23.12.7 The mid-career workers pivoting to dream jobs

[김상태]

After decades in the workforce, some people are seizing the opportunity to change jobs and live out professional dreams.

For more than two decades, Diane Rosenmiller made her living as a potter. Working from her Vermont, US, studio, Rosenmiller exhibited and sold bowls, mugs, teapots and other ceramics.

But Rosenmiller was becoming burnt out creating and selling her art. Her children were also getting older, and her role as a caretaker at home was quickly changing. “I’d been taking care of our kids, and they were growing up,” she says.

“So, I needed something that was going to fulfil me and make me feel like I was giving and taking care of people.”

그래서 나는 나를 만족시키고 사람들에게 베풀며 돌보는 느낌을 줄수있는 무엇인가가 필요했다.

So, aged 50, she changed course. She enrolled in nursing school in 2019, and today she works long shifts as a scrub nurse in hospital operating theatres.

Millions of workers have changed careers throughout the past several years, beginning during the Great Resignation – professional pivots which some experts re-named the ‘Great Reshuffle’.

And although young workers – particularly millennials – have largely led the trend as the workers most eager to re-direct their job paths, Gen X also reports undertaking career pivots: for many of these more seasoned workers, the past few years have opened an opportunity to consider pursuing dreams. Many have decided to take the leap.

그리고 또한 젊은 근로자들 - 특히 밀레니엄 세대- 들은 직업경로를 바꾸려는 의지가 가장 높은 근로자들로서 이러한 경향을 주도하고 있는데, X세대 또한 직업전환을 시도하고 있다고 보고있다; 지난 몇년동안 이들 많은 노련한 근로자들에게 꿈을 추구할수 있는 기회가 열렸다. 많은 사람들이 도약을 결심했다.

One driving factor, say experts, may be the occurence of mid-life setting in during the pandemic era. Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics and behavioural science at the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK, says many Gen Xers are at a pivot point now that they’ve reached mid-life, and are re-eval‎uating the lives they’ve led up to this point. His research shows that many people in their 40s and 50s are inclined to feel unsatisfied or distressed about their lives, so look for ways to make drastic change.

전문가들은 펜대믹 시기에 중년기를 맞이한것이 원동력의 하나가 될수 있었다고 말한다. 영국의 코벤트리에 있는 워익크대학의 경제학 및 행동과학 교수인 앤드류 오스월드는 많은 X세대들이 지금 중년기에 접어들면서 지금까지 살아온 삶을 재평가하는 전환점을 맞고 있다고 말한다. 그의 연구는 40대와 50대의 많은 사람들이 자신의 삶에 대해 불만족스럽게 느끼거나 과감한 변화를 할수 있는 길을 찾고 있음을 보여준다고 했다.  

“There's a lot of evidence that the notion of a ‘mid-life crisis’ is a true scientific occurrence,” he says. “Mid-life, in much of western society, seems to be troubling people in a deep way.

"중년의 위기라는 개념이 과학적으로 나타나는 사실이라는 증거가 많이 있다"고 그는 말한다. "서구사회에서 중년기는 많은 사람들에게 깊은 고민을 안겨주는것 같다"

It wouldn't be so surprising that they're looking for some dramatic change.

There’s a psychological low point that’s a stimulus for all sorts of ‘get me out of here’ behaviour.”

"여기에서 벗어나고 싶다"는 각종 행동을 자극하는 심리적 저점(低点)이 있는것이다."

Oswald believes the pandemic made Gen Xers “re-eval‎uate their lives”, making them more willing to leave even well-established careers to seek something more fulfilling. In other words, many Gen Xers have shifted careers in the simple pursuit of happiness.

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Diane Rosenmiller left a multi-decades career as a potter to become a scrub nurse in hospitals (Credit: Courtesy of Diane Rosenmiller)

After roughly three decades in a career, Eric Vogelsang, director of the Center on Aging at California State University, San Bernardino, says many Gen Xers might have a sense that, if they’re going to make a change, it’s now or never.

