years has in part
led me to studying this topic. Being able to discuss that life is about choice, and our
freedom to choose is what sends us on different paths has spiked my own curiosity to
contemplate how our power of choice plays into achieving our own personal ideal - our
own individual reality. This project has helped me consider the question you ask
whenever I visit: “What’s it all about?” After reflecting on the findings of this project,
perhaps the question should be rephrased, and we should ask each other: What’s it all
about for you?
Throughout this thesis writing process there has been no one that has been as
supportive as Cristi. There have been countless discussions on where the writing should
go next, brainstorming sessions when finishing on time seemed an impossible goal, and
midnight walks to relax after hours of writing. You have been there as an editor, an
advisor, a companion, and best of all, a friend. To you I owe a great deal of gratitude and
appreciation. You have been there from start to finish, and this project would not have
looked the way it does if it was not for your support. Thank you for this wonderful gift.
I cannot imagine where I would be without my family. More than anyone, you
have made this project possible and have supported me to become the person I am today.
Barb and Steve, I couldn’t be happier having you close by. Your kindness, support, and
generosity have been tremendous. To all my parents, you have been there to guide me,
v
offer insight, and were there when I have needed you. Nancy and Roy, you have been
my guiding light through my journey. You have never said no to any of my ideas or
dreams. You have supported me through everything I have ventured. Your inspiration,
wisdom, openness, and guidance have helped me triumph over the hardships and
challenges that I have faced over my years. This thesis was completed in part with your
help and support, and your efforts will always be remembered.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents vii List of Tables x CHAPTER I: UNDERSTANDING CAREER CHANGE 1
Finding Interesting Work 3 Literature 8
The Characteristics of the Midlife Career Changer and Reasons for Changing Careers 8
Changing Values Over the Life Course 11 More to Midlife than Money 13 Midlife Career Change as the Result of a Trigger 14 Commonalities of Outcomes for Midlife Career
Changers 16 Support and the Family 17
Critique of the Literature 20 Research Statement 21 Conclusion 22
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 24
Methodology 25 Reasons for Selecting the Combination of Lawyers and
Teachers 28 Rationale for Studying Lawyers 29 Rationale for Studying Educators 30
Recruitment and Data Collection 32 Sample 35 Methodological Concerns 38 Data Interpretation 40 Conclusion 42
CHAPTER III: HISTORICAL-THEORETICAL CONTEXT 43
Weber’s Protestant Ethic 44 The Calling 45 Asceticism 46
Stebbins’ Theory of Occupational Devotion 47 The Life Course Perspective 50
vii
Charles Taylor’s Malaise of Modernity 53 Conclusion 54
CHAPTER IV: THE FIRST CAREER 56
Motivations for Pursuing Law or Education 57 Unclear Direction and One-Shot Guidance 58 Rational Choice Decision Process 60 The Influence of Role Modeling and Mentoring 63 Always Wanted to be a Lawyer/Educator 64
Constraints for Women 66 The Likes and Dislikes of Initial Careers 68
The Dislikes 68 The Likes 73
Family and Personal Situation 78 Discussion & Conclusion 80
CHAPTER V: THE TRANSITION 84
Underlying Issues for People to Pursue Something New 85 Invasiveness of the Job 85 Change in Collegiality 88 Structural/Cultural Factors 90
Motivations for Pursuing a Career Change: The Push and Pull People 92
Motivational Push Factors 93 The Pull People 96
Triggers 101 Factors that Discouraged a Career Change 104 How it Happened 108
Spousal Support, Experimentation, and Security 108 Spousal Support 109 Two Security Strategies: Financial and
Experimentation 111 Discussion & Conclusions 115
CHAPTER VI: THE NEW JOB 121
Where They Went and How They Got There 122 People Holding High-Powered Positions 122 People Whose Jobs Follow Earlier Interests 126
Consequences 131 Professional Consequences 131
viii
Personal Consequences 138 Family Consequences 144
Discussion & Conclusions 148 CHAPTER VII: SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS 151
Implications of Career Change for Middle-Aged Workers 160 Opportunities for Future Research 164
REFERENCES 168 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW GUIDE – Final Version 173
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Demographic Portrait 37 Table 2: New Careers of Career Changers 38
x
1
CHAPTER I
UNDERSTANDING CAREER CHANGE
In the mid 1990s, one of my extended family members and her partner began
discussing selling their home in an upscale neighbourhood in the Greater Toronto Area
and moving to a rural area between Toronto and Kingston. For five years the couple
talked in non-specific terms about moving to the country and conversed about what they
would need to do if they wanted to make their idea a reality. She was an internationally
recognized microbiologist and he was a forensic engineer. They had worked for decades
to build their careers to these positions. They collected sizeable salaries, lived a
comfortable life, and had lots of friends nearby. Many people could not understand why
they would want to give up the jobs and the lives that they had, and most did not think
that they would give up their occupational success in favour of a gamble for what could
be.
Looking in from the outside, this decision to give up their former lives in order to
take a chance on something completely new seemed illogical and irrational. However, at
2
the same time as they were talking about their alternative prospects, she started hating her
job. The corporate environment and the office politics were beginning to grate on her,
and the work she was doing had become boring and mundane. Also, her partner had
originally worked in a middle management position in a large corporation but had gotten
out of his former work situation in favour of pursuing forensic engineering in a small
firm, which allowed him the flexibility to work primarily from home. Beyond this, he
had grown up on a farm and knew what was involved in running one, and she had
confidence that she could be a successful farmer because of her biology training. There
were considerable financial risks because they needed to sell their home in Toronto for a
price that would fully pay for the purchase of their new acreage and the building of their
new home. They were not certain that they would like living in a rural community away
from the comforts and conveniences of the city, but knew that this endeavour would be a
new challenge and experience. As a result, the couple sold their home, changed their
work situations, and bought several acres of agricultural land near Picton, Ontario. Their
plan was to start an organic vegetable farm and sell their produce. They wanted to
practice biology on the front lines, become as self-sustainable as possible, design and
build equipment that would make their jobs easier, and reduce their impact on the Earth.
The couple also wanted to embrace new values, tackle new problems, and have a new
challenge. So, for five years they drove several hours every weekend to their property
and built their new home. They now live with their dogs in the farmhouse that they built
with their own hands. They raise animals and grow vegetables to sell to restaurants,
grocery stores, and personal contacts.
3
Although their lives bear little resemblance to when they were living in the city,
they seem happy and content. They have no desire or intent to go back to the city. They
both love the challenge of the all-encompassing nature of the farming lifestyle: they do
everything from planning and growing their crops, to marketing, sales, research, and
staffing. In many respects, they believe that being farmers is the most complicated job
there is because it is up to them to be competent and successful in every facet of their
business. They also enjoy doing it together. According to her, their lives began to get
boring and predictable over the years because they were together for a long time and
were working in the same occupations. Change was really good for their relationship
because it gave them both something to be excited about, and it also meant that they were
growing together as a couple.
Both of the individuals in this couple were professionals and both have graduate
degrees. She has written several books and her professional reputation has put her in
great demand to speak at conferences all over the world. However, all of the trappings of
prestige, financial and material success, and security were outweighed by other factors
that make their new life much more desirable than her previous circumstances. As a
result, both of these individuals have made changes in their professional lives so that they
work on their own terms. While she continues to consult and he works as a forensic
engineer from home, both have made dramatic midlife career changes.
FINDING INTERESTING WORK
The story of this couple is not unique. There has been a recent surge of reporting
on the topic of midlife career change in newspapers and magazines (BC Business, 2000;
4
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2004; Daily News, 2004; Chicago Tribune, 2001; Toronto
Star, 2000; Toronto Star, 2004). The re-occurring themes among these articles address
issues including: whether people of 35 years of age and older who have had relatively
successful careers are happy with their lives, whether careers continue to hold the
excitement and live up to the expectations of individuals as compared to when people
first started their jobs, whether people achieve a desired balance between work and
family life, and whether these individuals are living a meaningful existence that reflects
who they really are. Unfortunately, for many middle-aged workers the answer to these
questions is a resounding “no”. Many people remain in their present job situations even
though they are discontented, dissatisfied, or longing for a change.
The literature suggests that it is important for people’s well-being to make
changes if they feel that they are not getting what they want out of life. A career change,
or career transition, consists of a “movement to a new occupation that is not part of a
typical career progression” (Rhodes & Doering, 1983: 631). This should not be confused
with a job change, which consists of the movement to a similar occupational position that
is consistent with a normal job progression. Golembiewski (1978) asserts that a
successful career transition can re-invigorate a person’s excitement and passion for their
jobs, which will contribute to a long fulfilling life that is both stable and productive.
Conversely, maintaining negative feelings about one’s job or not following through on a
desired career transition can lead to a frustrating life of turmoil and despair (216).
The issue of examining why people make a midlife career change has never been
so pressing. Even though voluntary career change in midlife is a common phenomenon,
there has been little empirical research conducted in recent years to understand this trend.
5
In general, the academic literature on this subject was primarily conducted in the late
1970s and early 1980s, and after this time (until recently) inquiry into this subject almost
completely faded away.
In order to ground the present study, it is still important to discuss the little
academic work that has been conducted. To begin, in a survey conducted in 1972, it was
reported that nearly one-half of managers sampled were considering a complete career
change (Golembiewski, 1978: 219). Golembiewski (1978) also asserted that several
factors suggested that midlife career change is being experienced by a rising number of
people. First, because of the increased wealth of the general population, people were no
longer struggling to make enough income for survival and subsistence for themselves and
their families. Individuals then had enough disposable income to increase the quality of
their lives and engage in new experiences of leisure and fun. Second, because of the
incorporation of the technology into the daily lives of the general public in the developed
world, societal and technological systems were more accessible and stable than ever
before. As a result, it was much easier for people to navigate through a midlife transition
or career shift because they could tap the necessary outlets to make their desired life-
goals a reality. Third, the social system in the Western world was more openly mobile
than ever before. Because of this, people in the Western world were no longer role-
bound; they had increased freedom and opportunity to choose among alternative careers
that are beneficial for promoting desired lifestyles instead of being obliged to follow
family traditions or have a career that fits within a person’s position in a stratified social
system (such as those using a caste system). An additional factor that Harris (1972)
6
found was that it seems that society had raised the expectations for what it meant to be a
well-adjusted and functional member of society (Harris, 1972: 40). As Harris says:
It’s as if some idiot raised the ante on what it takes to be a person… and the rest of us accepted it without noticing. The result? An aspiration gap. What we are as individuals and groups falls short of what we now consider normal.
Bearing in mind the differences of the labour market now as compared to the 1970s as
well as other factors that may be influencing this phenomenon, these issues may be even
more acute in the present day.
Considering the aging Canadian workforce, there are many societal repercussions
and potential implications that arise from people either changing careers or not changing
careers and feeling unfulfilled with their work and non-work lives. Because of an aging
population and increase in the number of Canadians retiring, the projected decrease in the
ratio of the working population to total population signifies that Canada will require
strong labour productivity growth in the future in order to maintain the growth of the
economy (Guillemette, 2003). There is a potential for the development of knowledge
gaps in industry, where experienced and knowledgeable people will exit their established
professions, thereby creating holes in the corporate structure. These experienced people
are invaluable to any vocational sphere because they are “naturally competitive, outdoing
generations before them in education and income. Now they bring to the table scores of
experience, hard-won knowledge and an unbeatable work ethic” (Chicago Tribune, 2001).
If these highly experienced workers leave their places of employment, companies will
either have to rehire, retrain or take a step back in their productivity levels until less
experienced workers gain the required experience and expertise to fill the positions of the
transitioned workers. As a result, there may be a reduction in productivity as the
7
organizational structures of corporations go through a process of losing their older
workers and training younger replacements. Conversely, corporations and businesses can
acquire highly skilled and newly motivated workers if they hire middle-aged workers
who want to make an occupational change. Those who make voluntary career changes
are people who want to work. This group of people has a tremendous amount of
collective experience and life-skills to offer employers. With issues being considered
such as the removal of mandatory retirement from many sectors as well as discussions of
raising the age of eligibility for collecting Canadian pensions, this group of workers is
one that deserves greater attention.
Workers come from all walks of life and have varied ideas of what it is they want
from life. As Mullens (BC Business, 2000) acknowledges:
It's the lawyer who longs to cut back on the fat billable hours for a little more time with the kids or a Tai Chi class or volunteering. It's the doctor who realizes that after slogging through all those years of schooling, medicine is not really his calling... but he isn't sure what else to do. Or the businesswoman who has proved she can deal with the best of them in the world of high finance... only to discover that despite her skills, she doesn't like the game.
People have individual reasons for making a midlife career change. As will be discussed
in the pages that follow, the literature suggests that there is often a shifting of priorities or
a longing for other things in midlife than were desired in the earlier stages of a person’s
life. This acts as a jumping point for this research, since it is important to find out what it
is that these people are searching for and how they go about filling the gaps that were
present in their lives before changing careers.
8
LITERATURE
The academic literature on midlife career change is rather dated, and is limited in
both quantity and scope. Occupational change in midlife was the subject of major
attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but after that period, very little research has
been published. However limited, several themes have emerged from within this dated
literature. The following sections are intended to show a thematic synthesis and
awareness of the relevant literature on the topic of midlife career change. Although the
conclusions about midlife career change have tended to be contradictory and non-
cumulative (as discussed by Thomas, 1980: 173-174), the following sections will still
provide a foundation from which to base the current research project.
The Characteristics of the Midlife Career Changer and Reasons for Changing Careers
Several common characteristics emerge from the academic literature as to who is
most likely to change careers. Some argue that people generally engage in a midlife
career change between the ages of 35 and 43 (Golembiewski, 1978; Hill & Miller, 1981;
Roborgh & Stacey, 2001), while others dispute that the age range of midlife career
change generally falls between 35 and 54 (Robbins, 1978). Most researchers agree that
the transition process generally occurs in the same fashion for both men and women,
although the study of women’s experience in a midlife career change has been limited
(Golembiewski, 1978; Roborgh & Stacey, 2001). In addition, research shows that the
midlife career change phenomenon is not exclusive to Western cultures (Golembiewski,
1978; Gutmann, 1967).
9
A few studies have identified a distinction in attitudinal traits between people who
are more likely to change careers as opposed to those who are more apt to stay in a work
situation (even if they have thought about making a change). Using logistic regression to
analyze data from the Career Attitudes and Strategies Inventory (CASI), Donohue (2003)
found that career changers were significantly more likely than career persisters to take
risks in relation to their careers, and were also more motivated to develop their personal
and professional skills. In contrast, career persisters were significantly more likely to
maintain the present state of their jobs, were satisfied with the jobs they were in, and
were also more likely to be concerned about the maintenance of their jobs than were the
career changers. Taking a more philosophical life-view perspective, Neapolitan (1980)
found that career changers had a different outlook on life and its obstacles as compared to
career persisters. The changers believed that they were in charge of their own destinies,
and felt that people in general have the power to accomplish their goals and overcome
any obstacles that impede the progress toward those goals. In contrast, the career
persisters tended to believe that forces beyond their control may impede them from
achieving their objectives. They were also doubtful of their own prevent to succeed and
were afraid of stepping into the unknown and away from the security of their jobs.
The two primary, yet dated, works that have identified the reasons for changing
careers were published by Robbins (1978) and Golembiewski (1978). According to these
authors, there are three factors that influence a voluntary career change. First, individuals
may be more likely to change careers if they feel that the potential for advancement in
their current career has dried up or if the promotional curve has flattened out. Robbins
(1978: 58) calls this situation being “put on the shelf”, where the job remains, but there is
10
no possibility of further career advancement. This form of career stagnation often occurs
in situations of company mergers where the incoming managers of the acquiring firm
have an advantage because they have developed relationships with those higher up in the
company that hold the power to promote. The workers from companies that are
swallowed up do not lose their jobs, but they are looked upon less favourably for
promotions than workers from the parent company. A second example that was
identified by Robbins (1978: 58) was that men found themselves at an age and level on
the promotional ladder within their company where their movement within the hierarchy
of the company had topped out. This situation implies a glass ceiling where age acts as
an obstacle to occupational promotion within an organization (Olin Wright, 2000).
The second factor identified by these authors is that there may be a change in the
perception of the type or quality of rewards that people desire from their occupational
accomplishments. In other words, the positive rewards no longer outweigh the negative
aspects of the job. The third factor describes a personal release from an individual’s past
major work-related accomplishments, where the achievements of the past are no longer
important to their personal character. Thus, the rules of the game for an individual’s
motivations and desires change at midlife, and the rewards she or he wants from life and
work have changed as well. Robbins (1978: 60) identifies how a sense of purpose or of
doing something good for society becomes more important for men as they age. Her
study found that the peace movement of the late 1960s prompted men to question the
moral value of their occupations and eventually led them to pursue careers that had a
direct and positive impact on others (e.g. education or social work). This final factor is
reiterated by O’Connor and Wolfe (1991: 325-328), who note that the questioning of
11
one’s goals and situation in life acts as the vehicle for a personal paradigm shift that goes
along with a career change. In other words, by questioning the values that had previously
been of importance, the individual is able to let go of those values, make a career change,
and adopt a new value system.
In sum, the literature suggests that career change often happens in midlife, is
similar for both men and women, and is motivated by diminished promotional
opportunities, a shift in the perception of the costs and benefits of a particular job, and a
change in the values of individuals.
Changing Values Over the Life Course
Within the sociological and management literatures, there is a consensus that
individuals want different things out of work and life depending on which stage of the
life course they are in. Mayer & Tuma (1990: 3) offer a definition of the life course as:
[S]ocial processes extending over the individual life span or over significant portions of it, especially with regard to the family cycle, educational and training histories and employment and occupational careers. The life course is shaped by cultural beliefs about the individual biography, institutionalized sequences of roles and positions, legal age restrictions, and the decisions of individual actors.
Overall, the transition through the life course can be divided into two major categories.
Although the specific age for this split is contested within the relevant literature, the
change occurs at approximately 35. Before this age, the individual is often focused on
her or his career and forming mature relationships. In these preliminary stages the
individual is also engaged in recognizing a personal Dream, which drives and guides his
or her choices and priorities in what is seen (at that time) to be what he or she wants for
the future (O’Connor & Wolfe, 1981). At this stage, the young adult is outer-directed,
focusing on career and family role expectations.
12
However, these values do not necessarily persist through midlife, and middle-age
often brings about a change in personal attitudes where the individual becomes
introspective in an attempt to redefine his or her priorities (O’Connor & Wolfe, 1991:
333). To put this metaphorically, Jung (1971: 17) states that: “We cannot live the
afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning; for what in the morning was
true will in the evening be a lie”. At this stage, there is an increased awareness of the self
and a desire to create balance between career and other aspects of life. One’s identity is
no longer shaped primarily from career successes; instead, identity emerges from family
roles, community involvement, and leisure activities. There is also a shifting of work and
non-work values that retool the initial personal structure to make up for “what’s missing”
(Hill & Miller, 1981). This is not to be confused with a rejection of societal values and a
strong work ethic or the desire to go counter-culture (Krantz, 1977).
At this stage there is also a qualitative shift away from focusing on occupational
or job positions, where the worker uses previously repressed abilities as he or she
expands occupational and social roles to encompass more than a career-modeled self-
identity. At this point the individual becomes inner-directed as he or she searches for a
new sense of purpose, meaning, and action within his or her work and non-work life
(O’Connor & Wolfe, 1981: 333). As a result, the career of a midlife worker engaging in
this type of reflection leads to a process of individuation and striving for personal
accomplishment instead of socialization and desire for recognition from work success.
Work becomes more self-directed as his or her own personal goals begin to take
precedence over the objectives of his or her employer (Hill & Miller, 1978).
13
Summing up, Gould (1978) most eloquently describes the shift in values by
individuals in their midlives:
People of this age seemed to focus on what they have accomplished in half a century, and they were unrushed by the sense of urgency that accompanied the achieving 30s. At the same time, they were more eager to have “human” experiences, such as sharing joys, sorrows, confusions, and triumphs of everyday life rather than searching for the glamour, the glitter, the power, or the abstract. Precious moments of contact and deep feeling define the value of being in touch.
More to Midlife than Money
The shift in personal values can be clearly illuminated by looking at the
importance of money; people in this midlife transition period put less value on having a
high income. It was found in one study that only 11 percent of a sample of men indicated
that salary considerations were important in making their decision to change careers
(Thomas, 1980: 176). In fact, not only are individuals not putting primacy on making
salary a serious consideration when thinking about making a career change, but people
who change occupations in midlife generally experience a 20 percent drop in income as a
result of a midlife career change (Roborgh & Stacey, 2001: 506). In addition, it has been
found that people who have made a successful positive career change experience a
decline in income and social status by traditional standards (Roborgh & Stacey, 2001;
Thomas, 1980). Both Robbins (1978: 62) and Thomas (1980: 177) argue that instead of
focusing on money and financial security, workers in the mid-life stage are more
concerned with developing intrinsic rewards from their work. They desire meaningful
work, a better fit between personal values and work, a challenging opportunity to achieve,
and the potential to develop a strong sense of pride in their accomplishments. Their
happiness is linked to non-conventional or personal measures of how they regard their
circumstances instead of on their monetary circumstances (Shaver & Freedman, 1976).
14
These people often mention that their new jobs are enjoyable to the point where they
make less of a distinction between work and leisure.
Multiple non-money-centered life factors have been identified as desirable for
people who are in their midlife and considering a career change. These elements include
job satisfaction, a happy marriage, good health, a chance to prove one’s competence,
social contact, having loving relationships, social support and experiencing life and
family events (Roborgh & Stacey, 2001). As can be seen, these factors draw upon
multiple roles and/or life situations, many of which cannot be provided exclusively
through work. The people experiencing this sense of longing are looking for a well-
rounded life that cannot be fulfilled simply by a high income or material possessions. For
mid-lifers who make voluntary career shifts, it is no longer money, status, or prestige that
provides them with a strong sense of self. Instead, they look to other factors such as their
strong social network or the actual work that they do in order to feel happy and to have a
sense of accomplishment in work and life.
Midlife Career Change as the Result of a Trigger
A handful of recent peripheral studies (other than the seminal works on career
change such as Robbins [1978]; Golembiewski [1978); and Neapolitan, [1980]) have
alluded to the presence of some sort of a trigger that motivates people to engage in a
midlife career change. Hutri (1996) draws on Crisis Theory to explain what drives
individuals to ultimately make a career change. Instead of taking a developmental
psychological approach where people want different things from life at different stages of
the life course, the central assumption of Crisis Theory is that there must be a major
emotional upset (or trigger) that is perceived by a person to be more than they can resolve
15
by employing previously used coping mechanisms. As a result, individuals will change
careers to be in situations where they can better achieve their personal and professional
goals as well as to remedy the negative effects of the trigger. However, this state of
affairs is not a positive reason for a career change because the individual is essentially
pushed from his or her job by negative factors such as being fired or needing to flee an
unhealthy situation.
Shaver & Freedman (1976) report that subjects who are pushed from their earlier
careers do not experience the same positive payoffs as those who are pulled to other
occupations by desirable opportunities. In contrast, O’Connor & Wolfe (1991) offer a
different perspective on the outcome of a crisis. They believe that a crisis has a
significant effect by creating a personal paradigm shift toward a career change, but they
do not believe that the career change stems from a midlife crisis per se. Instead, a
momentous event produces a questioning and an unfreezing of the individual’s view of
their life situation and provides them with an opportunity for creativity and the substance
or material to fashion new adaptations. This unfreezing process can have two outcomes:
the first is the emergence of new understandings and values that lead the way for a career
change. The second outcome involves the retrenchment of the old situation and the
original paradigm as the individual remains in the negative pre-crisis state.
Overall, the occurrence of a triggering event acts as a push to remedy an
emotional trauma found in a pre-change situation. Although both triggered and non-
triggered pre-change situations lead to a voluntary vocational modification, triggered
career change may not yield results as positive as would a career change that is inspired
by attractive aspects that pull a person to his or her new career.
16
Commonalities of Outcomes for Midlife Career Changers
A number of implications can be seen when looking at the results of a career
change. O’Connor &Wolfe (1991) suggest four common outcomes that result from this
process. First, individuals experience an increased sense of responsibility for themselves
and their personal holistic well-being. This includes an accompanying sense of
autonomy and self-directedness that was either non-existent or less-existent than during
the pre-career change situation. Second, the individual becomes more flexible as she or
he moves away from a structured and rigid self-definition. In other words, people
embrace a system of organic life-flow where emergent overarching self-concept guides
their progression through their everyday practices. At this stage they are more open to
new experiences and taking risks than they once were. Third, individuals express an
increased interest, desire, and appreciation for natural and unprompted interpersonal
relationships as opposed to structured and strictly bounded formal interactions. Fourth,
individuals who have gone through a midlife career change show an attempt to
incorporate career and other aspects of life within the same identity framework. This is
done to gain a better holistic life balance in order to have one’s identity centered within
the nature of the self instead of a compartmentalized identity that holds career and family
roles separate. Although these four factors point to different implications of career
change, it is possible to see that individuals who go through this process are able to lead a
less structured life and have a more flexible sense of self. Again, this illustrates the shift
in values between what was important before a career change and what is seen as
important after.
17
Support and the Family
Although making a voluntary career change is a choice made by individuals, the
impact of making an occupational shift has repercussions for a changer’s family. In
many respects, people who maintain close ties with the career changer (especially their
family) share in the adjustments of the transition and feel an equal impact that results
from the career change (Henton, Russell, and Koval, 1983). For example, as discussed
earlier, when people make voluntary career changes they often accept a cut in pay and
reduced social status. This can affect the way a family is seen within the community, can
have an impact on the social circles in which family members are involved, and can limit
the activities that a family engages in because of a reduction in disposable income.
However, there are many other factors that come into play for a family when a career
change is made by one of the adults.
Since most of the work in this area has focused primarily on the individual’s
experience of the career change, there has been little attention paid to the impact on the
family or the dynamics that change within the family unit as a result of a career change.
The central work on the subject of the family and voluntary midlife career change
examines the spousal perceptions of midlife career change (Henton, Russell, and Koval,
1983). This article discusses the impact of midlife career change on the changer’s family
and identifies numerous family adaptations characterizing the career change process.
Several insightful findings were discovered. First, approximately one quarter of the
female spouses interviewed (24%) indicated that their husbands felt discontented with
their present jobs, were bored, disillusioned, or frustrated. Second, 41% of the families
involved in the study experienced a decrease in income as a result of a career change of
18
the father/husband. Third, a majority (64%) of the wives interviewed saw themselves as
supportive, were encouraging of her husband’s decision to change careers, and were
facilitative in the process of making the shift (289). Fourth, it was found that the negative
advice and/or discouragement for making a career change from extended family members
and friends had little effect on dissuading career changers from deciding to make an
occupational shift as compared to the significance of having their wife’s support (289)
(see also Neapolitan, 1980: 222).
Other works offer insights into the impact of families on the individual’s decision
to make a career change. One of the primary obstacles for people to make the decision to
change careers involved having dependent children still living in the home. For instance,
one study reported that men who have dependent children living under their care are less
likely to make a voluntary career change even if they are dissatisfied with their present
occupational situation and desire a change (Neapolitan, 1980: 221). The feeling of
responsibility for taking care of the family is heightened when a man’s wife is not
employed outside the home. Overall, it was seen that a spouse and children who were
dependent on their income act as a serious obstacle which prevents men from changing
occupations. In addition, men who had spouses who were willing to support them
financially enabled a career change. In contrast to Neapolitan (1980), Thomas (1980:
177) found that nearly three-quarters (74%) of the male career changers studied had
dependent children in the home when they made their occupational transition. In addition,
among 60% of the families studied, the wife was not working at the time of the husband’s
career change. This contradicts Neapolitan’s (1980) findings about how having
dependents living at home deters men from career change as well as how having added
19
financial support from a spouse facilitates career change. In essence, Thomas’ (1980)
results show that for the majority of the families affected by a career change, the father is
responsible for the financial wellbeing of the family and must either make a successful
vocational shift or the family will suffer severe financial consequences.
