A Midlife Career Change (The Best Decision You’ll Make)

Are you finding your current job uninspiring, dull, repetitive, and not challenging? You’re not alone. The Great Resignation is here, and according to Microsoft, 41 percent of employees are considering a career change after COVID-19. A gentle reminder that it is never too late to make a midlife career change to find your success in life!

The pandemic has forced 75 percent of people to consider their skill-set, and 80 percent of staff are worried about their career growth. So although a midlife career change can be daunting during your 40s — understandably — it can be a change for good!

Some of the world’s most successful people didn’t find their career success until later in life. For example, Harrison Ford didn’t get his acting break until almost 40, and Colonel Sanders was in his 70s when KFC started to succeed.

Arnold Schwarzenegger pivoted his career successfully in his 40s, 50s, and 60s despite everyone telling him that he couldn’t do it (he refers to these people as the naysayers). Furthermore, Ronald Reagan —one of America’s most influential politicians — successfully changed his career from acting to politics in his 50s.

Here are some other stories of people who found Career Success later in life:

• Samuel Jackson - Samuel Jackson, one of the world’s most successful actors, didn’t get his acting break until the age of 46 after years of battling addiction.
• Martha Stewart - Martha Stewart worked in catering for years, yet she didn’t begin writing books until her 40s.
• Sam Walton - Sam Walton, the notorious founder of Walmart, didn’t start Walmart until he was 44 after various failed businesses.
• Ray Kroc - Ray Kroc was the founder of Mcdonald’s, the world’s biggest fast-food chain. However, he didn’t start the business until he was 52 after spending years working in unrelated industries. How’s that for a midlife career change?

Changing your career to a career in tech may possibly be the best option for you! Jump into a whole new career supported by your previous experiences.

Download Uvaro's Official Career Change Guide

Why joining the tech industry is an excellent career change

The tech industry is booming right now. Thankfully, for many tech companies, the pandemic didn’t do too much harm. In contrast, the pandemic hammered the leisure, travel, and retail industries. The tech industry has remained robust because people relied on technology to maintain communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The technology industry is currently worth around $1.6 trillion. However, that’s set to reach $5 trillion by the end of 2021. And the tech industry isn’t going to stop growing anytime soon.

• The AR market will grow by a CAGR of 100% from now until 2025
• In 2019 alone, there were 4.6 million job postings for the tech industry, and 800,000 of those jobs were in emerging tech
• The United States holds 33 percent of the industries wealth, and that’s growing yearly
• The tech industry is growing worldwide

These are just four reasons why the tech industry is a tremendous midlife career change. As technology evolves, it will become a more significant part of the economy — and career opportunities will follow because of that.

Here are some other reasons why the tech industry, particularly a tech sales career, is an excellent midlife career change.

1 - You can earn excellent money

If you’re looking for a career change that pays better and gives your kids a stronger financial future — you’ll love a tech sales career. The average U.S tech sales salary is around $76,000 per year, and that will grow as your career progresses.

After all, that’s one of the beautiful benefits of a sales career — your earnings are unlimited once you have incredible sales skills, which you can learn on a sales course. Many graduates earn upwards of six figures per year after a few years in the industry. Plus, you’ll enjoy prizes, trips, rewards, and other lifestyle perks during your tech sales career after your midlife career change.

2 - Superb career opportunities

So, if you’re looking for a career change — regardless of your age — you’ll want to join an industry that offers potential. Thankfully, you can work in tech sales in various sectors. These include FoodTech, CleanTech, GreenTech, EdTech, SaaS, IT, BioTech, and more.

What’s more, the technology industry is booming in Russia, the U.K, Singapore, Germany, South Korea, and China. Recent studies show that Germany is the world’s most technologically advanced nation, and South Korea — the home of Samsung — isn’t far behind. So the opportunities are endless worldwide, especially if your U.S-based technology company has offices outside of the United States.

3 - You’ll enjoy the flexibility

Let’s face it; everyone hated the pandemic. It has destroyed businesses and lives. But, that said, it also showed many people the importance of family and having a healthy work-life balance. Before the pandemic and the subsequent working from home, many employees didn’t see their families because of their career ambitions and spending hours in offices.

