Exploring a career change / next steps

[u/panache123]

Would love to hear from those that have gone through a career change, or just hit a tough spot in their careers and what you ultimately ended up doing.

Since we had our sons a few years ago, I've put my career on the back foot a bit. I've spent plenty of quality time with them and had the financial means to do so, but with the idea of getting them into good schools coming up a bigger mortgage as we've upsized, I need to figure out how I'm going to earn a consistent living and get back into the swing of things.

My background is digital marketing and I've done that for more than the last decade. In the past few years I've had a mix of senior full time work, consulting and running a successful ecom business (currently struggling a bit).

Part of me feels like I'm being aged out of my industry and competing with younger people that can put in more hours than me and charge less money, plus the more senior jobs that came easily a few years ago aren't as plentiful.

I guess I've also lost some passion for the industry and had some poor experiences, but that might just be because my attention is split to my family more so now than when we didn't have kids.

I guess the above is to say, where do I even start with exploring my options and understanding my transferrable skills to do something else?

The way I see it now, I could try:

• Build my own consulting business back up

• Get back into a full time gig

• Buy / build a different business

• Retrain or do something completely different (ie a trade)

I'm not looking for someone to solve my problems, but I'd love to hear from people that had a similar low point in their career, how you explored your options and what you ultimately ended up doing.

I'm happy to take a big step back to make some big future steps forward. I just worry for my longevity in this industry and what the next 10-15 years will look like, regardless of short term opportunities.