In terms of the impact of a career change on the family, Henton et Al. (1983: 289)
state that relocating is the hardest thing for families to endure in a midlife career change.
The expense of moving, having to sell and buy their homes, and the stress of watching
children adjust to a new place and make new friends is very difficult for parents.
However, less than a quarter of the women interviewed reported that there were adverse
effects on their children because of a career change. Conversely, several improvements
were incurred to the family unit when men made career changes. Fifty-nine percent of
the wives said their husbands spent more time with their families than when they were in
their former jobs, and the quality of the time fathers spent with their families was better.
Also, the positive effects on people’s marriages outweighed the hardships during the
career change process. In fact, many women indicated that there was a reinvigorated
sense of closeness and appreciation between themselves and their husbands because the
two individuals had to work as a team and support each other. Many of the women
attributed the improvement of their relationship to a belief that when their husbands were
happier with themselves then things tended to be better within the relationship. Lomranz,
Shmotkin, Eyal, and Friedman (1994) build on this concept. They note that for couples,
issues of loyalty and dependence, independence, and interdependence are dealt with
during a major occupational shift. When a serious personal transition like a career
change is proposed and carried out, a couple must redefine their relationship and establish
20
a new basis for trust, support, and differences. In addition, the roles for both adults in the
family must change (i.e. financial, supportive/emotional, parental) in order for individuals
to go about their career transition.
CRITIQUE OF THE LITERATURE
This literature provides a foundation for understanding the motivations and
factors underlying midlife career changes. The studies cited also help demonstrate: the
ways that individuals often experience a shift in values in midlife, where those things that
seemed important when growing up have now lost their relevance; how some people
choose to change careers in order to align their new values with their work; and that an
individual’s family and support networks are important when considering or making a
midlife career change.
However, much of the work cited used psychological developmental models in
order to focus on the individual as career changer. This body of literature paid relatively
little attention to the career change process, the perceived effect that a successful midlife
career change has on the individual as well as on the family, or the outcomes that emerge
from career changes. In addition, women were not included in these studies aside from
being acknowledged as the spouses of male career changers or noted as getting a nominal
occupation once their children had grown up and left home. This is not surprising,
considering the fact that during the era of the late 1970s and early 1980s men made up a
much larger majority of the professional workforce. However, this is no longer the case.
Women are now an integral part of the current Canadian workforce and hold many
skilled and important positions among employed Canadians. The 2001 Canadian census
21
showed that women held many more skilled occupational positions than ten years
previous. For instance, the number of female workers in professional positions in the
business and finance sectors has more than doubled since 1991. Women also accounted
for 40% more managerial positions than they did the previous decade (Statistics Canada,
2001). As such, the experiences of women who engage in midlife career change are also
of great interest in this study because they have been largely neglected by academic
research.
The literature on professionals who voluntarily change careers at midlife is
contradictory and inconclusive. In addition, the body of knowledge on this topic is out of
date and out of touch with the current Canadian workforce, considering the changes in
the demographics of Canadian workers as well as the changes in the way that business is
conducted in contemporary Canadian society. Overall, no study comprehensively
conceptualizes the motivations, processes, and consequences of midlife career change,
which is the primary goal of this project.
RESEARCH STATEMENT
Voluntary midlife career change is something that individuals must choose based
on their own unique situations, values, and goals. There has been a modest amount of
academic research that has explored the situational, lifestyle, demographic, motivational,
and/or life course factors that influence people in midlife to change professions.
Becoming a professional often involves a large investment of economic, social, and
personal capital. As such, it is of interest to study the factors that prompt professionals to
leave their established careers and pursue other paths.
22
Professional work is generally regarded as highly rewarding for the individuals
who are employed in such fields. These workers are often devoted to their professions
and build their personal identities through their professional occupation (Stebbins, 2004).
As Stebbins (2004) states:
True occupational devotees are not likely to renounce their work for an early retirement or a part-time working arrangement, simply to pursue more or less full-time a serious leisure passion. They may have such a passion, but in any conflict between powerful work and leisure passions, the former seems destined to win out, at least until enthusiasm for it has run its course or external circumstances conspire to seriously efface the devotee’s quality of work life (107).
As a result, I am interested in finding out what considerations are made when the
enthusiasm or external circumstances that Stebbins describes run their course and drive
people to find other work situations that offer a better congruence with what they are
looking for from life. Overall however, I will explore how the midlife career shift of
various former professionals was accomplished and how their lives have been affected by
that change. More specifically, this project is focused on understanding, in an
exploratory fashion, what prompted them to leave their initial professions, the processes
involved in career change, and the resulting effects on their lives.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of Chapter I was to provide a general introduction to the topic of
midlife career change. It presented an overview of the relevant literature and a critique of
that literature. As was discussed in previous literature, career change is a broad and
diverse topic that holds repercussions for the individual’s career and their identities.
Occupational shifts also have effects on the families of career changers, where families
23
reported a drop in income and prestige, but also created situations where children spent
more quality time with their fathers and where couples were brought closer together.
The following chapters will not only update the body of literature on midlife
career change, but will also encapsulate a more holistic view of the general career change
process undergone by people at midlife. The overall goal of this project is to examine the
career change process in greater scope and detail than has been done by previous
published works. Several topics will be addressed, including: what makes a career
change successful, why people leave their jobs, how people go about a career change, and
how the lives of individuals and their families are affected by making such a radical
occupational shift.
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CHAPTER II
METHODOLOGY
Because the academic research on midlife career change is limited in quantity and
scope, it is necessary to form a current base of knowledge on which future studies can
concatenate, or contribute to accretive theory on a common subject. By developing an in-
depth subjective understanding of the experiences of individuals who have undergone a
midlife career change, we can begin to develop theory and preliminary hypotheses for
subsequent studies. In addition, the past research that has been conducted on midlife
career change of professionals is inconclusive, contradictory, and out-of-date. As such, it
is important to conduct this study in order to add a current assessment of this
phenomenon to further concatenate on this topic.
The main objective of this chapter is to provide a methodological understanding
of this research project. The use of the grounded theory methodology will be explained,
followed by a discussion of the rationalization for choosing law and education as
25
representative professions for analysis. Another aim of this chapter is to outline the
recruitment and data collection methods used for amassing this sample of former lawyers
and educators. A description of the sample is also provided, and methodological
concerns are addressed.
METHODOLOGY
A qualitative study is appropriate when taking an integrative approach for
gathering rich and in-depth data that is conducive to exploring what occurs during the
process of midlife professional career change. Because of the contradictory findings and
out-of-date nature of the past literature on this subject it is essential to get a new
foundation on the topic that is accurate and up-to-date. As Stebbins (2001) argues, this
topic of study begs to be explored anew because the occupational environment and
context of professional work has drastically changed since the majority of the relevant
research was conducted. As such, taking an exploratory grounded theory approach (as
outlined by Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss, 1987; Stebbins, 2001) is appropriate for
studying this topic. Grounded theory is a methodology where theory is generated through
the development of conceptual categories that emerge from analysis and synthesis of
gathered data. The strength of a grounded theory comes about through the agreement of
multiple sources of data regarding similar categories; conceptual saturation is reached
when multiple sources provide similar information. The overall goal of this process is to
theorize about social phenomena through the inductive production of generalizations that
emerge from empirical data on a given topic.
26
As Stebbins (2001) believes, there needs to be a clear understanding of the group,
activity, or situation being studied before more deductive confirmatory research can be
undertaken with optimal effect. Confirmatory-type research (e.g. survey research) is
inappropriate in this situation because there is not a current topical conceptual or
theoretical framework from which to mount well-rounded and high quality explanatory
research on midlife professionals who have made a career change. This exploratory
approach will allow me to adequately uncover relevant social, personal, and structural
elements that are required to develop valid grounded theory for why and how
professionals negotiate a midlife career change.
The emergent findings of this study are developed through analysis of the data
and not from a previously deduced theory. Analysis is conducted by comparing and
contrasting the stories of individuals who change careers. By collecting multiple stories
of a similar phenomenon (i.e. midlife career change) the researcher synthesizes the
commonalities found within these accounts. The grounded theory methodology is an
organic process whereby the data collected from earlier interviews is used to shape, focus,
and direct the questions that are asked of subsequent interview participants. In addition,
the researcher uses various techniques such as memo writing, induction, and reflection to
develop themes and generalizations. More specifically, this grounded theory process will
provide an appropriate and effective understanding of this career change phenomenon so
that further studies may concatenate on my findings.
In The Grounded Theory Perspective III: Theoretical Coding (2005) Glaser
identifies that the power of grounded theory lies in the researcher staying open to the
emergence of theoretical codes that come about through sorting memos and writing about
27
those memos. Analytically I proceeded in the following way. Once I had made detailed
summaries of the taped interviews (Stebbins [2001] states that “[B]ecause, most of the
time, the respondents quoted are not personally identified, verbatim accuracy, is in reality,
unimportant”, and as such I did not produce verbatim transcripts) I proceeded to examine
each of the summaries for interesting analytic themes. Since writing The Discovery of
Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), Glaser (2005) is still instructing cutting up
printed copies of the summaries where people find relevant theoretical codes. Following
Glaser (2005) I started my analytic sorting with this same idea in mind, however I used
an electronic sorting process to reduce my paper consumption. Specifically, I set up a
dual monitor system on my computer where I could run multiple screens so that I could
run a blank word processing screen while viewing the existing interview summaries.
From there I identified each individual participant within a new document by assigning
them a unique font colour so that I could distinguish between the different participants
once their information had been reorganized in combination with others’ data within a
new thematically organized file. The relevant information pertaining to theoretical codes
was copied from each original interview document and pasted into the new thematic
document. Copying to a new screen and changing the font allowed me to see the relevant
information of every individual in relation to the similar theoretical codes of the other
participants. This system provided me with a variation on Glaser’s (1967; 2005)
prescription of physically cutting each theoretical code from each analytic summary and
separating them into different envelopes. It also allowed me the freedom to remain open
to the emergence of theoretical codes without trying to force the development of non-
preconceived theoretical codes.
28
Once the sorting process was complete I proceeded to do memo writing as
suggested by Glaser (2005) and Glaser & Strauss (1967). This is a process whereby I
wrote about the individual thematic constructs that emerged from examining my
organization of the thematic codes. In so doing I was able to expand and flesh out the
detail of the various themes in an introspective fashion by integrating the data from the
accounts of each research participant. This process allowed me to reflect on the emergent
data and interpret it to develop generalizations.
Once I had undergone this overall analytic process I felt confident to begin the
writing and reporting phase of the research. The final outcome of this overall analytic
process is presented in Chapters IV, V, VI, and VII.
REASONS FOR SELECTING THE COMBINATION OF LAWYERS AND TEACHERS
The choice to sample lawyers and educators, as opposed to other types of client-
based professionals1, stems from a desire to examine two very different and contrasting
professions. In general, when comparing education and law, it is evident that the style,
procedures, time spent working, potential income, and client relationships differ in many
ways. In addition, the prestige levels of these two professions are different: law is seen as
a highly prestigious profession while education is perceived as “semi-professional with
relatively low social prestige and income” (Addi-Raccah, 2005: 379). Examining two
different professions will provide an initial assessment of whether the issues, motivating
1 Client-centered professionals provide a service and/or interact with individuals (such as in the fields of law, teaching, and medicine), as opposed to public-centered professionals who provide a service for the masses (such as professional athletes, musicians, or artists). See Stebbins, 1992: 22 for greater detail.
29
factors, and adaptive processes experienced by client-centered professionals are similar
or different.
Rationale for Studying Lawyers
From an outside perspective, being a lawyer may seem to be the consummate
profession. Generally speaking, it is prestigious. Lawyers are thought to make high
salaries, are well respected, and are awarded a lot of responsibility. However, there is a
large amount of literature that identifies widespread problems within the profession of
law. The three main Canadian experts on the sociology of law are Jean Wallace, Fiona
Kay, and Joan Brockman. These three academics have independently studied a wide
array of topics over the last decade. Some of the issues that they have raised regarding
the legal profession and lawyers include: lack of commitment (Wallace, 1995), gender
issues (Brockman, 1994; Wallace, 2001; Kay, Masuch, & Curry, 2004), and work-life
imbalance (Brockman, 1994; Wallace, 1999). Issues such as the ones mentioned above,
and others identified by Wallace, Kay, and Brockman set the stage for identifying why
some lawyers become dissatisfied with their profession and search for a radically
different career. However, as Kay (1997: 303) states, “surprisingly little attention has
been directed toward analyses of departures from the profession or the emergence of
alternative career paths”.
Beyond this, The Alberta Law Society has recently identified an increasing trend
of lawyers exiting the legal profession. Between November 2002 and October 2003, 221
lawyers (99 men and 122 women) chose to move from active to inactive status in Alberta.
Other Canadian research has shown that lawyer exit comes at a great cost to law firms, as
the average cost of an associate’s departure is $315,000, approximately twice an
30
associate’s salary (Catalyst Canada, 2005). As a result of these issues, The Alberta Law
Society, through a pilot project2, has taken a leading role in examining the motivations
for leaving and systematically monitoring the exit of lawyers.
Although these studies are effective in identifying serious issues in the current
situation of law as well as lawyers’ desire to leave law, these projects only examine
lawyers’ desires and motivations for leaving the profession. My research will extend
these works by analyzing the alternative occupations that these individuals pursue upon
leaving law, the steps taken to become successful in a new work situation, and the new
careers that allow for a better personal fit. This study also uses two professional
comparison groups (i.e. lawyers and educators) in order to discover whether there are
issues that are specific to the fields of law or education and to consider whether
commonalities exist for professionals in general.
Rationale for Studying Educators
Educators are necessary and important members of the Canadian workforce.
These people educate future generations and act as administrators to maintain a workable
educational infrastructure. Working in the education system seems ideal: the job of
primary and secondary school teachers is to inspire and teach young people, they receive
extended vacations in the summertime while students are on summer break, their unions
are highly organized, and teachers receive excellent health and pension benefits.
Principals and vice-principals still work within the education system but have moved to
administrative roles. They are well paid and are highly involved in school culture and
2 See Cooper, M., Brockman, J., & Hoffart, I. (2004). Report on the Development and Pilot Test of an Exit Interview Protocol with Lawyers who Move from Active to Inactive Membership Status. Calgary, Alberta. The Law Society of Alberta, The Canadian Bar Association, Alberta Law Foundation.
31
daily activity. University professors are seen to have an ideal job as well: the salaries are
considerable, tenure allows for career-long job security, and the autonomy within the job
is very high. As Reilh and Lee (1996) believe, working in education is associated with
supportive and positive working conditions that allow for an amicable, supportive, and
family-like environment. Notwithstanding these benefits of being an educator,
professionals in this occupation tend to leave the profession at a higher rate than
professionals in many other occupations (Anderson, Stacey, Western, & Williams, 1983).
Many researchers have examined teacher attrition using a resources-rewards
model to better explain why teachers leave the education profession. This rational choice
framework suggests that good teachers with marketable skills leave education because
they find or are offered better occupational positions outside of the education system.
This rational choice framework hypothesizes that higher pay and promotions available
outside education are the key motivations for people to change careers. It has been
shown that although educators are well trained and highly competent in their teaching
specialties, they are paid less for their expertise than if they were employed in the private
sector. Even though the majority of American teachers (57%) hold at least a Master’s
degree, poor working conditions and low pay discourage these educators from staying in
the education system (National Education Association, 2003). This uncompetitive wage
is one of the primary explanations given in the academic literature for teacher attrition;
the attractive wage found in employment opportunities outside of the education sector
pulls educators toward alternative careers (Dolton & van der Klaauw, 1999). In addition,
it has been argued that educators also leave the profession because they are burned out;
32
they need to pursue a position outside of education that will allow them to replenish their
enthusiasm and energy and to engage in self-renewal (Oplatka, 2005).
In contrast to these studies that use a purely rational choice hypothesis, my study
is designed to discover people’s reasons for changing careers, reasons that go beyond
those of promotion and financial gain. This study will also look at the emotional and
personal reasons educators give for changing careers, the features that draw them to their
new positions as well as the outcomes of those changes.
Studying educators is a good complement to studying lawyers: they are
contrasting professions because of differences in income, level of prestige, number of
hours worked, security of employment and income, and the style of the work that is done.
There is a large body of literature that examines various types of dissatisfaction among
lawyers and another that examines teacher attrition. Still, very few sources inclusively
examine the three stages of the career transition process as this work will. These stages
are the pre-change job situation, the career change process, and the outcomes of career
change. By studying these two professions using an exploratory grounded theory
methodology, I will improve and broaden the explanatory power of this earlier research.
Moreover, this strengthens our foundation for making claims about all midlife
professionals who change careers, instead of only being able to talk about people in a
single profession who make radical career shifts.
RECRUITMENT AND DATA COLLECTION
To meet the objectives of this study, non-random purposive sampling was used to
recruit research participants. Because the people who engage in the sort of career change
33
that is of interest for this study are to some degree elusive, the implementation of a
number of recruitment strategies was necessary to gather enough research participants to
achieve the desired sample size. The various means of recruitment included:
• The distribution of a call for research participants included in the January 2006
edition of the Canadian Bar Association’s newsletter (distribution 3,500);
• An advertisement in the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association
newsletter that ran for four weeks in February and March 2006;
• Advertising bulletins posted in public areas in Calgary;
• Information about this study passed along through various personal contacts.
By using several different recruitment methods, I am confident that I achieved sufficient
variation among the research participants in this sample to allow for diversity in
situational, personal, work, and family situations.
Data was collected by means of semi-structured, one-on-one interviews.
Questions included in the interview guide (see Appendix A) revolved around four themes
found in Stebbins’ study of devotee work (2002; 2004) as well as relevant ideas from the
other works cited in the literature review. Because of the dearth of qualitative inquiry
about this topic of study, most of the questions were generated through induction and
common sense. Also, at the end of each interview, research participants were given the
opportunity to suggest questions that they thought would be valuable to ask future
participants. This process, which unfolded as the interviews were being conducted,
resulted in considerable improvement of the guide.
Each research participant was asked questions about her or his personal
experience that focused on four basic areas: the pre-shift career (i.e. law or education),
34
the transition process from her or his first career to second career, the post-shift career,
and general quality of the post-shift life. The questions asked about the pre- and post-
shift careers were the same in content. These questions focused on having participants
provide general overviews of the old and new jobs (position held, work setting,
responsibilities, amount of paperwork, hours of work, collegial scene, and relationships
with bosses and/or management), what participants enjoyed and disliked about their new
and old careers, the initial motivations for pursuing a career in law or education, and a
description of the participants’ family situations at both the pre- and post-career shift
periods. The career transition questions were initiated by asking the research participant
to tell the story of how he or she changed careers. The other transition-type questions
centered on what was involved in making a career change, income prospects, shifts in
identity, what made the participant decide to make a career change, spousal and family
support, and the pros and cons for shifting careers. Research participants were also asked
whether their priorities has changed from when they entered the first career, and whether
the research participant contemplated making a career change for an extended period
before taking action. The thematic quality of life questions wrapped up each interview.
These questions touched on whether the research participant was happier in the new
career than in the previous one, and whether family situations had changed (either
improved or deteriorated). Participants were also questioned as to whether they had more
or less leisure time in the new job situation, whether they felt that his or her goals had
been met, and whether they would continue working in the same capacity as a volunteer.
All the questions were formulated in an unrestrictive manner, giving the participants the
opportunity to freely express and elaborate their answers.
35
The interviews provided a wealth of data, as the participants often provided
detailed explanations and had many valuable insights. The interviews tended to last
between one to two hours, with the majority lasting approximately one and a half hours.
In order to capitalize on convenience and comfort, each research participant was given
the opportunity to choose their preferred interview venue. As such, I met with my
interviewees at their places of business, their homes, in coffee shops, and at a yacht club.
All but one of the interviews were tape recorded, and analytic summaries were made of
the recordings (a summary was written from notes taken during the unrecorded interview).
SAMPLE
The sample was drawn in early 2006 from Calgary, its surrounding area, and the
Greater Toronto Area3. Twenty people were selected so as to provide an adequate
sample size for developing grounded theory. In order to develop a manageable
comparative sampling frame for the scope of this research, nine former lawyers and
eleven ex-educators (five male lawyers and educators, six female educators, and four
female lawyers) located in the Calgary and Toronto areas were selected using purposive
sampling techniques4. Initially, the criteria for participation included males and females
who were between the age of 35 and 55 at the time of their career change, who had
worked as an elementary or high school teacher or principal, a university or college
professor, or a practising lawyer for approximately ten years, and who then entered paid
employment in a field other than law or education. However, it was exceedingly difficult
3 All but one of the participants was located in Calgary, Alberta and its surrounding areas. 4 Ideally the sample would have consisted of five people of each gender per profession, however because of the limitations of the sampling and recruiting techniques employed in this project, I was at the mercy of research candidates to answer my call.
36
to find female lawyers who left the practice of law who fit these criteria. Most female
lawyers who choose to pursue a different career do so on average 60 percent more
quickly than their male counterparts (Kay, 1997: 318), meaning that most female lawyers
who had left practice were ineligible to participate because they exited the profession
before working ten years. Yet, to maintain the comparative aspect of the grounded theory
approach, it is, in this study, essential to recruit female lawyers who may be compared
and contrasted with their male counterparts as well as male and female educators. As a
result, the criteria for eligibility for female lawyers were changed, such that former
female lawyers had to be 30 years of age or older and had to have practiced law for a
minimum of three years. Because the time commitment that is required before being
called to the Bar is considerable, when law school and articling are taken into
consideration, these new criteria were deemed adequate for making recruiting female
lawyers achievable while remaining in the spirit of finding female lawyers at midlife.
The sample consists of 20 middle-aged professionals5 who voluntarily left client-
centered professions in favour of pursuing a different type of career. The participants
ranged in age from 38 to their late sixties (however the people who were in their sixties
had engaged in their career changes before the age of 55). The sample is composed of
Caucasian men and women who either used to practise law or were in the education
profession. Three female participants were single at the time of the career change, the
rest of the individuals in the sample were either married or in long-term relationships.
One of the participants immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland as part of his career
change. The lawyers practised real estate law, civil litigation, and corporate law. The
5 A professional is being defined as someone with a professional designation whose training has required obtaining a second degree above a university undergraduate degree.
37
educators were either primary or secondary school teachers or principals, and one former
university English professor was included in the study. Not surprisingly, there was a
diversity of new career paths that people followed. The new careers of the lawyers
included: three Executive Directors of not-for-profit organizations, a Chief Executive
Officer of a public company, a Chairman of a large governmental regulatory board, a
wealth management advisor, a university professor, and a professional guitar player, and
an entrepreneur. The new careers of the educators included: a lawyer who practises
family law, a physiotherapist, a Chief Executive Officer of a major non-profit
organization, a lobbyist, a couple who left teaching to become hog farmers, a
‘professional’ student6, a dog groomer, an entrepreneur, an expert on Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome, and a motivational magician.
Table 1: Demographic Portrait
Ma Female
Number of Edu 5 6
Number of Law 5 4
Mean Age of Respondents in Years 60.75 51.30
Percentage Married at the Time of Career Change
100% 70%
Percentage with Children at the Time of ge
100% 80%
Mean Length of Stay in First Career in Years
16.90 15.11
le
cators
yers
Career Chan
6 This former educator sees herself as a professional student because she intends to continue taking post-secondary education until she dies. She is paid by the university as a graduate student, and sees her education as an end in itself as opposed to a means to another occupational end.
38
Table 2: New Careers After Career Change
Male Female
New Career of Educators • Lawyer • Physiotherapist • Hog farmer • Entrepreneur • Motivational magician
• Chief Executive Officer of Not-for-Profit Organization
• Lobbyist • Hog farmer • ‘Professional’ student • Dog groomer • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
expert
New Career of Lawyers • Executive Director of Not-for-Profit Organization (2)
• Professional Guitar Musician
• Governmental Regulatory Board Chairman
• Chief Executive Officer of a Public Logistics Company
• Executive Director of Not-for-Profit Organization
• University Law Professor • Wealth Management
Advisor • Entrepreneur
METHODOLOGICAL CONCERNS
As with any qualitative exploratory research, the representativeness of this sample
must be considered. In an attempt to develop a comprehensive set of theoretical
constructs, the sample size of 20 people was deemed to be large enough so that additional
cases would be unlikely to produce any additional themes or alter the emerging
hypotheses (Rubin & Rubin, 2005). Stebbins (2001) writes:
Proof, to the extent it is possible in exploration, and validity rest on the number of times a regularity of thought or behaviour is observed in talk or action, which must be often enough to seem general to all or to a main segment of the people in the group, process, or activity being examined.
As such, I believe that the recruitment of 20 research participants was sufficient to be
representative, generate relevant data, and empirically ground the emergent hypotheses to
be able to generalize about this topic. This sample size also allowed me to interview an
adequate number of men and women (five male lawyers and educators, and five female
39
lawyers and educator nces, as well as the
motives and potential triggers for changing careers, are different between the sexes.
It must be noted that, although I used a variety of sampling a
techniques, when conducting this type of study there is always the risk that the sample
will not be representative. Although all peopl ple ar d
some of the participants in this study e similar post-career change occupations,
this is unfortunately one of the limitations of having to use a samplin
allowed me to study the target population. The sampling technique mos
this relatively l population was pu nd non-random (Stebbins, 2001). Thus,
as mentioned, I utilized a number of egies. For example, th for
recruiting research participants us canvassed form
educators in as broad and diverse a fas ssible. As many candid
were solicited through diverse commu ms, involving two different and
contrasting professional groups. Sti e call had been put out for research
participants, the sample was at the mercy of people answering that call. Although this is
ain goal of this study, and of grounded
theory
his sample, the individual
experie
theory.
s) in order to explore whether the experie
nd recruitment
e included in the sam e Caucasian, an
nded up in
g technique that
t appropriate for
smal rposive a
recruitment strat e methods
ed in this study
hion as po
er lawyers and
ates as possible
nication mechanis
ll, once th
an issue worth addressing in this section, the m
generally, is to develop theoretical constructs that emerge from collected data that
will provide a foundation for concatenating future, related, exploratory studies. Although
representativeness and generalizability are important to address, these methodological
concerns are still not as serious in exploration as they are in other more confirmatory-type
approaches. Even if there is a lack of diversity among t
nces of the people interviewed still provide useful data for generating grounded
40
DATA INTERPRETATION
There are many ways in which the data amassed for this project can be interpreted.
The overall methodological approach which is chosen dictates how the data is filtered
and reported. Some may ask why this type of grounded theory was chosen over other
methodologies. These other methods could have provided a different lens from which to
analyze the data and be more suited to reporting phenomena in a time-sensitive manner.
It has been suggested that a narrative7 method (or other frameworks that examine
that within a social constructionist perspective) would have been better methodologies to
employ in this study. In using other methods such as narrative, it would have allowed for
the integration of the life course paradigm in order to better explain the process of career
change as a fluid trajectory8. In addition, using a methodology such as narrative would
have allowed for the development of a greater understanding of how the individual
constructed their own reality in terms of how they interpreted their career change. The
rationale for choosing to employ grounded theory as outlined first by Glaser & Strauss
(1967), then by Glaser (1992) and Stebbins (2001) as opposed to a narrative-type
approach stems primarily from a discussion previously identified in this work regarding
the necessity to take a broad inductive, exploratory examination of a given phenomenon
when previous academic understanding is outdated or contradictory9. As this is an
inductive study to develop a preliminary understanding of career change, the primary
Narrative analysis is an individual-based methodology that focuses on the social construction of people
understanding of reality. As reported by Reissman (2002), “The purpose [of narrative] is to see how
their lives. The methodological approach examines the informant’s story and analyzes how it is put together, the linguistic and cultural resources it draws on, and how it persuades a listener of authenticity” (218).
