1. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative (and creation).
There is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
& splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would
never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the
decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents &
meetings & material assistance which no man could have ever dreamed
would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin
it. Boldness has genius, power & magic in it. Begin it now.
-GOETHE

3. UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Radical Shift: A Grounded Theory Approach to Midlife Career Change of Professionals
by
Brian E. Mellor
A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
CALGARY, ALBERTA
SEPTEMBER, 2006
© Brian E. Mellor 2006

5. ABSTRACT
There has been a modest amount of current academic research
that has explored the family, situational, lifestyle, demographic,
motivational, and/or life course factors that influence people in
midlife to change professions. The findings expressed in this
study came about through the use of an inductive grounded
theory approach to analyze semi-structured interviews with
former lawyers and educators who left their professions and
are now engaged in unrelated careers. Major findings include:
the motivations for why people leave their first careers; the link
between the professional, personal, and family spheres of one’s
life; the importance of spousal support and security; the
transitional process undergone; the consequences of a career
change on the family; and the types of new careers that were
pursued. Overall, this study discusses how the lines between
work, leisure, family, and lifestyle are blurred when people are
successful in the proactive pursuit of a new and desirable
career.
ii

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Committing oneself to an endeavour such as writing a Master’s thesis is
something that we all do at the beginning of the graduate school process, however I
believe that few of us fully comprehend the dedication, steadfastness, and sacrifice that is
involved in producing a lengthy work such as this one. The help, guidance, and support
of others has made this thesis-writing process a successful, enjoyable, and enlightening
experience.
Looking back on this process I now understand that success has many different
meanings: there is the success of writing a passable Master’s thesis; there is the success
of learning my own life lessons from the data that I collected and talking with the people
I interviewed; there is the success of engaging others in wanting to be part of this process.
There is also the success of realizing who you can count on in times of personal,
professional, and ontological crises. So many people have impacted me over the last nine
months of this thesis process (and over the course of my life) who have helped me in
different ways to achieve my success. It is those people that I would like to acknowledge
in explicit terms so that they can better understand how they have impacted me in the
development of this thesis and in fostering my own personal growth.
First off, I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the research participants
who participated in this study. Each of you volunteered your time and shared your stories
with me. We often discussed important and personal details of your lives and I am
appreciative of your openness, frankness, and sincerity. I found each of you inspiring for
many reasons: the risk you took in making your career changes, the passion you shared
iii

7. for both your work and your families, and your engaging, creative, and dynamic spirits.
Without you this project would not have been possible.
I would also like to thank Dr. Robert Stebbins for being my supervisor on this
project. You have been instrumental in helping bring out the nuances of this project as
well as providing me with general direction. I have greatly enjoyed our working
relationship and have appreciated your involvement as an advisor. The situation of you
being an advisor more than a supervisor allowed me to tackle many of the issues that
arose on my own, while also being able to come to you for guidance. I also enjoyed our
conversations, both professional and personal, and I look forward to maintaining contact
in the future.
Gratitude is also extended to Tim Hamilton, Anne Tingle, and Marilyn Clarke for
your support in helping me recruit my research participants. You put me in contact with
many of your friends and colleagues, and I sincerely appreciate you doing that. To Tim,
thanks also go out for taking the time to meet with me over the course of this project to
mentor me. Our discussions helped shape my ideas and interpretations of my findings,
and also guided me toward future endeavours.
My friends have been indispensable in my journey to where I am today. They
have been here to discuss issues pertaining to my thesis, to support me in life choices, and
to influence me to become the person who I am. I am grateful for my long time and new
friends alike, and hope that the end of this thesis means that I will no longer be as
consumed with my work and will be able to stay better in touch. Life’s adventure awaits,
and I look forward to exploring it with all of you.
iv

8. My uncle Jim is someone who deserves special mention. In recent years he and I
have reconnected. I have spent multiple summers living with him at his Beach House on
Quadra Island, British Columbia. I cherish those times: our projects, conversations,
chopping wood, drinking tea, and enjoying each others’ company. Although you have
not had direct input into this project, your influence over the last several years has in part
led me to studying this topic. Being able to discuss that life is about choice, and our
freedom to choose is what sends us on different paths has spiked my own curiosity to
contemplate how our power of choice plays into achieving our own personal ideal - our
own individual reality. This project has helped me consider the question you ask
whenever I visit: “What’s it all about?” After reflecting on the findings of this project,
perhaps the question should be rephrased, and we should ask each other: What’s it all
about for you?
Throughout this thesis writing process there has been no one that has been as
supportive as Cristi. There have been countless discussions on where the writing should
go next, brainstorming sessions when finishing on time seemed an impossible goal, and
midnight walks to relax after hours of writing. You have been there as an editor, an
advisor, a companion, and best of all, a friend. To you I owe a great deal of gratitude and
appreciation. You have been there from start to finish, and this project would not have
looked the way it does if it was not for your support. Thank you for this wonderful gift.
I cannot imagine where I would be without my family. More than anyone, you
have made this project possible and have supported me to become the person I am today.
Barb and Steve, I couldn’t be happier having you close by. Your kindness, support, and
generosity have been tremendous. To all my parents, you have been there to guide me,
v

9. offer insight, and were there when I have needed you. Nancy and Roy, you have been
my guiding light through my journey. You have never said no to any of my ideas or
dreams. You have supported me through everything I have ventured. Your inspiration,
wisdom, openness, and guidance have helped me triumph over the hardships and
challenges that I have faced over my years. This thesis was completed in part with your
help and support, and your efforts will always be remembered.
vi

10. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ii
Acknowledgements iii
Table of Contents vii
List of Tables x
CHAPTER I: UNDERSTANDING CAREER CHANGE 1
Finding Interesting Work 3
Literature 8
The Characteristics of the Midlife Career Changer
and Reasons for Changing Careers 8
Changing Values Over the Life Course 11
More to Midlife than Money 13
Midlife Career Change as the Result of a Trigger 14
Commonalities of Outcomes for Midlife Career
Changers 16
Support and the Family 17
Critique of the Literature 20
Research Statement 21
Conclusion 22
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 24
Methodology 25
Reasons for Selecting the Combination of Lawyers and
Teachers 28
Rationale for Studying Lawyers 29
Rationale for Studying Educators 30
Recruitment and Data Collection 32
Sample 35
Methodological Concerns 38
Data Interpretation 40
Conclusion 42
CHAPTER III: HISTORICAL-THEORETICAL CONTEXT 43
Weber’s Protestant Ethic 44
The Calling 45
Asceticism 46
Stebbins’ Theory of Occupational Devotion 47
The Life Course Perspective 50
vii

11. Charles Taylor’s Malaise of Modernity 53
Conclusion 54
CHAPTER IV: THE FIRST CAREER 56
Motivations for Pursuing Law or Education 57
Unclear Direction and One-Shot Guidance 58
Rational Choice Decision Process 60
The Influence of Role Modeling and Mentoring 63
Always Wanted to be a Lawyer/Educator 64
Constraints for Women 66
The Likes and Dislikes of Initial Careers 68
The Dislikes 68
The Likes 73
Family and Personal Situation 78
Discussion & Conclusion 80
CHAPTER V: THE TRANSITION 84
Underlying Issues for People to Pursue Something New 85
Invasiveness of the Job 85
Change in Collegiality 88
Structural/Cultural Factors 90
Motivations for Pursuing a Career Change: The Push and
Pull People 92
Motivational Push Factors 93
The Pull People 96
Triggers 101
Factors that Discouraged a Career Change 104
How it Happened 108
Spousal Support, Experimentation, and Security 108
Spousal Support 109
Two Security Strategies: Financial and
Experimentation 111
Discussion & Conclusions 115
CHAPTER VI: THE NEW JOB 121
Where They Went and How They Got There 122
People Holding High-Powered Positions 122
People Whose Jobs Follow Earlier Interests 126
Consequences 131
Professional Consequences 131
viii

