Have you ever found the right career after 28, true love after 35, or gone back to study after 40? So many of us (especially women) get shamed for “aging” or missing society’s timelines. I’d love to hear your stories of breaking the “age rules.” What amazing thing did you do at an age when people didn’t expect it?
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I went to law school at 40.
I didn’t even realize those were “rules”. People are just living lol.
I love this question! I met my partner at 32, after many failed relationships. Im starting my career again at 34 after having a burnout. I look at my own mother, in her late 60s, pivoting and changing direction. All these timelines for having this or that are BS. We can change and adapt at any age. Lets free ourselves of shoulds and coulds. We set our own rules ♥️
I went to back to university at 32 and started a new career at 35.
Luckily I live in a country with free higher education and good financial support for students, so it is not that uncommon for people to go back to school in their 30s and 40s.
I’m not far from 40 and after being made redundant earlier this year I have changed career. I don’t feel it’s really breaking any rules tbh. It’s just normal progression with time and adjusting to new employability requirements. In career the same as in any other part of life only way to grow is by challenging and bettering yourself. I also have gained three different educations in my adult years and I’m starting new professional course in January to improve my hobby (baking). And I’m continuing volunteering as First Aider and continuously have to do training for it also.
What are age rules? Who made these? Who disseminates them?
Never even heard of these rules honestly. Lots of careers you can’t even start until your late 20s at the earliest…. Who’s telling you this?
I’ve never really considered there to be rules on this. With that said, I was 42 when I won my first CrossFit competition and will do my first Hyrox race at 45 (Masters division? Yes please!)
I changed careers at 41 – best decision ever made!
A lot of the age rules are truly made up to keep women in line and desperately motivated for milestones that benefit patriarchal society. Attend school so you can find a husband at a young enough age but don’t go back after it’s too late, or else you’ll miss your child bearing years. Be in the right relationship, ring on the finger in your 20s, raising kids and being a mom in your 30s before you’re “too old”. If you didn’t make it into a career by x age, you should just find a man to provide for you. All of it really revolves around making us as available as possible to be baby incubators in our prime. Even having a “prime” is a myth, plenty of women have healthy and successful pregnancies well into their late 30s. This sense of urgency and timeline is made to make us settle for a life we think we should be having rather than taking our time and knowing what we actually want to do with our lives and bodies. We barely have time to even consider if we want husbands or children because it’s being forced upon us by everyone, even doctors don’t let us make decisions about our bodies without considering a hypothetical husband.
To anyone concerned with these fake rules: take your time. Do what you want with it. It’s never too late to make a new decision. Your choices are, you can spend this one lifetime wishing you did something and then die, or you can take steps to doing what you want.
I got a master’s degree a couple years ago and most women were in their 40s. Age doesn’t mean anything for such life milestones.
I started pole dancing at 40, and aerial silks at 48.
Also didn’t get married or have kids.
Oh and I still wear short skirts and booty shorts. I am rocking some killer legs from decades of dancing so you can try to pry those off my cold dead body.
Yes 😂
I switched careers at 31, got married at 38, went back to school at 40 and shifted gears in my career again at 42. There are no rules. You can do whatever you want at whatever time in life is right for you. Who cares what people “expect?”
I became an accountant at 48. I’m 67 now and retiring in a week.
I graduated college at 30 with two degrees. Left my home town as soon as I saw I passed all my finals and moved to a city I had always wanted to live.
37 and in a LTR with no plans of kids. I spend my free time traveling and out in nature. Since I live in one of the most liberal cities in the US I never feel judged. I did feel judged when I lived in a conservative state where most women got married by 21 and kids by 22.
Yes. I returned to college in my 40s and now have 2 degrees, and have been working in my field the last 15 years. I was a stay at home mom prior to that. And I also fell in love again in my 50s. It didn’t work out but I am hopeful that I’ll find love again.
I didn’t find my partner until 36
Went back to school for my Masters at 30, switched careers at 36, and now years later, switching careers again (albeit, not voluntarily). As for love, I dont care much for it right now, but if I find it, I will definitely be well into “old maid” territory. My mom’s horrified at having an unmarried daughter but life’s too short to tie yourself to someone just to cross something off of a to do list.