7
respondents in interviews impose order on the flow of experience to make sense of events and actions in
present, and future. 9 See Page 25.
8 Life course looks at how people’s individual stories are shaped by their interpretation of their past,
41
objective was to survey the phenomenon so that future research has a point from which to
develop hypotheses and theoretical frameworks. The narrative methodology examines
the stories of individuals within a given social phenomenon, where the construction of
those stories of individuals is what is of interest ontologically; those stories are a way of
idual. The individual and their construction of their
would have pursued the same goals as a narrative approach. Charmaz’s (2006) version of
p
at
s.
tapping into the identities of the indiv
reality is of concern in narrative-type methodologies. The grounded theory approach as
prescribed by Glaser and Strauss (1967), Glaser (2005), and Stebbins (2001) are
concerned with the social phenomenon itself. The ontology of this type of grounded
theory is the consensus of the accounts of individuals, thereby developing generalizations
that can be taken to a broader positivist level than simply talking about the experiences of
individuals. In this study I am not interested in how individuals came to understand their
personal realities. In using a narrative-type approach, the research questions of this study
would have changed, where the construction of the experience of each individual would
have been the priority, not the discovery of broader substantive theoretical constructs.
Further, using a narrative-type methodology would not have been useful in this case
because it would have given greater voice and embodied the individuals within this study
instead of using a methodology (like grounded theory) which allows for the examination
of phenomena in general instead of examining the story of each research participant.
There is another type of grounded theory that has been introduced recently that
grounded theory posits that grounded theory must discard its positivist roots and pick u
a more reflexive and constructionist epistemology. Because these methodologies look
the social construction of reality, they try to interpret the interpretations of individual
42
This style of grounded theory (and the narrative methodology) attempt to understand how
people perceive their social realities and construct understanding of social phenomena.
These methodologies are highly effective frameworks from which to examine the types
of questions that ask about the individual construction of reality, however when we
generalize about social phenomena, which is the primary goal of this project, we get
away from examining individual accounts.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this chapter was to provide an overview of the methodology being
used in this study. This chapter focused on discussing the rationale for studying lawyers
and educators, the recruitment strategies employed, a brief description of the sample, and
the methodological concerns regarding this study in particular. Overall, the grounded
theory methodology was described in terms of how it is used in this project. This method
focuses on exploring a given topic in order to develop a general understanding of the
issues at play within the phenomenon of midlife career change.
The following chapter will provide a historical-theoretical context which situates
this project within the broader sociological realm. It discusses a variety of different
theoretical paradigms in order to ground this chapter within existing theory.
43
CHAPTER III
HISTORICAL-THEORETICAL CONTEXT
Although little academic attention has been given to the reasons that drive people
to change careers in their mid thirties to mid fifties, there are still several well-established
s that are useful for understanding particular aspects of this kind of
ork will truly add to the
theoretical paradigm
career change. Grounded theory may develop from within emergent empirical data, but it
is important to find where this theory fits within the overarching sociological world. In
order to situate one’s research in the academic domain, past literature and established
theories are used in order to acquire an awareness of where one’s research fits within the
field of sociology. As Stebbins (2001) explains: “exhaustive literature reviews are
wholly justified [in exploratory studies] as background for… empirical or theoretical
examinations of particular areas of research… so that proposed w
corpus of writings” (42). With grounded theory it is acceptable and important to have a
sense of the past relevant literature and theories, as long as exploratory research carves
44
out a unique niche that either builds on the existing substantive area of study or develops
a framework to explain phenomena that have not been previously examined.
The goal of this chapter is to identify where this project intersects and fits within
established theory. This chapter is intended to give the reader an awareness of some
different theoretical paradigms that are applicable to this project in order to contextualize
it within the broader sociological discipline. Although the theories included in this
chapter are but a sample of the ones that are relevant to this career change phenomenon,
they do provide a broad basis from which to understand the different factors that are at
play in the lives of career changers. As well, these sociological paradigms provide a
place from which to theoretically branch off for future studies.
The theoretical provenance of this project does not fit within a single discipline;
instead it intersects several different sociological paradigms. It is important to provide an
awareness of other theoretical perspectives to frame this specific project because this
endeavour synthesizes themes such as professionals and work, aging, devotion, family,
and personal fulfillment. In order to provide a foundation from which to understand how
this project intersects broader sociological themes, a discussion will be provided of
Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1996 [1902]), Stebbins’ theory of
occupational devotion, the life course perspective, and Taylor’s Malaise of Modernity
(1991).
WEBER’S PROTESTANT ETHIC
Stebbins (2004) raises the issue of how Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism (1996 [1902]) is an integral part of understanding a devoted person’s
45
motivation to work. The core of the Protestant Ethic is concerned with the drive of
individuals who commit themselves to their work above everything else. In essence,
Weber’s essay discusses what motivates these people to work. The historical core of this
theory is derived from the Protestant Puritan rationale, whereby a commitment to one’s
business through a divine calling is religious salvation. The ideas of
the day and the way that work was conducted were forever changed by the Protestant
introduction of religious asceticism; changing ideas and values shaped the world’s
material production process. At the core of this ethos are three personal paradigms
(Stebbins, 2004: d to their work
and committed to working hard. The second is value: a person values his or her time and
successes at work more than non-work or leisure activities. The third aspect is belief:
through hard work people hope to prove their self-worth and faith that they are among
God’s chosen. Although the sense of religiosity has disappeared from the modern
capitalist work ethic in favour of a secularized version, several basic principles of the
Protestant Ethic remain: success through hard work, the desire to achieve occupational
success, self-enrichment, and personal fulfillment from occupational success.
precursor to occupational devotion, for the reason people are fulfilled by the work they
believed to produce
25). The first is attitude, where a person should be devote
The Calling
Weber’s argument hinges on the notion of “the calling”. Martin Luther was the
first to propagate this “sense of life-task, a definite field in which to work” (Weber, 1996
[1902]: 79). He preached that every person had a calling that was set forth by the grace
of God. To live a good life in God’s eyes was to follow the position in which one has
been placed in society and to work hard at the job that has been set forth. The calling is a
46
do is because they are good at it, they enjoy it, and they cannot envision themselves doing
a different type of work. In addition, Weber writes that “[t]he differentiation of men into
classes
cus of attention and care
shift to
at a given time.
Asceticism
One of the main themes that emerges from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism (1996 [1902]) is the development of an ascetic lifestyle that comes with being
a successful Protestant. Everything involved in the Protestant system was built on
and occupations established through historical development became for
Luther…a direct result of the divine will…God had assigned [each person] a religious
duty” (Weber, 1996 [1902]: 160). Still, this exhortation proves to be incongruent with
the group of people that I am examining because they abandon their professions and work
situations in order to pursue a new and unrelated occupational endeavour (in other words,
rejecting their callings and following a new one).
Perhaps Karpiak’s (2000) notion of a second calling is of value. Karpiak posits
that during midlife, the concerns, physical health, desires, and fo
ward other interests and/or skills than were previously being employed. Instead of
Weber’s belief that people should follow the career in which they are placed for their
entire working lives, perhaps people are able to have multiple callings throughout their
careers if they are interested, excited, proactive, and devoted to whatever occupational
situation they may be passionate about at that time along the life course. If we shift our
understanding of the calling from a lifelong vocational situation to a state of passion and
excitement for one’s work situation that is accompanied by a strong work ethic, we can
acknowledge that perhaps the calling is able to be whatever occupation that a person feels
devoted to
47
efficiency, rationality, and utility. To be a faithful Protestant meant to be devoted to
one’s calling and always be working. Even the wealthy must work because it is God’s
will that everyone be busy and productive in order to be faithful to their calling.
Overall, what emerged from the Protestant Ethic was an idealized image of the
modern businessman (Weber did not discuss women in this essay). The modern
businessman, at least ideally, has a conscience that is impeccable since he maintains a
strong moral conduct and makes his wealth by conscionable means. He follows his
calling. He works hard, is passionate about his work, and derives personal fulfillment
and self-enrichment from his labours. The modern devotee businessman is motivated
first by success in itself and then by the extrinsic fruits of his labour. The core, however,
is based on devotion, working to the best of one’s abilities, and recognizing occupational
successes as a core part of one’s identity over leisure activities or material comforts.
This vocational doctrine described by Weber provides a historical background for
how the modern work ethic has emerged in the capitalist system. The doctrine of work as
prescribed through the Protestant religion shaped the way that people went about doing
business where hard work, thrift, and dedication to one’s occupation were paramount.
This theoretical perspective allows us to situate the career change phenomenon
STEBBINS’ THEORY OF OCCUPATIONAL DEVOTION
historically.
Stebbins (2004) provides a theoretical discussion of occupational devotion. This
theory provides a description of the appealing nature of professional work and how
48
people take pleasure in their work because they see it as socially important, challenging,
and deeply absorbing (Stebbins, 2004). The theory of occupational devotion consists of:
a strong, positive attachment to a form of self-enhancing work, where the
with such intense appeal that the line between this work and leisure is
realize a unique combination of, what are for them, strongly seated cultural
activity (being involved in something) (2).
The occupations of devotees are generally found within four separate categories:
small business, skilled trades, counselling and c
sense of achievement is high and the core activity (set of tasks) is endowed
virtually erased… it is by way of the core activity and its tasks that devotees
values: success, achievement, freedom of action, individual personality, and
onsulting, and professions (3). The
entifies six criteria that characterize devotee occupations. He
believes that to generate occupational devotion a job must possess particular qualities.
The first criterion is that the principal work activity must require substantial skill,
knowledge, and/or experience for the job to be conducted successfully. The second
factor is that the work must offer a variety of tasks. The third quality of devotee
people who engage in these jobs generally get a great sense of fulfillment from their work.
Also, a large degree of their self-identity is derived from their work success. In fact,
occupational devotees are often people who enjoy their jobs so much that they would
continue to do the same work even in a situation where they were wealthy enough not to
work. Devotees find the central activities of their work to be attractive and rewarding to
the point where “the positive side of their occupations is so intensely appealing that it
overrides the negative side” (Stebbins, 2004: 4). Although the attractiveness of jobs may
sometimes be for extrinsic reasons (e.g. high salary, positive and fun work environments),
the occupational devotee is most passionate about the intrinsic rewards of the job (e.g.
pride of their product, sense of fulfillment and purpose).
Stebbins (2004: 9) id
49
occupations requires the work to be significantly creative or innovative in nature so that
the individual doing the job is able to express his or her personality through working. In
this situation, Stebbins argues that, in such work, boredom will only come about through
fatigue
e rise and fall of occupational devotion: beginning, development,
establishment, maintenance, and decline (87). This brief discussion talks about how the
may diminish
from m
lost interest or control in the work as “the bloom simply falls off the rose; the worker or
from working too long on the job. The fourth principle of devotee work is that
the worker must have significant control and flexibility over the timing of the work. The
fifth requirement of devotee work is that the worker must be good at the core tasks and
must enjoy the work. The final criterion for identifying devotee work is that the devotee
must work in an environment that is conducive to allowing the devotee to work without
significant disruption. Overall, if these criteria are in place, occupational devotees would
be just as happy to do their work as a leisure activity as they are to do it for monetary
compensation, and the positive aspects of the individual’s job outweigh the drawbacks
(Stebbins, 2004).
The purpose of including this theory is to show why people may be drawn to new
jobs because they see the potential of achieving an intensely enjoyable work experience
by engaging in occupational situations that hold the properties identified by Stebbins.
However, one limitation of this theory is the brevity in which Stebbins (2004) recognizes
the notion of “career”, where people engaged in an occupation pass through five different
stages in th
rewards that were present during the early years of a devotee occupation
aintaining a job that does not evolve or change with the increasing experience and
expanding interests of the worker. Stebbins describes the period when the devotee has
50
the leisure participant runs the course of the activity, getting out of it all that he believes
is available for him” (88). Although Stebbins addresses the temporal issue of the rise and
fall of is
based o st
in the c ce
excitin ne. This theory does not look at how
age is
devotion within an occupation, he does so only briefly. As such, this theory
n an individualized, inward-looking framework where the individual loses intere
ore activity or has acquired skills, experience, and knowledge that make the on
g and enjoyable core activities now munda
connected with the rise and fall of occupational devotion, and those who use this
theory for research may benefit from using it in conjunction with a time-sensitive
process-based theory such as the life course perspective.
THE LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVE
The third theoretical approached identified in this chapter is the life course
perspective. Generally considered to be the dominant perspective in social gerontology
at present (Chappell et al., 2003), Elder’s (1985; 1994; 2000) life course perspective
provides a framework for understanding the interconnectedness of the social structures,
historical events, and the decisions that individuals make as they navigate through life.
The common trajectories of education, work, and family evolve and progress for every
individual and group as they navigate through society (Elder, 1998: 1). This framework
acts both as an individual-based analytic structure as well as a way of better
understanding the progression of people’s lives within the context of history and society.
As stated by McPherson (2004), “[o]ur place in historical time, our culture, and our social
structure present different barriers, opportunities, and challenges along the life course”
(10).
51
It was once believed that the life course was made up of a linear progression of
sequences that made up a clearly defined trajectory or path along which people’s lives
progressed. It was thought that assumptions could be made about the age of a person and
the stage of life at which he or she should be. In this original life course view, people
were thought to follow the same path through life as others their age. A variation on the
life course perspective has come into play in recent years. Instead of viewing life as a
linear progression, this framework views life much like the growth of a tree, where
people branch off in different directions as they make different choices and follow
different paths. In order to better explain the life course perspective, Elder and Johnson
(2003) have developed five tenets for defining the life course. The first posits that human
development and growth are life-long processes. This means that the decisions,
experiences, transitions, and events undergone in early life have an effect on the
experiences and opportunities later in one’s life. For example, if a young woman gives
birth in her teenage years, this event will have an impact on the unfolding of her future.
Because of her responsibilities of motherhood at an early age, she may not have as many
opportunities to achieve a high level of education, which will have an impact on the types
of jobs available to her. However, having a child at a young age will also mean that the
grown child will be an adult when the mother is in her late thirties or early forties,
providing the parent with freedom from children in the home long before she is of
retirement age. The second tenet of the life course perspective is based on the
predominance of human agency in shaping an individual’s personal life course. People
are the masters of their own destinies depending on how they choose to navigate the
opportunities and constraints of their social and personal situations. The third principle is
52
that the life course of individuals is unique to age cohorts because the lives of generations
are shaped by the historical time and place in which they live. For instance, the life
courses of people are affected by things such as wars, economic depressions or prosperity,
or serious political upheaval. The fourth assumption of this framework states that people
who are at different stages along the life course are affected differently by shared
historical events. The choices made and directions taken by individuals are different
depending on a person’s stage of life. Elder (1998: 3) describes this effect as “linked
fates”, where historical events and individual experiences are connected through the
family as well as among people who are in similar situations. For instance, during World
War II many young men were sent to fight in Europe while their school age siblings
ere not of eligible age to enlist, they did
h. As such, people are able exercise human agency to make choices regarding the
stayed in school. Because the younger children w
not have to fight in the war, which thereby differentially affected these age cohorts. The
fifth and final tenet of the life course perspective focuses on how lives are not lived in
isolation; lives are lived interdependently between individuals, families, and friends. Our
actions are not made without thinking of others. Instead, our actions are determined by,
and in turn influence, the actions of those with whom we interact on a regular basis. For
instance, getting a promotion can mean a better life for one’s family, while if one of the
adults in a family loses their job then there may be adverse effects on the entire family
unit.
As can be seen, the life course perspective is based on a dialogic relationship
where an individual’s decisions are influenced by outside structures and historical
situations, while those decisions also have an impact on the trajectory of the individual’s
life-pat
53
paths they wish to follow. However, these choices are not made in isolation from outside
factors. All life choices are conditional on the opportunities and limitations of the social
structure and culture with which the individual is engaged. This viewpoint looks at
human life as a process whereby the chronology of life brings about different stages that
enable different desires, opportunities, family situations, and motivations. Models that
use this perspective generally focus on the interaction and interconnectedness of the life-
spheres of work, leisure, and family as they change over the life course. This perspective
also highlights the common relationship and impact that macro-level historical events
(e.g. wars, economic depressions) have on individuals within similar cohorts. It is
important to include this paradigm because it shows how life is a temporal-historical
process where the desires, motivations, and paths chosen by individuals are often similar
depending on the age cohort being examined. By including this framework as a reference
point, we are able to consider mid-lifers as a distinct cohort.
CHARLES TAYLOR’S MALAISE OF MODERNITY
The final theoretical foundation identified within this chapter comes from The
Malaise of Modernity by Charles Taylor. Taylor also offers a relevant theoretical
framework from which to build this study. In The Malaise of Modernity (1991), Taylor
articulates that each person has an idea of what it means to achieve personal fulfillment.
In what Taylor calls “authenticity”, he says that “the notion that each one of us has an
original way of being human entails that each of us has to discover what it is to be
ourselves” (61). As such, individuals attain self-authenticity by keeping their behaviours
54
and actions consistent with their personal values over and above socially- or culturally-
imposed factors.
Taylor tells us that “authenticity is itself an idea of freedom; it involves finding
the design of my life myself, against the demands of external conformity” (68). Each
person has his or her own conception of what an ideal lifestyle comprises, and as such,
every individual has the right to choose how to live his or her life. For some, that may
involve immersing themselves in family life. For others, it may mean dedicating
themselves to career advancement. Overall, it is about making life changes depending on
people’s values and desires.
Taylor offers a positive insight into the process in which individuals choose what
it is that they want from life within the constraint of societal structures. In this work,
Taylor also articulates the concept of self-fulfillment and how this concept has an original
definition for every person. Following this, self-fulfillment is done through unique
strategies that bring people to their individual ideas of personal happiness. In essence,
this work is about the personal discovery of self-truth and the achievement of personal
harmony. This work is important for this project because it discusses how each person’s
idea of fulfillment and a good life are individual in nature, meaning that each person must
discover which occupational situation will make her or him happier and more fulfilled.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the discussion of these four theoretical perspectives offers a basis
from which to contextualize this project within the broader world of sociology. Each
theory is useful for addressing different types of questions, and the different paradigms
55
bring their own strengths to this project while complementing the others. Stebbins’
theory of occupational devotion and Taylor’s Malaise of Modernity both discuss the
search for personal fulfillment. However, Stebbins looks at how work affects the
individual, while Taylor discusses the internal motivations for people searching for their
own holistic sense of fulfillment. Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
provides historical background to the theory of occupational devotion. The life course
perspective gives us a temporal process-based link to the progression of people’s lives as
they age within society, while also providing a link between the aging individual, his or
her working life, and the family.
Because this is induction-based research, these theories are not identified in order
to test their relevance to the topic of professional midlife career change. Instead, in
conjunction with the thematic literature review in Chapter I, this chapter is useful for
getting a preliminary assessment of this topic in its broadest scope. The discussion here
situates the topic of career change within existing theories and gives it a historical context.
ork, the life course,
the call
Career change has been neglected, and so has its intersection with w
ing, and devotion. The following chapters will report and discuss the findings that
have been generated from the interviews conducted with individuals who have undergone
a successful midlife career change. The results will touch on the theoretical and
substantive themes reported up to this point and will also provide a thematic and
generalizable understanding of the midlife career change phenomenon of former
professionals.
56
CHAPTER IV
THE FIRST CAREER
Entering into a person’s first career is often a time of serious transition. In many
respects, the first career is a major milestone where years of education and preparation
are finally put into practice as people venture out into the working world. This period is
full of new experiences and new people, as it represents a new stage in a person’s life.
For many, the first career is often a time where people become more mature and adult-
minded as they take on new occupational ventures. This time is also a period of shifting
from being a student to a full-time worker. As will be discussed, some people have clear
and direct paths on which they pursue their occupational dreams, while others end up in
jobs through a more organic and serendipitous process. Whatever the starting career,
master new skills as they become experienced within their field.
The go
people are challenged to
al of this chapter is to provide a thematic description of the pre-career change
situations of the participants in this study. This will include an analysis of the
57
motivations for pursuing law or education, the likes and dislikes of the jobs in which they
were engaged, and their family and/or personal situations at this time.
MOTIVATIONS FOR PURSUING LAW OR EDUCATION
Nearly all of the participants in this study entered into their first career directly
after graduating from university. Most of them went straight through their education
from high school, to their undergraduate degrees, and finally their professional degrees.
As a result, most participants were in their late twenties to early thirties when they started
their first careers. In terms of motivations, some respondents could pinpoint the age at
which
not mutually exclusive. Instead, these groupings are to be seen as the
primary motivations that set lawyers and teachers on their initial career paths.
they decided that they wanted to follow a specific career path while others just
thought it was a good idea at the time. Although people’s specific stories vary to some
degree, there were four general motivational rationales that were identified in this study
for pursuing either education or law.
Similarity existed between the lawyers and teachers as to their reasons for
pursuing law or education; the motivations were generally the same for both. As a result,
the following sections will describe the motivations for entering a profession on a general
thematic basis, and will differentiate between educators and lawyers only when there are
distinct differences between the occupational groups. There was enough similarity that
categories could be made to classify the overall sample. It must be noted that, although
each of these people have been classified into different motivational categories, these
typologies are
58
Unclear Direction and One-Shot Guidance
One group of interviewees fell at one extreme of the motivational continuum for
choosing a career path. Four of the respondents reported that they became lawyers or
teachers not because of a personal calling to the discipline, but more because it seemed
like a good idea at that point in the eople there was no question as to
whether they would go to university, but more a matter of having to choose which post-
secondary program and career direction to pursue.
For this group circumstance sometimes played a role in their decisions to get
professional training. One fem she ended up at law school.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Alberta, this woman
thought that she would pursue a Master’s of Business Administration. When she
approached the University of Alberta administration to apply, she was told about a new
combined MBA/Law program. She was told that she would have to write a Law School
Admission Test (LSAT) before being admitted, and she replied that she had written one a
few years previous. She had played goalie on the university’s law school women’s
hockey team, and some of her friends on the team had bet her to write the LSAT test.
She wrote the test without studying and never found out what she scored. The university
had her record on file, and told her that she had scored high enough to be accepted into
the MBA/Law program. Everything fell into place and she enrolled in the new program.
This woman’s story illustrates how people sometimes end up following their career paths
as a result of a series of serendipitous circumstances.
Other participants had much simpler stories for how they were led to teaching and
law. For many, their decisions to pursue their professions were based on the influence of
ir lives. For these p
ale ex-lawyer described how
59
others. For example, one man who used to be a teacher explained that he could not
decide, just out of high school, what he wanted to do as a career. His mother said that he
would be a good teacher, and as a result he went into education. This scenario was fairly
tremendous
influen
id not know anyone who was a lawyer and did not
really k
ugh he had
no prior ambition to become a practising lawyer.
common among many of the respondents. Discussions with parents had a
ce on the decisions made by the respondents with respect to their future careers.
In general, input from others, whether it was from parents, friends, partners
(boyfriends/girlfriends/husbands/wives), or guidance counsellors, was enormously
influential in helping people make their future career choices at the post-secondary
educational junction. Five people in this study fell into this category. In fact, the
influence of others was so strong in helping guide these future teachers and lawyers that
one former male lawyer decided to go to law school even though he said that he never
really had a burning desire to be a lawyer. In retrospect, he called his rationale for going
to law school “silly”. He said that he d
now what being a lawyer was about. After graduating from university with his
undergraduate degree he took a job selling Xerox photocopiers. He quickly realized that
he did not want to do that for the rest of his life, so he started thinking about what else he
could do. His primary reason for pursuing law was that his friend was at the University
of Toronto law school and thought it was great. From hearing about his friend’s
experience he decided to go back to study law because his friend said it was good, the
respondent liked school, and he thought “it’d be cool”. He reported that he did not think
the decision through, but went through law school because it was easy. The influence of
the young man’s friend was persuasive enough for him to follow law even tho
60
Another woman who is now a professor of law said that she did not always want
to be a
anted to pursue initially. However,
they en
its. In essence, these people
described looking at the profe
guidance and discussion from others, this process was more introspective than the direct
lawyer; she went to law school because she did not know what else to do. When
she finished her arts degree she contemplated what to do next. Although she was
discouraged by her family from going into law (her father wanted her to become an
accountant), her partner at the time suggested that law would be a good fit. She took his
advice and ended up getting both her LLB and her Master’s degree in law.
These people were unsure of what field they w
ded up entering post-graduate education partly because of brief conversations with
others and/or through a bit of serendipity. These conversations were singular talks (or a
small number of discussions) as opposed to sustained discussion, guidance, and
mentoring over an extended period of time. Whether it was because other people advised
that these were good professions to pursue or circumstance played a role, these people
entered careers in law and education.
Rational Choice Decision Process
For ten of the respondents there was a substantial rational decision-making
process that preceded the decision to go to law school or teacher’s college. This strategy
falls in the middle of the motivational continuum between having a clear career direction
in mind and having an unclear path. The rational decision-making process involves an
introspective examination of the compatibility between the components of the potential
job and the person’s skills, values, and character tra
ssions of law and education and asking themselves whether
they thought they would be good at the job. Although this process did involve some
61
process of always knowing what they wanted to do. The people in this category are
different from those in the other motivational groups because they were able to work
through the myriad of occupational choices without being seriously influenced by others.
In addition, the people in this category did not make their career decisions as impulsively
as those in the Unclear Directions and One-Shot Guidance category.
The primary elements that shaped these people’s decisions to follow these career
paths included whether they thought they would be good at the job, whether the job
seemed like it would be a good intellectual and personal fit, and (for the educators)
whether they liked school and children. Although these were not the only reasons why
people chose their professions, they were the primary considerations for the people in this
category who decided to go into education as well as those who pursued law.
Many of these respondents provided descriptions of the decision-making process
that they went through. One former lawyer discussed how he felt his skills would make
him good at being a lawyer:
I thought it would make use of stuff that I was already good at. I could tell from
could read well, fast, and accurately. I could speak well. I was also interested
that those things would be useful in law…I was always a good student in school,
This man reported that he felt he was correct in assuming that his skills would be helpful
in achieving his success in the practice of law. The story reported by this man is a good
example of the thought process that the rational decision makers used when
contemplating entering different professions. Another man who became a university
English professor knew that, once he had found his passion for English in university, his
high school and university that I always had good English language facility: I
and good at history and the social sciences, not math or science. I had the feeling
and so this was a perception that there was something that I could do.
capacity for language and the intellectual and cultural fit of the university atmosphere
62
made h
d taken some
classes
ing with children was important to the educators in
making their career decisions (although many lawyers discussed how enjoying school
and law in general). One woman who became
im feel that he wanted to be a professor. As a result, he knew that the university
was where he wanted to be for his future career. He said that after his first year in
university he realized that the only class he enjoyed was the English class he was forced
to take. After that, he decided to go into the English program, and the only question he
was asking himself was what he was going to do with his degree upon completion. He
thought teaching sounded good, but at what level he was not sure. He ha
in the summer, so he was ahead of the other students. The administration let him
take a graduate class. He loved it. He just adored it. He said, “What the heck, I’ll stick
around for another year.” And he continued to love it. His Master’s year was a super
year, so he decided to stick around for his PhD. He felt that he had found his place; he
described himself as a university brat because he felt that was where he belonged given
the emotional, cultural, and intellectual fit he found in the university setting.
