Deciding To Make A Change
At 40 years old, I went back to college.
That sentence alone was intimidating to say out loud. I had questions running through my head: Am I too old for this? Did I miss my chance? Can I really start over in a brand-new field while supporting a family?
But here’s the truth I discovered: it is possible. Hard, yes. Scary, definitely. But absolutely possible.
This is my story, and I share it not because I think everyone should do exactly what I did, but because I want to reassure anyone standing where I once stood: you’re not too late.
The Weight of Starting Over
For most of my adult life, I worked in fields that demanded hard, physical labor. Carpentry. Warehousing. Long hours, heavy lifting, always chasing stability.
I wasn’t unhappy all the time — there were seasons where I thrived, especially when I got the chance to solve problems, improve processes, or use technology in small ways at work. But I always had this nagging sense that I was climbing the wrong ladder.
And when I finally admitted it to myself, the idea of starting over at 40 was terrifying.
I wondered:
- Would employers take me seriously?
- Would I be competing against people half my age with twice as much time left to grow?
- Did I have the energy to do this while raising kids and holding everything together?
If those questions sound familiar, let me reassure you: they’re normal. Everyone who considers a career change later in life asks them. What matters is what you do next.
Why It’s Not Too Late
One of the myths about career change is that starting later means starting from nothing. That’s not true.
When I began my journey into IT, I brought with me everything I had learned from carpentry, warehousing, and process improvement:
- The discipline to work hard, day after day.
- The problem-solving mindset I sharpened with Lean Six Sigma projects.
- The analytical habits I picked up troubleshooting SQL databases and inventory systems.
At the time, I thought those years were detours. In hindsight, they were training. All of it carried over into IT.
And here’s the part that surprised me: maturity became an asset. I had already failed, already stumbled, already endured tough seasons. That resilience gave me an advantage. While others panicked at setbacks, I treated them as part of the process.
So no, it’s not too late. If anything, life experience adds depth that younger professionals don’t always have yet.
The Hard Truths
I won’t sugarcoat it: changing careers at 40 isn’t easy.
It requires humility — sitting in classes where you’re starting at square one. It requires discipline — studying at night after work, carving out time that you don’t really have. It requires patience — because growth doesn’t happen overnight.
But here’s the thing: hard isn’t the same as impossible.
And hard is often what makes it meaningful. Every exam I passed, every new concept I understood, every milestone I hit felt earned in a way that few things ever had before.
Why I Chose IT (And Why You Can Choose Anything)
For me, IT was the obvious fit once I realized what I was really chasing.
I’ve always loved learning. Back in community college, I remember saying, “I’d be a professional student if I could.” What I didn’t understand then was that IT is one of the few careers where that’s basically the job description. Technology never stops changing. There’s always something new to learn, always another horizon to reach.
That’s why cloud computing felt like home to me. For you, it might be something different. The point isn’t to copy my path — it’s to find the field where your talents, passions, and mission overlap. The place where your desire to grow is an advantage, not a liability.
A Word of Encouragement
If you’re standing at the edge of a big decision — wondering if you should make the leap into a new field at 40, 45, 50 — here’s what I want you to hear:
- You are not starting from scratch. Every skill you’ve picked up, every problem you’ve solved, every failure you’ve endured comes with you.
- It will be hard. But hard isn’t bad. Hard is what makes it count.
- You don’t need to know the whole path right now. Just the next step: take a class, earn a certification, reach out to a mentor.
Don’t let fear of being “too late” be the reason you never try.
The Journey Is the Destination
I went from swinging hammers to configuring networks. From sawdust and sweat to cloud and code. From feeling stuck to building momentum.
And I did it at 40.
So if you’re wondering whether it’s too late for you, let me say it plainly: it’s not.
You still have time to grow, to pivot, to build something new. The horizon is still out there waiting.
This is my Odyssey. The journey is the destination. And yours can be too.