Got my 1st kiss at 28 and started the right career at 33
Started in a job I actually enjoy when I was…36? Still not exactly ideal, as I don’t love the industry I am in (and have been in since 19) but working in tech is infinitely better than working the retail side of the industry.
I started my masters degree to become a mental health therapist at 28, I was easily one of the younger ones. It seems to be a second career for a lot of folks.
Finally accomplished my dream of rehabbing old houses. Ups and downs but I hope to build small homes or help with more rehab projects. Started traveling more, exploring more, getting out of my comfort zone, trying new things like festivals and events. 40 to present has been the time I’ve come alive and looking forward to what’s next.
Got my master’s degree at 41 and am going back for another at 43. I’m those two years I used my new skills to switch careers. It was mostly lateral move, so I didn’t start from entry level, but was still a steep learning curve and pleasantly challenging.
I found my now-husband in mid 30s.
My life is damn near perfect.
I finished a masters in biomedical informatics at 52. Most people in the program were mid-career or later, my age was not unusual in the least.
I may no mind to any of that nonsense.
Love at 37 :). I went from single to married with 2 amazing stepkids. I finally got the family I hoped for.
I have never been shamed for “aging” or missing any marker on a timeline. The only people who want me to feel bad about “aging” are other women.
I don’t think there are set age ‘rules’. It’s OK to have a timeline with things you want to achieve by whatever age, but life can throw obstacles on our path and direction may change. Everyone has different circumstances and backgrounds, so I tend not to worry about age as long as I’m productive and content with what I’m doing.
I’m at uni at 39 doing a second degree in healthcare. I found an area I’m interested in later on in life as I assumed I would work in education. Keep working towards your goals because none of us are getting younger lol!
First time bride at 39.
Got married at 41. Started my current career at 29. Did a post-degree diploma through night classes in my 40s. I have never given much mind to “traditions”, so why should my timeline be any different? I’m in my mid-50s and I have a hankering to sign up for another degree, that I could do through night classes. I don’t care if I’m older than the professor.
I’ve changed careers multiple times in my life. My last change came around 35. I expect to make another still and I’m almost 50. I’ve been disabled the last few years and have been out of my industry because of that – an industry that changes so quickly that any time off without staying on top of changes means starting over.
And I found my true love after 40. I got divorced at 41 and shortly thereafter met my person. I’ve described him many times as me witha penis. It’s the first time I’ve felt truly in sync (on all levels) with my person.
There are no age rules. Life happens when it happens.
I finished my Bachelor’s at 26 (double major, plus I had to work full time throughout school to afford it lol), and started my Master’s at 27. Started my PhD at 31, basically right after I completed my Master’s… and then I had a bit of a ✨ menty b ✨ followed by fairly major health issues so took a hiatus.
Now I’m returning at 35, starting the program essentially anew again. I am blessed with an extraordinarily understanding advisor, PI, the whole community has been really great in helping me transition back to the academic grind. The extended break allowed me to take a step back and find some new ideas to expand my research goals, and I feel like the time invested as a SAHM has yielded me a new level of patience, perspective, and humility that I wouldn’t otherwise possess now. Funding is definitely a stressful issue atm, but I’m confident it’ll work out so long as I maintain my tenacity.
We’re all already beholden to a definite timeline from the moment we’re born—our stay here is ephemeral at best. I’ve realized there’s little point in grinding away a fraction of that time just so we can say we’ve kept up with the Jones’.
Those rules are dumb. I changed careers and moved across the country at 30 lol. My sister found the love of her life and is getting married this year at 44.
Yes, yes and yes.
I try to use it to my advantage. I had my first & only child four months before my 40th birthday and I love telling people I’m not going to have any more because I’m “too old” to embarrass them for insisting “Oh, you’ll want more.”
I’m mostly involved in sales for the last 10 years. Currently working 3 part time jobs. I recently decided I was going to learn Generative AI engineering and am currently learning to code with Python. I’m 59.
I think true love before 35 is sketchy
Whole life has been unconventional! If I had let anyone’s rules or expectations of me dictate my life, I wouldn’t have had the adventures I did. All too often I saw people paint themselves into corners, be envious of the things I did, yet never want to change anything. Sure, change is hard, but so is life. See below.
College and the military reserves after high school didn’t take, so was a full-time traveling bartender for 10 years, lived other people‘s vacations, no regrets.