12. Personal Consequences 138
Family Consequences 144
Discussion & Conclusions 148
CHAPTER VII: SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS 151
Implications of Career Change for Middle-Aged Workers 160
Opportunities for Future Research 164
REFERENCES 168
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW GUIDE – Final Version 173
ix

13. LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Demographic Portrait 37
Table 2: New Careers of Career Changers 38
x

14. 1
CHAPTER I
UNDERSTANDING CAREER CHANGE
In the mid 1990s, one of my extended family members and her partner began
discussing selling their home in an upscale neighbourhood in the Greater Toronto Area
and moving to a rural area between Toronto and Kingston. For five years the couple
talked in non-specific terms about moving to the country and conversed about what they
would need to do if they wanted to make their idea a reality. She was an internationally
recognized microbiologist and he was a forensic engineer. They had worked for decades
to build their careers to these positions. They collected sizeable salaries, lived a
comfortable life, and had lots of friends nearby. Many people could not understand why
they would want to give up the jobs and the lives that they had, and most did not think
that they would give up their occupational success in favour of a gamble for what could
be.
Looking in from the outside, this decision to give up their former lives in order to
take a chance on something completely new seemed illogical and irrational. However, at

15. 2
the same time as they were talking about their alternative prospects, she started hating her
job. The corporate environment and the office politics were beginning to grate on her,
and the work she was doing had become boring and mundane. Also, her partner had
originally worked in a middle management position in a large corporation but had gotten
out of his former work situation in favour of pursuing forensic engineering in a small
firm, which allowed him the flexibility to work primarily from home. Beyond this, he
had grown up on a farm and knew what was involved in running one, and she had
confidence that she could be a successful farmer because of her biology training. There
were considerable financial risks because they needed to sell their home in Toronto for a
price that would fully pay for the purchase of their new acreage and the building of their
new home. They were not certain that they would like living in a rural community away
from the comforts and conveniences of the city, but knew that this endeavour would be a
new challenge and experience. As a result, the couple sold their home, changed their
work situations, and bought several acres of agricultural land near Picton, Ontario. Their
plan was to start an organic vegetable farm and sell their produce. They wanted to
practice biology on the front lines, become as self-sustainable as possible, design and
build equipment that would make their jobs easier, and reduce their impact on the Earth.
The couple also wanted to embrace new values, tackle new problems, and have a new
challenge. So, for five years they drove several hours every weekend to their property
and built their new home. They now live with their dogs in the farmhouse that they built
with their own hands. They raise animals and grow vegetables to sell to restaurants,
grocery stores, and personal contacts.

16. 3
Although their lives bear little resemblance to when they were living in the city,
they seem happy and content. They have no desire or intent to go back to the city. They
both love the challenge of the all-encompassing nature of the farming lifestyle: they do
everything from planning and growing their crops, to marketing, sales, research, and
staffing. In many respects, they believe that being farmers is the most complicated job
there is because it is up to them to be competent and successful in every facet of their
business. They also enjoy doing it together. According to her, their lives began to get
boring and predictable over the years because they were together for a long time and
were working in the same occupations. Change was really good for their relationship
because it gave them both something to be excited about, and it also meant that they were
growing together as a couple.
Both of the individuals in this couple were professionals and both have graduate
degrees. She has written several books and her professional reputation has put her in
great demand to speak at conferences all over the world. However, all of the trappings of
prestige, financial and material success, and security were outweighed by other factors
that make their new life much more desirable than her previous circumstances. As a
result, both of these individuals have made changes in their professional lives so that they
work on their own terms. While she continues to consult and he works as a forensic
engineer from home, both have made dramatic midlife career changes.
FINDING INTERESTING WORK
The story of this couple is not unique. There has been a recent surge of reporting
on the topic of midlife career change in newspapers and magazines (BC Business, 2000;

17. 4
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2004; Daily News, 2004; Chicago Tribune, 2001; Toronto
Star, 2000; Toronto Star, 2004). The re-occurring themes among these articles address
issues including: whether people of 35 years of age and older who have had relatively
successful careers are happy with their lives, whether careers continue to hold the
excitement and live up to the expectations of individuals as compared to when people
first started their jobs, whether people achieve a desired balance between work and
family life, and whether these individuals are living a meaningful existence that reflects
who they really are. Unfortunately, for many middle-aged workers the answer to these
questions is a resounding “no”. Many people remain in their present job situations even
though they are discontented, dissatisfied, or longing for a change.
The literature suggests that it is important for people’s well-being to make
changes if they feel that they are not getting what they want out of life. A career change,
or career transition, consists of a “movement to a new occupation that is not part of a
typical career progression” (Rhodes & Doering, 1983: 631). This should not be confused
with a job change, which consists of the movement to a similar occupational position that
is consistent with a normal job progression. Golembiewski (1978) asserts that a
successful career transition can re-invigorate a person’s excitement and passion for their
jobs, which will contribute to a long fulfilling life that is both stable and productive.
Conversely, maintaining negative feelings about one’s job or not following through on a
desired career transition can lead to a frustrating life of turmoil and despair (216).
The issue of examining why people make a midlife career change has never been
so pressing. Even though voluntary career change in midlife is a common phenomenon,
there has been little empirical research conducted in recent years to understand this trend.

18. 5
In general, the academic literature on this subject was primarily conducted in the late
1970s and early 1980s, and after this time (until recently) inquiry into this subject almost
completely faded away.
In order to ground the present study, it is still important to discuss the little
academic work that has been conducted. To begin, in a survey conducted in 1972, it was
reported that nearly one-half of managers sampled were considering a complete career
change (Golembiewski, 1978: 219). Golembiewski (1978) also asserted that several
factors suggested that midlife career change is being experienced by a rising number of
people. First, because of the increased wealth of the general population, people were no
longer struggling to make enough income for survival and subsistence for themselves and
their families. Individuals then had enough disposable income to increase the quality of
their lives and engage in new experiences of leisure and fun. Second, because of the
incorporation of the technology into the daily lives of the general public in the developed
world, societal and technological systems were more accessible and stable than ever
before. As a result, it was much easier for people to navigate through a midlife transition
or career shift because they could tap the necessary outlets to make their desired life-
goals a reality. Third, the social system in the Western world was more openly mobile
than ever before. Because of this, people in the Western world were no longer role-
bound; they had increased freedom and opportunity to choose among alternative careers
that are beneficial for promoting desired lifestyles instead of being obliged to follow
family traditions or have a career that fits within a person’s position in a stratified social
system (such as those using a caste system). An additional factor that Harris (1972)

