Patrick Monroe used to speak the language of the executive suite. Four years ago, when he was about to be named president of a mid-sized manufacturing company, he turned down the generous offer, which included an array of benefits and a six-figure salary.
Instead, Mr. Monroe and his family moved from suburban New Jersey to rural Manchester, Vt. Along with his wife, Joyce, he now runs two stores: The Village Valet, a dry-cleaning service, and Wilson’s Country Clothiers.
Like so many other mid-career changers, Mr. Monroe, then 46, was looking for a different, more relaxed lifestyle. He found it. During the winter he takes Wednesdays off to ski. No more ringing telephones or harried meetings.
Hardly an anomaly, the former Ridgewood, N.J., resident is one of countless executives and professionals who have left otherwise successful careers to chart new courses at mid-life. Senior managers are joining nonprofits, retailers are retraining as teachers and marketers are opening bed-and-breakfast inns. Even investment bankers are trading in their calculators for carpenter’s tools and painter’s brushes.
The trend is national. Graduate schools report classes full of middle-aged students, and franchisers say they receive a steady stream of calls from mid-career executives eager to run their own operations.
Role models are plentiful as well. Best selling author Tom Clancy made the shift from running a family-owned Maryland insurance agency to writing nine years ago. At age 35, he decided to “simply chase the lifetime dream of being a writer rather than being stuck in the same job.” He says he would have continued even if his writing hadn’t caught on. He was ready for a change.
Not Just for Loose Cannons
Mid-life career switching has lost its predictability in recent years. A generation ago, except for early military or civil service retirees, the typical 45-year-old rarely changed careers and lifestyle. When it did occur, the accepted pattern was to simply apply one set of skills to another closely related field. It was the loose cannon who abandoned the executive suite for life as a professional chef or croupier.
These days, it’s not uncommon for executives of all ages to walk away from high-paying jobs, even if it places a burden on family income. Bidding adieu to retirement benefits doesn’t seem to provide a roadblock, either, say career counselors.
Rampant layoffs caused by mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations are a major reason for shifting attitudes. After losing their jobs few executives consider a significant career change right away. But in the course of weighing their career options, they often decide to move in new directions, says Nancy B. Hutter, an outplacement consultant at Fuchs Cuthrell & Co. in New York.
“Pushing them that way is the fact that no longer trust corporations, since they realize there’s no such thing as job security,” she says. The steady-as-you-go career plan has been replaced by the more upbeat, “go for it.” Discovering new options has been simplified thanks to how-to publications and vocational and college courses designed to help people of all ages gain fresh skills and explore new fields.
A motivation often cited for leaving corporate employment is to work more directly and personally with others. Some restless executives yearn to help children, work one-on-one with customers or build furniture made to order. Others simply want the chance to run a business they can call their own. Some companies recognize the potential wanderlust among mangers by granting sabbaticals, pro bono assignments and flex-time work hours. For many executives, though, these aren’t enough.
A few fortunate career changers have the luxury of planning their moves. They learn new skills and professions as they continue to draw a corporate salary. When the appropriate time arrives, they resign. Others are less fortunate. Receiving a pink slip forces quick decisions. “What’s next?” they ask. “Should I look for another job in the same area, or explore a completely different field?”
Some of these job hunters suddenly become bold. They strike out in new directions by piggy-backing a business venture onto an existing hobby, or by learning a new skill. Others adopt a more subtle approach. Corporate presidents accept leadership roles at colleges and nonprofits, while law firm partners seek governmental appointments and judgeships.
Many executives look to hobbies to provide the easiest path to new careers. Gary Yanker, a one-time law firm associate at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy in New York, parlayed his loved of walking into Walking World, a sports marketing consultancy and publisher. Mr. Yanker conceived the business during a one-year walking tour of the U.S. in the early 80’s. Although hobbies may appear to be a logical approach to a new lifestyle, New Jersey career consultant Frank Karpati cautions that “a wonderful hobby can actually become a terrible career” when it becomes “work.”
Taking the First Step
The effort required to turn your dream into a reality varies greatly. Minimal preparation is needed to open a boutique or catering service. Passing a test is usually all that’s necessary to become a real estate agent. And the clergy is full of one-time corporate mangers who can apply their organizational and fundraising skills in new area.
The transition is much tougher if you’re interested in becoming a lawyer, doctor, architect or other type of professional. Age is a big factor if this is the direction you seek. With rare exception, medical schools use the late 30s as the
cut-off age for admission. With eight years remaining in which to practice, say med-school admissions officers.
On the other hand, the nation’s graduate business and liberal arts schools welcome experienced students. Typical is Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in New York, where 25% of the Student Body boasts a previous business or professional career.