Went into the corporate world for 10 years at 31, learned a lot as office mgr/executive asst., ultimately not for me.
Married for the first time at 36. Healed, grew, left as friends.
Divorced at 40, broke all conventions and went into the army as a combat medic at 41. Went to war and saw some stuff, did some really cool medical stuff. (War is stupid.) Got to live in a European country. That was cool, would do again. Were people sometimes surprised at my age? Sure. Did I care? Never.
Got out at 46, finished science degree at 48 (my first degree, maybe not my last?). Dated a much younger guy, zero fucks about what anybody thought, one of the best relationships, still friends.
Somewhere in all of that, traveled to other countries, best decisions ever.
Now in mid 50s, recovering from almost dying from COVID and suffering from long Covid, pondering my next adventure. Become retired traveling nomad? Live in another country again? Go back to school? Write a book? Teach?
The world is my oyster, and by not caring about other people‘s rules or expectations I’ve lived an unconventional life full of adventure and experiences, filled with the lowest of lows, the highest of highs, new skills, new thoughts and knowledge, friends and lovers, some very hard won but cherished wisdom, and few regrets.
I’m 27, and am beginning classes in the fall. I won’t be finished with school until I’m ~34. I left a relationship of 9 years, and I’m not sure if I will have time to date for a while. I used to want kids and don’t see it being a realistic goal with how my life is going, and I’m actually happy with that (:
I…
•Got my driver’s license at 30
•Got my first job in the field I wanted to work in at 30
•Went back to college at 30
•Finished associates at 31
•Finished bachelors at 34
•Finished 1st masters at 35
•Went from making 20k to 65k at 35
•Started losing weight and addressing health stuff at 37
•Went back for 2nd masters at 37
•Started dating at 38 (dated a tiny bit in my teen and 20s)
•Down 155 lbs at 39
•Met my partner at 39
•Finished my 2nd masters at 39
I’m 55 and going back to rollerblading. I dance like an idiot around the house. I take mushrooms here and there.
Of course all of this is dependent on feeling well, which comes and goes, I have a chronic condition.
Oh, and I play video games and kick ass at it.
This is niche, but I joined the peace corps at 27. Peace corps has a lot of 22 year olds and the second largest population is retired. Not a lot of late 20s-50s.
I went back to university at 28 to change careers and I have done it again at 43 (last year) to change careers again as AI will be coming for my job at some point or another within the next 5 years or change it so drastically that I won’t want to do it anymore.
There are no real age rules, just people thinking they exist to justify not doing something for themselves.
I’m 38. I left my 12 year relationship at 35 and sold my house. I left my career at 37 to sail the world with a guy I met on tinder. I ended up breaking up with him and backpacking Europe solo for 8 months. I met my current partner on a dance floor in Istanbul. I’ve returned home and got asked to lecture at a university. My partner will be joining me here soon. I’m thinking of starting an indigenous artist residency/retreat next year with my friend.
Life is whatever you let it be. Let all the “should”ing go and do what makes you happy.
There are no rules, dear. Go forth and live your own unique life on your own unique terms and enjoy.
I found the career I liked when I was really young but really wanted to pivot to tech for the money. Restarted in a new industry when I was 33. Learned technical things (app store optimisation) from scratch and did the job for 2 years. Sadly I was too bored and wanted a challenge, tech really wasn’t a field I found out I could live with (literally too boring for me) and went back to my previous industry in entertainment. But hey at least I tried 😂
Also found my life partner at 35 after being single in my entire 20s and dating terrible men in my early 30s. I’m 37 this year and we are married with a baby on the way.
Started my second career in my mid forties, got my favorite job in that field at 56, retired from it at 67. Oh also remarried at 49. It ain’t over until you decide it’s over.
Didn’t get married until 40. Didn’t even meet the guy until I was 35 and we were just friends for years.
My career track I’m on started when I was 28, kind of floated before that. I’m 35 now and single, about to move to Europe for said career! I’m happier than I’ve ever been with myself. Life is weird and rules are made up so just do whatever calls to you. I found that everything started falling into place for me when I stopped trying to force things. Every job or relationship or situation that required me to strain and stress to make work ultimately ended up burning me out and pulling me out of sync with myself. By following what felt good and what made me happy I’ve found myself in a much more harmonious and happy position.