The pandemic brought families back together, and that’s one of the main reasons for the predicted Great Resignation. People want flexibility, and a tech sales career offers precisely that. Did you know the tech industry isn’t just your standard 9-5 career?

Actually, you can build your lifestyle around a tech sales career. If you’re raising kids and have other interests — the tech industry is perfect for creating a healthy work-life balance after your midlife career change.

4 - Unlimited personal and career growth

If you’re looking for personal and career growth — the technology industry is second to none. In 2021 alone, there will be around 245,000 new jobs in the technology industry. Moreover, experts predict the industry will grow to a staggering worth $5 trillion by the end of 2021. A career in tech sales is also tremendous for worldwide opportunities as the industry grows in the Far East, Europe, Oceania, and Russia.

You can also work all across the United States, and there are excellent tech jobs in New York City, Toronto, and Miami. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many jobs became remote-based. The tech industry has always been a leader in remote work because of its digital nature. So if you’re looking to continue a remote career, the tech industry is perfect for your midlife career change.

Valuable skills for a midlife career change

Unfortunately, people often doubt their skillset and wonder if they’re good enough to succeed in a new career. But did you know that you can apply skills from almost any industry toward a career in tech sales? 

That’s right. You don’t even need prior skills of directly working in sales. Here are some examples for you:

1 - Communication skills

Most people have worked in bars, restaurants, and fast-food outlets during their time at college. After all, you need to pay those college bills, and your weekly parties aren’t free. Nonetheless, in jobs like bartending and waiting tables, you gain excellent communication skills without realizing it.

Suppose you fancy a career in tech sales? As with all sales roles, you’ll experience rejection. But that’s just part and parcel of this excellent career path. If you’ve worked in a bar before, you’ve probably dealt with angry customers and grown a level of resilience. You can use this resilience in a tech sales career.

Furthermore, there’s an excellent chance that you’ve upsold a customer some beer, wine, or even food. These are skills that you’ve subconsciously learned from casual jobs that have already prepared you to excel in tech sales. In fact, it doesn’t matter what your previous job was — it’s probably already equipped you to succeed in tech sales after your midlife career change.

2 - Problem-solving

There are always problems when you work in sales, but that’s the beauty of the role. In your previous careers, did you have to solve problems? Let’s be honest; you probably did on many occasions. For example, if you worked in a bar and a customer was too drunk and argumentative, you’ll have to fix this problem.

If you’ve ever worked in a retail store, you’ve probably had to deal with the problem of an angry customer. It’s never a pleasant experience, but you’ve had to solve it. Everyone has had to solve problems at some point in their working life. You can bring these problem-solving skills into a tech sales career and excel at a rapid pace after your midlife career change.

3 - Planning and organization

Planning is essential in sales. If sales reps fail to organize themselves, they’ll struggle to succeed and climb the ladder. What have you done in your previous career to prepare you with organization and planning skills? Again, let’s look at bartending.

If you’ve ever worked behind the bar, you’ll know the importance of keeping a well-maintained bar. The second you start to misplace drinks and leave things out, your entire service starts to fall. Therefore, you’ll have a strict plan behind the bar. That’s an excellent example of using planning and organization skills to ensure high performance every day.

After all, in sales, you’ll need to complete daily reports, draw out comprehensive work plans, generate regular analyses, and maintain records. However, you’ve probably gained indirect experience in these skills anyway.

Join the booming tech industry right now

A midlife career change doesn’t need to be scary (especially if you download our official Career Change Guide. On the contrary, it will bring you enormous benefits, such as better pay, more opportunity, and fresh challenges.

Uvaro can help you transition from your current job into tech sales. Don’t worry about your experience, skills, or background — choose from any of our available courses to prepare yourself for success in tech sales.

We will give you continued support along the way, and you’ll get help from our expert career coaches. Feel free to take a look at our job board to get a feel for all of the open sales roles, and when you're ready, apply now to get started in tech sales!