Liking school and enjoying be
was a factor in pursuing further education
a teacher said that one of her primary motivations for going into education was that she
really liked being in school: she liked to learn, liked to “infect others” with her
enthusiasm for learning. Another former educator said that he enjoyed school and also
had a flair for it and did very well. Overall, the positive experiences and exposure to
children, as well as enjoying being in school, were very important factors for the
respondents as they decided to go on to their future careers.
The various factors presented in this section were important to the research
participants in terms of negotiating what career fields they wanted to pursue. They were
63
important for them when considering the different things that they enjoyed about their
previous experiences as well as how they felt their skills and personality would fit within
their future vocations. These people were using a wide variety of information about
themselves as derived from their experiences and personal self-perceptions in order to
gauge what future career would be a good personal, intellectual, and environmental fit.
This r
discussed the im
r role models and wanted to either make a similar impact
on others, or wanted to em
charact
career chers were
ational decision-making process worked for most of the interviewees who
employed it.
The Influence of Role Modeling and Mentoring
Another key component for understanding people’s motivations for pursuing their
careers is the longer term guidance of role models and mentors. Many of the respondents
portance of role models in helping them decide who they wanted to
become and what careers they wanted to pursue. The research participants who fell in
this category looked up to thei
ulate them because of their desirable qualities and
eristics.
For many respondents, these guides were important in helping them choose their
paths. Three former teachers described how their high school tea
influential in making the choice to become educators. One former school teacher said
that he developed a fascination for modern history that was fostered by his “excellent”
teacher. Another former teacher said that he saw the difference that his role-model-
teachers made in his life, and thought that by becoming a teacher he could pass on that
gift to the next generation of students. This hope of making a positive impact on future
64
generations in the way that their role models had was a strong sentiment held by the
former educators.
Passive family influence also played a huge role in many of the participants’
career choices. Passive familial influence is different from the direct conversations
between parents and children (as was discussed in the previous section) because it is
about family influence as a more indirect, constant, effect that parents’ views had on their
children’s choices. One former lawyer turned professional guitar player said that his
father always hoped that he would become a lawyer. His father was a mechanic by trade,
but had always been interested in the law. While growing up, he and his father would
have discussions about politics. These discussions and his father’s interest in law were
instrumental in directing him toward this profession. Another former teacher reported
that because she did well in school, it was assumed by her family that she would go to
univers
Always Wanted To Be a Law
were clear. Three men: two former lawyers and one former educator, described that they
ity, and this was during an era when it was assumed that she would become a
teacher. She was the first person in her entire extended family that went to university.
This accomplishment was a source of great pride for her parents and her family.
As reported by the research participants, families, role models, and/or mentors
have a dramatic impact on the choices that these people made when they were young.
When the research participants were young they looked to others for guidance and
direction for their own career choices. In addition, the initial occupations that these
people chose were partly through discussing with others the possibilities open to them.
yer/Educator
Finally, for some people in this study, their career paths and occupational goals
65
had wanted to pursue law or education since their mid-teens. One former lawyer said that
he wanted to be a lawyer since he was in the seventh grade, although he could not
remember his rationale for wanting to pursue the discipline. The other two men knew
they wanted to pursue their future careers because of the influence that they could make
on the groups that they would be serving. The former teacher worked as a leader and
Sports Director at summer camps in Northern Ontario when he was young. The jobs
involved working with kids and being a positive role model for them. He always knew
he was good with kids and felt that children felt comfortable with him, trusted him, and
e, pursuing teaching was a natural
enjoyed being around him. As he saw that at the tim
and logical progression. The third man said that becoming a lawyer was something that
he had always wanted to do. The most appealing part of this role was the opportunity to
become an advocate for people. He did not go into law because of the opportunity for
serious financial gain. He was idealistic in his choice. Although he admits that he may
have been naïve because of the nature of the business of law (in terms of billable hours
and having to make money), he still maintains that he had always wanted to be an
advocate for people.
As a group, these men fall at one extreme of the motivational continuum for the
rationale and certainty for pursuing their first careers. All three of these men were happy
they had achieved their occupational goals. They felt fulfilled when they entered their
first careers because they enjoyed most aspects of their work and felt that their vocational
choices were a good fit overall. They remained in their first professions for several years
and felt that their careers were successful ones. One interesting observation is that for
two of the three men who knew that they wanted to become a teacher or lawyer from an
66
early age, they could not remember the reasoning behind following that path. Although
some could not remember why they wanted to become lawyers or educators, these people
fulfilled their adolescent career aspirations and felt that they had achieved success.
Whatever the motivations and/or strategies for deciding to pursue their original
careers, most people were able to discuss the rationales and decision-making processes
that were employed in making that choice. Some strategies were more impulsive and
employed the counsel and guidance from outside people. Others used a more logical
process to decide what future career would be a good personal fit. In sum, most people
gave serious thought to the decision of what career to follow; however the strategies,
rationale, and amount of outside guidance varied.
CONSTRAINTS FOR WOMEN
Many people included in this study were entering university and choosing their
professions in the 1960s and 1970s. According to the research participants, universities
were being built at an astounding rate and jobs were readily available. As one former
educato
However, many of the female former educators described situations where they felt
ngs of limitation were
instrum
r described:
[It was] a time when opportunities to go to university were becoming very open. There was a paradigm shift where that was becoming an expectation: if you did well in school then you should go to university. There were lots of opportunities… It was also a time when new universities were opening everywhere and scholarships were being made available and universities were competing for good students.
limited in regard to the professions they could pursue. These feeli
ental in streaming many women into education.
67
The first limitation that these women felt was how they were encouraged to
pursue careers in stereotypically female-dominated professions including: education,
nursing, and secretarial work. This sentiment was echoed by women educators who were
in their mid-50s more than the younger women in this study. As the women described,
they intended and were expected to go to university because of their academic
proficiency in high school. Although they enjoyed school, were interested in a number of
different topics of study, and felt capable of pursuing a number of careers, they felt that
as women, the only two professions that were available and acceptable for them were
nursing and teaching. One female former teacher who is now the Chief Executive
Officer of a major not-for-profit organization recalled:
It was still during an era when the expectations and aspirations for girls were
would get was along the lines of ‘you should be a nurse or a secretary or a
nurse. That was the atmosphere in high schools. I don’t remember having a
not ever – not once. I was having these conversations with teachers, the guidance
Generational gender stereotyping influenced
limited more than they are now. The kind of advice and encouragement that girls
teacher.’ In my case, I was good in school, so I was advised to be a teacher or a
conversation with anyone about how I could be a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer,
counsellor, my family. It was the environment that I grew up in and the time.
these women to become school teachers.
Although these wom
expressed this sentiment intended to live in small towns where they believed there were
en were recognized for their scholastic capabilities, they were seen
to have great potential within the realm of female dominated professions.
The second limiting factor that prompted female educators to pursue their careers
in education was partly due to the geographic location in which they were going to live
after getting their teaching degrees. Two of the female educators said that one of the
main factors for pursuing a career in education was to set themselves up for a
professional job that was available to women in rural settings. The women who
68
limited job opportunities for professional women. They wanted careers that were
challenging and where there would be a personal reward from the work. One female
former elementary school teacher, now dog groomer, explained that the only jobs she felt
were open to her were either being a nurse or teacher. She was interested in education
anyway, so she pursued that path. This sentiment was echoed among the women who
lived in rural areas.
THE LIKES AND DISLIKES OF INITIAL CAREERS
For most people, the jobs they chose to pursue were good personal fits for their
launch into the working world. There was a general consensus among most of the
research participants that they enjoyed their jobs during the first several years. Everyone
d disliked about their jobs. Even though there
were n
rs. More specifically, this section explains what people generally
disliked
The Di
t like about their jobs, there were clear divisions
the lawyers was that of having to
work all the time. One former civil litigation lawyer recalled a conversation with the
could find things that they both enjoyed an
egative aspects of their jobs, in many instances the enjoyable aspects of the job
were what kept the participants in their work situations for extended periods of time.
The following section discusses how the research participants felt once they were
engaged in their caree
and liked about their initial jobs.
slikes
In terms of what people did no
between what job characteristics were unfavourable to the lawyers and educators.
However, there was one thing that was disliked by both the lawyers and principals: the
number of hours worked. The situation as described by
69
princip
as a normal practice. However,
one for
said tha
12 to 1
T
“billable hours”. Although lawyers often make considerable salaries over their careers,
traps of law as iden
al lawyer to whom he was assigned: “I remember him telling me in the first week
or two [of my articling position]: ‘Don’t get any smart ideas about what you may find in
the labour standards act about hours of work or the requirement of lawyers to be paid
overtime.’ He said that: ‘There is a specific statutory exemption for lawyers about this,
so suck it up’”. This was generally the case for most of the lawyers; they would often
report that the long hours and dedication to the firm meant that they did not have much of
a social life. Most lawyers reported working between 50 and 90 hours per week, with
some working weekends on a regular basis and others working weekends only sometimes.
Most lawyers saw this as normal, and worked tirelessly. Everyone around them in their
firms was doing the same thing, so it seemed like that w
mer lawyer who realized relatively quickly that she was not meant to be in law
t she although she was not afraid of work, she did not see the purpose of working
4 hours a day.
he second major dislike about law for the new lawyers was the practice of
the practice of law is essentially a pay-by-the-hour business. The system of holding legal
representation is built on a billable system whereby the more billable hours charged to the
client, the more money is made by the lawyer and his or her firm. One of the structural
tified by the participants was the billable hour system because one of
the goals for the firm (and by proxy the lawyer) is to charge as many billable hours as
possible. Unfortunately, this also means that lawyers get into a cycle of working
tremendous hours in order to make quotas.
70
One former lawyer who is now the Chief Executive Officer of a large multi-
national logistics company said, “Even when you’re a partner you’re paid by the hour, so
if you want to be financially rewarded you have to work a lot of hours. At the end of the
day that’s the biggest drawback: the hours you bill”. Lawyers are required to keep time
records for the amount of hours worked, often billing to six minute intervals. One
research participant who has been both a teacher and a lawyer compared the financial
aspects of the two jobs by saying: “The difference between teaching and law is that, in
write y
the
“almig
keep a firm open. So that was the
limiting factor in terms of what I could do because I couldn’t always do things that didn’t
ey in them”. Billable hours was the most disliked aspect of the profession
teaching, someone is out there who writes a cheque every month. With law, you have to
our own cheque…You have to earn your cheque”. An aspiring lawyer’s success is
gauged primarily on billable hours. A former lawyer who is now the Executive Director
of a water research organization shared that he had a problem charging for “the big
bucks” required by the firm. He could not work in a firm where he would have to charge
by the minute and for every phone call. His belief is that the law has gone too
commercial when people have to account for all of their time in the pursuit of
hty” dollar and not being able to act for people and make a difference. He also
said, “There was a realization that you couldn’t be as idealistic in law because of the
limitations of having to make enough money to
have any mon
by lawyers, and it was because there was a tremendous amount of pressure imposed on
the lawyers for incurring as many billable hours as possible.
In a similar vein, many of the educators, and especially those who became
principals, felt that the number of hours worked was more than they wanted to put in, and
71
eventually more than they could handle. One female former elementary school teacher
and principal said that the number of hours that were required in the first few years of
teaching were tremendous. Over the first five years of teaching she spent a lot of time in
the classroom. In fact, she noted that during her first year of teaching she was being paid
less than minimum wage per hour for the amount of time she was putting in. She
believed that her situation was very common and is experienced by many first and second
year teachers. Worth noting, she said that the work became technically easier in the
classroom in subsequent years, but she then took on other responsibilities outside the
classroom. The number of opportunities for teachers to spend time working outside the
classroom is tremendous (i.e. supervising extra-curricular activities, being active on
committees and serving in the teachers’ unions).
For the teachers who became principals, the amount of time spent on the job was
thought to be excessive. There were meetings and conferences after school and on
eaching. A former high school teacher said
“Every time there was a principal’s meeting the principal would call a staff meeting and
weekends. The principals felt compelled to attend varsity sporting events such as
basketball and football games. Overall, the time required to fulfill all the duties of being
a principal was considerable, and the time requirements of the job interfered with leisure
and family time.
Another sentiment discussed by some of the teachers was regarding the importance
of having a good principal who promoted a positive work experience and ensured that
bureaucracy imposed by the school board administration was kept to a minimum. A
proportion of the educators said that their bosses and the administration made the job
unpleasant and more complicated for their t
72
say what needed to change, so the teachers would lose more time of teaching time per
class to do this or that”. The teachers relayed that they did not agree with a lot of the
regulations and new procedures that were imposed upon them, and this made for tension
between the teachers and principals. Some teachers discussed how many of the
bureaucratic rules that were imposed on them by their principals were ineffective and
absurd. One former teacher said:
The downside of being a teacher that it’s a very bureaucratic, male dominated
stupid rules and curricula that were inflexible in terms of giving the students what
recite the Lord’s Prayer. I would be in a classroom in New Westminster on a four
everyone saying the Lord’s Prayer. It was so frigging bizarre.
This quote is exemplary of the lack of control over the work and procedures that were
imposed upon educators from the administration. Many explained how they enjoyed the
freedom and autonomy of teaching their classes their way and felt directives from above
impinged on their freedom to teach in the way they wanted or that they felt was effective.
It was interesting to hear the difference between teachers who had good
relationships with their principals and those with poor relationships. Many of the
teachers who were promoted to administrative positions reported that their principals
and/or vice-principals were instrumental in pushing them to get Master’s degrees so that
they themselves could become principals. On the other hand, other teachers reported that
the relationships with their principals were negative to the point where it became a factor
in their decision to leave education.
institution with a lot of huge egos at the top of the hierarchy. There are a lot of
they needed. For example: every morning in B.C. the students were required to
week posting, with three quarters of the room being Muslims and Asians, with
Although these factors played a role in shaping the experiences of the research
participants in their first careers, the negative aspects of their jobs were negligible as
73
compared to the positive. It is important to remember how most people generally
enjoyed their jobs and found them rewarding. As with any job, there are things that
people would change. Even though the negative characteristics of the jobs were present,
most people remained because the positive facets outweighed the negative ones.
The Likes
The early years of their careers were exciting periods in the lives of these
educators and lawyers. They were active, busy with their work, starting families, and
were enjoying their lives. For the most part, the people in this study overwhelmingly
enjoyed their first careers. All the participants, except for four people who knew from an
early stage that their career choice was not going to be a good personal fit (although these
people also
b provided a great sense of challenge. No matter what the job was,
enjoyed their jobs), felt happy and fulfilled in their jobs for an extended
period of time. The participants discussed several themes that kept recurring in terms of
what they liked about their jobs: the sense of challenge, collegiality, feeling that they
were making a difference, the interaction with clients or students, and the intellectual
stimulation of the job.
Being in a new jo
mastering the skills required to do the core tasks and doing the job well was a very
satisfying endeavour for the respondents. As one educator explained: “As with any new
career, it is the challenge of mastering the job that is really interesting. Everything is new:
your colleagues, the core tasks of the job, the new work environment. It is very
satisfying to settle into the position and do a good job”. Not only did the participants
enjoy the challenge of mastering a new endeavour, but many also took great pride and
74
fulfillment in the challenge of the job. One man who was a Crown prosecutor in Ontario
said:
[You] get an opportunity to examine an issue, whatever the issue is, from all sides
to influence that. For instance, in criminal prosecutions you get a file given to
becomes natural after a while, but if someone were to come in and look at it they
you should take… it’s the
in order to bring a conclusion to an objective that you want. You have the ability
you by the police and you have to design the process related to that file. It
would say, “well, where do you go with this?” you eventually learn which route intellectual challenge of taking a set of facts that will
have an objective at the end, which is to ensure the facts get before a judge so
Clearly
of chal
job and
cowork
most lawyers want to reach is partnership within the
firm.
there is a just decision.
, education and law were seen to be dynamic and varied occupations that were full
lenge and excitement. Most people believed that this was a really fun part of the
felt motivated by mastering a new environment and new skills.
Collegiality, or the positive interaction and camaraderie with coworkers, was
another primary factor the interviewees identified as instrumental in fostering their
occupational fulfillment. Many participants said that they developed strong friendships
with colleagues in their first career situations, and many are still friends with these
ers. For the most part, the lawyers made stronger connections with their
coworkers because of the long hours spent together at work, working on the same team-
managed files, and often taking coffee and regularly going for lunch with colleagues. In
fact, many of the lawyers described the camaraderie as one of the best benefits of being a
lawyer. It is interesting to hear that lawyers within a law firm have such strong
connections with one another considering the adversarial nature of the profession and its
promotional structure. The position
This title brings with it higher levels of pay because partners share in the firm’s
profits. There are more management duties, and partners generally get voting rights to
75
direct the firm. Not everyone becomes a partner, and colleagues are also competitors for
partnership. Although this was a reality that all the lawyers were cognizant of, most
lawyers said that they loved being around the other lawyers, mostly because they were
smart, interesting, like-minded people.
The collegial scene was generally not as tightly knit for the educators, although
itive aspect of working in education. All the educators in this study
enjoyed the staffroom
petitive rugby player, and he liked being a teacher
this was still a pos
banter during their first years of teaching. Some people even
found themselves in a school situation where they felt privileged to work with their
coworkers. One former band teacher felt that the school he was in was “a really special
place”. The administration hired all young teachers, so coworkers were of similar age:
just married, mostly male, and everyone got along really well. They would work together
during the week and party on the weekends. He said that he hated to leave that
environment because the staff was such a unique group of people. Another male ex-
teacher said that he was really close with the people at the school, and his colleagues
were part of what kept him at the school for so long. One former educator who taught in
Northern Ireland said that he was a com
because other teachers were also competitive rugby players. This enjoyment of being
around like-minded people was experienced by all the interviewees in this study.
Having a positive influence on others was important for several of the participants
in this study. Five participants indicated that making a difference was important to them.
Helping others and making a difference in people’s lives was an area where these people
found a lot of their occupational fulfillment. In regard to this, one former civil litigation
lawyer said:
76
I had experiences of genuinely helping people or corporations work out their issues that were satisfactory in the end. It wasn’t by any means all the time, especially when people who won thought they lost, but I had no doubt at all that in a large percentage of the work that I did I was making lemonade out of lemons.
contrib
very sa
“you made a real difference in our child’s life this year.” Another former
teacher/principal said that in education, she liked best (upon reflection from her old job)
that she had so much positive influence over the development of people, including
students, teachers, and parents. In looking back, she said that was the core of her
satisfaction. She realized that because in her new job she is out in the community a lot
and bumps into grown-up students. This gives her an opportunity to see how they saw
their past experience and they are often very complimentary. She said it is a wonderful
feeling to realize that she has made a positive difference in their lives.
Interaction with clients or students was another key factor identified by both
lawyers and educators as something that they found enjoyable. For many of the
educators, the fun and interaction they had with the students, either child or adult, was
part of the core fulfillment of the job. As described earlier in this section, many of the
teachers expressed that the first few years of teaching were mostly spent in the classroom,
and this was the most rewarding time in their educational careers. The educators
generally experienced positive feedback from the interaction with students and parents.
One former high school teacher explained that “I liked the kids, partly because I’m a kid
Over and above the financial rewards and whatever else, that was a satisfying thing.
It was very important for these people to feel as if their working lives were
uting to the betterment of others. One former teacher and principal said that it was
tisfying and fulfilling to have the parents of his students’ affirm him by saying:
77
at heart so I identified with them…although some of them were real jerks, but every job
is full of jerks and assholes!”
In addition, regarding the interaction with clients, one former lawyer who
practised both intellectual-property law and criminal law at different phases of his legal
career
nted to
a judge
ing up with a specialized curriculum for a student or figuring out
said: “[You] get a variety of different factual situations. Some could be related to
a family issue, others related to an intellectual property issue, so there are a whole variety
of facts that come your way. You get in people’s lives as a lawyer because they have to
come to you and share what they’re looking for”. No matter whether the lawyers were
working on civil litigation, securities files, or criminal cases, they generally described
that the interaction and relationships that were developed from working with clients was
for the most part positive and enjoyable. They were treated with respect and courtesy by
their clients, and felt that they were generally appreciated for the work that they did.
The final major theme of enjoyment and fulfillment for participants in their first
careers was the intellectual stimulation that they got from doing the core tasks of their
jobs. The intellectuality of education and law were extremely rewarding. Some people
liked the intellectual challenge of designing new programs and finding creative ways to
fund those programs. Other people loved the creativity that they could bring to the job.
One former lawyer described how she once wrote up a factum that was to be prese
in the form of a story. When she sent it to the principal lawyer on the case for
review, he told her that he would bet that no one had ever presented a document to a
judge in that form. Other people really enjoyed problem solving. Again, this involved
being creative in order to come up with viable solutions that would be acceptable to all
parties. Whether com
78
how to
educati
According to the research participants, these five key aspects of work were partly
responsib
FAMILY AND PERSONAL SITUATION
best present a case in court, the respondents found the intellectuality of law and
on to be extremely fulfilling.
The various components discussed above were identified by most people.
le for generating their occupational fulfillment.
During the initial years of their careers, most of the people in this study were
getting married and some were starting families. As a result, many of the people had
young children at home during the first years of their careers. Several women said that
they did not have children while they were working. Some people described that the long
hours at work kept them away from their families, but they were working hard to be good
financial providers. Some people described that they were emotionally, physically, and
mentally tired when they got home from work. As a result they sometimes seemed
disconnected from the family because they were either tired from a long day at work or
were preoccupied with work issues. One former lawyer who is now a Chief Executive
Officer of a large corporation shared:
I also had marital issues at the time because there was stress on my relationship
to work at 7AM and go home on most nights around ten or eleven at night at least
barely saw my kids at all. My way of rationalizing and validating things was that
families. One woman said that her routine was to come home and sleep while her
because I was never home. I was working like a dog where I would literally come
six days a week. If I wasn’t in the office on Sunday I’d be working at home. I
I was making more money and that somehow made it seem worth it.
Whether it was because of a lack of physical presence because people were always
working or because they were exhausted at the end of the day, these careers took a toll on
79
husband who had been working as a doctor all day would come home and make dinner.
He would wake her up, they would eat, and then she would clean the kitchen. That was
their ro
ver
they c
utine. One woman went so far as to describe herself as having “no life” because
she was working all the time. These sentiments were echoed by both lawyers and
educators, although the lawyers and principals were the groups that complained most
strongly about the toll that work took on their selves and their families.
Although many of the participants were extremely busy with work, maintaining
relationships between themselves and their children was still a priority. A few of the men
were particularly vocal about how big a priority their children were to them. These men
said that they were always involved dads, no matter how busy they were with work.
Generally speaking, this meant coaching their children’s sports teams and taking them to
team practices and games. They also tried to be available for their children whene
ould. The women also identified themselves as having strong and positive
relationships with their children. Some women chose to exit the workforce after their
children were born in order to raise their children (and subsequently returned to the
workforce after their children were older).
People were feeling fulfilled by their jobs, but were also feeling the pressure to be
good parents. At times, juggling work and family was difficult, and some people
sacrificed time with their families in order to be good providers. Many women did not
want to have children while they were working, so that delayed them from starting
families. Even though there were these difficulties present, most people described their
family situations as generally close and good.
80
DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION
The purpose of this chapter was to provide a descriptive overview of the general
finding
h participants that described
different facets of their situations before they went into law and education and what
career direction. These different motivational
categor
set into
for having different motivations. Approximately 50 percent of the participants identified
s for why people decided to pursue their original careers in education and law, as
well as to discuss in general terms what people enjoyed and disliked about their jobs.
There was an array of stories provided by the researc
happened once they got there.
As can be seen in this chapter, there was a diversity of different motivations for
choosing a career path. The continuum of people’s motivations shows that there are
many ways of making career and life decisions that lead people to fulfillment in their
occupations. Although diversity existed in the motivations for choosing a career, the
variation in these reasons was not especially broad. As can be expected, most people
used a number of different reasons or strategies for choosing their career paths, although
they also used other categories to a lesser extent. For instance, the people who primarily
used a rational choice strategy for choosing their careers still had discussions with family
and friends; when it came down to it, it was their rational decision-making that ultimately
compelled them to follow a given
ies are important because they identify the personal and social characteristics that
motion the respondents’ career trajectories.
It is interesting to note the proportions of people that fell into different categories
some sort of rational choice strategy as their primary motivation for their first careers.
This is not surprising considering this is the middle–of-the-road approach to making a
81
choice. Fifteen to 20 percent of the respondents reported falling into one of the other
more extreme categories: having a clear design for their future careers or having no idea
what direction to take. It is interesting to see a comparison of the different proportions of
people in the different categories because it shows that most of the people (those between
the rational choice and always wanting to be a lawyer or educator) made contemplative
and reflective decisions about what career to pursue. These choices were generally well-
though
a different career path for their own reasons,
they al
edly. To speak generally about their likes
and dislikes, one of the major findings is that the features people enjoyed about their jobs
t out. As was discussed previously in the chapter, there was overlap between
categories in terms of people’s strategies for choosing their career trajectories. However,
the only strategy that had considerable overlap was rational choice. Although it may
have been used by all or most of the people in some respect, for half of the respondents
this was their primary strategy.
All of the people included in this study had their own diverse reasons for entering
their fields, although the similarity between their stories is relatively pronounced.
Wanting to make a career change can happen to anyone, no matter how strong and
determined his or her motivation to become a lawyer or educator. What is important to
remember is that although they all started on
l ended up making a career change. Even though there was a general sense of
enjoyment and fulfillment in the jobs that the participants held, and many of these people
felt that they had found their place in the occupational world, those sentiments were not
sufficiently strong to keep them there.
In terms of the likes and dislikes of the respondents once they were in their jobs,
there were key similarities that came up repeat
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reinforced a positive self-identity. These features included a sense of challenge that
brough
ar respect, the parts of the job that people did not like
impede
e period of starting and working in
their fi
t about feelings of triumph when accomplished, collegiality and feelings of social
belonging, the intellectual stimulation, the interaction with clients or students, and to a
lesser extent, the feeling of making a difference in other people’s lives. Overall, people
in their early years of work were focused on self-interested aspects and benefits of jobs –
things that brought about a sense of personal success, as well as intellectual, professional,
and social growth. In a simil
d them from achieving feelings of individualized success. Other features that
people identified that they did not like about their jobs were those that made them feel
unsuccessful, such as ineffectively balancing work and non-work time. Another thing the
interviewees found disagreeable was the restrictions that prevented them from doing their
jobs in the way they wanted to, such as the pressure to maximize billable hours and the
imposed bureaucracy of education. However, it must be stressed that the dislikes of these
people were heavily outweighed by the positive aspects of their jobs. In their earlier
years the respondents liked their jobs and enjoyed what they were doing. This was a
happy period in most of their lives, filled with new experiences, new challenges, and the
potential for growth and success.
On a broader plane, the information presented in this chapter allows us to achieve
a greater understanding of people’s values during th
rst careers. At this point in their lives, people were for the most part looking to
engage in an occupation that they felt they would be good at as well as finding a career
where they would find feelings of personal success. In addition, being social and
developing friendships with colleagues were some of the biggest enjoyments for people
83
at this stage of their lives. Although a few people identified that they wanted to make a
difference in the world, very few people discussed this during their first career stage.
Overall, the decisions that people made in terms of their career choices were self-focused.
These people were looking for personal fulfillment from jobs that were enjoyable,
interesting, and challenging. This is not surprising, considering the life stage they were at
in regard to their professional, personal, and family lives. Some people had no children
and no partners, and those with families had the desire to make better financial situations
for their partners and families. This meant working hard and trying to be professionally
successful.