산 버나디노의 켈리포니아 주립대학에 있는 고령화 센터의 소장으로 있는 에릭 포겔상은 한곳에서 약 30년간 직장생활을  한 많은 X세대가 변화를 원한다면 지금이 아니면 할수 없을것이라는 생각을 갖고 있을것이라고 말한다.

“Thirty years [in the workforce] is a long time,” he says. “And I think part of it might be that they see this as a final chance to do it.”

That was the case for Rosenmiller, whose transition to nursing was the fulfilment of a 30-year-old life goal. “When I was in college, I was pre-med at the beginning,” she says. “Then I took pottery courses and loved it and ended up transferring to art school. This was sort of a return: I've always loved medicine, and this is a full circle kind of thing.”

그것이 간호사로서의 직업전환으로 30년동안의 인생목표를 성취한 로센밀러의 경우(사례)였다. "대학에 다닐때 의예과로 시작했다." 그는 말했다. "그러다가 나는 도예수업을 들었는데  그것을 좋아하게 되었고 결국 미술대학으로 전과했다. 이것은 일종의 회귀(돌아옴) 이었다: 나는 항상 의학을 좋아했고 이것은 일종의 완전한 순환이었다.

Rosenmiller felt that by entering the field at 50, she’d be giving herself a good number of years to ensure her new degree was worthwhile. “I'm hoping I can work for a while to make use of this,” she says. “I'm hoping I can work into my late 60s, if not 70s.”

로센밀러는 50세에 그 분야에 뛰어들면서 그녀의 새로운 학위가 가치있는것인지 확인할수 있는 충분한 기간을 가지게 될수 있을것이라고 느꼈다. "나는 한동안 이러한 나의 이력을 살려 일할수 있게되기를 바라고 있다."고 그녀는 말한다. "나는 70대 까지는 아니더라도 60대 후반까지는 일할수 있기를 바라고 있다."

Similarly, in New Jersey, US, Jeremy Puglisi has also taken this moment in his life to chase a dream. After more than 20 years as a high school English teacher, he resigned to make his hobby a full-time job.

While still teaching, he and wife, Stephanie Puglisi, started a podcast about camping called The RV Atlas. Unexpectedly, it took off, and the pair secured a contract to write a book.

“It was just one of those stories where our side hustle became more profitable than our day jobs,” says Puglisi.

"이것은 우리의 본업보다 부업이 더 큰 수익을 안겨다준 사례들중 하나에 불과하다."

“In February of 2020, literally a few weeks before the pandemic, I told my principal I was going to finish the school year, but that I wouldn't be coming back the next year.”

For Puglisi, the change wasn’t seamless. A few weeks after he gave his notice, the RV manufacturers and businesses that supported the podcast shut down, and “it felt like the worst timing on planet Earth”, says Puglisi.

퍼글리시에게는 그 변화가 순탄한것만은 아니었다. 통보를 한지 몇주후에 팟케스트를 지원하던 RV제작자와 기업들은 문을 닫았고 "지구상에서 최악의 타이밍처럼 느껴졌다." 고 퍼글리시는 말했다.

“I was waking up at night sweating. I thought, ‘how embarrassing, I'm going to have to go and beg for my teaching job back’.” When a major sponsor called to cancel their contract, “I felt like my entire world was crumbling”.

Luckily, the fear was short lived. Things turned around as people began road tripping and camping in record numbers during the pandemic. “I thought I had nightmare timing on leaving my teaching career and it was a month of real uncertainty,” says Puglisi.

“Then it felt sort of like this fortuitous, perfect timing, and we were busier than we have ever been.”

그러다 뜻하지 않게 완벽한 타이밍을 만난것처럼 느껴졌고 우리는 그 어느때보다 바빠지게 되었다.

The couple has now published multiple well-performing books, but Puglisi says it took a while to feel like his career pivot was validated in the eyes of family and friends.

