So you're 30-, 40- or 50-something and want to change careers. No matter what your age, you're thinking the same thing: Should I change careers at my age? Can I? What's it going to take?

I don't have the answer, but I do have the questions you need to ponder to figure out if you should, if you can and what it would take.

First, let's make sure a career change-which can be a mighty big deal--is what you're actually talking about.

A career is a line of work. Like an accountant, nurse or software developer. And sometimes, people who think they want to change careers really don't mean that at all.

Take the nurse who told me she wanted to change careers. When I questioned her, turns out she really just wanted to stop working in a hospital. She still wanted to be a nurse. That's not changing careers. That's changing environment.

On the other hand, there was the interior designer who wanted to become a social worker. Now that's a career change. It's a totally different line of work and requires a new path and-in her case--education.

Some people also talk about career change when they mean industry change. Recently an accountant who had spent his career working in health care told me he wanted to "change careers" by being an accountant in a different industry such as insurance. That's an industry switch not a career change.

Let's also look at what has you itching to make a change "at your age." Quite simply, as you get closer to 40 and beyond, you start thinking more about the fact that life doesn't last forever. If up to this point, you haven't given much thought to who you are and how you spend your time, you do now.

But then there's the issue of what's feasible at "your age." After all, you might have others to consider besides yourself at this point in life. And unless you're independently wealthy, you have to make a living to survive. In other words, you want a fulfilling life, yet you need to be practical. Can you have both?

With that in mind, ask yourself these questions to decide if a career change is right for you at this point in life. The first two questions will help you decide whether you should make a change.

1. Based on statistics and your situation-if you could guess--how much time might you have left on earth? What do you want to do in that time? What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to experience yet in your life?
2. Is it important to make a lot of money? Is it important to have a certain type of lifestyle? Do you want to make some type of difference? Can you do that in your present career and situation?

The next set of questions helps you determine what it's going to take to make a change and whether you can do it:

1. What obstacles might you run into to get what you say you want? How can you overcome them?
2. What steps will you need to take?
3. What sacrifices will you need to make? Will something else suffer?
4. Is it worth it? Are you willing to take those steps and make those sacrifices in the time you have left on earth?

You can't have everything. But you owe it to yourself to explore what you want, if you can get it and what it will take. Then take it from there. That way you can get on with your life instead of wondering about it.

© by Andrea Kay