Ready for a career change?

Here's how to make a transformational shift that serves you and your higher purpose

Chhhhhh—channnnges!

A guide to getting clear on what you want from those who’ve taken the leap

By Lauren Caggiano

Back in the 1980s and ’90s, the concept of how a midlife crisis presented in men was fraught with stereotypes. A man might run off with his much younger administrative assistant or buy a red Ferrari. For dudes, it was — and still is — all about seeking pleasure and being happy. But we don’t have a cultural narrative for a typical female “midlife crisis” or recovery per se.

Perhaps for women, midlife reawakening should be less about reclaiming our youth and more about looking forward to ensuring the rest of our years are well spent. That approach aligns with Sarah Payne’s experience in working with women in their 40s and 50s. Sarah is the co-founder of Aspen Root Collective, an Indiana-based group that focuses on a strengths-based approach to development and growth for organizations and individuals.

“Midlife feels like a time when a lot of people are re-examining who they are and their purpose,” Sarah says.

“The concept of the midlife crisis is so dated, because it's really a midlife understanding.”

— Sarah Payne of Aspen Root Collective

Let’s meet three women who are happy with the career changes they’ve made.

Amy Vanover, 54

Lives in: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Previous career: Cosmetologist/Esthetician

New career: Student Success Coach at the University of Saint Francis

Midlife clarity is exactly what inspired my friend and hairdresser Amy Vanover to go back to school and change careers nearly 10 years ago.

Amy’s career trajectory is the sum of resilience, lifelong learning, and the desire to help others. Her path has been anything but conventional, but the winding road is what led her to a fulfilling career shaped by purpose and passion.

I met her in 2009 when she was in her early 40s and nearly 20 years into her cosmetology career. I always found her to be empathetic, genuine, and caring — she’s a fellow Cancer sign, so that tracks. When she started talking about potentially going back to school for nutrition, it wasn’t a complete shock to me.

“Even as a hairstylist, I loved connecting with people,” she says. “Clients would often come to me for advice on lifestyle, health, and wellness. Over time, I realized my passion lay in helping people make positive changes to improve their lives.”

At 45, Amy found herself balancing a full-time job and a full course load at the community college before transferring to the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne in 2017 to pursue a degree in nutrition.

A first-generation college student, Amy faced plenty of challenges like navigating the financial aspects of going to school without much direction and taking math classes for the first time since high school.

After completing her bachelor’s degree, she worked full time while continuing her studies to earn a Master of Science in Health Psychology from Grand Canyon University and a graduate-level certificate in life coaching. And her passion for knowledge hasn’t waned. Amy was also recently accepted into a master’s program in mental health counseling, which she’ll start this fall.

Now, at 54, she spends her days helping students, working as a student success coach at her alma mater, the University of Saint Francis. “I take a holistic approach to helping students,” she says. “I partner with students to support them through their academic and personal journeys, helping them overcome obstacles, develop life skills, and set goals they can carry throughout their lives.”

In retrospect, Amy says she didn’t necessarily anticipate working with students. She initially considered becoming a registered dietitian or pursuing a doctorate, but her experiences and personal growth steered her toward mental health and wellness. She finds her work to be aligned with her life’s purpose.

Nyam Adodoadji, 40

Lives in: Atlanta, Georgia

Previous career: Tech Product Manager

New career: Sabbatical Coach for mid-career technical professionals

“Purpose” is a concept Nyam Adodoadji thinks a lot about. Her transition from a tech product manager to a sabbatical coach was not only a professional pivot but also a deeply personal reclamation of identity and purpose.

“I encountered burnout multiple times throughout my career, leaving roles before securing new ones because I was utterly drained,” she recalls. “By 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, I hit a wall. I found myself in yet another role where I felt depleted, and it dawned on me that this cycle might just define my life unless I made a radical change.”

During this period of reflection, Nyam stumbled upon the story of a former corporate lawyer turned sabbatical coach. That was the spark. Inspired, she decided to take a leap of faith in 2022 by embarking on her own year-long sabbatical. Now 40, she’s reaping the benefits of what she sowed during the career break and has packaged some of the insights into her offerings.