19. 6
found was that it seems that society had raised the expectations for what it meant to be a
well-adjusted and functional member of society (Harris, 1972: 40). As Harris says:
It’s as if some idiot raised the ante on what it takes to be a person… and the rest
of us accepted it without noticing. The result? An aspiration gap. What we are
as individuals and groups falls short of what we now consider normal.
Bearing in mind the differences of the labour market now as compared to the 1970s as
well as other factors that may be influencing this phenomenon, these issues may be even
more acute in the present day.
Considering the aging Canadian workforce, there are many societal repercussions
and potential implications that arise from people either changing careers or not changing
careers and feeling unfulfilled with their work and non-work lives. Because of an aging
population and increase in the number of Canadians retiring, the projected decrease in the
ratio of the working population to total population signifies that Canada will require
strong labour productivity growth in the future in order to maintain the growth of the
economy (Guillemette, 2003). There is a potential for the development of knowledge
gaps in industry, where experienced and knowledgeable people will exit their established
professions, thereby creating holes in the corporate structure. These experienced people
are invaluable to any vocational sphere because they are “naturally competitive, outdoing
generations before them in education and income. Now they bring to the table scores of
experience, hard-won knowledge and an unbeatable work ethic” (Chicago Tribune, 2001).
If these highly experienced workers leave their places of employment, companies will
either have to rehire, retrain or take a step back in their productivity levels until less
experienced workers gain the required experience and expertise to fill the positions of the
transitioned workers. As a result, there may be a reduction in productivity as the

20. 7
organizational structures of corporations go through a process of losing their older
workers and training younger replacements. Conversely, corporations and businesses can
acquire highly skilled and newly motivated workers if they hire middle-aged workers
who want to make an occupational change. Those who make voluntary career changes
are people who want to work. This group of people has a tremendous amount of
collective experience and life-skills to offer employers. With issues being considered
such as the removal of mandatory retirement from many sectors as well as discussions of
raising the age of eligibility for collecting Canadian pensions, this group of workers is
one that deserves greater attention.
Workers come from all walks of life and have varied ideas of what it is they want
from life. As Mullens (BC Business, 2000) acknowledges:
It's the lawyer who longs to cut back on the fat billable hours for a little more time
with the kids or a Tai Chi class or volunteering. It's the doctor who realizes that
after slogging through all those years of schooling, medicine is not really his
calling... but he isn't sure what else to do. Or the businesswoman who has proved
she can deal with the best of them in the world of high finance... only to discover
that despite her skills, she doesn't like the game.
People have individual reasons for making a midlife career change. As will be discussed
in the pages that follow, the literature suggests that there is often a shifting of priorities or
a longing for other things in midlife than were desired in the earlier stages of a person’s
life. This acts as a jumping point for this research, since it is important to find out what it
is that these people are searching for and how they go about filling the gaps that were
present in their lives before changing careers.

21. 8
LITERATURE
The academic literature on midlife career change is rather dated, and is limited in
both quantity and scope. Occupational change in midlife was the subject of major
attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but after that period, very little research has
been published. However limited, several themes have emerged from within this dated
literature. The following sections are intended to show a thematic synthesis and
awareness of the relevant literature on the topic of midlife career change. Although the
conclusions about midlife career change have tended to be contradictory and non-
cumulative (as discussed by Thomas, 1980: 173-174), the following sections will still
provide a foundation from which to base the current research project.
The Characteristics of the Midlife Career Changer and Reasons for Changing
Careers
Several common characteristics emerge from the academic literature as to who is
most likely to change careers. Some argue that people generally engage in a midlife
career change between the ages of 35 and 43 (Golembiewski, 1978; Hill & Miller, 1981;
Roborgh & Stacey, 2001), while others dispute that the age range of midlife career
change generally falls between 35 and 54 (Robbins, 1978). Most researchers agree that
the transition process generally occurs in the same fashion for both men and women,
although the study of women’s experience in a midlife career change has been limited
(Golembiewski, 1978; Roborgh & Stacey, 2001). In addition, research shows that the
midlife career change phenomenon is not exclusive to Western cultures (Golembiewski,
1978; Gutmann, 1967).

22. 9
A few studies have identified a distinction in attitudinal traits between people who
are more likely to change careers as opposed to those who are more apt to stay in a work
situation (even if they have thought about making a change). Using logistic regression to
analyze data from the Career Attitudes and Strategies Inventory (CASI), Donohue (2003)
found that career changers were significantly more likely than career persisters to take
risks in relation to their careers, and were also more motivated to develop their personal
and professional skills. In contrast, career persisters were significantly more likely to
maintain the present state of their jobs, were satisfied with the jobs they were in, and
were also more likely to be concerned about the maintenance of their jobs than were the
career changers. Taking a more philosophical life-view perspective, Neapolitan (1980)
found that career changers had a different outlook on life and its obstacles as compared to
career persisters. The changers believed that they were in charge of their own destinies,
and felt that people in general have the power to accomplish their goals and overcome
any obstacles that impede the progress toward those goals. In contrast, the career
persisters tended to believe that forces beyond their control may impede them from
achieving their objectives. They were also doubtful of their own prevent to succeed and
were afraid of stepping into the unknown and away from the security of their jobs.
The two primary, yet dated, works that have identified the reasons for changing
careers were published by Robbins (1978) and Golembiewski (1978). According to these
authors, there are three factors that influence a voluntary career change. First, individuals
may be more likely to change careers if they feel that the potential for advancement in
their current career has dried up or if the promotional curve has flattened out. Robbins
(1978: 58) calls this situation being “put on the shelf”, where the job remains, but there is

23. 10
no possibility of further career advancement. This form of career stagnation often occurs
in situations of company mergers where the incoming managers of the acquiring firm
have an advantage because they have developed relationships with those higher up in the
company that hold the power to promote. The workers from companies that are
swallowed up do not lose their jobs, but they are looked upon less favourably for
promotions than workers from the parent company. A second example that was
identified by Robbins (1978: 58) was that men found themselves at an age and level on
the promotional ladder within their company where their movement within the hierarchy
of the company had topped out. This situation implies a glass ceiling where age acts as
an obstacle to occupational promotion within an organization (Olin Wright, 2000).
The second factor identified by these authors is that there may be a change in the
perception of the type or quality of rewards that people desire from their occupational
accomplishments. In other words, the positive rewards no longer outweigh the negative
aspects of the job. The third factor describes a personal release from an individual’s past
major work-related accomplishments, where the achievements of the past are no longer
important to their personal character. Thus, the rules of the game for an individual’s
motivations and desires change at midlife, and the rewards she or he wants from life and
work have changed as well. Robbins (1978: 60) identifies how a sense of purpose or of
doing something good for society becomes more important for men as they age. Her
study found that the peace movement of the late 1960s prompted men to question the
moral value of their occupations and eventually led them to pursue careers that had a
direct and positive impact on others (e.g. education or social work). This final factor is
reiterated by O’Connor and Wolfe (1991: 325-328), who note that the questioning of

24. 11
one’s goals and situation in life acts as the vehicle for a personal paradigm shift that goes
along with a career change. In other words, by questioning the values that had previously
been of importance, the individual is able to let go of those values, make a career change,
and adopt a new value system.
In sum, the literature suggests that career change often happens in midlife, is
similar for both men and women, and is motivated by diminished promotional
opportunities, a shift in the perception of the costs and benefits of a particular job, and a
change in the values of individuals.
Changing Values Over the Life Course
Within the sociological and management literatures, there is a consensus that
individuals want different things out of work and life depending on which stage of the
life course they are in. Mayer & Tuma (1990: 3) offer a definition of the life course as:
[S]ocial processes extending over the individual life span or over significant
portions of it, especially with regard to the family cycle, educational and training
histories and employment and occupational careers. The life course is shaped by
cultural beliefs about the individual biography, institutionalized sequences of
roles and positions, legal age restrictions, and the decisions of individual actors.
Overall, the transition through the life course can be divided into two major categories.
Although the specific age for this split is contested within the relevant literature, the
change occurs at approximately 35. Before this age, the individual is often focused on
her or his career and forming mature relationships. In these preliminary stages the
individual is also engaged in recognizing a personal Dream, which drives and guides his
or her choices and priorities in what is seen (at that time) to be what he or she wants for
the future (O’Connor & Wolfe, 1981). At this stage, the young adult is outer-directed,
focusing on career and family role expectations.