In fact, education heads the list of popular choices among career switchers. Women, who a generation ago rejected education in large numbers for the broader opportunities in business, are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the “glass ceiling” they face, career counselors say. Many are returning to the traditional fields of teaching and nursing as salaries in those disciplines climb.
As a newcomer to education, Joan Chanwick speaks for many career switchers, particularly women who have become frustrated with the slow rate of advancement into top management. Ms. Chanwick enrolled at Teacher’s College after 12 years as a merchandiser at Bloomingdale’’s and Conran’s. She says she wanted a career where her skills could more directly affect other people’s lives. In the transition, Ms. Chanwick has learned that prior work experiences are indelible. Working full-time as an assistant to the school’s admissions director while pursuing her master’s degree, she applies corporate management skills to supervise an 11-person administrative staff. Her next stop? The classroom.
The Cost of Changing
Having to make a major financial sacrifice is often the greatest deterrent to career switching. In many cases, the contemplated change occurs at a time when the executive has reached a peak earnings. If a reduction i or temporary elimination of all compensation isn’t enough of a drawback, some fields tend to discourage career switchers by offering below-average salaries to people without salaries to people without years of direct experience.
In the nonprofit sector, compensation rarely equals that of the corporate world. Dedicated career switchers are obvious, however, since they’re usually driven by a nonfinancial motivation. When Gene Estees left Wall Street’s Prescott Ball & Turben to direct the Ericho Project, a self-help group for New York City’s homeless, “people were at a loss for words,” he says. “A number of my associates actually thought I’d flipped. It’s like getting a divorce. Even your friends look at you differently, “he says.
Then there are the risk-takers who venture into major endeavors they know little about. Barry Rein, for example, left the chemical industry after 22 years as an executive to renovate and operate Columns by the Sea, a bed and breakfast inn in Cape May, N.J.
A research chemist with an M.B.A., Mr. Rein took advantage of an early retirement offer when the opportunity to be his own boss emerged. The chance to capitalize on his interest in antique collecting also played a role, since the inn’s decor boasts turn-of-the-century accessories and fixtures.
Neither Mr. Rein nor his wife, Cathy, who continues as a Metropolitan Life Insurance senior vice president, had a background in hotel management. Nor did they have the slightest idea of what it was like to gut and refurbish a 19th-century home, then open it as a Victorian inn to accommodate 28 guests. It was trial and error from the start, including the headache of trying to find craftspeople who could work without original floor plans.
Columns-by-the-Sea proved to Mr. Rein that running an inn is neither a part-time hobby nor an opportunity for an absentee owner. It’s a hands-on job in the truest sense. When the inn is short-staffed, he makes beds, vacuums and cleans bath rooms. There even are moments of shock. Two weeks before opening day, Mr. Rein realized he would soon be preparing daily gourmet breakfasts for guests. It was then that he started reading cookbooks and experimenting with menus. Mr. Rein says he has no regrets.
The Blue-Collar Approach
Changing careers to improve their social status doesn’t motivate many executives. Some career changers, such as J. Jeffrey Keelan, say social status is the least of their concerns.
Mr. Keelan founded the Paperhanging Institute in Fairfield, N.J., four years ago to replace on-the-job training in the field with more formal education. Like nearly all of the 300 students who have attended the institute since it opened, Mr. Keelan never intended to become a craftsman. Following five years as an apparel merchandiser, however, he was ready to run his own business. He selected wallpapering since it called for a low capital investment, no office and little administration.
Unlike older paperhangers, who knew little about marketing, Mr. Keelan, a marketing major at the University of Hartford, could apply the skills he developed in merchandising. He drummed up contracts, for example, by forming alliances with wallpaper stores and interior designers. Following his entry into the trade, Mr. Keelan quickly learned to over come the blue-collar stereotype. He emphasizes this point to students who have either lost their jobs or were forced into early retirement. Not surprisingly, he anticipates a surge in enrollment as more companies downsize and employees look for greater security.
The institute’s 10-week course adheres to a corporate work code that stresses punctuality, neat appearance and attention to details, such as issuing prompt estimates, sending suppliers thank-you notes for recommending business and returning telephone calls as soon as possible.
Mr. Keelan’s student body represents a variety of backgrounds. Tom Nolan spent 33 years as an IBM Corp. product marketing manager before enrolling in paperhanging school. He says exchanging his white button-down shirts for overalls was extremely easy. And, the New York City residents adds, compared with his former schedule, the flexibility of being his own boss in a craft business is hard to beat. When he wants to take time off, Mr. Nolan says he simply tells prospective customers that he’s booked that week. Try that at IBM, he says.
This article is reprinted by permission from the National Business Employment Weekly, © 1993, Dow Jones & Co. Inc. All rights reserved. For subscription information, call (800)Job-Hunt. |
