I'm 48 and single. I have a job working with nice people, pay OK not great, and good benefits. I've been here 5 years and it's never been exciting but I got along. Lately though, it's less and less interesting and I find myself longing for something more fulfilling.

But I can't seem to figure out what I want to do. I've never done work that I really loved and it's beginning to really bother me that I might spend the rest of my life doing work I don't really like.

I need my income so experimenting feels pretty scary. I can't see how to make a change and make the money I need.

Anyone else struggling with this? Any suggestions for addressing it?

I'm 55 and I've been wrestling with this question very actively for about 8 years. I'm sick of the question! Recently it occurred to me that instead of asking what I want to do or what I want to be when I grow up, I could simply decide to turn toward whatever aspects of my work and life give me joy. Like you, I need to work economically and I'd hate for it to always be "just work." But now I feel that I can ask - What clients, projects, processes, etc give me more joy? By changing the question that way, I got out of my eternal pondering and felt that there was a choice to be made each day that will make my work more satisfying, even if I never figure out what I want to be when I grow up. It's been a big relief!

Being self-employed probably makes it a little easier for me to experiment in small ways but maybe my question will somehow be of use to you in your struggle.

Happy pondering!

I changed careers in my 40s and it happened in a strange way. I sold a restaurant and wanted to get out of the hospitality industry. I wanted to work with a nonprofit but wasn't able to find a job that paid enough, so I took a hospitality job. But I pictured the job that I wanted and told myself that I would have it in five years. In that time I developed different networks and new skills with an eye to what I wanted to be doing. Then out of the blue, I was offered the job I wanted at a pay cut that I could tolerate. It was only after I had worked for a awhile that I realized that I had started the job five years to the day from when I described it. Of course, I immediately wondered why I didn't say I would have it in 3 years. I've been in education for 11 years now and love it and have recovered the loss in salary.

I jumped ship on my career at about 47. I'm still wondering if I did the right thing, but most days I can remember exactly why I left it. I'm struggling a bit at the moment but am keeping a positive outlook and believe I'll be OK.

I do think it's a bit harder to get hired once you reach your 50's. I wonder if people doing the hiring realize we still have 20 years to work (if we want to).

Here's the strange thing that happened to me. . . .when I stopped resisting what I thought I didn't want, I got just what I wanted. In my case, the resistance was toward a full-time, typical, large-organization job and what I got after beginning a full-time, typical, large-organization job was more professional fulfillment than I've ever experienced. The idea I'm trying to share here is that sometimes our so-called resistance can be trying to tell us something, if only we can "listen" in an open way. So my question for you is: Do you find yourself trying to avoid something? And then: What truths and possibilities lie behind the avoidance?
Parker Palmer, in his great book, "Let Your Life Speak: Finding the Voice of Vocation" talks about the importance of not just focusing on "way" opening in front of you, but the power of paying attention to way closing behind you.
To me, exploring these two seemingly disparate ideas--resistance and way closing--helped me achieve the fulfillment I wanted, even if my ego was sure that working a full-time, typical, large-organization job wasn't going to get me there. But nonetheless, here I am!

I represent another group of women who stayed home while their kids were growing up. Now that they're gone I am so bored and so want to earn money. Remember those t-shirts "I forgot my baby on the bus!" Well I feel like there could be an update: "I forgot to have a career!" It's kinda late to go back to school and despite a college degree, I'm not qualified for a lot either.