25. 12
However, these values do not necessarily persist through midlife, and middle-age
often brings about a change in personal attitudes where the individual becomes
introspective in an attempt to redefine his or her priorities (O’Connor & Wolfe, 1991:
333). To put this metaphorically, Jung (1971: 17) states that: “We cannot live the
afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning; for what in the morning was
true will in the evening be a lie”. At this stage, there is an increased awareness of the self
and a desire to create balance between career and other aspects of life. One’s identity is
no longer shaped primarily from career successes; instead, identity emerges from family
roles, community involvement, and leisure activities. There is also a shifting of work and
non-work values that retool the initial personal structure to make up for “what’s missing”
(Hill & Miller, 1981). This is not to be confused with a rejection of societal values and a
strong work ethic or the desire to go counter-culture (Krantz, 1977).
At this stage there is also a qualitative shift away from focusing on occupational
or job positions, where the worker uses previously repressed abilities as he or she
expands occupational and social roles to encompass more than a career-modeled self-
identity. At this point the individual becomes inner-directed as he or she searches for a
new sense of purpose, meaning, and action within his or her work and non-work life
(O’Connor & Wolfe, 1981: 333). As a result, the career of a midlife worker engaging in
this type of reflection leads to a process of individuation and striving for personal
accomplishment instead of socialization and desire for recognition from work success.
Work becomes more self-directed as his or her own personal goals begin to take
precedence over the objectives of his or her employer (Hill & Miller, 1978).

26. 13
Summing up, Gould (1978) most eloquently describes the shift in values by
individuals in their midlives:
People of this age seemed to focus on what they have accomplished in half a
century, and they were unrushed by the sense of urgency that accompanied the
achieving 30s. At the same time, they were more eager to have “human”
experiences, such as sharing joys, sorrows, confusions, and triumphs of everyday
life rather than searching for the glamour, the glitter, the power, or the abstract.
Precious moments of contact and deep feeling define the value of being in touch.
More to Midlife than Money
The shift in personal values can be clearly illuminated by looking at the
importance of money; people in this midlife transition period put less value on having a
high income. It was found in one study that only 11 percent of a sample of men indicated
that salary considerations were important in making their decision to change careers
(Thomas, 1980: 176). In fact, not only are individuals not putting primacy on making
salary a serious consideration when thinking about making a career change, but people
who change occupations in midlife generally experience a 20 percent drop in income as a
result of a midlife career change (Roborgh & Stacey, 2001: 506). In addition, it has been
found that people who have made a successful positive career change experience a
decline in income and social status by traditional standards (Roborgh & Stacey, 2001;
Thomas, 1980). Both Robbins (1978: 62) and Thomas (1980: 177) argue that instead of
focusing on money and financial security, workers in the mid-life stage are more
concerned with developing intrinsic rewards from their work. They desire meaningful
work, a better fit between personal values and work, a challenging opportunity to achieve,
and the potential to develop a strong sense of pride in their accomplishments. Their
happiness is linked to non-conventional or personal measures of how they regard their
circumstances instead of on their monetary circumstances (Shaver & Freedman, 1976).

27. 14
These people often mention that their new jobs are enjoyable to the point where they
make less of a distinction between work and leisure.
Multiple non-money-centered life factors have been identified as desirable for
people who are in their midlife and considering a career change. These elements include
job satisfaction, a happy marriage, good health, a chance to prove one’s competence,
social contact, having loving relationships, social support and experiencing life and
family events (Roborgh & Stacey, 2001). As can be seen, these factors draw upon
multiple roles and/or life situations, many of which cannot be provided exclusively
through work. The people experiencing this sense of longing are looking for a well-
rounded life that cannot be fulfilled simply by a high income or material possessions. For
mid-lifers who make voluntary career shifts, it is no longer money, status, or prestige that
provides them with a strong sense of self. Instead, they look to other factors such as their
strong social network or the actual work that they do in order to feel happy and to have a
sense of accomplishment in work and life.
Midlife Career Change as the Result of a Trigger
A handful of recent peripheral studies (other than the seminal works on career
change such as Robbins [1978]; Golembiewski [1978); and Neapolitan, [1980]) have
alluded to the presence of some sort of a trigger that motivates people to engage in a
midlife career change. Hutri (1996) draws on Crisis Theory to explain what drives
individuals to ultimately make a career change. Instead of taking a developmental
psychological approach where people want different things from life at different stages of
the life course, the central assumption of Crisis Theory is that there must be a major
emotional upset (or trigger) that is perceived by a person to be more than they can resolve

28. 15
by employing previously used coping mechanisms. As a result, individuals will change
careers to be in situations where they can better achieve their personal and professional
goals as well as to remedy the negative effects of the trigger. However, this state of
affairs is not a positive reason for a career change because the individual is essentially
pushed from his or her job by negative factors such as being fired or needing to flee an
unhealthy situation.
Shaver & Freedman (1976) report that subjects who are pushed from their earlier
careers do not experience the same positive payoffs as those who are pulled to other
occupations by desirable opportunities. In contrast, O’Connor & Wolfe (1991) offer a
different perspective on the outcome of a crisis. They believe that a crisis has a
significant effect by creating a personal paradigm shift toward a career change, but they
do not believe that the career change stems from a midlife crisis per se. Instead, a
momentous event produces a questioning and an unfreezing of the individual’s view of
their life situation and provides them with an opportunity for creativity and the substance
or material to fashion new adaptations. This unfreezing process can have two outcomes:
the first is the emergence of new understandings and values that lead the way for a career
change. The second outcome involves the retrenchment of the old situation and the
original paradigm as the individual remains in the negative pre-crisis state.
Overall, the occurrence of a triggering event acts as a push to remedy an
emotional trauma found in a pre-change situation. Although both triggered and non-
triggered pre-change situations lead to a voluntary vocational modification, triggered
career change may not yield results as positive as would a career change that is inspired
by attractive aspects that pull a person to his or her new career.

29. 16
Commonalities of Outcomes for Midlife Career Changers
A number of implications can be seen when looking at the results of a career
change. O’Connor &Wolfe (1991) suggest four common outcomes that result from this
process. First, individuals experience an increased sense of responsibility for themselves
and their personal holistic well-being. This includes an accompanying sense of
autonomy and self-directedness that was either non-existent or less-existent than during
the pre-career change situation. Second, the individual becomes more flexible as she or
he moves away from a structured and rigid self-definition. In other words, people
embrace a system of organic life-flow where emergent overarching self-concept guides
their progression through their everyday practices. At this stage they are more open to
new experiences and taking risks than they once were. Third, individuals express an
increased interest, desire, and appreciation for natural and unprompted interpersonal
relationships as opposed to structured and strictly bounded formal interactions. Fourth,
individuals who have gone through a midlife career change show an attempt to
incorporate career and other aspects of life within the same identity framework. This is
done to gain a better holistic life balance in order to have one’s identity centered within
the nature of the self instead of a compartmentalized identity that holds career and family
roles separate. Although these four factors point to different implications of career
change, it is possible to see that individuals who go through this process are able to lead a
less structured life and have a more flexible sense of self. Again, this illustrates the shift
in values between what was important before a career change and what is seen as
important after.