“When I reflected on my corporate experience, I realized I wanted to combine my professional skills with my passion for personal development and creativity,” Nyam says. “That’s when sabbatical coaching began to feel like the right path.”

Shifting from tech to running her own business was not without its challenges. She admits that leaving the structured world of product management behind has been a mix of exhilaration and discomfort.

In her own words, “One of the hardest parts has been learning to present my authentic self, especially after years in tech where I felt I had to mute certain parts of my personality.”

Bonny Osterhage, 54

Lives in: San Antonio, Texas

Previous career: Copywriter

New career: Personal trainer and journalist

Like Nyam, Bonny Osterhage left the comfort of a corporate job to go out on her own. In her late 40s — while some women her age explored a more “comfortable” phase of their lives — Bonny decided to rewrite the narrative of midlife reinvention.

“When you’re in your late 40s or early 50s, something shifts,” she says. “It’s like you wake up and realize you've done all the things society told you to do.

You’ve raised a family, built a career, but then you ask yourself, ‘What really makes me happy?’ For me, that was fitness and writing, and I wanted to bring those two passions together.”

Bonny attended college as a traditional student and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in print journalism in her early 20s. She contends this education helped her build a successful career in writing. She worked her way up as a freelance journalist, choosing project-based work that allowed her the flexibility to be present for her young family. Eventually she went to work full time for Texas’s largest grocery chain, H-E-B.

By her mid-40s, life threw a curveball. Seeing a photo of herself from a charity event startled her. Seeing that image made her reevaluate her lifestyle and health. “I wasn’t me anymore,” she reflects. “I wasn’t out of shape, per se, but something felt ‘off.’ I knew I needed to change.”

Her transformation began with a Zumba class at a local gym. What started as a one-off workout quickly turned into a habit. Eventually, Bonny added strength training, then indoor cycling, and finally outdoor running. Before she knew it, she was in the best shape of her life.

It was during this time that Bonny began helping others. She earned personal training and fitness cycling certifications, initially teaching classes on the side while still balancing her 9-to-5 job. But as her passion for fitness grew, her corporate role began to feel like a constraint. At 48, she made the bold decision to leave her secure corporate job to pursue fitness full time.

Today, she splits her time between training clients, teaching cycling and strength classes, and writing for women-focused publications.

“I’m lucky to do what I love,” she says. “I’ve married my passion for writing with my love for fitness, and now I write articles that help women feel stronger and more confident in their midlife years. I finally feel like I’m making a difference.”

Set your goals in motion

Bonny’s experience doesn’t have to be the exception to the rule. Sarah Payne of Root Collective core believes transitioning to a fulfilling career begins with going inward rather than outward.

“Too often, people immediately jump into job listings or think about relocating without understanding what they really want,” she shares.

Instead, she advises starting with self-reflection:

1. Know your strengths: Invest in a tool like the Gallup Strengths Assessment or spend time identifying what you naturally excel at.

2. Reconnect with joy: Reflect on what truly excites you. What tasks make you lose track of time? What kind of work feels meaningful to you?

3. Don’t perform for others: Sarah shares stories of how younger professionals, including herself, often chose paths based on external validation. “Now we know it’s about marrying what you’re great at with what fulfills you,” she says.

4. Create a vision: Think about how your skills can meet a need in the world while also providing opportunities for growth and financial stability.

5. Take one step at a time: Transitioning doesn’t mean you need all the answers right away. Sarah often reminds her clients that clarity comes through action — not before it.

TLDR: When in doubt, do the thing. “You don’t have to have it all figured out,” Sarah says. “All you need is the courage to take the first step.”

Are you thinking about making a career change? We want to hear all about it here:

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Vanessa Novissimo Wright, 50

Occupation: Writer, certified life coach, marketing and brand strategist, co-admin of Pause & Reset, a local Raleigh/Durham group for people in peri/menopause.

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Let’s connect here: Instagram

Substack: Flourish@Flow

Sleep rating: Currently 9 out of 10. Two years ago, I would have said 3 out of 10.

How’d you sleep, and for how many hours usually?

Back in 2023, I was white-knuckling my way through menopause — I knew I was coming close to a year without my period. The insomnia was brutal. I would fall asleep, wake up at 2 am sweating, and be WIDE AWAKE.