Has anyone successfully changed their career after 40 and is now working in a trade for example and is doing well? Or knows about services, resources, support in the UK?

I'm aware that adults can apply for apprenticeships. It's just very unlikely to get an offer. Also, salaries are infeasible for me considering the cost of living. Only manageable if you're subsidised by family

But thanks for sharing anyhow! 

Adults are allowed to participate in Apprenticeships. 

An Apprenticeship might be a route into a trade.

There are now 4 levels of Apprenticeship:

www.gov.uk/become-apprentice

Finding an Apprenticeship in your area:

www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch

Thankyou for reading and commenting. The peak earnings age is something I read for tech and is an average. Some people go into management but not all can or want to. The life of companies is shorter now and tech keeps moving, rendering hard won knowledge obsolete.

I worked hard to get my corner office and a team so I could go play golf and retire early, but it went wrong. I also forgot to have a life somewhere along the way.

But this has been the case in a number of areas for me. I am not sure I really understand life as well as I thought I did, perhaps it is the autism. Perhaps it is how life is. Maybe I sell myself wrongly or think I am better than I am.

I was too stubborn to accept help for nearly all my life. I think I finally am ready to start my life now I am too old. It is tough to take, but black and white thinking is a big problem for me. I also seem to have a distorted sense of time.

I have a 40hrs a week job that pays quite well. I can't complain, but I do. I don't know why. Just like I partially yearn for a dysfunctional relationship I threw away due to stubbornness and burnout. 30 years alone is a long time, yet I can't bring myself to do anything about it. She said I didn't need anyone, which I thought was true, but I really don't know now.

Thank you for sharing your story and I can imagine how tough it must have been. I can hear the bitterness... A bit scary to think that I am past my prime earning power, because that means I will spend my retirement aka I can't find a job anymore in poverty.... 
I won't work 70hs a week or forego leave, that's for sure, but that also makes me less employable / employers reckon that they can't work me to death anymore because of my age. 

I know there are no easy answers and have to come to the realisation that life is a *** and that luck is a real thing. 

Oh wow! well done! You had an actual career and managed to save some money, which in turn helped you shift career into something else lucratively! Thanks for sharing! 

I made a change from being an IT manager for 34 years to be a property developer in my early 50s. I did this initially in the UK then moved to Brazil for a lower cost of living, warmth and better quality of life.

NAS94755 said:

What steps did you take?

I learned as much as I could about the market and the skills then got stuck into a project. Initially I was living and working in central London and was only renting (following a near bankrupcy in 2006) so worked out it could be cheaper for me to buy a flat on the sea front on the South Coast while commuting into London each day.

I made about £180k profit on the first project then did a second where I made over £200k - both were big projects (about a year long for the work). A third, small project was then undertaken when the market became stagnant and this only yielded £20k but since I needed a place to live it saved on rent.

NAS94755 said:

What Service did you use?

I learned how to do all the tasks from YouTube and web searches in general. I also asked loads of questions from any contractors I hired (electrician, plumber and plaster).

NAS94755 said:

How did you finance the change?

All the projects were financed from savings made in the previous few years and some bonus from a wrongful termination of my employment lawsuit. Add in the profit from previous projects and it starts to snowball.

There were Capital Gains taxes to pay of course plus stamp duty and all the related legal & estate agent fees but some research into how to do this can save you quite a lot.

When I started I had not done any DIY of consequence for 20 years but I like to work on electronics and mechanical things in general so a house is just a different sort of thing to work on - the principles are all still compatible.

For the last 3 years I have been in Brazil (8 major renovation projects now complete) and I only have to work about 6 months a year actively - the rest is for enjoying early retirement, so I get to travel, read, work on myself and enjoy the life in Brazil.

Yes, you can earn 1k or under tax free, but once you pass that you have to start paying tax, so you need to register as a sole trader with HMRC and fill out your tax return once a year, it’s pretty straightforward, and unless you’re earning a lot of money, a lot of the questions don’t apply. Being a reseller business you’d still have to register with HMRC once you’re earning past the 1k threshold. 

I didn't, due to factors beyond my control, like getting hypermobility in my fingers joints, but I could easily have done.

I had a well paid job in cellular, but when all the companies left the UK or failed 15+ years ago, I was in trouble and the business unit closed.

It coincided with the financial crisis. So I spent a year with no money and no interviews. I almost ran out of money and savings and had no means to pay the mortgage. I couldn't afford to go get a MSc or a different degree.

I managed to get another job, at 50% less salary, after looking at over 10,000 job ads. I spent all day everyday on it applying to things. It destroyed my confidence which has still not really recovered and my career is going nowhere. I have also lost my job twice since.

I read you have peak earnings in your 30's and early 40s. That is my experience. Not what I expected for the sacrifice I made.

I still earn less in 2025  in absolute terms than in 2005, allowing for inflation I have about 40% of the spending power now.

I am not poor and earn more than average but once you are behind the curve you stay behind the curve.

There is no help. You have to do stuff yourself , get to uni for a masters or something,  or start your own business.

I seem to have been more unlucky than others but I was in more of a niche and perhaps I undersold myself or screwed up. People don't understand or believe my CV.

I don't have the drive now, at 56, to work 70+ hrs a week and forego leave anymore. I have spent 30 years on my own fighting the world single handedly,

There are no easy answers. You are responsible for yourself. You just need some luck and to be in the right place at the right time.

Have you managed to build a career that allows you a comfortable life?

but with the HMRC crackdown one is limited to less than 1k a year, though? Or how does it work? I mean I don't have the time or space to craft things myself, it would be more like a reseller thing, right?

one of the world's biggest mysteries, right after Atlantis :D 

Good question! We’ve been wondering about this in our family too. I don’t have any answers yet though!

No, still in a low paid, unskilled job, but the hours work well for me. I am doing my own Etsy shop though, which makes me feel better given that I haven’t got a well paying job or a trade. Maybe start a side hustle and see where it goes? 

I did a hairdressing course that was aimed at giving people, mostly women training to get them back in the workplace, it was "part time" and they fiddled it so that it was kept under the constantly changing number of hours people were allowed to work and keep their benefits. Most people on the course were single parents and it fitted in with school hours.