30. 17
Support and the Family
Although making a voluntary career change is a choice made by individuals, the
impact of making an occupational shift has repercussions for a changer’s family. In
many respects, people who maintain close ties with the career changer (especially their
family) share in the adjustments of the transition and feel an equal impact that results
from the career change (Henton, Russell, and Koval, 1983). For example, as discussed
earlier, when people make voluntary career changes they often accept a cut in pay and
reduced social status. This can affect the way a family is seen within the community, can
have an impact on the social circles in which family members are involved, and can limit
the activities that a family engages in because of a reduction in disposable income.
However, there are many other factors that come into play for a family when a career
change is made by one of the adults.
Since most of the work in this area has focused primarily on the individual’s
experience of the career change, there has been little attention paid to the impact on the
family or the dynamics that change within the family unit as a result of a career change.
The central work on the subject of the family and voluntary midlife career change
examines the spousal perceptions of midlife career change (Henton, Russell, and Koval,
1983). This article discusses the impact of midlife career change on the changer’s family
and identifies numerous family adaptations characterizing the career change process.
Several insightful findings were discovered. First, approximately one quarter of the
female spouses interviewed (24%) indicated that their husbands felt discontented with
their present jobs, were bored, disillusioned, or frustrated. Second, 41% of the families
involved in the study experienced a decrease in income as a result of a career change of

31. 18
the father/husband. Third, a majority (64%) of the wives interviewed saw themselves as
supportive, were encouraging of her husband’s decision to change careers, and were
facilitative in the process of making the shift (289). Fourth, it was found that the negative
advice and/or discouragement for making a career change from extended family members
and friends had little effect on dissuading career changers from deciding to make an
occupational shift as compared to the significance of having their wife’s support (289)
(see also Neapolitan, 1980: 222).
Other works offer insights into the impact of families on the individual’s decision
to make a career change. One of the primary obstacles for people to make the decision to
change careers involved having dependent children still living in the home. For instance,
one study reported that men who have dependent children living under their care are less
likely to make a voluntary career change even if they are dissatisfied with their present
occupational situation and desire a change (Neapolitan, 1980: 221). The feeling of
responsibility for taking care of the family is heightened when a man’s wife is not
employed outside the home. Overall, it was seen that a spouse and children who were
dependent on their income act as a serious obstacle which prevents men from changing
occupations. In addition, men who had spouses who were willing to support them
financially enabled a career change. In contrast to Neapolitan (1980), Thomas (1980:
177) found that nearly three-quarters (74%) of the male career changers studied had
dependent children in the home when they made their occupational transition. In addition,
among 60% of the families studied, the wife was not working at the time of the husband’s
career change. This contradicts Neapolitan’s (1980) findings about how having
dependents living at home deters men from career change as well as how having added

32. 19
financial support from a spouse facilitates career change. In essence, Thomas’ (1980)
results show that for the majority of the families affected by a career change, the father is
responsible for the financial wellbeing of the family and must either make a successful
vocational shift or the family will suffer severe financial consequences.
In terms of the impact of a career change on the family, Henton et Al. (1983: 289)
state that relocating is the hardest thing for families to endure in a midlife career change.
The expense of moving, having to sell and buy their homes, and the stress of watching
children adjust to a new place and make new friends is very difficult for parents.
However, less than a quarter of the women interviewed reported that there were adverse
effects on their children because of a career change. Conversely, several improvements
were incurred to the family unit when men made career changes. Fifty-nine percent of
the wives said their husbands spent more time with their families than when they were in
their former jobs, and the quality of the time fathers spent with their families was better.
Also, the positive effects on people’s marriages outweighed the hardships during the
career change process. In fact, many women indicated that there was a reinvigorated
sense of closeness and appreciation between themselves and their husbands because the
two individuals had to work as a team and support each other. Many of the women
attributed the improvement of their relationship to a belief that when their husbands were
happier with themselves then things tended to be better within the relationship. Lomranz,
Shmotkin, Eyal, and Friedman (1994) build on this concept. They note that for couples,
issues of loyalty and dependence, independence, and interdependence are dealt with
during a major occupational shift. When a serious personal transition like a career
change is proposed and carried out, a couple must redefine their relationship and establish

33. 20
a new basis for trust, support, and differences. In addition, the roles for both adults in the
family must change (i.e. financial, supportive/emotional, parental) in order for individuals
to go about their career transition.
CRITIQUE OF THE LITERATURE
This literature provides a foundation for understanding the motivations and
factors underlying midlife career changes. The studies cited also help demonstrate: the
ways that individuals often experience a shift in values in midlife, where those things that
seemed important when growing up have now lost their relevance; how some people
choose to change careers in order to align their new values with their work; and that an
individual’s family and support networks are important when considering or making a
midlife career change.
However, much of the work cited used psychological developmental models in
order to focus on the individual as career changer. This body of literature paid relatively
little attention to the career change process, the perceived effect that a successful midlife
career change has on the individual as well as on the family, or the outcomes that emerge
from career changes. In addition, women were not included in these studies aside from
being acknowledged as the spouses of male career changers or noted as getting a nominal
occupation once their children had grown up and left home. This is not surprising,
considering the fact that during the era of the late 1970s and early 1980s men made up a
much larger majority of the professional workforce. However, this is no longer the case.
Women are now an integral part of the current Canadian workforce and hold many
skilled and important positions among employed Canadians. The 2001 Canadian census

34. 21
showed that women held many more skilled occupational positions than ten years
previous. For instance, the number of female workers in professional positions in the
business and finance sectors has more than doubled since 1991. Women also accounted
for 40% more managerial positions than they did the previous decade (Statistics Canada,
2001). As such, the experiences of women who engage in midlife career change are also
of great interest in this study because they have been largely neglected by academic
research.
The literature on professionals who voluntarily change careers at midlife is
contradictory and inconclusive. In addition, the body of knowledge on this topic is out of
date and out of touch with the current Canadian workforce, considering the changes in
the demographics of Canadian workers as well as the changes in the way that business is
conducted in contemporary Canadian society. Overall, no study comprehensively
conceptualizes the motivations, processes, and consequences of midlife career change,
which is the primary goal of this project.
RESEARCH STATEMENT
Voluntary midlife career change is something that individuals must choose based
on their own unique situations, values, and goals. There has been a modest amount of
academic research that has explored the situational, lifestyle, demographic, motivational,
and/or life course factors that influence people in midlife to change professions.
Becoming a professional often involves a large investment of economic, social, and
personal capital. As such, it is of interest to study the factors that prompt professionals to
leave their established careers and pursue other paths.

35. 22
Professional work is generally regarded as highly rewarding for the individuals
who are employed in such fields. These workers are often devoted to their professions
and build their personal identities through their professional occupation (Stebbins, 2004).
As Stebbins (2004) states:
True occupational devotees are not likely to renounce their work for an early
retirement or a part-time working arrangement, simply to pursue more or less full-
time a serious leisure passion. They may have such a passion, but in any conflict
between powerful work and leisure passions, the former seems destined to win
out, at least until enthusiasm for it has run its course or external circumstances
conspire to seriously efface the devotee’s quality of work life (107).
As a result, I am interested in finding out what considerations are made when the
enthusiasm or external circumstances that Stebbins describes run their course and drive
people to find other work situations that offer a better congruence with what they are
looking for from life. Overall however, I will explore how the midlife career shift of
various former professionals was accomplished and how their lives have been affected by
that change. More specifically, this project is focused on understanding, in an
exploratory fashion, what prompted them to leave their initial professions, the processes
involved in career change, and the resulting effects on their lives.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of Chapter I was to provide a general introduction to the topic of
midlife career change. It presented an overview of the relevant literature and a critique of
that literature. As was discussed in previous literature, career change is a broad and
diverse topic that holds repercussions for the individual’s career and their identities.
Occupational shifts also have effects on the families of career changers, where families

36. 23
reported a drop in income and prestige, but also created situations where children spent
more quality time with their fathers and where couples were brought closer together.
The following chapters will not only update the body of literature on midlife
career change, but will also encapsulate a more holistic view of the general career change
process undergone by people at midlife. The overall goal of this project is to examine the
career change process in greater scope and detail than has been done by previous
published works. Several topics will be addressed, including: what makes a career
change successful, why people leave their jobs, how people go about a career change, and
how the lives of individuals and their families are affected by making such a radical
occupational shift.