In sum, these people all found some enjoyment in their jobs, and almost all of
them found occupational fulfillment. These people thought they were in good jobs that
were prestigious. From an outside perspective, for most of the participants, there was no
reason to want to leave their jobs. What, then, happened to these people that brought
about the desire to leave their jobs? Was making a positive impact on others more
important for these people as they grew older? Why was it that they wanted to take a risk
by leaving their stable jobs in order to pursue another occupational venture? How did
families play into this phenomenon? Where did they go after leaving their jobs?
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CHAPTER V
THE TRANSITION
So far I have explored the first careers of lawyers and educators in general terms.
I have described why they pursued their first careers, found out what they liked and
disliked with their jobs, and identified that the participants were generally happy and
fulfilled in their jobs. For several years each of these people remained in their respective
jobs; they were productive and generally content. However, for various reasons all of
these participants desired a change. This chapter focuses on the transition between the
first and second careers of the people in this study. I will identify some of the underlying
factors that encouraged them to consider leaving their first profession. The factors that
discouraged them from leaving will also be discussed. Further, a discussion of the
motivational push and pull factors that led participants to change careers will be
introduced. This chapter will also discuss the importance of interpersonal support to the
individual making a career change and the security strategies that were employed before
85
making the transition. Finally, two procedural strategies will be identified for how
lawyers and educators change careers.
UNDERLYING ISSUES FOR PEOPLE TO PURSUE SOMETHING NEW Within any job there are characteristics that make people wonder what other
opportunities are available. These issues do not necessarily prompt people to quit a job
and move on to a different profession. However, the combination of these factors leads
to decreased satisfaction. The characteristics presented in this section help to produce the
underly
role in stimulating the participants’ desire to leave their jobs in search of something new.
Invasiveness of the Job
The invasiveness of the job was a serious issue for seven people. Three educators
and four lawyers felt that they could not get away from their jobs no matter whether they
were at work, off on the weekends, or away on holiday. Their jobs consumed much of
their overall emotional, physical, and mental energy.
ing situation that made the decision to pursue a different career easier. These
factors did not cause the respondents to leave their careers; instead they helped weaken
their occupational devotion and commitment. These characteristics are necessary as a
precursor to a career change because they allow people to examine their present work and
personal situations, and to potentially consider other occupational ventures.
Many factors encouraged the interviewees to look at other work opportunities, but
three major themes emerged. They were the invasiveness of the job, a change in
collegiality, and a change in the bureaucracy of education. These three factors played a
86
For all of the people who identified this as an issue, working long hours played a
role in making these participants feel like they could not get away from the job. One
female former lawyer said that she worked so much that she felt she had no life. She
even said that she did not celebrate three consecutive birthdays because she was working
all the time. Another male ex-lawy ow he was required to field a call
from a client on his wedding day. He was a defence attorney and the sentencing of a case
earlier in the week had gone terribly askew. The wedding preparations were underway
and he was getting calls from the client’s parents saying: “What the heck happened and
when are we going to get him eplied that it had to wait until
Monday, and on Monday they did “get him out”. This story demonstrates how lawyers
are often at the mercy of the client. This former lawyer also discussed how clients were
becoming so demanding in his final years of practice that if he had not replied within half
an hour to emails that they had sent him, clients would be on the phone demanding an
explanation as to his lack of contact. According to him, the structure of the legal system
has made it so that lawyers must always be connected to the office and to their files. He
said that in many respects the lawyer is at the will of the client for their representation
partly because of the billable hour structure as well as the time requirement that it takes to
process files in a timely manner.
The principals also found the job of administration to be a tremendous burden.
As described by the research participants, being a principal means that you are the top
ranking person in a school. All issues come to you. All the problems are to be solved by
you. The principal is responsible for the well-being of every student in the school as well
er told a story of h
out, it’s Saturday?” He r
87
as ensuring a positive work experience for his or her staff. Include implementing all the
directives imposed by the school board and you have a very difficult and taxing job.
Principals work long hours solving problems within the walls of their schools
s and on weekends. In addition to the time spent working on the job, the
ve to be able
ant said that when she was a principal,
during the day, and then often have to go to meetings, workshops, and conferences in the
veninge
principals stated that they never really left work ‘at work’ because they were always
thinking about problems that needed to be resolved, or because they were troubled by
arguments with irate parents or conflicts between staff members. One former principal
said that the most challenging years of his career were when he was a principal. He was
in a large school that had staff problems, and the children had exceptional needs: there
were lots of difficulties with the students that required added attention. He realized that
although he was good at what he did, it was taking a toll on him. He said:
Being a VP [vice-principal] or assistant principal is okay, but being a principal the buck stops with you. You carry the weight of a school of 500; it was tougher on me than was healthy…To be a good administrator and leader you hato leave the problems at work. When you have a serious situation, sometimes an irrational out of control parent, you have to leave the anger they bear toward you that you feel is unjustified…[It] was felt on the weekend. The weight of that would take its toll on me... Eventually when I felt the weight from different places it took away from the joy of the job because the problems seemed to outweigh the joys.
As this man said, the problems that the research participants encountered on the job were
taken home and thought about. Another particip
the work was never out of her mind. She would fall asleep from exhaustion and sleep all
night, but her last thought at night and first thought in the morning would be whatever the
immediate situation was at school. She said: “That could be a difficult parent, difficult
student, a difficult teacher, implementing something I didn’t agree with; trying to do the
88
staffing… mostly the worry was because of the students. They were always hard things
to deal with”. All the principals agreed that this was not a healthy way to live: being
consumed by issues and problems at work. When they were at home they were mentally
preoccupied with school-related concerns instead of being mentally present with their
families.
The all-consuming nature and personal invasiveness of the job was a major
drawback that seriously reduced the fulfillment of some of the research participants.
Many worked long hours, but the invasiveness of the job refers to something different. It
is about never being able to get away from work, whether that is through physical,
emotional, or mental distance.
Change in Collegiality
A change in collegiality was a factor that was experienced by four of the
educators and one of the lawyers. It consisted of a reduced sense of camaraderie and a
sense of dwindling support. Although this factor was experienced by a smaller
proportion of participants in the study, it did play a large part in pushing some of them
out of education.
At the beginning of his or her career, every person felt a positive sense of
got along very well with the other teachers. In the final years of her career she found that
there were no more “fun teachers” left in the staff room. She felt the new people who
collegiality, and many people spoke of friendships with their peers. However, as time
went on, half of the interviewees who identified this as a factor in their desire to change
careers said that they were less connected with their peers than they once were. The
woman who was most vocal about this issue said that in the first years of her career she
89
came into teaching were not interesting people. New teachers were coming out of the
Faculty of Education and only talking about teaching methodologies, which she thought
“was a
out change in
the rela
of a ca
feels c
aggress
courtes etween lawyers during the early years of his practice, even
bit of crap” because she thought she was successful at teaching without
subscribing to a particular method. “You present the work, if you see puzzled faces you
try it another way. Give tests… take a look at the tests. If you see something that didn’t
seem to work you hammer at it again. I didn’t need the Faculty of Education to tell me
that”. These sentiments arose mostly from her feeling that the educational and
experiential backgrounds of the new younger teachers were becoming less diverse. All
the new teachers had to go through the Faculty of Education in order to become certified
to teach, and this woman felt that their delivery methods were “cookie-cutter”
methodologies.
The lawyer who identified a change in collegiality was expressive ab
tionships and communication between the lawyers representing the different sides
se. Although this former lawyer admits that law is by definition adversarial, he
ommunication between lawyers does not have to be, and it was not always as
ive as it was when he left practice. There was a certain level of respect and
y that was shared b
though it was still a competitive environment. He noted:
I found over the years that what I liked the least was lawyers who felt that their job required them to be as confrontational as possible, as rude and as obnoxious as possible… Over the years litigation became increasingly confrontational, and that had the effect of eroding the other thing that I liked: solving the problem. Once a personal fight develops between two lawyers everything just slides into the ditch. Some clients don’t know it, and some think that it’s great because they think that they’ve got a lawyer who’s a tough son of a bitch… what they don’t realize is that costs them money because the solution to the problem got that much further down the road.
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This quote clearly suggests that over the years the mutual respect between lawyers has
diminished, thus reducing the collegiality between lawyers. Overall, being in a situation
where the relationships deteriorate between colleagues is difficult, because it reduces the
enjoyment that people identified in the previous chapter as pleasurable and important in a
fulfilling work environment.
wyer mentality is an ideal-type of what a
lawyer should be. These women identified such qualities as a person who works very
he firm, who is driven by money, and who finds a great deal of
prestig
practice, and she explained that she loved (and still loves)
law int
Structural/Cultural Factors
Another factor that three of the female former lawyers identified as an issue that
discouraged their commitment to law was that they could not accept the lawyer mentality
and how they should operate. To explain, this la
hard, who is a slave to t
e from the title of being a lawyer. Overall, the sentiment felt by these women was
that they did not want to fall into this trap. One former female lawyer turned professor of
law explained that she did not approve of the way lawyers conducted their lives. She
never worked that hard when she was working in her downtown firm, she was never
particularly committed to the
ellectually but did not get caught up in the “being a lawyer shtick”. This sentiment
was echoed by all three women who believed that no one needs to make as much money
as lawyers do, and they did not see the point of working twelve to fourteen hour days. In
fact, most of the women talked about law as being a trap, where the cycle of hard work
and money escalates to a point where lawyers get locked into the routine of long hours
because they develop sizeable debt loads that require them to continue working. Overall,
these women did not embrace the lawyer culture of work, spending, and extravagance.
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Three female educators specifically identified another structural change in
education. These women believed that there was a negative change in the education
system, when over the years, more bureaucracy and accountability were introduced.
These women discussed how in the early years of their teaching careers they were left on
their own to develop curricula that were effective and congruent with their personalities
and teaching styles. Two women said that their classroom was like an island, where they
could teach what they wanted and how they wanted. This gave the women a great sense
of autonomy and independence. They were at the school to teach, and the large majority
of their time was spent in the classroom.
Over the years there was a change in the overall school system. Structural
alterations were put in place to increase accountability. This translated into a large
increas
made teachers feel they were
wasting
bureau
commit
a negative feeling about work included a mediocre quality of life, the glass ceiling for
e in bureaucracy and paper-pushing for the teachers. They were mandated to
follow a general curriculum. One woman said: “The more administrators the system
brings on, the more busy work is made for the teachers, and made teachers do all sorts of
things that had nothing to do with teaching…Things like compiling statistics for someone
to make a point of how successful the schools were”. Doing a lot of “busy work” and
having more systematic guidelines to follow took some of the fun and creativity out of
teaching, while also making for more mundane tasks that
their time.
The invasiveness of the job, the change in collegiality, and a change in the
cracy in education were partly responsible for draining the dedication and
ment of the research participants. Other secondary circumstances that engendered
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female lawyers, and a feeling of not being fairly compensated for the work being done.
These issues ignited curiosity for what else might be out there in the working world.
However, these issues were not the major causes motivating the respondents to search out
new careers. Rather, they established an interest in wanting a different work situation in
the general sense. They created a work environment that was not as fun, enjoyable, and
exciting as it once was. Overall, most of the people identified at least one (and
t prompted them to lose some of the devotion they had
MOTIVATIONS FOR PURSUING A CAREER CHANGE: THE
sometimes several) factors for wha
to their profession. However, it took more to make people engage in a career change.
PUSH AND PULL PEOPLE The previous section identified aspects of people’s jobs that made them less
satisfied, fulfilled, and committed to remaining in their occupations. These types of
conditions are necessary to weaken their devotion so that they become open to the
possibility of a career change. However, there are other external factors that prompt
people to take the plunge toward making a career change.
Among these participants, there is a distinct qualitative difference in the
motivations different people have for finally committing themselves to a career change.
Some people are pushed out of their former careers because of various extenuating
circumstances. These people feel that they have to leave because their current situation is
unbearable. This type of person will be described as a Push Person. Conversely, some
people are drawn to new opportunities because the potential for a better situation
outweighs the security of staying in a career that is good but not wonderful. This type of
person is identified as a Pull Person. While the difference between what motivates a
93
Push Person to leave versus a Pull Person is that unbearable negative situations force the
Push People to leave, whereas positive external factors prompt Pull People to seek out
new opportunities. The following section will discuss the different motivations for these
two groups of people.
Motivational Push Factors
There are several situations that Push People identified as key motivations for
leaving their profession. All of these people felt that they could not continue working in
their positions because the disagreeable conditions there would either have dire
settings that they were in. One ex-lawyer
consequences to their emotional, physical, and/or mental health, or they could not stand
to be in their current situation any longer.
The first push factor, and by far the most common, was the necessity to leave a
job for health reasons. Five people found themselves in situations where they changed
careers, completely or in part because they developed physical, mental, and/or emotional
problems that progressed to a point where they could no longer work in their original
career setting. Ill-health was the physical manifestation of many of the underlying issues
that were presented in the previous section. For personal health reasons, these people
were essentially forced to confront their anguish and make decisions to change careers.
These people could not continue working in the
turned executive director of a lawyer assistance agency said:
In hindsight, they [my issues] were not internal within the company… they were more all more to do with personal issues with me… sort of cycle of stress, depression, and anxiety. I would get stressed out at whatever the job was and that would start a cycle of depression for me… after 10 or 12 years of doing that, the light bulb finally came on and I thought there was a smarter way of living life…
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Some people developed skin rashes, and two people had severe chest pains. One
woman who now identifies herself as a “professional student” (she is a university
graduate student and believes she will do that for the rest of her life) described a mental
breakdown that was the result of many underlying factors. She said:
One day at a staff meeting the principal handed out something about professional
went home and had dinner with friends, and [my husband] pulled out the
I could not stand it: it was my life they were talking about and I couldn’t stand it.
development and collegiality and for some reason I just laughed and laughed. I
document to show our friends. Our friends were making fun of me about this and
I planted my face in the entrée [the meal she had prepared for her guests].
That was the point when she knew that she had to take stress leave. Most of the people in
this category opted to quit their jobs and relied on disability insurance while they got
al and emotional state. Being able to claim medical
of the underlying issues were
boredo
themselves back to a healthy physic
leave was a blessing for these claimants because it allowed them to take the time to get to
a position where they felt well enough to consider and pursue a new career path.
The second major push factor is boredom/stagnation. For the people that fell into
this category there were a number of underlying factors that built up over the years that
drained the excitement out of the job. The most pressing
m from doing the same job for a number of years, decreasing interest in their field,
the environment in which they worked had changed, and/or the job had lost the
dynamism that it once had, and their job was all-consuming. To a large degree, this
group of people felt restless and stagnant. More so, these people generally felt bored:
bored with what they were doing, bored with the environment in which they worked, and
bored from the same routine.
An ex-educator said that at 38 he began to wonder whether he was having burnout.
He could not figure out why he should feel this way, and did not show any symptoms of
95
burnout: he still really enjoyed being in front of the classroom, but there was something
missing. His wife brought in a wonderful article that discussed his situation. She said
that it described him to the letter. It said that he was basically bored. This happened to a
lot of people, where their jobs became mundane and repetitious.
The challenge and excitement that was part of what people loved about the job
inimal challenge. One former educator
put in their time and had nothing else they wanted to do. They were trapped. I fifties and mark time until
I’m sixty-five; what a way to live!
Many
retirem
had been traded for something routine with m
discussed how the challenge of the job is diminished with the passage of time:
Things got repetitious and easy, but the human mind is an interesting thing: no matter how complex the task, give the brain time or do something enough times that the task becomes engrained. It’s like how a chess player can look at a board and then come back later and set it up the way it was. They couldn’t do it in the beginning, but that’s the way the human mind works, and after a while it becomes a set of patterns.
These issues were also compounded with a desire to not become like their older
colleagues who seemed “dead inside”. Many echoed this former English professor who
became a physiotherapist. He stated: “Thoreau says ‘he who kills time murders eternity’.
These people were just killing time. They used the same yellowed notes that were being
read to classes and not caring, there was no excitement, they had lousy teaching reviews,
they didn’t care". When this man was a professor in his thirties and surrounded with
other professors in their fifties, he saw them as having already died. He said:
Their minds had already died and their bodies were waiting to catch up. They’d
saw that and never wanted to be like that, to be in my
people saw their older colleagues as wasting their lives watching the clock to
ent tick away.
96
Many people had to make a conscious choice to uproot themselves. Although
they could have remained in their original jobs and could have been successful, the
burden of wasting time and being bored was enough to unsettle them out of their jobs and
into a search for another vocation. For others, the necessity to leave because of illness
was en
healthy
The Pu
ering a
around and say, and lawyers do this a lot, I don’t like my life like this. Lawyers
but that ain’t going to get you anywhere. You have to have an alternate vision of
wanting to be something other than what you’re doing might lead you to quit but
h the security of remaining where they are, otherwise
people
ough to make them consider other career options that would be more suitable for a
lifestyle.
ll People
Contrary to those in the Push People category who felt that they did not want to
remain in their current work situation until retirement, the Pull People had generally
positive alternatives that attracted them to their new employment. It should be noted that,
technically speaking, these people should be known as Push-Pull People because there
were still the underlying factors that made them feel restless and open to consid
career change when the time was right or when an opportunity presented itself. A former
lawyer said:
You need an alternate vision of what you want to do with your life. You can’t sit
are the best at that, there’s no one better at whining about their work than lawyers,
‘I want to do this particular other thing’, and then you go and do it. But just
it will never lead you to a meaningful career change.
As can be seen from this quote, in order to be pulled toward something new, there must
be a potential end that people want to pursue. People must feel that the gain from the
desired outcome will outweig
may stay where they are.
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The first major pull factor for people is the desire to pursue a hobby, passion, or
dream in a full-time manner. These people practice some type pastime as a leisure
activity outside the sphere of work, and as time passes these people feel that they want to
pursue their hobby or passion on a full-time basis and try to make money at it. Three
work and
their in
appeal
hobbies
employment a pleasurable and positive vocational option. One former lawyer turned
professional guitarist explained
anding
than it
decreas
g music was better than a good day practising law.
people in this study fell into this category (one male lawyer, one male educator, and one
female educator).
These three people all discussed the inverted relationship between their
terest in their hobbies, where the interest in the work was diminishing while the
and attraction toward pursuing their hobby was increasing. The draw to turn
into full-time work made the transition from a leisure activity to a paid
that for him, there were two main things that encouraged
him to move to a different career. Over the years he had gotten a deeper connection with
music in terms of becoming a more skilled musician, resulting in situations where he was
playing with musicians who had only played music for their whole working lives, and he
liked the environment and activity of playing music. At the same time, he was getting
tired of the confrontational style of law and of lawyers, and was getting tired of the high
client expectations. He felt that the cultural climate of law was a lot more dem
was earlier in his career. He identified two trends: satisfaction with law
ing, enjoyment of music and modest success in it increasing. He said that there
are a lot of things about being a musician that are unpleasant, but by the end of his law
career, a bad day playin
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This was the general situation for the Pull People who fell into this category.
They felt that remaining in their original careers became less and less attractive as the
negative aspects wore on them. At the same time, these people were achieving some
success with their serious leisure activities to the point where there was the potential to be
economically successful. One woman looked to her interest in showing her dogs as
inspiration for becoming a dog groomer in order to leave elementary school teaching.
Another man had a side-business doing magic shows while he was a principal. His
, so he decided to take a risk and perform
agic shows on a full-tim
this study there was a situation where, although they felt that
they w
Howev
search prof motionally, and
of relocating to a different city. Although she was not
administrative position was taking a toll on him
his m e basis. He started doing motivational magic, which he
describes as magic with a message (with themes like anti-bullying, being a good friend,
and daring to be different). Generally speaking, these people had leisure activities from
which they derived profound fulfillment. They wanted to extend their passions into their
working lives, which in turn would eliminate the negative aspects of their existing jobs.
The second motivational pull scenario concerns people being tempted by a new
venture. For four people in
ould be open to a career shift, they were still happy in their former occupations.
er, for this group of people, unexpected opportunities piqued their interest.
Two of the people in this category were recruited to new positions by executive
essionals. One former principal was feeling physically, e
mentally drained by her job as a principal, but was not interested in changing positions
within the education field. She had been presented with other offers in the past, but the
benefits of a new job were not attractive enough to leave her position as principal and to
expose her family to the potential
99
terribly
d was an organization with which she was already familiar as she had
been a
at there was a
timing matter where the search professional piqued his interest about the potential job,
satisfied with her former work situation, she did not believe that she would be
better off elsewhere. It was not until she was first approached by a head hunter that she
was intrigued by the possibility of working in the position of Chief Executive Officer of a
not-for-profit women’s organization. She said that the opportunity interested her because
it was in a completely new sector, would have been a big change, revolved around
women’s issues, an
volunteer there in the 1980s and had previously sat on the Board of Directors. It
was also in Calgary, which meant that her family did not have to be disrupted. She felt
that the new job was everything that she could have hoped for. The benefits were enough
to tip the scales in favour of leaving her job for a new position that would be a new
challenge.
Another male ex-lawyer was approached by a search professional to be recruited
to work for a North American trucking company. He was a partner at his firm, liked the
work that he did, and felt that he worked with a great group of people. Normally he
would not have entertained calls from recruiters, but at the time he was contacted he was
going through the firm’s annual process of divvying up the year’s profits between the
partners. He had more billable hours than anyone else in his year and was given more
points than other colleagues at his same level, but not as much as he thought he should
have. He was upset about his share of the profits because he felt that he deserved more
compensation for the amount of work that he had put in over the year. In hindsight, he
felt it was a fair allocation of points and he was given an increment above others, but
when he was 32 years old he had a different view of the world. He said th
100
and tha
congru
er his
post. H
t he took the opportunity to look into it (but had no intention of leaving; he just
wanted to check it out). He also felt the head hunter did a very good job of making the
search a competition. He figured that he “might as well try and win the job, even though
I really didn’t want to move anyway, but if you’re going to do something you might as
well try and be successful in it. At the end of the day it was an attractive offer because I
perceived that it would be good on the home front because I would have more control
over my hours”.
Both of these examples show how, although people may not search out a new
occupation initially, if an attractive opportunity unexpectedly presents itself, people may
accept a new position.
The other two people who fit into this category were offered new positions when
they indicated to their superiors that they were intending to leave their posts. The interest
of these people was piqued by their superiors offering different positions that were
ent with what these career changers were looking for. Both stories are similar, and
led each person to pursue a different occupational field.
One of these people held a lead position in a large provincial government agency.
After nine years he felt that it was time to step down and let someone else take ov
e met with his bosses and told them that he intended on taking a position with a
private law firm and that he would be stepping down from his position. At first they tried
to convince him otherwise, but then offered him an opportunity to be the Chairman of a
major public regulatory board. He was aware of the organization because he had done
some work with them in the past, and thought it was a good fit for him because he would
be able to use his university degree in engineering as well as his legal training to
101
effectively manage the organization. He was also aware of some difficulties that the
board was having in amalgamating two different agencies, and he thought that he could
be an effective agent of change because he could bring his experience of merging public
organizations. He accepted the position instead of following his original plan of working
for a law firm. He got what he wanted (leaving his former organization) while also
taking on a new position that was in a different field.
All of these people were offered positions that took them in career directions that
they did not intend. There was a certain element of serendipity for the people in this
category because they were approached out of the blue by others to fill these positions.
What was required of them was to be open to the opportunities and to be willing to try
something new. Overall, the Pull People had something that drew them toward
something positive instead of away from an unfavourable situation, which is what
motivated the Push People.
TRIGGERS
As was discussed in the literature section, some researchers have identified the
importance of triggers, or specific events, that prompted people to dramatically re-
evaluate their lives and consider a career change (Hutri, 1996; Shaver & Freedman 1976;
O’Connor & Wolfe, 1991). The difference between a trigger and a motivation is that a
trigger is a historical event that unsettles a person’s occupational commitment, thus
causing the consideration of a career change. Conversely, factors that motivate us are the
things that give a direction and move us to take some sort of action. It is more of an
overarching structure of cause that prompts people to want to make a career change. The
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participants in this study were asked about the influence of triggers on their decisions to
change careers. While some people responded that triggers had an effect in pushing them
to commit themselves to a career change, not one person described a trigger as the
primary motivator for changing careers. Although they were not the key factors in
people’s decision-making process, they did play a role in reshaping people’s thinking
toward trying something new.
For two people, the death of a relative or close friend was important in helping
them g
id that he watched his friend over the course of his cancer, and it
pushed
ssional magician. He had put in
his tim
ain perspective about their lives and come to the decision that they wanted to make
career changes. The people in their lives were dying of cancer, and it was a slow process.
One former educator sa
him to decide to pursue his long time dream. This man shared a quote that
inspired him during this reflective time: “Don’t die with the music still in you. Share it”.
He felt that he did not want to live out his life without trying to fulfill his dream. His
friend was not an old man, and he said that while he was at the funeral he thought about
how he should pursue his aspiration of becoming a profe
e as an educator and felt that he had the dream, and to live the dream would be
ideal. The death of his friend was the trigger.
Another former educator said that her final decision as to whether she was going to
take her new position or stay working as a principal was to be made on September 11th,
2001. She got up early to go to the school to get a faxed copy of the offer of employment
for her new position. She wanted to pick it up so she could get it back home to leave it
with her husband before they talked about it over the phone prior making her final
decision. By the time she was back home her son was at the door telling her about the
103
terrorist attacks in New York and how “the whole world was blowing up”, and she
suddenly worried about her son going off to school, and how he was upset by this. She
started thinking about the events of the day and her family. She said that she stood there
and thought, “My life can change just like that, what am I hesitating about? I have
nothing to lose. It’s a good offer, I don’t have to give up my school position, I could take
a leave of absence, I could come back if I didn’t like it. What did I have to lose?” She
said to
Two lawyers also had specific events that helped them to see the occupational
law. Both men’s triggers had to do with money. As discussed
herself, “My goodness, take a little risk.” She says that she is generally very
cautious about making life choices, but that experience made her think, “Why not take
the risk, why not give it a try? What’s to lose?” So she called the organization and
accepted the position. She said that if she had not had that experience that day, she
probably still would have taken the position since she was already leaning to yes.
However, she felt that her decision was triggered (or made easier) by the events of that
day.
world outside of
previously, one lawyer was dissatisfied with the dividing up of the firm’s profits because
he felt that he was not properly compensated for his work. The other man’s story also
involves money, but is about acquiring considerable wealth from an investment outside
of law. At the same time as this lawyer was practising, he got involved in a
manufacturing business that built kidney dialysis solutions and microbiological testing
systems. The company became profitable and he sold it to a public company in a
takeover bid. This sale generated enough money that he and his wife would not have to
work if they did not want to. A world of opportunity opened for him because he then felt
104
comfortable to pursue other interests that did not pay as well as law. If he had not
received the payout from his investments, he said that he might not have been able to
have as much occupational freedom and would have remained practising law.
As can be seen with these examples, a trigger is not necessary to prompt people to
engage in a career change. None of the people who negotiated a career change did so
because of a trigger. Instead, the triggering events acted either to solidify a desire to
follow a dream or acted to upset people’s feelings of commitment of staying in their
current situation. Overall, these people did not need a trigger to push them into making a
career change; it made the decision to engage in an occupational shift easier and clearer.
Only a few of the people interviewed for this study pointed to experiencing a trigger. For
those that had this experience, they all said that that they probably would have changed
careers anyway, but the triggers were important for framing their lives in a manner that
encouraged them to venture onto other career paths.
FACTORS THAT DISCOURAGED A CAREER CHANGE
It must be acknowledged that deciding to make a career change is not easy. There
are many factors that need to be considered. Granted, there are many potential benefits to
making a transition, but the thought of upsetting one’s occupational situation in favour of
‘what could be’ is scary. The uncertainty of success, the potential hardships for
individuals and their families, and questioning whether one has the personal strength to
endure a major life shift are all issues that need to be addressed when making a career
change.
