An Involuntary Mid-Career Change

George Miller II

Turning What You Love into What You Do
By Patrick O’Connor

Some people make a voluntary mid-career change (See The Mid-Career Change). This happens when successful people look for something more satisfying. This blog segment looks at those who are forced into a mid-career change. Keep in mind, people at mid-career may still have as many as 20-25 more years to work.

Hospice patients were asked in a study what they would do over in life if they could. One redo would be to spend more time with the people they love. Second, they wish they would have lived the life they wanted to live rather than the life others wanted them to live. A mid-career change may enable them to do both. They may still have a chance to turn what they love into what they do.

For those who are forced out, why are they leaving their job? One obvious place to look is Covid and the devastation it has caused to our workforce and economy.  However, technological change, globalization and mergers also force many people out of their position. What happens to them and how do they return to the workforce?

They can use the process of examine, explore and envision to navigate their way back to the workforce. The process and the following example indicate how this can be done.

George Miller II is a child advocacy artist. His path is chronicled in his Road Less Traveled feature that appeared in volume 12 of AroundKent magazine. He has made two major mid-career moves to date as he continues to turn what he loves into what he does. He now is faced with a third mid-career move. Circumstances beyond his control have forced him to make the career changes.

His first major move was to leave a secure position at the post office. He felt he had to set himself up as an artist. His work found its way to supporting students who struggle with reading. He displayed his artwork at conferences for teachers who would buy the artwork to use in their classrooms and offices. He did reasonably well with this for about 10 years until the economic crisis of 2008. He suddenly found himself alone at his display table. He saw this as an “opportunity to survive” so he reimagined his work and morphed into the first “child advocacy artist” with his own art studio.

George’s artwork expanded from themes of literacy to disadvantaged students. His audience now included people who worked with students at risk of dropping out of high school. Things were going well for George until the Covid- 19 crisis arrived and, once again, conferences stopped.

George now finds himself reimagining another chapter in his artistic journey. He is using the three-step process below to guide this change.

Examine: Mid-career people have many years in the workforce. What jobs have they done and what skill sets  do they have?  What transferrable skills do they offer new jobs and employers?

George reviewed his years as an artist. He identified specific aspects of his work he might be able to leverage. In the past, he created new artwork for new markets. Perhaps this would work again. He thought he would expand his repertoire to include new markets such as mental health professionals and students experiencing trauma.

He also wrote poetry to inspire troubled youth which accompanied some of his artwork. He may take this in its own direction as a new product. He is also creating a new art series called Plan B. This series would encourage (and hopefully inspire) young people to think about alternate career paths, in case their first career choice fizzles, for whatever reason.

Explore: What can you do and where can you go with your existing experience and skill sets? Are there are other industries that are seamless for your background? You may need to acquire new skills to be marketable in the current workforce. Professional/trade associations are excellent resources for exploring both areas.

George was finally able to book a few conferences in spring 2022. He plans to query customers at these conferences about his Plan B and poetry additions. He also found the Poetry Therapy Association. He will explore this association for new ideas and networking to determine opportunities for his poetry.

Envision: George sees himself with a whole new line of art to accompany his existing repertoire. His Plan B art is designed for students to broaden their thinking about careers. His poetry would address students who struggle with trauma. Much of his work had been with schools and teachers. Now it would include counselors, mental health professionals and psychologists.

Stay tuned for my April segment, which examines high school students and their plans after graduation to turn what they love into what they do.