37. 24
CHAPTER II
METHODOLOGY
Because the academic research on midlife career change is limited in quantity and
scope, it is necessary to form a current base of knowledge on which future studies can
concatenate, or contribute to accretive theory on a common subject. By developing an in-
depth subjective understanding of the experiences of individuals who have undergone a
midlife career change, we can begin to develop theory and preliminary hypotheses for
subsequent studies. In addition, the past research that has been conducted on midlife
career change of professionals is inconclusive, contradictory, and out-of-date. As such, it
is important to conduct this study in order to add a current assessment of this
phenomenon to further concatenate on this topic.
The main objective of this chapter is to provide a methodological understanding
of this research project. The use of the grounded theory methodology will be explained,
followed by a discussion of the rationalization for choosing law and education as

38. 25
representative professions for analysis. Another aim of this chapter is to outline the
recruitment and data collection methods used for amassing this sample of former lawyers
and educators. A description of the sample is also provided, and methodological
concerns are addressed.
METHODOLOGY
A qualitative study is appropriate when taking an integrative approach for
gathering rich and in-depth data that is conducive to exploring what occurs during the
process of midlife professional career change. Because of the contradictory findings and
out-of-date nature of the past literature on this subject it is essential to get a new
foundation on the topic that is accurate and up-to-date. As Stebbins (2001) argues, this
topic of study begs to be explored anew because the occupational environment and
context of professional work has drastically changed since the majority of the relevant
research was conducted. As such, taking an exploratory grounded theory approach (as
outlined by Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss, 1987; Stebbins, 2001) is appropriate for
studying this topic. Grounded theory is a methodology where theory is generated through
the development of conceptual categories that emerge from analysis and synthesis of
gathered data. The strength of a grounded theory comes about through the agreement of
multiple sources of data regarding similar categories; conceptual saturation is reached
when multiple sources provide similar information. The overall goal of this process is to
theorize about social phenomena through the inductive production of generalizations that
emerge from empirical data on a given topic.

39. 26
As Stebbins (2001) believes, there needs to be a clear understanding of the group,
activity, or situation being studied before more deductive confirmatory research can be
undertaken with optimal effect. Confirmatory-type research (e.g. survey research) is
inappropriate in this situation because there is not a current topical conceptual or
theoretical framework from which to mount well-rounded and high quality explanatory
research on midlife professionals who have made a career change. This exploratory
approach will allow me to adequately uncover relevant social, personal, and structural
elements that are required to develop valid grounded theory for why and how
professionals negotiate a midlife career change.
The emergent findings of this study are developed through analysis of the data
and not from a previously deduced theory. Analysis is conducted by comparing and
contrasting the stories of individuals who change careers. By collecting multiple stories
of a similar phenomenon (i.e. midlife career change) the researcher synthesizes the
commonalities found within these accounts. The grounded theory methodology is an
organic process whereby the data collected from earlier interviews is used to shape, focus,
and direct the questions that are asked of subsequent interview participants. In addition,
the researcher uses various techniques such as memo writing, induction, and reflection to
develop themes and generalizations. More specifically, this grounded theory process will
provide an appropriate and effective understanding of this career change phenomenon so
that further studies may concatenate on my findings.
In The Grounded Theory Perspective III: Theoretical Coding (2005) Glaser
identifies that the power of grounded theory lies in the researcher staying open to the
emergence of theoretical codes that come about through sorting memos and writing about

40. 27
those memos. Analytically I proceeded in the following way. Once I had made detailed
summaries of the taped interviews (Stebbins [2001] states that “[B]ecause, most of the
time, the respondents quoted are not personally identified, verbatim accuracy, is in reality,
unimportant”, and as such I did not produce verbatim transcripts) I proceeded to examine
each of the summaries for interesting analytic themes. Since writing The Discovery of
Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), Glaser (2005) is still instructing cutting up
printed copies of the summaries where people find relevant theoretical codes. Following
Glaser (2005) I started my analytic sorting with this same idea in mind, however I used
an electronic sorting process to reduce my paper consumption. Specifically, I set up a
dual monitor system on my computer where I could run multiple screens so that I could
run a blank word processing screen while viewing the existing interview summaries.
From there I identified each individual participant within a new document by assigning
them a unique font colour so that I could distinguish between the different participants
once their information had been reorganized in combination with others’ data within a
new thematically organized file. The relevant information pertaining to theoretical codes
was copied from each original interview document and pasted into the new thematic
document. Copying to a new screen and changing the font allowed me to see the relevant
information of every individual in relation to the similar theoretical codes of the other
participants. This system provided me with a variation on Glaser’s (1967; 2005)
prescription of physically cutting each theoretical code from each analytic summary and
separating them into different envelopes. It also allowed me the freedom to remain open
to the emergence of theoretical codes without trying to force the development of non-
preconceived theoretical codes.

41. 28
Once the sorting process was complete I proceeded to do memo writing as
suggested by Glaser (2005) and Glaser & Strauss (1967). This is a process whereby I
wrote about the individual thematic constructs that emerged from examining my
organization of the thematic codes. In so doing I was able to expand and flesh out the
detail of the various themes in an introspective fashion by integrating the data from the
accounts of each research participant. This process allowed me to reflect on the emergent
data and interpret it to develop generalizations.
Once I had undergone this overall analytic process I felt confident to begin the
writing and reporting phase of the research. The final outcome of this overall analytic
process is presented in Chapters IV, V, VI, and VII.
REASONS FOR SELECTING THE COMBINATION OF LAWYERS
AND TEACHERS
The choice to sample lawyers and educators, as opposed to other types of client-
based professionals1
, stems from a desire to examine two very different and contrasting
professions. In general, when comparing education and law, it is evident that the style,
procedures, time spent working, potential income, and client relationships differ in many
ways. In addition, the prestige levels of these two professions are different: law is seen as
a highly prestigious profession while education is perceived as “semi-professional with
relatively low social prestige and income” (Addi-Raccah, 2005: 379). Examining two
different professions will provide an initial assessment of whether the issues, motivating
1
Client-centered professionals provide a service and/or interact with individuals (such as in the fields of
law, teaching, and medicine), as opposed to public-centered professionals who provide a service for the
masses (such as professional athletes, musicians, or artists). See Stebbins, 1992: 22 for greater detail.