105
The first, and most prevalent, discouraging factor was considered only by
educators. Six of the educators identified pension eligibility as a serious concern.
Considering the age group on which this study is based, most people had been working in
the education system for a number of years. As such, most people were less than ten
years away from retirement. The security of a pension was highly appealing, and all
considered remaining in their education positions and waiting until they could collect
their pensions at age 55. They would lose money by exiting the education profession
before putting in their full work term. This threatened their plans of retirement and their
post-teaching futures.
Similar to pension issues, five former educators were also concerned about the
financial risks associated with venturing into a new occupation. Some people became
entrepreneurs: one couple went into pig farming, another man started up his own
performance company, one woman needed to find another avenue of work, and the last
man started up several businesses. All of these people faced some type of financial risk
when starting up their new business ventures. For some people there was a need to
borrow for a capital investment. For others it was the financial risk of giving up a
monthly pay cheque in favour of unpredictable financial success. Financial concern
seemed to be more of a worry to the educators; the lawyers did not identify it as a
problem other than that their incomes would take a significant drop. However, because
lawyers are paid only for the work that they do, perhaps this is a reason for why it was
not as concerning for them.
The final factor discouraging a career change concerns family disruption. For
many of the participants the potential impact on the family was not a serious factor
106
because their children were grown. However, for those who had children in the home,
making a decision to change careers forced parents to ask themselves and their partners
what impact a major shift would have on their families. Four people identified that a
r children. His wife moved in May
in a deliberate attempt to get the children into school so that they could make some
hildren were
thought that she would hold off on making a transition until her son was in
university. Two of the possibilities that were offered to her would have involved moving
potential disruption to the family was a reason weighing against engaging in a career
change.
Because their job change would also include relocating to a different city, two of
the participants were concerned about how their career shift would affect their children.
One of the former educators went through with a relocation that moved his family from
Manitoba to Alberta. The family was moving because the man’s wife had been offered a
new job in Edmonton. He was also ready for a change, so he and his wife decided that
they would make the move. He said that the well-being of his children was the most
worrisome aspect of moving. There were a lot of factors that they had to consider before
relocating, including finding the best schools for thei
friends before summer holidays. When they went out to buy a house the c
taken along to make sure that they felt comfortable in their new home. His son said when
they got there that he was having a nightmare – that moving was a nightmare. It really
crushed his son to move (at the time), but it worked out for the best because his son
eventually found a tremendous group of new friends.
Conversely, the other woman who was offered a position in another city did not
take the position. She knew that moving from Calgary had been an upsetting idea to her
son. She
107
to Quebec or Toronto and putting her son into a private school. She was very concerned
about where they would live, where her son would go to school, and how a move would
make their situation better than it was. In both cases it did not seem to be better. As a
result she did not take the jobs. In the end she took a job in Calgary in an attempt to
make a positive career change for herself while not disrupting her family.
Two male educators said that a discouraging factor for career change was their
feelings of responsibility to provide financially for their families. These concerns were
discussed at length with their wives. One man made a deal with his wife. The agreement
was that he could take whatever risks he wanted, but that he would not relocate their
lty. The financial well-being of these men’s families was a
children or put them in a position that would be risky. His wife said that she would be
supportive of any endeavours he engaged in as long as they did not put at risk the
lifestyle of their children; she was not willing to go through the uncertainty of feeding her
family, or finding a home. He was in full agreement, realizing that there were certain
things that he would never put at risk: he was never going to venture into a business
opportunity where his family could be put at a disadvantage. The other man was in a
slightly different situation because he was the only breadwinner in his household. As a
result, there was more pressure on him to succeed because he was responsible for
providing for his family. By leaving his job he was putting the well-being of his family
at risk. He and his wife discussed the issue at length, and she was fully supportive. He
was able to take a year’s sabbatical from his position and would be able to go back to his
job after a year with no pena
serious concern. If they had not been confident in succeeding, they would have been
much more apprehensive in proceeding with their career changes.
108
The factors presented in this section are discussed because they were issues that
made people consider not changing careers. The unknown of a new career brings the
potential for reward; however it also carries the risk of failure. Also, the potential for
uprooting and disrupting one’s family is of great consequence because it brings with it
considerable stress and anxiety for all family members. The question becomes: is it
worth it to take the risk, to upset your work, financial, and family situation, to try
something new? There are always reasons to discourage an adventure such as a career
change, but clearly the potential benefits for these people were undeniable. There were
not many discouraging factors that were identified by respondents. In other words, there
were not many factors that constrained these people from chasing a new career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
No matter what factors brought about each person’s feelings of a need for change,
every person involved in this project reached a point where he or she came up with an
idea or fantasy of what would be a more positive work situation than their current career.
For these people, the potential gains within themselves (e.g. increased satisfaction,
happiness, a new challenge, and detachment from work at the end of the day) lured them
into taking a proactive role in enacting change in their working lives.
Spousa
more fulfilled in their lives and careers. The people involved in this study not only had
l Support, Experimentation, and Security
Although people may fantasize about pursuing an alternate career dream, the
group of people that have participated in this research project are unique because they
have taken conscious steps to pursue what they thought would make them happier and
109
an idea or dream about what they wanted to do in a new career, they also saw themselves
having the foundation of a supportive spouse and a level of security from which they
could begin their career transition. All but three of the participants were married at the
time of their career change. Further, every person in this study who was married
perceived that their spouses were supportive of their career changes. As well, nearly all
Spousal Support
Although making a career change is often an introspective, individualistic
decision, having a supportive spouse has been instrumental in moving prospective career
changers toward developing a plan and taking action toward achieving new career goals.
Interestingly, 17 of the 20 research participants were married to their first and
only spouse at the time of their career change. Also, all of those research participants had
been married to their spouses for several years (often decades) before making their career
change. Many had met their partners either in high school or university, were married in
their early to mid-twenties, got their original jobs, and started families. As such, the
research participants had considerable time to develop, negotiate, and establish their
partnerships before asking their spouses for support during their career change.
Every person interviewed who was married at the time of their career change
explained that he or she either would not have pursued their career change, or would not
participants had the freedom to experiment with their new career opportunity and had a
solid structure of spousal, financial, and familial security in place. By having a
supportive spouse, the opportunity to experiment with career options, and having security
in place created a situation that laid the foundation from which these individuals could
then engage in a career change.
110
have pursued their future career aspirations with as much fervour, had his or her spouse
not given a supportive go-ahead. One former male teacher conveyed that he had
communicated with his wife every time he wanted to take a risk and his wife has
supported him every step of the way. He said that they have been very fortunate to
communicate and to move in the same direction at the same time. His wife’s support was
really important, especially in the first move. It was easier in subsequent moves, but her
support was always really important.
Although there was often considerable dialogue between couples regarding the
implications for the family and the course of action that would be required to make a
serious career transition, every respondent believed that her or his spouse offered support
to pursue her or his new goals. In fact, often the spouse (generally the wife) was seen as
artners to make changes in their careers. For instance, one
former
ake money and put
money away for retirement…” Even though changing careers often meant making
ownsizing and/or limiting spending,
most sp
instigating or pushing their p
male lawyer, now a professional guitarist, reported that his wife was so supportive
of his career change from law because she was a “practical girl”. His wife really enjoyed
her work and could tell that that he did not really enjoy his (especially in the latter years
of practice). She pushed him with her simple, though not simplistic, observation of “if
you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then don’t do it”. He would often reply (until he
decided to make the change) with “sure, that’s fine, but we need to m
considerable lifestyle and situational changes and d
ouses were willing to make those accommodations in order to allow their partners
to follow their occupational dreams.
111
Although some participants engaged people other than their spouses for advice
and support, their partner’s advice and guidance was the most important. Other friends
and family members would often discourage the research participants from pursuing any
changes. For many, leaving their careers did not make rational sense: they wanted to
give up high paying jobs that had stability and (for the teachers) a good pension. Many
people were advised that they were putting their families at risk by wanting to upset their
current situations. For example, when one couple told their parents that they were
quitting teaching to go into pig farming their parents thought they were daft. They were
leaving secure jobs even though they had little children and the wife was pregnant.
However, these discouragements still did not dissuade them from making their career
changes. What was important to all of these career changers was to have a desire and an
idea to move to something else and a supportive spouse to be by their sides and support
them through the transition.
Two Security Strategies: Financial and Experimentation
One of the interesting differences between lawyers and educators was the way in
which they found security before engaging in their career changes. Security was
something that almost all of the Pull People and all of the Push People (except those who
left because of the manifestation of illness) had in place to fall back on in case of a career
change failure. It was used as a measure to lessen the gravity of their decision and make
the negative consequences of a career change less severe. However, the chief security
strategies were different between lawyers and educators.
The security measure used most often by lawyers generally focused on financial
security. These strategies ensured that they had enough money so that they and their
112
families would be financially stable in a life lacking the high income gained from
practicing law. Keep in mind that the lawyers who were interviewed were in their
midlives – they had spent several years practising law, developing their practice,
achieving partnership within their firms, and also developing sizeable assets. The
lawyers generally developed a financial plan where they and their families would have to
downsize their spending and lifestyle habits in order to make the new work situation
financially feasible. One former lawyer who is now a professional guitar player stated:
the country. We’d gotten tired of it anyway, but we needed to adopt a different
the city and were tired of spending six hours cutting the grass. Once one makes
that need to be done.
nancial spending habits and still living
comfortably was viable. This cushion allowed the lawyers to make career transitions
with greater ease than the educators.
The process during making the transition meant that we had to sell the acreage in
way of life in order to make this new lifestyle work. We wanted to come back to
that decision to switch, there are all sorts of business things and personal things
Because lawyers are self-employed (they must generate their own business, and
there is no steady monthly salary) they often started at an early point in their career to
save money for the future and for retirement. These people made investments that often
provided substantial dividends. As discussed previously, one man who moved from law
to being the executive director of a not-for-profit organization made an investment in
medical technologies that made him substantial money when the company was bought
out in a takeover. He said that his income was not a factor to change careers because he
was set up fairly well due to the selling of the company. It gave him the opportunity to
look at other options that did not pay as well. He was in a position where he did not have
to practise law in order to pay the bills. Because of the large incomes that lawyers often
receive, taking steps to downsize their fi
113
s in between career changes. That was the only security she
felt she required.
Instead of relying on a financial nest egg and making an absolute decision to leave,
the educators opted to take a leave of absence from the education jobs that they were
trying to exit. This was a fairly widespread option for educators. This ‘experimentation’
allowed teachers to go out into the world outside of education in order to try out new
career aspirations. All were able to take leaves, whether they were one-year voluntary
leaves of absence or medical leaves. One former teacher/guidance counsellor turned
entrepreneur joked that he probably held the record in the Calgary Board of Education for
the most leaves of absence. Every five years he would take a year off in order to
“recharge his batteries” so that he could come back with a fresh attitude and a
Although the female lawyers did use this strategy, they did so slightly differently.
For two of the women, financial security was not an issue because their husbands made
substantial incomes. As one woman who is now a professor of law noted, if she had
stayed practising law, she would be making five times as much money as she does now.
She also articulated that the articling students in her husband’s law firm make
approximately the same amount as she does. The two women who identified that money
was not an issue said that because of their family’s financial situation with savings and
their husband’s income, they did not have to work if they did not want to. They work
because they enjoy what they do. The other female ex-lawyers had various feelings of
the necessity of security. One woman had faith in her ability to find work that she
wanted. Another woman was happy that she had taken a pay increase at every career
change that she made. Her advice was that it is important to have enough money to not
need to work for a few month
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reinvigorated passion for his job. After he exercised that option several times, he was
ready to leave the profession permanently.
As discussed previously, the main concern for educators was that they wanted to
leave the profession before they were 55 but, in doing so, would not collect their full
pensions. The strategy of experimentation allowed them to maintain their seniority,
pension contributions, and teaching or principal positions for a one-year term to try and
make a successful attempt at their new aspirations without fear of being unemployed or
destitu
the wo
situatio
decision as to whether or not she or he was going to return to her or his educational life.
Almost all d
te if their career change failed. It also allowed them the freedom of returning to
rking life of education in the event that they did not like their new working
ns. Once the year of experimentation was over, every educator had to make a
ecided to stay in their new careers after they had been out of the education
system for their one year experiment (with the exception of the former teacher mentioned
above who took more than one sabbatical before eventually leaving permanently).
The combination of using a security strategy and having a supportive spouse help
to create a strong foundation from which career changers can engage in the proactive
pursuit of their new career goals. Without these supports in place it would be much more
difficult or discouraging for people to make the leap from thinking about or wanting to
make a change to actually going after what they want. Spousal support validates an
individual’s occupational desires and allows each person to reduce the feelings of
responsibility for providing for their families. The security measures that are drawn upon
take the long term pressure off the individual so that he or she can still feel that the family
will not suffer from his or her ventures.
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DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS
Deciding to make a career transition is often a complex and difficult decision.
There are many reasons to make a career change, as well as many factors that create an
underlying physical and emotional environment that makes people feel that it is time for a
change. The purpose of this chapter was to provide a snapshot of the conditions that
make work less desirable, as well as to identify the motivations for why people ultimately
decide to engage in a career change. I have also talked about the encouraging and
discouraging factors that go into the interviewees’ decision-making process as they
consider making a career change. Finally, some of the strategies for how people make
career changes were discussed, as well as the importance of interpersonal support and
security in making these shifts.
Making a career change is a complex process that involves the negotiation
between personal, professional, and interpersonal factors. There are many complicated
issues that are considered when deciding to commit to and engage in a career change.
These issues include the invasiveness of the job, a change in the collegial scene, the
manifestation of health-related concerns, a change in the bureaucracy of the education
system, the importance of spousal support, the fulfillment generated from the core tasks
of a job, the measures of security in place that minimize the risk of failure on individuals
and their families, and generally how work, finances, and family are all impacted by a
career change. Also, there are two key points to consider in this process of career
transition in addition to those just mentioned. First, the passage of time is important in
the transition because it plays a part in the rise and fall of the importance of the different
factors at the unsettling, decision-making, and actual career change transition stages.
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That being said, the overarching process of career change is not much different between
lawyers and educators. However, on an individual basis there is a diversity of paths
which
ging
careers
people can follow depending on their individual job situations, the structure of
their professions, and their personal situations.
To explain in greater detail, the unsettling underlying factors, motivations, and
triggers are all important for people to decide that a career change is desired. As
discussed in Chapter IV, every person in this study enjoyed his or her job in the early
years of practice. Over time various issues emerged that made the general work
experience less desirable, thus creating a situation where people had less commitment to
the job. For the majority, these issues were not sufficient to motivate a career change;
however they were significant in lessening the enjoyment and fulfillment of the job. The
underlying issues made their jobs less satisfying, and the added incentive created by the
motivations gave them the additional assurance necessary to proceed. If these underlying
factors were not present, these people may have had less reason to consider chan
. These people were then more open to the consideration of a career change once
the underlying factors had produced a situation of low occupational commitment. At this
stage the motivations to make a career change become more attractive because people are
no longer excited or passionate about their jobs. People are open to the potential of a
career change at this point because their commitment to their former jobs was unsettled.
Also, contrary to the literature, the importance of triggers is secondary in prompting
people to change careers. Instead, triggers act as solidifying events that reinforce the
decision to make a career change. In combination, the effect of the encouraging factors,
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the motivations to leave, and the triggers make for the development of a desire to explore
d be noted that the participants in this study are people
different possible career avenues.
In addition, the feelings of fear and anxiety about the perceived severity of the
discouraging factors are in many respects the ’what ifs’: ‘What if I fail?’ ‘What if my
family suffers?’ ‘What if I don’t have what it takes?’. The people in this study placed
minimal emphasis on the discouraging factors. However, this was not done intentionally.
Instead, for these people the potential of success far outweighed the potential of failure.
Also, the idea of remaining in their former careers was not appealing. Perhaps the
potential of reviving the feelings of fulfillment, challenge, enjoyment, and success that
these people had in the early years of their careers was enough of a payoff to make the
risk worth taking. Also, it shoul
who have made a successful career change. In hearing about their accounts
retrospectively, the discouraging factors may be downplayed by the participants because
they feel triumphant in their career shift.
In addition, the feelings of security and interpersonal support diminish the
perceived severity of the discouraging factors. The feelings of spousal support alleviated
some of the pressure of providing financially for their families. Having a spouse share
feelings of support regarding a career change was inspiring for the participants. Having a
spouse who has faith make people feel more confident that they can succeed in a new
venture. Feelings of security, whether it be financial security or job security, are also
important because they let people feel that they will not create hardship for their families
or themselves if they make changes. Security gives people a feeling that there is a safety
net in case of failure. In many cases the people felt that they could return to their old life-
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situations if things did not work out with their new ventures. The educators could go
back to work after their sabbaticals and the lawyers could still practise law because many
kept paying their dues to the Law Society. Also, having an adequate amount of financial
savings gave people the flexibility to make the transition from their first to second career
withou
growth becomes more desirable.
t suffering considerable financial hardship.
People often have changes in values when they decide to make a career change.
Whether they look for better work-life balance or want to leave a positive footprint on
society, people generally have a change in their outlook on life. However, having a
change in values does not prompt a career change. The development of different
principles may come about during the original job for some, but those principles do not
precipitate a career change. Instead, being unseated from one’s commitment to a job then
provides an opportunity for people to examine their lives and consider what changes they
would like to make. If people love what that they do, they will remain doing it. But if
the situation is not ideal, people may reconsider and re-evaluate all of the aspects of their
job and their life. Whether that be not spending enough time with family, not wanting to
do a job that has no positive impact on the world, or even not having enough time to
enjoy leisure activities, these desires and changing values may become more important in
people’s lives once they have reached a point in their careers where they no longer feel
that they have something to prove to themselves or to others. For some individuals, they
have enough assets that they can live comfortably on their income without having to
strive for more money. Once people reach this point in their lives where they have
enough money to live comfortably, other things that allow for higher levels of personal
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In many respects the data collected during this research show the two-way
interaction between the individual and the family. The desire to make a major change in
one’s l
ll the people in this study remained cognizant
of their
ife is a very inward-looking and introspective process. It involves acknowledging
that there is something missing, something is negative, or something within a person’s
life is out of balance. A person with a desire to change her or his life situation must then
figure out how to remedy the problem(s). If that means changing careers to pursue an
unrelated passion or to leave an unhealthy working environment, a person must then
figure out in which type of situation he or she would be happier. At this point people are
generally in positions where they have the desire to move to different jobs other than
their current occupations. Once this process has taken place within the individual, the
prospective career changers must engage their partners or spouses for the purpose of
creating a feasible and practical plan that will not endanger the family’s well-being.
Although making a career change can be individualistic, the process carries
serious implications for the family unit. A
roles and responsibilities as parents and husbands or wives. So, even though each
person had to make their career change based on their own interests (whether it was for
self-preservation, health issues, or following new interests or passions) he or she did not
forget that there would be implications for his or her family from this transition. This is
why it is so important to have spousal support and a security structure in place. By
having those measures in place, people who engage in career changes can do something
for themselves while still feeling like they are being good spouses and parents. The
closeness of the family and the direct impact that a career change has on their lives may
explain why the spouse and children have a much larger impact on encouraging a
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potential career changer to modify their working lives than other people who voice their
discouragement and apprehension (i.e. parents, friends, siblings). The lives of those
outsiders who offer their best advice (and often negative advice) do not have as large an
impact on the career changer’s decision (compared to a spouse and children) because the
person offering advice is not directly affected by the risk of trying a new occupation.
The transition from one career to the next is a complicated phase in a person’s
lifetime career. It involves risk, contemplation, discussion, and communication. It also
requires strength, commitment, and faith in one’s abilities. So what does it take to make
a career change? What are the benefits of making a career change? Do people see
themselves as better off from their first careers? How does a career change impact
people’s families? If they could do it again, would they make a career change?
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CHAPTER VI
THE NEW JOB
In the previous chapter I discussed the transitional phase of midlife career change.
This included a description of the underlying factors that unseat occupational
commitment to people’s careers, the motivations that pushed and pulled people to new
careers, and the securities and strategies that they negotiate when making an occupational
shift. In addition, I identified various encouraging and discouraging factors that influence
people’s decisions to engage in a career change.
As was seen in the previous chapter, the transition from the first career to the
second is a complex process that involves the contemplation and negotiation of many
different factors. The following chapter will provide a discussion of the participants in
their new jobs in terms of what types of employment they took up, as well as the reasons
for choosing those jobs. Also, the consequences of making a career change will be
identified in terms of the professional, personal, and family outcomes that emerge from a
successful midlife career change.
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WHERE THEY WENT AND HOW THEY GOT THERE
There was a myriad of new vocational positions that the respondents entered into.
With regard to this sample, there were people who took up such occupations as
professional guitarists, chief executive officers, hog farmers, physiotherapists, dog
groomers, and wealth management consultants. It is important to identify where these
people
People Holding High-Powered Positions
Seven people entered new careers that carry power and authority, and all are at
the heads of the organization for which they work. Specifically, there are three executive
directors, two chief executive officers, one general director for the arts, and one chairman
of a government regulatory body. Beyond this, it is interesting to see to what type of
organizations these people went. Of these seven people who are in positions of power
and influence, five are the heads of not-for-profit organizations, one leads a governmental
regulatory board, and one heads up a public company. This is of note because it ties in
with the recurring sentiment among the participants in terms of how they really enjoy the
feeling of making a positive societal difference through their work. Overwhelmingly,
these people were motivated to enter their new careers by the possibility of doing a public
good and feeling a sense of purpose from their work. One man who is the Executive
Director of a provincial lawyer assistance program said that he pursued his position
’s working lives took them and what ultimately made them choose to take up and
remain in their new positions. For the most part, there are two distinct forms of work that
people have entered. These areas are either positions of authority and power or jobs that
allow for more personal control and have ties to earlier interests. Interestingly, an equal
number of people from law and education fell into these respective categories.
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because of his desire to help other lawyers, as well as to make sense of the 12 years of his
life spent as a lawyer. His law career was riddled with episodes of moving into and out
of jobs and law firms because of stress, depression, and anxiety. His inner motivation to
do the lawyer assistance job was that he wanted to do something that he knew would
“feel right”, thus answering his per ure that a service was available to
help other lawyers overcome issues such as stress, anxiety, and drug abuse. The not-for-
profit avenue was a good choice for the people who followed it, because it allowed them
to use their experience and expertise to affect change on a large scale. These people liked
being agents of change and ha ork toward making a positive
difference for others. Another person who is the director of a large governmental oil and
gas organization said:
I’ve always taken a position in my career that I think one should work in the
and here [oil and gas organization] dictate that you keep the public interest in
interest. I’ve also in the course of my work up there [in Edmonton, Alberta] and
work in non-profit organizations, and I do. I continue to work with a social
board of that agency. I’m on the board of the Y[MCA] here and many other non- role in these organizations, and partly
because I want to contribute beyond the media view of the job that I have.
enjoy and dislike about their jobs. Four of them described how they enjoy working and
agues in order to solve problems and come up
sonal calling to ens
ving the power to w
public interest, and these jobs both in justice [where he was in his previous job]
mind because that’s part of our raison d’être, which is to work in the public
my work here [in Calgary, Alberta], because of these positions you’re invited to
service agency that I worked for many years in Edmonton and I am still on the
profit boards. I do them partly because my
As for the composition of this group, four men and three women entered high powered
positions. Specifically, five lawyers and two educators took up high-profile positions.
There are several other commonalities regarding what these high-ranking people
interacting with other people over the course of the day. First, these people talked about
how they enjoy working with their colle
124
with strategies. One CEO said that the best part of his job is getting to work with the
ng people
identified that learning was a major part of the enjoyment of their jobs. One of the
other people in his company. These people like being team players within their
organization, working together to solve problems, and creating visions for their
organization. Second, these respondents say they enjoy interacting with others outside of
their companies. Because they are the figureheads of their organizations, these people
are required to interact with all types of different people, including clients, volunteers,
performers, politicians, academics, and the media. The interaction and communication
with others is a fulfilling component of these people’s working lives.
Another occupational commonality among these people was that they loved
learning and the challenge of mastering knowledge. Four of the high-ranki
respondents said:
One of the best things that gets me out of bed in the morning is learning. There is a big learning curve at this job because I need to understand the research that goes on and be able to understand and communicate with researchers that are conducting research on a very narrow field. I need to understand what they’re talking about and relay that to others. So I learn a lot on the job.
As was discussed in the chapter on pre-change careers (Chapter IV), the challenge of
learning and mastering a new occupation brings about a great deal of fulfillment.
All of these people greatly enjoy the careers in which they are engaged. However,
there are still things about their new jobs that they dislike or that they would prefer to do
without, but these issues are annoyances rather than serious troubles. First, most of the
respondents who work in government and not-for-profit agencies complained about the
speed at which business is conducted. In their former professions, issues were dealt with
quickly, such as educators needing to deal with situations regarding their students or
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deadlines that lawyers needed to meet in regard to different cases. However, in their new
not-for-profit work environments there is a considerably slower pace at which business
happens. This is partly due to the bureaucracy of working with governments, working
within the system of academia, and having limited resources because of budgeting
constraints within not-for-profit organizations. Second, three people did not like the
amount of travel that their jobs require. Travelling is generally required to meet with
clients, colleagues in other cities, and stakeholders. Although these people do not mind
working once they get to their destinations, the time, effort, and energy required to travel
is something that they would prefer to do without. Third, although it was not a serious
issue, four people noted that they still work long hours. In fact, most of these people
identified that they work more hours than they did in their previous jobs. However,
respon
this for
works
the wo
their re ations.
s
dents do not feel resentful about having to work long hours. In fact, many echoed
mer lawyer turned Chairman of a regulatory board in saying: “any professional
long hours, it’s the nature of the beast. I don’t begrudge the time because I find
rk fascinating and I hope to be contributing something”.
One of the most interesting commonalities held by these high-level people is in
trospective understanding of how they ended up in their current work situ
Four of the people in high-powered positions can see that when they look back on their
careers there is a natural progression leading them to where they are. For them, it ha
been a combination of their formal and experiential education that has provided them
with the expertise as well as the opportunities to hold the high-ranking positions that they
do. For all of the people included in this category, they had no preconceived notions or
goals of reaching their current positions. However, they can see how their university
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educations in law, engineering, business, and education have provided them with the
formal training necessary to be successful in their jobs. More importantly however,
according to the participants, the experiences that they had earlier in their careers
provided them with the knowledge and understanding to do their present jobs well, while
also making themselves known in their new fields. When it came time to appoint people
to those positions, their names were on the lists of candidates. For example, one woman
who is now the CEO of a women’s organization in Calgary had sat on that agency’s
Board of Directors in the 1980s. Another woman who is now the General Director of a
ajor
re is a tight similarity among the participants in their key motivations
for eng
position
long ho societal policy-
People Whose Jobs Follow Earlier Interests
Thirteen people entered new jobs because they were following earlier interests.
These people chose to do the jobs they are in now over anything else because of
established interests. For some people this meant pursuing a hobby or passion in a full-
time manner for pay, while for others it meant taking jobs that allowed them to have a
desired lifestyle or live in an area that was desirable. Each person had something that
m Arts organization in Alberta sat on several Boards of Directors for similar
associations. These people all felt that their formal education and experiences have made
them better able to do their jobs.
Overall, the
aging in their jobs, their likes and dislikes, and the ways they came into their
s. These people also enjoy their jobs tremendously; they work hard and work
urs. They hold tremendous influence in the community and on
making. In general, their work is challenging but makes them feel fulfilled.
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pulled him or her toward the new job, and every participant highly enjoys the work that
he or she now does.
