50 Years Old - Am I Too Old to Start Career?

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50 Years Old - Am I Too Old to Start Career?

by koolxx » Wed Jul 29, 2020 9:22 am
Need badly needed advice. I'm currently 50 but young looking. I graduated with a BBA in '03 and have 4 years financial work experience. I have a deep passion for finance and have kept abreast of movements in the finance world/economy since graduating. It isnt much for that long a period of time due to my criminal record which finance companies used to discriminate against me. That has kept me from very good jobs since graduation.

Presently I am thinking about taking the GMAT to reset me on a career path. My strategy is to get get an MBA. While in school I plan to take an internship which will give me some experience and stick my foot in the door of a finance company. The only thing which may be a problem is my criminal record which is misdemeanor not felony record going back to 1999, more than 20 years ago. But nonetheless I really love finance. Despite graduating with an MBA my fear is not being able to get a job with my criminal record. The other issue I have is possibly feeling uncomfortable working as an intern at my age.

An agency I'm working with was able to seal my record which is a good thing. But they said any employer that fingerprints its workforce can have access to my record. As long as any employer does not do fingerprinting I will be fine with landing employment. Since my intention is to work in finance, I'm unsure if finance companies fingerprint its employees. This is a hurdle and I need to know about if someone here can let me know.

But if all this can be overlooked I'm willing to give an MBA a shot. Let me know if you think this is a feasible decision.

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It's an interesting challenge, and one I totally understand. IMO you're never too old to start a new career.

"Too old to start a career," however, is different from "too old to get accepted to a full-time, two year MBA program." If you're serious about using a full-time MBA as a career redirection tool, the first thing to analyze is which schools have a history of accepting applicants in your age group. Many schools post their data online, and you can see where their 80% lies. You might find yourself redirecting towards one-year full-time MBAs, or EMBAs (some require you to be fully employed, others don't). There are a lot of options, but the first thing to do is to be realistic.

Once you've got a few schools on your short-list who will not discount you because of age, learn everything you can about them. Know why you're applying to this school. Know where you want your MBA to take you. Do your research! Getting to know school communities is mostly being done remotely these days, but in the past I would have suggested campus visits. Get a feel for the school's ethos and personality. Decide whether you would feel comfortable there, and what you have to contribute to this community,

The 20-year-old misdemeanor is an entirely separate topic. Depending what the charge was and how you completed your sentence, it may -- or may not -- be an issue. Schools are careful about the backgrounds of the people they integrate into their communities, but they know that Stuff Happens. You would write an optional essay explaining the incident, "owning" your error and taking full responsibility for it. Then, cross your fingers.
Good luck!
Margaret Strother
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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