이 부부는 지금 여러개의 잘 팔리는 책을 출간했지만 가족과 친구들의 눈에 자신들의 직업전환이 인정을 받기까지는 시간이 좀 걸렸다고 퍼글리시는 말했다.

“I think pretty much everybody looked at me like I was crazy when I said I was quitting a stable and successful teaching career,” he says.

“To be 43, and all of a sudden say, 'OK, now I'm a podcaster'… it almost sounds like make believe.”

"43세나 되어서 갑자기 '좋아요, 지금 나는 podcaster 야 ' 라고 말하다니... 그건 거의 거짓말처럼 들렸을 거에요"

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After 20 years as a high-school English teacher, Jeremy Puglisi left to pursue his dream of becoming a camping podcaster (Credit: Courtesy of Jeremy Puglisi)

To some, prioritizing happiness and the achievement of a dream over the financial stability of an established career may seem short-sighted – especially when Gen X have some of the tightest financial obligations of the generations.

어떤 사람들에게는 번듯한 직장의 재정적 안정성보다 행복과 꿈의 성취를 우선시 하는것이 근시안적으로 보일수 있다 - 특히 X세대가 얼마간의 가장 빠듯한 재정적 부담을 안고 있는 경우는 더욱 그럴것이다.

But Vogelsang’s research showed that people making later-life career shifts had less stress, increased emotional well-being, and were likely to say they “felt like a new person”.

And although chasing a dream at this career juncture can be risky, Oswald says Gen Xers are in a uniquely empowered position to take big career risks: despite a number of financial obligations, many of them also have a kind of financial security that previous and subsequent generations don’t.

그리고 이렇게 직장생활이 중요할때 꿈을 좇는것은 위험할수도 있지만 X세대는 커다란 위험을 감수할수있는 독특한 위치에 있다고 말한다: 많은 재정적 부담에도 불구하고 대부분의 X세대들은 이전 세대와 이후의 세대에는 없는 일종의 재정적 안정감을 가지고 있어서이다.

“In England and the US, I think one of the influences is the very large rise in the value of people's houses,” he says. “A generation has ended up with multimillion dollar houses that they can use as a form of banking for the rest of their lives. Another aspect of that is pensions: that cohort is probably the last that will inherit very large pensions.”

"나는 영국과 미국에서 사람들의 주택가격이 크게 상승한것이 그 영향중의 하나라고 생각한다" 고 그는 말했다.

"한 세대가 결국 수백만 달러짜리 주택을 소유하게 되었고 이주택을 평생동안 금융자산의 형태로 활용할수 있게 되었다. 그것의 또 다른 요인은 연금이다: 이 세대는 아마도 거액의 연금을 상속받는 마지막 세대가 될것이다.

Vogelsang adds many Gen X households have two employed people with decent earning potential. “That generation was the first where the gender division in college was pretty even,” he says. “So, you have a lot of married couples where both went to college and maybe had greater earning potential. Now, maybe their children are grown, and they’re financially secure enough that one of them can change careers.”

포겔상은 많은 X세대 가정에 상당한 소득 잠재력을 가진 두명의 고용인이 있다고 덧붙였다. "이 세대는 대학에서 성의 구분(성별)이 거의 균등하게 나뉘었던 최초의 세대이다" 고 그는 말한다. "그래서 둘다 대학을 다녔고 소득잠재력이 더 높았던 부부가 많이 있다. 이제 자녀들이 성장하고 부부중 한명이 직업을 바꿀수 있을만큼 재정적으로 충분히 안정되어 있다"

For Rosenmiller, she’s glad she took the chance. Not only is she realising a dream, but she’s also returned to pottery as a hobby, with a renewed love for the art form. “Now I can make whatever I want. I can just be really creative and not worry about if I can sell it,” she says.

Thanks to the big shift, Rosenmiller’s found professional fulfilment, and is setting what she feels is an important example for her children. “Honestly, for my kids, I think the fact that you can switch gears at age 50 and do something totally different is really good for them to see.”