42. 29
factors, and adaptive processes experienced by client-centered professionals are similar
or different.
Rationale for Studying Lawyers
From an outside perspective, being a lawyer may seem to be the consummate
profession. Generally speaking, it is prestigious. Lawyers are thought to make high
salaries, are well respected, and are awarded a lot of responsibility. However, there is a
large amount of literature that identifies widespread problems within the profession of
law. The three main Canadian experts on the sociology of law are Jean Wallace, Fiona
Kay, and Joan Brockman. These three academics have independently studied a wide
array of topics over the last decade. Some of the issues that they have raised regarding
the legal profession and lawyers include: lack of commitment (Wallace, 1995), gender
issues (Brockman, 1994; Wallace, 2001; Kay, Masuch, & Curry, 2004), and work-life
imbalance (Brockman, 1994; Wallace, 1999). Issues such as the ones mentioned above,
and others identified by Wallace, Kay, and Brockman set the stage for identifying why
some lawyers become dissatisfied with their profession and search for a radically
different career. However, as Kay (1997: 303) states, “surprisingly little attention has
been directed toward analyses of departures from the profession or the emergence of
alternative career paths”.
Beyond this, The Alberta Law Society has recently identified an increasing trend
of lawyers exiting the legal profession. Between November 2002 and October 2003, 221
lawyers (99 men and 122 women) chose to move from active to inactive status in Alberta.
Other Canadian research has shown that lawyer exit comes at a great cost to law firms, as
the average cost of an associate’s departure is $315,000, approximately twice an

43. 30
associate’s salary (Catalyst Canada, 2005). As a result of these issues, The Alberta Law
Society, through a pilot project2
, has taken a leading role in examining the motivations
for leaving and systematically monitoring the exit of lawyers.
Although these studies are effective in identifying serious issues in the current
situation of law as well as lawyers’ desire to leave law, these projects only examine
lawyers’ desires and motivations for leaving the profession. My research will extend
these works by analyzing the alternative occupations that these individuals pursue upon
leaving law, the steps taken to become successful in a new work situation, and the new
careers that allow for a better personal fit. This study also uses two professional
comparison groups (i.e. lawyers and educators) in order to discover whether there are
issues that are specific to the fields of law or education and to consider whether
commonalities exist for professionals in general.
Rationale for Studying Educators
Educators are necessary and important members of the Canadian workforce.
These people educate future generations and act as administrators to maintain a workable
educational infrastructure. Working in the education system seems ideal: the job of
primary and secondary school teachers is to inspire and teach young people, they receive
extended vacations in the summertime while students are on summer break, their unions
are highly organized, and teachers receive excellent health and pension benefits.
Principals and vice-principals still work within the education system but have moved to
administrative roles. They are well paid and are highly involved in school culture and
2
See Cooper, M., Brockman, J., & Hoffart, I. (2004). Report on the Development and Pilot Test of an Exit Interview Protocol with
Lawyers who Move from Active to Inactive Membership Status. Calgary, Alberta. The Law Society of Alberta, The Canadian Bar
Association, Alberta Law Foundation.

44. 31
daily activity. University professors are seen to have an ideal job as well: the salaries are
considerable, tenure allows for career-long job security, and the autonomy within the job
is very high. As Reilh and Lee (1996) believe, working in education is associated with
supportive and positive working conditions that allow for an amicable, supportive, and
family-like environment. Notwithstanding these benefits of being an educator,
professionals in this occupation tend to leave the profession at a higher rate than
professionals in many other occupations (Anderson, Stacey, Western, & Williams, 1983).
Many researchers have examined teacher attrition using a resources-rewards
model to better explain why teachers leave the education profession. This rational choice
framework suggests that good teachers with marketable skills leave education because
they find or are offered better occupational positions outside of the education system.
This rational choice framework hypothesizes that higher pay and promotions available
outside education are the key motivations for people to change careers. It has been
shown that although educators are well trained and highly competent in their teaching
specialties, they are paid less for their expertise than if they were employed in the private
sector. Even though the majority of American teachers (57%) hold at least a Master’s
degree, poor working conditions and low pay discourage these educators from staying in
the education system (National Education Association, 2003). This uncompetitive wage
is one of the primary explanations given in the academic literature for teacher attrition;
the attractive wage found in employment opportunities outside of the education sector
pulls educators toward alternative careers (Dolton & van der Klaauw, 1999). In addition,
it has been argued that educators also leave the profession because they are burned out;

45. 32
they need to pursue a position outside of education that will allow them to replenish their
enthusiasm and energy and to engage in self-renewal (Oplatka, 2005).
In contrast to these studies that use a purely rational choice hypothesis, my study
is designed to discover people’s reasons for changing careers, reasons that go beyond
those of promotion and financial gain. This study will also look at the emotional and
personal reasons educators give for changing careers, the features that draw them to their
new positions as well as the outcomes of those changes.
Studying educators is a good complement to studying lawyers: they are
contrasting professions because of differences in income, level of prestige, number of
hours worked, security of employment and income, and the style of the work that is done.
There is a large body of literature that examines various types of dissatisfaction among
lawyers and another that examines teacher attrition. Still, very few sources inclusively
examine the three stages of the career transition process as this work will. These stages
are the pre-change job situation, the career change process, and the outcomes of career
change. By studying these two professions using an exploratory grounded theory
methodology, I will improve and broaden the explanatory power of this earlier research.
Moreover, this strengthens our foundation for making claims about all midlife
professionals who change careers, instead of only being able to talk about people in a
single profession who make radical career shifts.
RECRUITMENT AND DATA COLLECTION
To meet the objectives of this study, non-random purposive sampling was used to
recruit research participants. Because the people who engage in the sort of career change

46. 33
that is of interest for this study are to some degree elusive, the implementation of a
number of recruitment strategies was necessary to gather enough research participants to
achieve the desired sample size. The various means of recruitment included:
• The distribution of a call for research participants included in the January 2006
edition of the Canadian Bar Association’s newsletter (distribution 3,500);
• An advertisement in the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association
newsletter that ran for four weeks in February and March 2006;
• Advertising bulletins posted in public areas in Calgary;
• Information about this study passed along through various personal contacts.
By using several different recruitment methods, I am confident that I achieved sufficient
variation among the research participants in this sample to allow for diversity in
situational, personal, work, and family situations.
Data was collected by means of semi-structured, one-on-one interviews.
Questions included in the interview guide (see Appendix A) revolved around four themes
found in Stebbins’ study of devotee work (2002; 2004) as well as relevant ideas from the
other works cited in the literature review. Because of the dearth of qualitative inquiry
about this topic of study, most of the questions were generated through induction and
common sense. Also, at the end of each interview, research participants were given the
opportunity to suggest questions that they thought would be valuable to ask future
participants. This process, which unfolded as the interviews were being conducted,
resulted in considerable improvement of the guide.
Each research participant was asked questions about her or his personal
experience that focused on four basic areas: the pre-shift career (i.e. law or education),

47. 34
the transition process from her or his first career to second career, the post-shift career,
and general quality of the post-shift life. The questions asked about the pre- and post-
shift careers were the same in content. These questions focused on having participants
provide general overviews of the old and new jobs (position held, work setting,
responsibilities, amount of paperwork, hours of work, collegial scene, and relationships
with bosses and/or management), what participants enjoyed and disliked about their new
and old careers, the initial motivations for pursuing a career in law or education, and a
description of the participants’ family situations at both the pre- and post-career shift
periods. The career transition questions were initiated by asking the research participant
to tell the story of how he or she changed careers. The other transition-type questions
centered on what was involved in making a career change, income prospects, shifts in
identity, what made the participant decide to make a career change, spousal and family
support, and the pros and cons for shifting careers. Research participants were also asked
whether their priorities has changed from when they entered the first career, and whether
the research participant contemplated making a career change for an extended period
before taking action. The thematic quality of life questions wrapped up each interview.
These questions touched on whether the research participant was happier in the new
career than in the previous one, and whether family situations had changed (either
improved or deteriorated). Participants were also questioned as to whether they had more
or less leisure time in the new job situation, whether they felt that his or her goals had
been met, and whether they would continue working in the same capacity as a volunteer.
All the questions were formulated in an unrestrictive manner, giving the participants the
opportunity to freely express and elaborate their answers.

