Is it too late to switch to a trade at 45?
Starting a trade later in life means taking a severe pay cut down to entry-level wages while enduring physically demanding work and years of low-paid apprenticeship. This massive drop in income and physical toll makes many career switchers question whether they are too old to begin or if they should pivot to higher-paying specialties.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Starting at a private equity-backed company for higher initial hourly pay
- 2Staying in a desk job while dealing with burnout and unfulfilled labor
- 3Working out in a gym to prepare for physical labor
- 4Venturing into service plumbing which can be slightly less strenuous
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I'm 45 and I've spent the last two decades working on computers in corporate offices.”source ↗
“My current physical conditioning consists of typing 80 words per minute and drinking black coffee. If I drop a pen and bend over too quickly, my lower back makes a noise like somebody stepping on a bag of Doritos.”source ↗
“Is 45 completely insane to start learning the trade?”source ↗
“How badly is the first year actually going to wreck my body?”source ↗
“You’re going to be an underpaid bitch boy for at least 3 years.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How do I recover my career after working in a small HR role?
- 9How to translate my foreign work experience for a new job market
- 2Is taking a lower job title a red flag on a resume?
- 4How do I actually start becoming an electrician with no experience?
- 2Why do people get fired from accounting jobs so fast?
- 4Is it normal to have no work to do at a new job?