Five people had earlier hobbies or interests that they turned into full-time paid
work. As discussed in the previous chapter, these hobbies were partly responsible for
pulling them toward their new careers. They are now extremely happy and passionate in
their new vocations. The new jobs and the people now engaged in them include two
former lawyers – one who is now a bluegrass guitar player and the other a university
professor of law, and three former educators – one former principal who is now a
motivational magician, a former teacher who is a dog groomer, and an ex-
teacher/guidance counsellor who is an investor and entrepreneur. For these people the
career change was fairly easy because they had both a dwindling desire to remain in their
former careers as well as an increased interest in pursuing their hobbies or interests on a
full-time basis.
Three people decided to follow their new careers in part because of an interest to
live in a specific area. One couple who used to be elementary school teachers took up
hog farming because they wanted to move to a rural area north of Calgary, Alberta. The
husband had taken some outdoors training and fell in love with the region. They were set
on living there and looked for business opportunities to get involved with so that they
could live where they wanted. They chose hog farming because a friend of theirs said
that they could potentially make money at it. The couple had little farming experience;
however they took on the challenge of running a farm of 2500 hogs. The other man who
pursued his new career did so partly because he wanted to move to Canada from
Northern Ireland. For him a lot of things came together that made him want to leave
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Ireland and come to Canada: he had been in the same place for 14 years, the politics in
Northern Ireland in the 1970s were “rotten”, and the weather was unpleasant. In addition,
he had some friends in Canada whom he had visited, and he loved the country. While
living in Belfast, he had a dream where he was walking through the streets of Victoria,
British Columbia. It was the early morning and he was carrying a briefcase going to his
office. He came to Canada with his wife and went to law school because he was not
granted entrance into the country as a teacher (he was overqualified as a teacher but
under-qualified as a university professor). While living in Victoria he recalled
remembering his dream years later and thinking “holy shit, this is actually happening!”
after having his dream five or six years previous.
The final five people entered their new careers because of interests that developed
through
ity professor
became interested in physiotherapy because his daughter was receiving treatment for an
d started talking to other people about it.
their life and career experiences. Over the years these people had experiences
that led to an interest in pursuing their current jobs. This includes one former lawyer who
was living as an expatriate, which led her to become a wealth management consultant for
other expatriates. She saw there was a need for someone to manage clients’ financial
portfolios while they were living outside of Canada. Also, a former univers
injury. He was curious about the profession an
The more he researched the profession the more he got excited about becoming a
physiotherapist. A former high school math teacher became a habitual graduate student
partly because she found a set of peers at the university who were interesting and
enjoyable to be around. This camaraderie filled a gap that she found was lacking in her
latter years as a teacher. She missed the collegiality of other interesting teachers like she
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enjoyed in her early years of teaching, and finding her peers and professors at the
university helped her find her place. All of these people developed interests over their
aching and doing research.
you’ve got camaraderie and that you laugh together and have fun together, it is a
life course through the experiences that they had. Through exploring different
experiences these people were able to find something that was a good personal fit for
them, which in turn has also made them happy in their jobs.
Similar to the people found in high-profile positions, these respondents have
similar reasons for enjoying their jobs. Overwhelmingly, the participants identified that
what they like best about their new careers is doing the job’s core activity. These people
find the central actions of their jobs to be highly enjoyable and fulfilling. For instance,
the hog farmers and dog groomer love engaging with their animals – central to their
fulfillment is being with the animals and tending to them. The motivational magician and
professional guitarist love performance, and love practising their crafts. The law
professor loves te
Many people also love the camaraderie of their colleagues and peers. The
professional guitarist said that within the music culture, musicians have much greater
levels of interdependency than do lawyers. He likes how they work together, cooperate,
and help each other. Another woman who is a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome specialist who
was a principal said that she really enjoys being in the school environment and the
relationships that she has developed with her colleagues. She no longer has the negative
aspects of her old job interfering with her life, while she gets to keep the collegiality of
teachers in her new role. Regarding camaraderie, one woman said:
It doesn’t matter what job you do, if you’re greeted happily and you find that
big factor. The teamwork is the most important; if you have people on your staff
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that you feel are working as a team… it doesn’t matter who it is… if you work
It is interesting to see how a positive collegial scene is important to these people in their
new careers, much like having positive collegiality was central to the enjoyment and
commitment in their pre-change careers.
Similarly, one of the things that these respondents dislike about their new jobs is
that they miss the relationships they had with their former colleagues. This sentiment
was expressed mostly by the lawyers, saying that they miss the social aspects of their jobs
such as having coffee or going for lunch together. Although these respondents often
interact with other people (e.g. clients), they mostly act as lo
well together it’s healthy! It’s huge in job satisfaction.
ne professionals, where most
of the respondents in this category are in
aspects of the high-profiled people’s jobs that were disliked were generally structural in
businesses where they work for and by
themselves. The implications of this situation are that the interviewees in their new jobs
work on their own most of the time and do not have a set of colleagues that they see on a
daily basis. This however was the only major dislike identified by the research
participants who are in new jobs because they pursued other interests. They all generally
enjoy their jobs and feel extremely fulfilled by the core activities of their work.
Overall, it is interesting to see these two different streams of occupations that
people pursued. Both new careers paths involved the utilization of the experiences of the
participants in order to allow them to find a new fulfilling job. In the case of the high-
profiled positions, these people employed their professional skills and experience in
positions where they could have a positive influence on their communities and on society.
The people who took new jobs that were related to developed interests used their leisure
and life experiences in order to enter into occupations that were good fits for them. The
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nature (slow pace of business, requirement of travel, long hours), and it is understandable
that the people who followed new career paths because of interest did not suffer from
these same factors since they have more control over their work, as they are often self-
employed. Being in control of their work means being able to set the terms of their
employment: how much they work, how quickly they work, and where they work. As a
result, they reduce those negative structural aspects of work.
CONSEQUENCES
There are many things in people’s lives that are affected by a career change. The
ultimate goal of making a career change is to alter a previous work situation in order to
engage in a new venture. The impact of a career change on people’s lives is tremendous,
and the change process affects all facets of their lives, including self perception, income,
and the amount of time spent working. The following section will describe the
conseq
ing, all the people in
this stu
experie
experience over a lifetime make people more valuable in the working world. Seven
uences of making a career change in three areas: professional, personal, and family.
Professional Consequences
Overall, making a career change means finding a better fit for one’s expertise and
work experience to maximize the personal fit between individuals and their jobs. Several
similar themes emerged from the interviews with participants in terms of the professional
consequences incurred by a career change. The most prevalent topic of discussion of
professional consequences concerned life-skills. Generally speak
dy feel that they are better able to do their new jobs because of their past
nces. One person called this the “economy of experience”, where maturity and
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people
success if they had not had their previous professional experiences.
skills transferability between people’s
first and second careers.
said explicitly that they would not be able to do their new jobs with as much
Further, many of the participants said that there is no such thing as a bad
experience; they have learned something new from everything they did earlier in their
careers. Part of this feeling stems from feelings of
For instance, a former teacher turned hog farmer said “A lot of
teachers want to get out of teaching, but think that they don’t know anything. They have
so many people skills. A lot of the skills that we [he and his wife] learned as teachers
have been transferable to our other jobs”. In farming, this man got involved in the
Alberta hog marketing board and was dealing with people. He and his wife had
employees to deal with, and the organizational skills and management of the barn and
money were important. He felt that these aspects of his job were easy for him, partly
because of the successful experiences he had as a teacher. Also, the business end of
teaching such as negotiating bureaucracy and interacting with colleagues and parents on a
professional basis gave him the confidence to start up buying real estate. He and his wife
now have several residential rental properties in a rural Alberta area and have also bought
a real estate agency. Another former teacher said that the skills he used in education –
team building and people skills – are used in the business world when he makes
entrepreneurial decisions. Part of his success is that he builds the same trust with his
business partners as he did with his students. One of the female ex-lawyers believes that
“You can draw from all things that you’ve learned and all the experiences that you’ve
had”. She believes that there are often times where she has found herself saying “Ah,
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that’s why I met that person… that’s why I did that 20 years ago”, because she believes
that everything comes back and becomes relevant in the future.
Not a single person in this study said that their past experiences had hindered
them in their new careers. In some cases having their original careers allowed the
participants to be more successful in their new endeavours than if they had not had their
first careers. The motivational magician believes that without his credentials of formerly
being a principal, he would not be able to enter as many schools and perform. He
usker and wanted to go into schools, other principals would not
school system. The lawyer who became a professional guitarist said that he is glad that
ming a professional musician because he can play guitar
withou
t
believes that if he was a b
readily accept him because they would not trust him as an educator. Because he had 22
years as an educator, administrator, principal, counsellor, and because he “knows
schools”, he believes that principals are confident that when he comes into their schools
the program will be educationally sound, that he knows children and that he can keep
them under control. He also thinks there is a brotherhood among principals that makes it
easier for them to hire him. As a result, he does not regret any moment of working in the
he was a lawyer before beco
t being financially strapped. He said: “Unless I was really lucky, it would have
been a really difficult time being a musician right out of high school. Many musicians
have difficult lives, so I get two kicks at music”. His 25 years in law allowed him to
develop enough of a financial nest egg to live comfortably with the reduced income he
receives from playing guitar. He felt that if tha was not the case he would possibly
struggle financially as many of his musician-colleagues do who have been playing music
all their lives.
134
Overall, the people in this study felt that their previous professional, volunteer,
and per
younger than all the people there…. There were two other lawyers that were
reporting to me. They were more senior than I was and had been there longer
considered for the job and weren’t given the job. Within the executive group I was the youngest, where the next youngest was probably 41.
sonal experiences gave them life-skills that allowed them to be more successful in
their new careers than if they had not had those experiences. For some people, their past
experiences steered them toward their new careers. For others, the importance and
impact of these past experiences were not felt until they were engaged in their new jobs.
What is important is that every person felt that they took away good life-lessons and
developed positive life-skills from their original careers that were useful in their new jobs.
Another professional consequence, felt mostly by the people who pursued
professional careers or jobs within existing organizations, was their feeling that their
professional confidence was shaken by being in a new position. People mostly talked
about how they initially felt that they lacked the skills to do their new jobs. It took many
of the participants considerable time before they felt that they could be effective and
successful in their new jobs. For many, especially the people who took on high-profile
positions, they found that there was a lag-time between the start of their new career and
when they felt competent in doing the job. For some people this meant feeling unsure of
their negotiations within the culture of the workplace. When one man started his job for
a logistics company he felt that becoming part of a team and interacting with the other
people at work was hard. He said:
Anytime you’re with a new group of people there’s a dynamic there, I was way
there already that were in their forties that I was in charge of and who were
than I was. They were both really talented people and in the end they were
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Having to negotiate being younger, having to manage existing employees in his
department who did not get his position, and having to find his place within the
efore I would have made any serious decisions of any sort I would have been at least six months. In that six-month time frame I went to absolutely
organization were difficult for him. It took time to become comfortable, and he said that
over time he was welcomed into the company and is now pleased with the people he
works with.
For other people the upsetting of confidence came from being immersed in a field
unrelated to their first career. Three people said that there was a huge learning curve that
had to be overcome before they felt comfortable in making decisions and being effective
in their positions. One woman who was a principal and is now a Chief Executive Officer
for a not-for-profit organization said that it took her a long time to see her transferable
skills and how they would fit into her new job. It was such a new environment for her,
which made for a big learning curve. It took her about a year to see which of her
strengths were transferring. There was a shaking of confidence in leaving one place
where she had a really strong sense of her success and strength to going into something
new and being unsettled by it. She said that she did not like that feeling, although she
kept quiet about that and calmed herself about it. To manage it, she used positive self-
talk and sought advice and support. Now she can see the transferable skills, but it took
some time to see their overlay. She imagines this is common in a transition, where it
takes time because people have to develop an understanding of their new job context.
She believes: “When you change completely from one area or sector to something
completely different, it takes you longer to figure out the new place”. Another man who
was in a position of power said:
I think b
136
everything I could go to. There are a lot of invitations that come to this office from various groups for lectures or to social gatherings or to meetings, and I went
down absolutely nothing in that six months, during which time I got a little
started to make some decisions after about six months. But probably to answer
probably close to two years.
three times a week. Swimming was her
primary source of exercise as well as stre
could d
pool on
compu
terms of being able to set how long they work, control the flexibility of when they work,
to everything. From six o’clock in the morning to 11 o’clock at night I turned
familiarity with what was going on and got to meet a lot of the people, then
the question more precisely, to become comfortable with the position, it was
As can be seen from these accounts, the time it takes to feel comfortable in a job is
significant. Considering all of the things that it takes to master a job, it is not surprising
that these people felt insecure in making decisions early in their appointments. They did
eventually see why they were selected for their positions, but it took time for them to
develop the self-confidence needed to take on the full responsibility of their positions. It
is important to note that these people were also very eager and interested to learn their
new positions. This often involved learning and understanding highly technical
information, learning the social and cultural field in which they were working, and
developing an understanding of what was expected of them. Every person that described
this situation said it was a positive, although unsettling, experience.
Two other professional consequences were brought up in conversation with the
research participants. In general, they found that they had lower work stress as opposed
to their first careers, but worked longer hours in their current jobs. One woman said that
when she was a principal she would swim
ss relief, and it was the one activity that she
o where she would not think about work. In her new position she has a swimming
the premises, but her stress level is lower, making it so that she does not feel the
lsion to swim. Other people felt that they had more control over their work in
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and control the people with whom they interact. These people said that possessing the
control over their working lives allowed them to minimize their stress because they were
setting the terms for their work.
It is interesting to note that no participants indicated higher stress levels in their
new work positions, whether they are self-employed or hired on to a new position in a
er change. One woman said that she made six career
change
larger organization. However, only four people out of 20 indicated that they work fewer
hours in their new careers than they did in their previous employment. Generally
speaking, people work as many or more hours in their new careers than they did in their
old professions. This is surprising, especially considering the amount of time most of the
former lawyers and principals worked. Although most people work longer hours than in
their first careers, most feel that they now have more flexibility in scheduling their time.
As mentioned previously, these people feel that they are in control of their working lives,
and as a result, are able to schedule when they will work depending on their work and
non-work agendas.
The final professional consequence that was discussed by many of the participants
was how they experienced a change in income. Eight people indicated that they took a
pay cut because of the transition from first to second career. However, four of those eight
people also indicated that they were sufficiently wealthy that income was not a factor in
making a career change (as discussed in Chapter V, these people either had financial
security through investments and savings or had a spouse who made a sufficient income
so that they did not have to work). Conversely, 12 people indicated that they had an
increased income from their care
s over her working life, and every time she increased her earnings. Another
138
woman
lobbyis
especia
making a career change. The respondents saw the value in their past experiences, felt
stem from a career
change
said that she increased her earnings by $20 000 a year since taking her job as a
t. Overall, making a career change was a good financial move for many people,
lly for the educators.
This section has identified many of the professional repercussions that stem from
unsettled in their new jobs for a period of time, experienced lower work stress, worked
longer hours but had greater control over their work, and generally made more money.
Overall, many of the negative aspects of people’s former jobs were remedied by making
a career change, or the negative aspects directly related to work were reduced in these
new employment situations. Professional hardship was not incurred by a career change,
although many people did find it an uncomfortable process at the beginning of their new
careers because they needed to settle in to their new positions.
Personal Consequences
Along with consequences in people’s working lives that
, people’s personal lives are also altered. Every person in this study said that they
are now generally happier because of making a radical occupational shift. They have
been successful in moving from one career to the next and feel that they are doing what
they want to do as work. One woman described not only being happier, but also being
funnier and felt that she was generally a better person. Another woman said that after
being out of teaching for two years, people started telling her that she looked ten years
younger. Another woman said that she feels happier as a university professor now versus
being a lawyer, which is good for her family life. Overall, people felt that they were
more passionate about their work, were happier in general, and enjoyed what they were
139
doing. They believed that their happiness transferred into all parts of their lives, making
their personal, family, and working lives better.
There are several other personal consequences that have been identified by the
researc
image was never directly tied to her job title. For the six people who
h participants. These effects enormously influence the lives of these people in
terms of how they see themselves, how they view their old jobs, and how they live their
lives. For many people there was a shift in their identity, ego, and prestige. For those
who identified themselves through their occupational status, changing careers caused a
huge gap between who they thought they were and who they were becoming. In many
respects changing jobs also meant changing one’s identity because, through redefining
their occupational positions, they were also redefining their selves.
Six people explicitly talked about how their identities were affected because of
their career changes. Many others discussed how their lives have changed and how they
have changed. Only one person said that her identity did not change, and this was due to
the fact that her self-
did view themselves as having different identities in their post-career change occupations,
several interesting findings emerged.
Three of the six people now identify themselves primarily through their second
careers. These people have since either retired or moved on to other ventures after
working two decades in their businesses, but they still identify themselves to others as
what they did in their second careers. After over twenty years, the hog farmer went back
to teaching band at the high school in rural Alberta because, as he says, the band program
was pitiful and his sons’ musical gifts were not being nurtured. He knew that he could do
the job (because of his teaching experience of leading school bands), so he took it on
140
part-time while also maintaining his hog farm. During that period and after he sold the
farm, he still identified himself solely as a hog farmer. Leading the band was something
that he did but it was not what defined him. Another woman said that leaving teaching
how much complaining
teachers did. She developed a much lower opinion of teachers once she got out of
r educator-identity and crafted her self-
age around being a lobbyist. She now identif
changed her identity. She realized that she was not well-respected as an elementary
school teacher by other people in the community (once she got into adult education). She
also took time off from working to raise her family. She said that she lost a lot of her
self-confidence and sense of identity because she was ‘only a mom’ after leaving
teaching; people treated her differently than when she would get dressed up for meetings.
Because of this, it was hard to get back into the workforce. She lost her tenacity when
she went back to work. She felt unsure as to whether she could teach again after being
out of the education system for so many years. It took her a long time to get back into the
swing of working. She learned a lot. She was amazed at
education and into lobbying. She dropped he
im ies herself only as a retired lobbyist.
Generally speaking, the respondents did not feel that their egos suffered from
making a career change. However, two people did say that they felt a shift in their level
of prestige from making a career change. One woman left law and took a sales job with a
company that sold law-related products (this was a multi-year career before she got into
wealth management). She said that it was a tremendous blow to her ego to take that
position. She went from a position where meetings would not start until she got there to a
position where she would sometimes wait for clients for an afternoon and then would be
turned away because they were too busy to meet with her. She felt that there was a lot of
141
pride and ego that was swallowed in this new job. Another former lawyer said that
becoming a university professor was a step up in her prestige level because she had
previou
s. One dog groomer
when she and her husband were first married and
she wa
sly been a part-time lawyer. She communicated that being a part-time lawyer is
the bottom of the hierarchy of lawyers. As a result, when she went into another job her
status went up. In addition, she said that lawyers are people for whom brains matter, and
being a professor holds that same status. She now has more pride and is better received
at functions where she talks with lawyers.
Interestingly, two of the people discussed how they will always identify
themselves as educators before talking about their new jobs because, although they enjoy
their new jobs, there are benefits to holding onto their old identitie
said that she often attends medical conferences with her husband who is a doctor. She
stated that she will always establish that she is a retired teacher when being introduced to
people before she talks about dog grooming. She says there are no accolades or respect
in dog grooming, although it does bring with it a pleasant lifestyle. She wants people to
take her seriously, and that is why she identifies herself as a teacher. She also mentioned
that her situation now feels much like
s working as a secretary. She felt embarrassed to say that she was ‘only a
secretary’ when they went to doctor-hosted parties. The other person who still identifies
himself as an educator is the motivational magician. As discussed previously, he says
that having been a principal in the past still defines him. He tells people that he is a
former principal when making business calls. In that way he uses it as a marketing tool,
but he also considers himself a principal because that is what he was. He sees himself in
his new occupational role as an educator, a motivator, and a motivational speaker. He
142
also discussed how difficult his new job was at the onset of his new career because he felt
guilty about not going to his school or commuting to a job. He no longer had the
physical requirements of going to a job that defined who he was. In his new job he feels
that he is only accountable to himself, and it is odd not having to go to school every day.
He has since overcome those feelings; however he still defines himself as a principal,
partly because it gives him credibility in his new role.
For these participants, there were varying shifts in their identities, their feelings of
prestige, and their egos because of a career change. For them, perceptions of pride and
prestige either increase or decrease depending on how they view the differential in
prestige associated with the first and second careers. For instance, the person who went
from being an elementary school teacher to being a dog groomer felt that her socio-
occupational position had decreased. In contrast, going from a part-time lawyer to a
university professor made that woman feel that her position in the hierarchy of
occupations had increased. Thus, the views of prestige of the jobs that people leave and
then take up have a significant impact on how they see themselves through their identities,
level of prestige, and the amount of pride that they have for their work.
The final personal consequence identified by many of the participants focused on
their development of an inward life-focus. Similar to claims made in the literature
(O’Connor & Wolfe, 1991; Jung, 1971; Hill & Miller, 1981; Krantz, 1977; Gould, 1978),
seven people expressed that they have developed a different focus to their lives in terms
of not being driven by money, social prestige, and climbing the corporate ladder. This
was a broad theme for many of the participants, even if they did not explicitly identify
this inward focus. What these people described was a shift in their values, where the first
143
part of their lives was focused on proving themselves in their jobs by accumulating
material possessions and increasing their positions at work. In contrast, during midlife
the participants found that they were not as interested in the goals that drove them earlier
in life. They are now interested in doing things that they enjoy and not being bothered by
things that they view as pointless. As one woman said, she climbed mountains earlier in
life, and now she can do what she really wants. This sentiment was found in most of the
interviews. These people identified that they are not concerned with what others think of
them.
of 40 you get your education, work through the system, etc. But the second half
someone else (or choosing where you want to work), follow your own journey
I’ve always wanted to live in.
people now that they are in their new occupational positions. They also felt that their
Instead, they prefer to focus their energies on hobbies and doing work that gives
them a sense of purpose and inner fulfillment. One research participant explained this
phenomenon through citing a book he had just read called Half Time: Changing Your
Game Plan from Success to Significance (Buford, 1994). He said:
Many people can be successful, but Bob says this is the first half: up until the age
is the best half, where you should be living your passion, not working for
and passion. [The] second half is significance: where I’m living in the area that
He was passionate about being a teacher and teaching, but he is now free to creatively
live his passion and control what and how he wants to teach.
These people found that they no longer identified themselves through their work
and were no longer interested in being controlled by their careers. Their second careers
(and the future in general) are open for them to explore personal and professional
interests as well as to maximize the enjoyment that they get from their work.
By and large, the interviewees felt that serious changes occurred on a personal
level as a result of their career changes. People felt that they were happier and better
144
egos, identities, and levels of prestige had changed, increasing for some, and decreasing
for others. People were also more interested in focussing on what they wanted to do
instead of working for other people and doing things that they did not feel were necessary.
This inward focus allows them to prioritize their time to spend it on their hobbies and
interests. This is not to say that these people work less, as this is not the case. For many,
the work that they do in their new careers is something they really enjoy. As such, it is
not jus
tions, produced ha
son’s school for parent-teacher interviews. A teacher stopped us who had taught
t a job per se, but is more something that they want to do that also pays them an
income.
Family Consequences
Although the people who participated in this study considered how their change
would affect their family, the impact their career change would have on their family was
not of serious concern when they made the decision to leave. However, making a midlife
career change brought about a series of unintended benefits for the families of these
former professionals. The most noteworthy benefit was that by having a different job
that these people really liked, they also felt different as people, which according to their
percep ppier families.
Most people, whether they were former lawyers or educators, said that their
personalities changed a great deal: they became happier and more passionate adults.
Everyone enjoyed their new work, whether it was being the head of a non-profit
organization, a physiotherapist, or a pig farmer. One former principal, now CEO of a
large not-for-profit organization reported:
That extra emotional and mental energy goes through my entire family life. In grade ten [her son], when I was in my new job, me and my husband went to our
145
our son twice in a row, so he knew him pretty well. The teacher asked how my
really happy about it. I didn’t realize. The teacher said that our son seems so
the teacher and believed it to be true because my son is really emotional and
settled. He had really benefited from me having more time for my son and being
presence.
People’s senses of accomplishment and self-esteem soared because of the success each
person felt in accomplishing their vocational transition. As a result, every person
described having more mental, emotional, and physical energy at home. Even though
parents were always present in their children’s lives during their former careers, the
people interviewed were proud to say that they had become more engaged parents. This
change in mood and connection was felt to have echoed through ent
new job was going. I said it was great. The teacher told me that my son was
much more relaxed and at ease. That really set me back on my heels. I believed
really attuned to me... It was very interesting to know that my son was more
emotionally more present. I couldn’t believe myself, the change in my mental
ire families.
good ro
both a
positive values in their children by providing a good example. One woman who became
a national lobbyist would often take her children to Ottawa when she went on business
trips. She would introduce her daughters to politicians and labour bosses and would take
them to the parliament buildings. It was important for her to show her daughters that she
was not just “mom”, but that she had a great job that made a difference. Another
example comes from a former lawyer who is now an Executive Director of a water
research organization; he reported that one thing that is important to show his children is
to be paid in a meaningful way to do a job. “It costs money to work, so you have to make
something at it, and it’s important from our perspective to have a meaningful job as far as
Another interesting result was how important it was for these individuals to be
le models for their children. People followed occupational paths that gave them
sense of passion and a sense of purpose. It was important to these people to instil
146
our kids are concerned because you have to lead by example. Even if you can afford to
sit around the house, you’re not setting a good example for your children”. As discussed
previously, one ex-band teacher even returned to teaching after being a pig farmer for
more than twenty years because the band program at his sons’ school was in disarray. He
wanted to make sure that his sons had a positive musical experience, partly because his
son was a very gifted trumpet player. He did not want to go back to teaching at all, but
he knew that he could rebuild a successful band; ensuring that his sons had a positive
band experience was paramount. In short, being positive role models and attempting to
give children positive life-skills was of great importance to all the parents in the study.
d now have teenage or adult children
rst careers.
ren. In many ways the adults who make a
career
Many of the people who were interviewe
who are less engaged with the family. Most people described their children as ‘being off
doing their own thing’, which was acceptable because many people worked long hours in
their new jobs anyway. As such, the majority of respondents spent less time with their
families since they made their career change and also worked more than in their past
careers. People did however have more flexible schedules that allowed them to be
available when their children were around. The time that was spent with their children
was also of better quality than during their fi
As discussed previously, the positive implications for the family of making a
career change are often not considered by people who are thinking about making a career
change. The career change is something that is done to remedy a work situation in which
an individual no longer wishes to be. As they perceive it, this self-focused decision has
many positive repercussions for their child
change feel that they become better parents. It was sometimes the case that the
147
family
taking
change
meanin
situatio terviewees did not translate into what the research participants thought
en they
are in t
had a reduced income which translated into financial situations that involved not
elaborate family vacations, or not living in as large a house. Making a career
also meant that parents often worked longer hours than in their previous positions,
g that there was less overall time to spend with children. However, the work
ns of the in
of as being bad parents. The men and women included in this study feel that they are
extremely dedicated parents who hold the well-being of their children as a top priority.
These adults may work long hours in their new jobs, but it is because they
thoroughly enjoy what they are doing. The work in which the adults are engaged is
generally enjoyable. These occupational features translate into children having happy
and passionate parents who are emotionally, mentally, and physically engaged wh
he home. They were engaged in new careers that they felt passionate about and
that were meaningful and/or purposeful. These parents were really pleased with this
aspect of work because they were acting as positive role models for their children (e.g.,
by instilling a strong work ethic in their children), while also showing how making
positive choices and taking risks can lead to a happier life. Interestingly, every person
reported being close to his or her children (whether the children were adults or still
dependents) and all of the people included in this study were married to their long-time
partners and have never been divorced. Overall, one of the major implications of this
research is that a parent and spouse who is happy in their job and who is doing what he or
she wants to come to be perceived as being a better husband or wife as well as a better
and more engaged parent. In other words, being happy and passionate about one’s work
148
is perceived to be better for the family than remaining in a job that is disliked in order to
be a good provider.
