Is It Time for a Second-Half Career Transition?
Somewhere between 48 and 55, many people start noticing a shift. It’s subtle at first—a passing thought, a low-buzz feeling, a question you brush aside because you’re “too busy” to entertain it. But eventually it lands and refuses to let go:
“Is this really the work I want to be doing for the rest of my life?”
This question shows up for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes your role stops feeling meaningful. Sometimes leadership changes and the culture no longer fits. Sometimes your body says enough. Sometimes you’ve simply outgrown the career you built.
Whatever the trigger, you find yourself standing at the start of what I call a second-half career transition: a powerful, often liberating stage of life where the work you choose needs to do more than pay the bills. It needs to feed your spirit, honor your wisdom, and align with the person you’ve become.
Why This Question Shows Up Between 48 and 55
This life window is unique. You’ve gathered decades of professional wisdom, personal clarity, and life experience. You know what you’re good at. You know what drains you. And you're no longer willing to compromise your well-being for a title or paycheck.
This is also the age when many realize they may have just crossed the halfway point of their time on the planet. That realization is a strong motivator.
People often think:
Maybe I want something less stressful.
Maybe I want something more meaningful.
Or maybe I want something far more lucrative, but on my terms.
That’s when the door opens to consider the three pathways of a mid-life career transition:
Employment
Consulting/Self-employment
Entrepreneurship
Understanding the differences, especially the realities of consulting vs employment, and how each path affects your sense of work liberation, is essential for making a choice that fits the life you want now.
1. Employment: The Traditional Path (With a Twist)
In most organizations, employment still means trading time for money. You give your hours, they give you a salary. And depending on the culture, you may have little control over how your day is structured.
But there’s a nuance here.
Some organizations operate differently. They pay based on results, not hours. They offer flexibility, autonomy, and authority to make decisions and get work done on your terms. These workplaces are rare, but they do exist. And for some people, a second-half career transition simply means finding a better employer.
Choosing employment works best when you want stability without sacrificing your values. It’s also a good fit if you prefer structure, collaboration, and defined responsibilities.
But if you want more independence, or if your current role feels restrictive, that’s a sign the next option might align better with your version of work liberation.
2. Consulting and Self-Employment: Freedom with Structure
This is the route millions of professionals have taken since COVID. They left corporate roles and stepped into consulting, contracting, fractional leadership, or independent advisory work.
Consulting is essentially selling your expertise—your brain, your wisdom, your capabilities. You choose your clients. You choose your workload. You choose your boundaries.
The biggest benefits of consulting vs employment include:
Control over your time
The ability to choose who you work with
Higher earning potential
Freedom to work from anywhere
A direct line to doing purpose-driven work
Consulting creates a sense of work liberation many people never experienced inside traditional employment. When done well, it provides the income and the lifestyle people want in their second half of life.
However, consulting is still “selling time.” Even if you charge more per hour, week, or project, your income is still tied to your calendar. That’s fine for many people, but if your dream is revenue that grows without your direct involvement, consulting isn’t the final destination.
3. Entrepreneurship: Building Something That Scales
Tim Ferriss, author of the Four-Hour Workweek summarizes business simply:
If you can define your offering, articulate what makes you the expert, sell the offering, and scale it, then you have a business.
A business generates income independent of your time.
That means:
Digital courses
Online tools
Group programs
Scalable services
Products that sell repeatedly
Systems you build once and profit from again and again
This is the highest form of work liberation because your impact and your income aren’t limited by your personal capacity.
But entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. It requires vision, risk tolerance, systems thinking, and the willingness to experiment. For some, the best path is a hybrid approach: consulting first, then building a scalable offering.
Before You Decide: Ask Yourself These Questions
A meaningful second-half career transition begins with clarity. Not about your résumé—about your life.
Ask yourself:
What matters most to me now?
Who am I becoming?
What is the deeper intent of my life?
Why does that intent matter?
What does alignment feel like for me?
How do I want to spend my time?
Who do I want to help?
What do I want to earn—not just to survive, but to thrive?
Where do generosity, contribution, and service fit in my life?
When people first reflect on these questions, they often respond with resistance:
“I don’t get to choose. I need this job. I have responsibilities.”
But that’s not the full story.
That’s the story you’ve inherited, not the one you have to live.
The Truth About Work in 2025 and Beyond
Since 2020:
Millions became entrepreneurs
Millions shifted into consulting
Millions chose not to return to traditional employment
And millions more redefined work entirely
We don’t have to accept outdated models.
We don't have to fit into structures that don’t match who we are.
We don’t have to wait for permission to change.
We get to design the life and work that fits us now.
This is the essence of work liberation.
You are the talent.
You bring the expertise.
You create the value.
And you get to choose the environment where your gifts flourish.
So, Which Path Is Right for You?
Whether you're choosing between consulting vs employment, thinking about building a business, or simply feeling ready for a change, your next chapter is yours to design.
I’d genuinely love to hear:
What path is calling you now?
What does your version of work liberation look like?
What keeps you excited—or hesitant—about change?
Your second half of life can be the most powerful, aligned, and fulfilling season you’ve ever lived.
You just have to choose it.
If you want to learn more about how to choose this next stage of your life and live as your most powerful self, I highly recommend joining me and other female leaders at the Ignite Your Power Retreat in January!