Ask HN: Completely switching careers at 28

11 points by mrleiter 5 years ago | 29 comments

Dear HN,

I've recently finished my law degree, and I also have a degree in business administration. I've also turned 28 now. I have work experience in those fields (finance, law), but also in journalism and PR.

Over the last year I discovered that my career path (lawyer for financial institutions) really doesn't make me happy, in fact, all of it doesn't. I've come to realise that I lied to myself quite some time now.

What truly interests me and makes me happy is science and technology, ever since I'm young. Especially maths and biology. I just love it. I was too blind, to dishonest with myself to follow up on it professionally. Now I am honestly afraid it's too late, since I'm already nearing my 30th birthday.

So my question to you is: is it ok to start completely new? Pursue a degree in maths or biology, all the way? I'll be around 35 until I have a PhD realistically, because that's what I want to do, I want to do research and work on sometimes abstract and sometimes applied problems.

Or to put it another way? Am I too old? Am I still employable afterwards, with little work experience in that area so far?

Thank you very much, I feel lost.

cottonseed 5 years ago |

One of the best technologists I ever worked with denied his interest in technology until he was around your age. He was a professor at a top school in CS and started some innovative and impactful companies. I quit my job at 34 to study math and got my PhD at 40. After that, I left math to work in biology and I run a data science/engineering group at a premier biology research institute. I will probably change things up again before I'm done. I am not unique, there are many examples of this:

https://mathoverflow.net/questions/7120/too-old-for-advanced... https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/237002/too-old-to-s...

You are young and life is long. Go do what you love.

edit: My email is in my profile. Reach out if you want to chat.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

Thanks for that! I wrote you an email.

lhorie 5 years ago |

Honestly, I don't think age is an issue. My mom did a career change at 50. Your problem is grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side syndrome: you seem to think that if only you put in years of study into some field, it'll turn into your dream career. That's not how it works. Academia suckage is a well documented phenomenon; unless you're keenly aware of what that entails and are willing to tolerate all the BS that comes with it, you're just going to find yourself at the same spot you're in now: entering a field with starry eyes and being confronted with a reality that isn't so rosy.

For me, when looking for career advice, the one single piece of advice that served me very well is this: "Don't aim to do what you love, look for something you can tolerate". The idea is that if your approach to career choice involves romanticizing a profession, you're most likely ignoring its downsides (all professions have downsides) and you're setting yourself up for disappointment, whereas being brutally aware of all the suckiness factors means your opinion of the profession can only go up from there.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

I agree with you. Yet I am not romanticizing a profession. The areas in which I have expertise in simply do not make me happy. I am happy, though, when I do something with maths or biology. So studying and working with it probably makes me happier than I am now. For me it's more about what I like/love doing, not a certain profession itself.

But thanks for pointing that out! And also for your advice.

5bolts 5 years ago | |

might also just be seperation anxiety from the academia environment/structure.

For the original question.. try to drift towards technology in the fields you're already experienced in?

Not familiar but I'm sure there are software programs for both business admin and the legal fields.. hell seems like there could be lots of crossover where a little programming knowledge but lots of the people skills could be beneficial.

helph67 5 years ago | | |

> Not familiar but I'm sure there are software programs for both business admin and the legal fields.. hell seems like there could be lots of crossover where a little programming knowledge but lots of the people skills could be beneficial.

Agreed, mrleiter might consider programming in his current industry with ultimate move into those he prefers later.

siquick 5 years ago |

I didn’t graduate from university until I was 28, up until then I worked in very average office jobs including sales, call centre work, and general admin.

It’s never held me back and if anything, it gave me an advantage in that I knew how to work in an “office environment” and had experience in quite a few different business areas - something that most young graduates just don’t have.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

Thanks for sharing your experience :)

sircastor 4 years ago |

Heck, I didn’t figure out what career I was interested in until I was nearly 30. I didn’t complete my bachelor’s degree until I was 40.

28 is definitely not too old, and if you change your mind at 35, you won’t be too old then either.