In general, the people who participated in this study felt that their family
situations got better because of their career changes. Although all the people who had
families said that they were close, feeling happier and more engaged made them feel that
their families were brought closer together. The quantity of time spent with each other
was not necessarily as much as before the career change, but the quality of the time spent
was much better afterwards. Family was very important to every person in this study,
and in many regards the career change was thought to have made family relations better.
DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS
As described in previous chapters, there is a diversity of reasons and motivations
for undertaking a career change. Also, the strategies and measures of security that are
implemented to maximize the likelihood of a successful occupational shift have been
identified as instrumental. The purpose of this chapter was to discuss the outcomes and
consequences of a successful career change. As discussed in this chapter, there were two
main occupational streams that people followed for their second careers: high-profile
positions and interest-based jobs. For the most part, the people who took on high-
profiled positions stayed the course of an upward occupational trajectory. Although these
people changed fields, they took on positions that could be seen as cross-field promotions,
because they took on unrelated occupational positions based on feelings that it was time
for a change. They had a desire to make a difference, and they made a change when the
opportunity to do this presented itself. They are in senior management positions and hold
149
a large degree of clout within their organization and in the community. These are people
who are in positions of power.
The other stream of respondents pursued jobs that were focused on previous
interests. These occupational shifts were more radical than those leading to positions of
power because they did not necessarily follow an upward course of advancement.
Instead, these people often began working as independent businesspeople who turned
interests or hobbies into full-time positions. They are in control of their work and take
pride in
careers. They are happy and enjoy their work. They may not see their families as much
how their success is largely due to their own hard work and determination. They
enjoy doing things their way and not being constrained by bureaucracy to the extent that
they were in their previous careers.
It is interesting to see the similarity between the two streams of people in terms of
what they like and dislike about their jobs. All of the people in this study said that they
enjoy the core activities of their new jobs and like feeling that they are doing a job that
has more of a positive impact on either their own lives or on society than did their first
careers. Generally speaking, they enjoy their work as a challenge and find that learning
is a key aspect of their jobs. Whether it is learning to interpret academic reports on water
conservation or learning new styles of cuts for grooming dogs, all of these people enjoy
and see the value of life-long learning. When the research participants were asked what
they disliked about their new careers, many were hard-pressed to give an answer to this
question. In many cases they said that they missed their former colleagues, however that
was not a serious point of contention. From talking with the interview participants, it
appeared that the negative aspects of their earlier jobs have been remedied by changing
150
as they would like, but they feel that they are positive role models for their children and
they appreciate having the flexibility to take time off work when they need to in order to
professional elements that were present in their former careers as well as to find a new
ew values. Once the career change is carried
spend time with their families.
In general, these people are passionate about their work because they love what
they do. There is a connection between the three consequential areas discussed in this
chapter: professional, personal, and familial. The evidence presented in this chapter
shows a broad and substantial increase in individual happiness and well-being, where an
increase in the enjoyment, fulfillment, and commitment in one sphere affects the others.
In many respects the career change is made in order to minimize negative personal and
job that is congruent with the respondents’ n
out, the negative factors of the original career are minimized because people have
pursued a job that they want to do that fits with their new values and desired lifestyle.
They feel re-invigorated, enthusiastic, and passionate to be in their new jobs. However,
this excitement also ripples through the other spheres and affects people’s sense of self
and their families. All three spheres of their lives are more in line with their values, goals,
and priorities than they were before they made a career change. They are doing what
they want to do in their work, and that carries a significant impact in shaping the context
in which the rest of life unfolds. In sum, these people are now more passionate workers,
more dedicated, excited parents, and happier people.
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CHAPTER VII
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS
Seeing midlife career change as a fluid process is something that has not been
studied in a similar manner as done here since the late 1970s. Since then, the world of
work has changed because of things such as the widespread inclusion of women in the
professional world and the integration of computer technology into the workplace. The
purpose of this study was to provide a current foundational account of the phenomenon of
voluntary midlife career change of lawyers and educators to gain a further understanding
of the motivations, processes, and consequences of making a radical occupational shift.
Information collected through one-on-one interviews with men and women who have
made a successful career change was used to identify the motivations and factors that
were required to prompt people to make a career change, to discuss the transitional
process through which people negotiated their career shift, and the consequences of their
successful occupational shift. The purpose of this chapter is to link the myriad topics
discussed throughout this project, to examine the implications for organizations, and
152
identify future areas of research to further the concatenation of knowledge regarding
career change, midlife, and professionals.
This study has explored the career change of two professions: law and education.
For the
One aspect of career change that must be recognized is that people tend to go full
circle in terms of what they look for in their new jobs. Nearly all of the people in this
study were happy, fulfilled, and committed to their original careers in education and law
most part, there were few substantive differences that separated the experiences
of the educators from the lawyers. Generally speaking, the respondents were all looking
for the same things from their work: enjoyment, fulfillment, a friendly work environment,
and the opportunity to engage in interesting and varied work. The evidence presented in
this study suggests that although there are profession-specific structural factors that
influence people’s working lives, for the most part these professionals are people looking
to achieve a common set of intrinsic rewards from their work.
Career change in its most basic sense is about being happy and fulfilled in a job.
Specifically, career change is the vehicle by which people strive to achieve an invigorated
or reinvigorated sense of happiness and excitement from new job opportunities. This is a
complicated process during which people must negotiate difficult decisions that affect
their livelihoods, their identities, and their family’s financial security. Many earlier
studies have examined career change in a fragmented manner, focusing on specific parts
of the process of making an occupational shift. However, this research shows that we
must look at career change from start to finish as a continuous process in order to truly
understand why people want to upset their old work situations in order to pursue new
career paths.
153
during their first years of practice. They felt challenged and intellectually stimulated by
their work, they enjoyed the collegial scene and interacting with clients or students, found
their work environments to be positive, enjoyed learning on the job, were passionate
about making a difference in the world, and found enjoyment in doing the core activities
of their jobs. These were happy people and successful young workers.
This begs the question: what happened to these people that would make them
want to leave jobs that they enjoyed? The answer is that time played an important role in
unseating people’s devotion to their original careers. There were a number of conditions
that changed as particip were external, such as
changes in bureaucracy or the collegial scene that pushed people to leave. Others were
internal, such as the realization that their jobs were not what they wanted to do for the
rest of their lives, that other interests were pulling them towards other occupational
streams, or that they no longer wanted to be consumed by their work. Something was
different, either within the structure of their business, their perceptions of their
occupation after experiencing it for several years, or something had changed within
themselves that pushed them to start looking elsewhere for new jobs with different
rewards. Some respondents found themselves drifting toward other ventures through an
organic progression where new doors opened up, thus creating new opportunities and
different ventures. Overall, there was an underlying trend, where over time people’s jobs
became routine and they were no longer challenged by what they were doing. They
enjoyed doing their jobs but were not as passionate as they were in the early stages of
their careers. In other words, they were content in their jobs, but were no longer fully
satisfied by or committed to their first careers.
ants went on working in their jobs. Some
154
Also, over the course of their lives, the priorities of the participants changed, to
where they valued different things than when they first started. Many had acquired
sis for pay or engaging in
ing these desirable qualities in their new jobs was enough of a personal
considerable experience, financial security, prestige, and assets to the point where they no
longer felt the need to strive for the next promotion or raise. These people had climbed
the occupational mountain by the time they reached midlife, and they no longer felt the
need to prove themselves through their financial, material, and occupational
accomplishments. Many had enough savings, which meant that they no longer had to
work jobs that provided sizeable salaries in order to provide for their families. At this
stage they were more interested in following career options that actually interested them.
Whether those interests were pursuing hobbies on a full-time ba
a new occupational position, these people were able to look for something else.
The comparison between the likes and dislikes of the participants’ first and
second careers is telling. In terms of going full circle, the evidence presented in Chapters
IV and VI show that people wanted the same things from their new jobs as they had in
the early years of their old jobs. Specifically, it was the intrinsic rewards that these
people yearned for: they wanted a reinvigorated sense of challenge, to find a job where
they could continue learning, to express their stronger passion for making a difference in
the world, and to feel the intellectual stimulation that came from engaging in the core
activities of their new careers. Because the respondents thoroughly enjoyed their new
careers, attain
reward to offset working more hours than they did in their first careers. Although they
found themselves doing different things in their first and second careers, the rewards they
desired from their work remained the same. These people had more experience,
155
knowledge, and financial security at the time of their occupational shift, however they
still want to be challenged, rewarded, and invigorated by their work in the same way as
when they first started working after university.
The link between personal and professional life is also of major importance.
Many of these people identify themselves through their work. It gives them a sense of
ge, considerations about the implications
purpose, a sense of passion, and a sense of enjoyment. In many respects career change is
linked with identity. This change helps people redefine themselves through an active and
empowering process of identifying what it is that they want from life, and going out and
getting it. Although some people did not say that their identities were directly tied to
their jobs, the confidence, enthusiasm, passion, and enjoyment that they achieved through
their success in their new careers played into shaping these confident, self-assured,
dynamic middle-aged people. Most people identified that they would continue working
even if they did not need the money from work (which was the case for many of them),
and most of the participants do not see themselves retiring in the near future. Most of the
people in this study continue working because it is part of who they are and what they do.
The two are intimately connected because what they do is who they are and who they are
is what they do. They identify with their work, they feel fulfilled by what they do, and
they enjoy it.
Beyond this, the relationship between family, interpersonal support, and career
change is of great interest in this study. For most of the research participants, the
decision to make a career change was an introspective process. As discussed previously,
there were issues that unseated people’s commitment to their original jobs which led
them to contemplate a career change. At this sta
156
of a ca
ift. This
view o
reer change on the family were not taken into account to a great extent by the
participants. The early stages of deciding to make an occupational shift were focused on
finding solutions to remedy unpleasant working conditions that were affecting the
individual’s personal and professional well-being. It was not until the desire to make a
career change was in people’s minds that their families became instrumental in the
decision to commit themselves to something new.
To begin, for those who were in relationships, spousal support was fundamental in
making a career change. People’s spouses offered support and guidance, but most
importantly provided assurance to their partners that it was alright to take a chance and
risk upsetting the family’s situation. This view of support was required by most people
before they could take the plunge and commit themselves to a radical career sh
f a spouse offering support to and engendering confidence in the potential career
changer was so important that most people said that they would not have made a career
change if their partners had not given them the go-ahead. Once the feeling of support
was in place between partners, the career changers felt that their family situations would
be alright no matter what the outcome.
This is not to say that the respondents completely ignored the implications for
their families. There were worries about maintaining an adequate level of financial
support for families, but there was not much discussion among the research participants
as to their concern of how taking a risk or making a career change would affect their
families. It is understandable that family-related factors did not play a huge role in
discouraging these people’s decision to make a career change. Making a career shift is
about remedying and re-invigorating the self. The benefits on the family of making a
157
career change are tremendous, but generally unintended. Rather, people are more
engaged with their families after they have gone through a career change and feel that
they are now better parents. They see themselves as positive role models because of the
types o
a sense of adventurousness to take the leap and have faith that everything
will tur
f work they do. People may work more, but their work schedules are more
flexible, meaning that it is easier for them to attend important events in their children’s
lives such as by coaching and watching their children play organized sports, attending
music concerts, going to parent-teacher interviews, or being able to take more family
vacations. All of the people in this study felt they were close to their children and were
involved parents. Their career changes allowed them the flexibility to be around when
their children needed them and also made them feel that they were better parents because
they were more physically, mentally, and emotionally present when spending time with
their families. In general, the spheres of work and family are intimately connected in part
because of the interplay between career satisfaction and role as both spouse and parent.
So what does it take to make a career change? This question was asked during the
interviews, and the research participants responded with similar ideas about what
character traits were necessary, as well as certain specific circumstances that needed to be
in place. First, people said that making a career change requires courage. It takes a
strong will and
n out for the better. Conversely, participants also said that people need a certain
degree of naivety about what they are getting themselves into. Pursuing a new career is
not so much about trying to achieve a new occupational position, it is more about chasing
the possibility of a better, more challenging, and re-invigorated work situation. This
requires a degree of open-mindedness and flexibility in the vision of a future career. This
158
‘make it work’ mentality is essential because it allows people the openness to pursue
opportunities as they materialize. Some people said that they saw many of their friends
and colleagues who seemed “locked in” to following the same track, and as a result they
did not venture far from what they were used to. People also commented that it takes
passion and self-directedness to chase a dream or desired outcome. A bit of financial
padding always helps, and as the participants observed, padding is important for reducing
the fina
tter how much security is in place. The internal
debate
ncial pressures while negotiating the transition between careers. Related to this,
the participants identified how making a conscious decision not to get wrapped up in the
financial and material trappings of high paying jobs is essential. Many people said that
financial security is a major reason for not pursuing a career change, even if people are
dissatisfied in their jobs.
Being a risk-taker was also identified by participants as an essential character trait
in making a career change. There is risk involved in making a shift. There are some
things that reduce the severity of perceived risk, such as family and spousal support,
monetary support, a career to go back to, and certain character traits that have been
identified, but there is always risk no ma
focuses partly on weighing the security of staying in a career versus the potential
for invigoration from getting excited and passionate about a new career. People must ask
themselves whether the potential gain is worth risking the security and predictability of
the life that they have and know. If it is not, they may remain in their first career
positions, whereas if the potential is great enough, they may decide to chase down a new
occupation. Perhaps the risk is weighed differently for people, depending on the degree
to which they identify themselves through their occupational positions and the successes
159
they achieve within those jobs. For many people, work plays into the development of
identity, as well as into their sense of values and accomplishment.
This chapter, as well as this study on the whole, talks about how people actively
pursue enjoyment, passion, and fulfillment from their jobs. These people are inspiring
because they were in life situations that were less than ideal for them and decided that it
was time to make some changes. The career change process is by no means a small
endeavour. The repercussions of being uprooted from one career to move to another
constitute a tremendous undertaking that has an effect on every part of their lives and
families. This study is about doing what it takes to be happy. Every person in this study
found his or her own unique version of happiness. Whether that involved working in
leadership roles or working as an entrepreneur, following a passion or wanting to be in a
healthy work environment, these people took a chance and made a change. When asked
if they would do their career change again, every single person said that they would
absolut
interested in people, in society, and how society operates. If you are you won’t
get tired, because you will get tired if you work hard, and it doesn’t mean at times
slug it out in the office for another 12 or 14 hours. But once you get there it’s
ely make the change. Some people talked about how there are certain moments in
life when people make decisions; the answers come easily and they have the strength to
carry them out. Others talk about how there is nothing to be gained if risks are not taken.
Many people also talked about the need for a positive outlook. One man said:
You have nothing ahead of you but fun if you treat it that way. You’ve got to be
find any time in your life that’s down. It doesn’t mean that you don’t eventually
that you won’t feel that you won’t wake up and feel like you’ve got to go in and
fascinating.
Making a career change is not just about remedying negative aspects in people’s working
lives. It is about taking pro-active steps to create a life full of happiness and vitality.
160
IMPLICATIONS OF CAREER CHANGE FOR MIDDLE-AGED WORKERS
This study shows that some middle-aged workers have tremendous life and work
experience. This knowledge and wisdom is essential for maintaining a productive and
innovative workplace because mid-lifers have nuanced expertise and specializations that
cannot be matched by young people entering the workforce directly out of post-secondary
institutions. Knowledgeable, experienced middle-aged workers should be valued by
employers because they know their industries inside and out. Companies should be
fighting to retain such people to maintain a cohesive and productive workplace. More so,
employers should not only want middle-aged workers to remain committed to staying in
their companies, they should also strive to maintain their employees’ passion, excitement,
and fulfillment about their work. In this way employers will keep people in their
positions, but more importantly, will keep people positive, productive, and engaged in
their work.
Keeping the invigoration and enjoyment for older workers in the workplace is
possible without recruiting mid-lifers who have changed careers. It is important to
remember that nearly all of the people in this study enjoyed the early years of their first
careers tremendously and many were still content before leaving. If companies can
maintain the level of enjoyment and passion throughout their employees’ careers,
workplaces will retain good workers, and promote a positive atmosphere in the
workplace. It is costly to hire new workers – training is expensive because worker
productivity is initially low, recruiting is arduous and time-consuming, and high turnover
can create a work environment that is not congenial, cohesive, or sociable.
161
As a result, employers should strive to make a conscious effort to maintain worker
commitment and fulfillment. Several potential strategies that may help maintain worker
lfillm
nsure that
the wo
life-lon
providi
learning while not costing companies significant money. Many people felt that as they
ay
fu ent and commitment have arisen from this study. One of the main features that
the participants enjoyed about their job was the collegial scene. The educators liked the
staffroom banter and would socialize with other educators outside of work. Many of the
lawyers identified that one of the best parts of their jobs was to be around other lawyers.
They found their colleagues to be smart, like-minded people with whom they enjoyed
spending time. Going for lunch, taking coffee, and working with other lawyers were
some of the activities that lawyers enjoyed doing with their colleagues. Many of the
lawyers and educators said that they still maintain friendships with their former
colleagues. Given these activities, companies should endeavour to promote a friendly,
social atmosphere at work, where people can get to know one another on a personal as
well as professional level. Perhaps having corporate functions where families are invited
would be of benefit because employees’ children and spouses could become friendly with
other colleagues’ families. If colleagues become friends, it may be more difficult for
people to leave a job because they enjoy seeing their friends on a daily basis.
Another strategy for maintaining interested and excited workers is to e
rkplace encourages constant learning. The people in this study were proponents of
g learning, and they enjoyed learning on the job as well as taking courses. By
ng more parallel opportunities, there are many ways of promoting constant
got older and more experienced, the scope of the core activities of their jobs became
narrower. Assigning leadership roles to people on different types of projects or files m
162
help promote on-the-job learning. Many positions within a company are different, and
carry with them distinct roles and tasks. By allowing people to move into these different
positions, it would break up the monotony of doing the same job for extended periods of
time. Some educators used this strategy by teaching different grades within their schools.
This was seen as a great way to challenge themselves and helped them get out of the
monotony of teaching the same curriculum year after year. These approaches, combined
with formal training sessions and opportunities for employees to have company
subsidized education, make for a variety of educational avenues to keep employee skills
current while also offering policies that encourage variety and on-the-job skill
development. Overall, maintaining a work philosophy of on-the-job training as well as
formal education through training programs is a good strategy for maintaining
commitment and fulfillment among company personnel.
The main goal that companies should strive for is a work environment where
employees avoid situations of stagnation. Professional work should be cerebral, dynamic,
and varied. Having workers do the same tasks by working on the same files, teaching the
same classes, and generally having the same routine is what tipped the scales for many of
the people in this study to change careers. Organizational policies and programs should
be aimed at maintaining variety and challenge in people’s working lives while also
promoting a positive and social work environment. This can be done through cross-
department promotions or job rotations, by challenging workers to increase and expand
their areas of expertise, and providing opportunities for employees to be interested in one
another and become friendly. The recommendations presented here will not ensure that
people will stay in their careers; however implementing these propositions may tip the
163
scales
d the work
environ
so that people remain committed to their occupational positions such that they
ignore other job opportunities.
Beyond this, companies should also look to hiring middle-aged workers. The
people who have left their former employers and are looking for new opportunities form
an attractive hiring pool for potential employers. Because of their transferable skills, as
well as their life and professional experience, these people are highly attractive
candidates as they have worked in industry, have professional networks on which to call,
and often have specializations where their expertise can be invaluable to new companies.
By introducing them to work teams, they may bring expertise and insight from a myriad
other occupational spheres. Many employers may see hiring middle-aged workers as
unfavourable because they will still require training but will be staying in the workforce
for a shorter period of time as compared to their younger counterparts. Employers have
to get past looking at looming retirement dates for these candidates and see that, in the
short run, these people will bring nuanced and specific skills to companies. Also, as was
identified in this research, older people who enjoy their jobs and feel deep fulfillment
from their work do not want to retire. If the core activities of the job an
ment are favourable, the new middle-aged employee may stay working even after
he or she has reached retirement eligibility. Overall, it is important to consider these
people as possible job candidates. They have tremendous skills and experience that
younger workers do not. Employers must be alert to the transferable skills that these
candidates have acquired and understand the value in hiring middle-aged employees.
164
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
This study offers an introductory and exploratory window into the phenomenon of
midlife career change. As a result, this study is intended to be only the beginning in a
chain of concatenated studies (Stebbins, 2001) on career change in general. This study
has focused on a small, purposive sample of middle-aged professionals in two
occupations. Therefore, considerable work remains to be done if a grounded theory of
career change is to take root. Such a theory is likely to be broad, for career change is
experienced by workers in all occupational spheres. Because of this, there are many
avenues for future research for studying career change.
Future research on career change should focus on expanding the types of
professions that were studied in the same manner as in this thesis. We need a broader
understanding of professionals involved in career change, leading eventually to formal
grounded theory in this area. As well as expanding the types of professions that are
studied, it is also of value to examine professionals at different life stages. For instance,
studying educators who leave their profession after less than five years would be of
interest. A study of people in this age group could focus on why they leave, what factors
weigh on them in their decisions to leave, and what types of new professions they
practise.
Second, in order to develop a comparison of different types of employment
situations, it is important to study people who are not successful in making a career
change. This opens up many avenues of research. There is tremendous value in studying
people who have low commitment and fulfillment to their jobs but who do not take the
plunge to venture in a career change. In many ways these people would potentially be in
165
the same situations as the participants in this study in their first jobs, however when it
comes down to deciding whether or not to commit to a career change, the former decide
to stay
Finally, on a more practical note, another area of study that would be of
emendous benefit to both understanding career change and aiding placement of middle-
where they are. This type of study would be indispensable in developing a further
understanding of the motivations for committing oneself to the career change process. A
second related area of study would be to conduct a study of people who engage in a
career change but are unsuccessful. This is of interest because it would help to isolate
what is required to make a successful career change and to also better identify the
obstacles that impede an occupational shift. This study would also be of value in
understanding how people cope with a career change failure and its professional, personal,
and familial repercussions.
Third, research should look at people who are forced to engage in career change.
People who fit into this category are displaced workers, such as those who are laid off
because of corporate downsizing or restructuring. We can also examine people who take
up new careers because of immigration. Why do these people choose to leave lives and
jobs in other countries in favour of working different types of jobs in a new country?
How do these forced career changes affect the identity of workers? Were they committed
to their old careers, and if so, do they yearn for the fulfillment of their old jobs. Another
related topic of study would be to examine where people in their 50s find work if they are
displaced involuntarily. It is of interest to see if their past experience over-qualifies them
for some jobs and under-qualifies them for others. Is it possible to find fulfillment in a
job after being displaced in one’s 50s?
tr
166
aged workers into new careers would be to conduct research to better understand the
terpla
g new middle-aged workers to
ffers. It is about minimizing the negative aspects of work and life and finding
in y between transferable skills, experience, and career success. The value of older
workers could be dramatically increased if future research could report how the acquired
experience of middle-aged people can enhance the productivity and work environment of
companies. There is a potential benefit to companies in bringing in middle-aged workers
who have a broad and diverse set of talents and experiences. Researchers could measure
the value to companies of introducing middle-aged workers to see whether creativity and
innovation are generated from the introduction of new people with new ideas and
practical expertise. Studying the effects of introducin
different companies is of great value because it could identify new ways for companies to
inspire innovation, creativity, and dynamism in their organizations.
It is hoped that greater understanding will be developed by exploring career
change in the various ways described here. This topic is of tremendous importance
because it deals with the fulfillment and happiness of people in all spheres of life. This
study demonstrated how the impact of being in positive and healthy work situations
reaches into all other aspects of people’s lives. Career change is not just about finding
jobs that people enjoy, it is about taking control of life and chasing the many positive
features it o
solutions that make people feel good about themselves. Most importantly, this study has
shown that career change is not just about changing jobs, it is about blurring the lines
between work, leisure, and lifestyle. Most people choose to be extremely involved and
committed to their new careers even though some of them do not have to work. They
work in their new jobs because they love what they do, and going to work is a fulfilling
167
and enjoyable experience. In summary, this project is primarily about how individuals
find ways to remain passionate, involved, and productive in a job. It is also about how
being proactive in acquiring and maintaining those things can promote positive changes
in people’s professional, personal, and family lives.
168
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173
APPENDIX A: INTERVEW GUIDE – Final Version
inaries Prelim
vervi
ld Job
e about being a lawyer” o Position held: Job Title
o Amount of paperwork
o Bosses/management
What did you like or enjoy about your old job?
o Challenge
o Enjoyment/fulfillment
primary motivators for you to practice law? How did you perceive the potential for advancement at your old job?
s with family and friends before your career change?
The TrTell me the story about
this transition occur?
Correct Spelling of name Age
Where they’re from Marital status
Family
ew O Education
o What were your motivations to go into law in the first place? Lifetime general work history
o When did you start/how long did it last
O General overview of old job
o “Tell m
o Work setting o Responsibilities
o Work hours o Collegial scene
What did a usual workday consist of?
What did you dislike about your old job? o Variety of tasks
o Creativity/innovation/inventiveness o Salary/benefits
o Aptitude What were the
What was your family situation at the time (starting off and when before you left) o How were your relationship
ansition
how you switched careers o Pushed out of old job or pulled in to new job?
At approximately what age did
174
What was involved in changing careers?
Was income a factor when you were deciding to make your career change?
to school required? Did your identity change at all when you changed careers
e Belonging
or were you looking for greater fulfillment than you had found before?) Was there something specific, as in a specific event, that made you change
gh your transition? If so, how?
• Did they offer support, guidance, financial assistance, etc.? Did you consider how your career change would affect your family?
What were the biggest pros for shifting jobs? What were the biggest cons for shifting jobs? What factors ultimately made you decide to follow this new path? Did you feel that your priorities had changed as compared to what they were
before? If so, how? Did you think a lot about making your change or was it more of an impulsive
decision? If you could make this transition again, would you? Why/Why not?
New Job
General overview of new job o Position held: Job title o Work setting o Responsibilities o Amount of paperwork o Work hours o Collegial scene o Bosses/management
Have you always wanted to do ________? How did you choose this job over anything else you could have done?
Income prospects vs. old income oo Debt possibilities and start up capital if it’s a new business venture o New training/back
o Ego o Prestigo
Why did you decide to change careers? o (Were you changing jobs to restore aspects that you felt of your previous
jobo
careers (trigger, specific event)? What factors encouraged you to pursue your new career path?
What factors discouraged you from pursuing your new career path? What did people around you advise regarding this decision?
o Friends o Spouse/partner o Family o Parents
Were your family and friends support you throu
175
Wha What do you like best about your new job?
you dislike about your new job? o Variety of tasks
Creativity ts
e uld name a few things, what would you say really motivates you in your
job (what gets you out of bed in the morning to go to work)? do this new job even if you weren’t paid for it, i.e. volunteer?
Qu y job? How about life in general?
Is your fam If so, how? o Marriage/relationships/kids?
y more or less now that you’re in your new career?
Self Mo e e off? Do you feel that you have achieved your new goals? If you were independently wealthy, would you still do this new job for no
fina
t does a usual workday consist of?
What do
o Challenge oo Salary/benefi
ent o Enjoymptitudo A
If you conew
Would you
alit of life Are u yo happier than you were in your previous
ily situation different now that you’ve changed careers?
o Do you see your famil Job satisfaction/fulfillment?
-worth? re/l ss leisure time or tim
ncial benefit?