I would encourage you though to figure out if you really need to pursue your interest in biology or mathematics professionally? Depending on what your interest is here, you may be able to do these as a hobby, which frees you from doing the research someone else wants you to do, rather than what you’re interested in. Your career doesn’t have to be your passion.

giantg2 5 years ago |

I would switch if it involves years of school. Debt makes you a slave to money (and the people who have it).

If you have a law degree, why. Ot look into specializing in a sector of law related to science or technology?

I sort of think I should have been a lawyer instead of a dev. A bunch of people say that makes sense, but it would be too expensive and time consuming. So I'll just tough it out in a job I hate. To be fair I think I would hate being a lawyer because of the general incompetence of law enforcement and the judiciary.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

Luckily enough I do not have any debt and school/university here is almost free.

I wouldn't say they are generally incompetent, it's a complex structure with many different interests being balanced out, and more often times than not it's unfair. Sometimes LE gets crippled by certain inefficiencies, intentionally and unintentionally. But in essence, law is not a creative or very productive space, it's more about safeguarding and balancing out interests.

giantg2 4 years ago | | |

Most software development isn't very creative either. It's mostly CRUD apps for boring business processes.

sircastor 4 years ago | |

I was talking with a patent lawyer once about the law and about how it operates, and I realized that lawyers are hackers and hack the law instead of computers

giantg2 4 years ago | | |

Sort of. That requires the system to work in a consistent and logical manner. It seems many judges don't act consistently or logically, so the outcome may be unknowable. There are so many laws, some of which may even conflict, that the judges can pick and choose which one takes priority or how to interpret them to influence a case.

austincheney 5 years ago |

Pffft... 28. I wasn’t even a developer until 28. By that point I was already 7 years into a 10 year cyber security career.

Thing I regret most: a career writing JavaScript. Don’t get me wrong in that I love writing JavaScript applications and building things, but that love is not reflected in employment without tremendous hand holding. Software employment is most directly tuned to the smartest people having no more than 3 years experience doing it.

frompdx 5 years ago |

It's not too late. I switched careers at 30. My mom went back to school for her masters in teaching at 36 and worked for the next twenty years as a teacher.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

Are you happy that you did?

frompdx 4 years ago | | |

Yeah, absolutely. I went from account manager at a software company to software engineer. It was worth the stress I had to go through to get there and greatly improved my income and employment prospects. I wish I had known it was what I wanted to do when I was still in college, or even high school. I probably could have saved myself a few years of doing stuff I really didn't enjoy at all.

magicpossum 5 years ago |

I was a late starter. Finished uni later than others and took my time, changing careers 2 times before settling into tech.

I've never been held back or had any roadblocks (other than the ones in my head). Its time that society gets rid of the myth that you have to do everything right now, have everything sorted out young. Its a journey and its great that you have found something that you are more passionate about.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

Yes, society sometimes tells you certain things, which really aren't that great for your personal health.

runjake 5 years ago |

> Am I too old?

No, just switch if you want.

This is a ridiculous question. Stop thinking like this -- it is self-defeating. It's your life, just do it.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

Thanks :)

thiago_fm 5 years ago |

Just do it.

There are so many jobs available in tech that if you put your mind into it, you will likely have more opportunities than in law or finance.

But I'd advise against doing a PhD. You've studied just for too long.

Do a bootcamp, study a lot by yourself and make a name for you... and get a job as a software engineer.

I have a terrible time understanding that one person could afford to study for that long.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

Yeah, some people here advised against doing a PhD, I will keep it in mind :)

django77 5 years ago |

You never start completely new, you always carry your previous experiences and knowledge you gained. This will be valuable to your progress even if it doesn't seem relevant right now. Speaking from experience, switching career at 28 was the best decision of my life.

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

True perspective, never thought of that!

If you don't mind me asking: what did you do before and what do you do now?

ijustwanttovote 5 years ago |

I know someone who got a JD, saw he didn't want to live a life as a partner. He left the firm and learned to code. He works at a big tech company now. Do what makes you happy.

gaws 5 years ago | |

> He left the firm and learned to code. He works at a big tech company now.

What kind of development does he do?

mrleiter 4 years ago | |

I more and more get the same feeling, thanks for telling that story!