48. 35
The interviews provided a wealth of data, as the participants often provided
detailed explanations and had many valuable insights. The interviews tended to last
between one to two hours, with the majority lasting approximately one and a half hours.
In order to capitalize on convenience and comfort, each research participant was given
the opportunity to choose their preferred interview venue. As such, I met with my
interviewees at their places of business, their homes, in coffee shops, and at a yacht club.
All but one of the interviews were tape recorded, and analytic summaries were made of
the recordings (a summary was written from notes taken during the unrecorded interview).
SAMPLE
The sample was drawn in early 2006 from Calgary, its surrounding area, and the
Greater Toronto Area3
. Twenty people were selected so as to provide an adequate
sample size for developing grounded theory. In order to develop a manageable
comparative sampling frame for the scope of this research, nine former lawyers and
eleven ex-educators (five male lawyers and educators, six female educators, and four
female lawyers) located in the Calgary and Toronto areas were selected using purposive
sampling techniques4
. Initially, the criteria for participation included males and females
who were between the age of 35 and 55 at the time of their career change, who had
worked as an elementary or high school teacher or principal, a university or college
professor, or a practising lawyer for approximately ten years, and who then entered paid
employment in a field other than law or education. However, it was exceedingly difficult
3
All but one of the participants was located in Calgary, Alberta and its surrounding areas.
4
Ideally the sample would have consisted of five people of each gender per profession, however because of
the limitations of the sampling and recruiting techniques employed in this project, I was at the mercy of
research candidates to answer my call.

49. 36
to find female lawyers who left the practice of law who fit these criteria. Most female
lawyers who choose to pursue a different career do so on average 60 percent more
quickly than their male counterparts (Kay, 1997: 318), meaning that most female lawyers
who had left practice were ineligible to participate because they exited the profession
before working ten years. Yet, to maintain the comparative aspect of the grounded theory
approach, it is, in this study, essential to recruit female lawyers who may be compared
and contrasted with their male counterparts as well as male and female educators. As a
result, the criteria for eligibility for female lawyers were changed, such that former
female lawyers had to be 30 years of age or older and had to have practiced law for a
minimum of three years. Because the time commitment that is required before being
called to the Bar is considerable, when law school and articling are taken into
consideration, these new criteria were deemed adequate for making recruiting female
lawyers achievable while remaining in the spirit of finding female lawyers at midlife.
The sample consists of 20 middle-aged professionals5
who voluntarily left client-
centered professions in favour of pursuing a different type of career. The participants
ranged in age from 38 to their late sixties (however the people who were in their sixties
had engaged in their career changes before the age of 55). The sample is composed of
Caucasian men and women who either used to practise law or were in the education
profession. Three female participants were single at the time of the career change, the
rest of the individuals in the sample were either married or in long-term relationships.
One of the participants immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland as part of his career
change. The lawyers practised real estate law, civil litigation, and corporate law. The
5
A professional is being defined as someone with a professional designation whose training has required
obtaining a second degree above a university undergraduate degree.

50. 37
educators were either primary or secondary school teachers or principals, and one former
university English professor was included in the study. Not surprisingly, there was a
diversity of new career paths that people followed. The new careers of the lawyers
included: three Executive Directors of not-for-profit organizations, a Chief Executive
Officer of a public company, a Chairman of a large governmental regulatory board, a
wealth management advisor, a university professor, and a professional guitar player, and
an entrepreneur. The new careers of the educators included: a lawyer who practises
family law, a physiotherapist, a Chief Executive Officer of a major non-profit
organization, a lobbyist, a couple who left teaching to become hog farmers, a
‘professional’ student6
, a dog groomer, an entrepreneur, an expert on Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome, and a motivational magician.
Table 1: Demographic Portrait
Ma Female
Number of Edu 5 6
Number of Law 5 4
Mean Age of Respondents in Years 60.75 51.30
Percentage Married at the Time of Career
Change
100% 70%
Percentage with Children at the Time of
ge
100% 80%
Mean Length of Stay in First Career in
Years
16.90 15.11
le
cators
yers
Career Chan
6
This former educator sees herself as a professional student because she intends to continue taking post-
secondary education until she dies. She is paid by the university as a graduate student, and sees her
education as an end in itself as opposed to a means to another occupational end.

51. 38
Table 2: New Careers After Career Change
Male Female
New Career of Educators • Lawyer
• Physiotherapist
• Hog farmer
• Entrepreneur
• Motivational magician
• Chief Executive Officer of
Not-for-Profit Organization
• Lobbyist
• Hog farmer
• ‘Professional’ student
• Dog groomer
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
expert
New Career of Lawyers • Executive Director of Not-
for-Profit Organization (2)
• Professional Guitar
Musician
• Governmental Regulatory
Board Chairman
• Chief Executive Officer of a
Public Logistics Company
• Executive Director of Not-
for-Profit Organization
• University Law Professor
• Wealth Management
Advisor
• Entrepreneur
METHODOLOGICAL CONCERNS
As with any qualitative exploratory research, the representativeness of this sample
must be considered. In an attempt to develop a comprehensive set of theoretical
constructs, the sample size of 20 people was deemed to be large enough so that additional
cases would be unlikely to produce any additional themes or alter the emerging
hypotheses (Rubin & Rubin, 2005). Stebbins (2001) writes:
Proof, to the extent it is possible in exploration, and validity rest on the number of
times a regularity of thought or behaviour is observed in talk or action, which
must be often enough to seem general to all or to a main segment of the people in
the group, process, or activity being examined.
As such, I believe that the recruitment of 20 research participants was sufficient to be
representative, generate relevant data, and empirically ground the emergent hypotheses to
be able to generalize about this topic. This sample size also allowed me to interview an
adequate number of men and women (five male lawyers and educators, and five female

52. 39
lawyers and educator nces, as well as the
motives and potential triggers for changing careers, are different between the sexes.
It must be noted that, although I used a variety of sampling a
techniques, when conducting this type of study there is always the risk that the sample
will not be representative. Although all peopl ple ar d
some of the participants in this study e similar post-career change occupations,
this is unfortunately one of the limitations of having to use a samplin
allowed me to study the target population. The sampling technique mos
this relatively l population was pu nd non-random (Stebbins, 2001). Thus,
as mentioned, I utilized a number of egies. For example, th for
recruiting research participants us canvassed form
educators in as broad and diverse a fas ssible. As many candid
were solicited through diverse commu ms, involving two different and
contrasting professional groups. Sti e call had been put out for research
participants, the sample was at the mercy of people answering that call. Although this is
ain goal of this study, and of grounded
theory
his sample, the individual
experie
theory.
s) in order to explore whether the experie
nd recruitment
e included in the sam e Caucasian, an
nded up in
g technique that
t appropriate for
smal rposive a
recruitment strat e methods
ed in this study
hion as po
er lawyers and
ates as possible
nication mechanis
ll, once th
an issue worth addressing in this section, the m
generally, is to develop theoretical constructs that emerge from collected data that
will provide a foundation for concatenating future, related, exploratory studies. Although
representativeness and generalizability are important to address, these methodological
concerns are still not as serious in exploration as they are in other more confirmatory-type
approaches. Even if there is a lack of diversity among t
nces of the people interviewed still provide useful data for generating grounded

53. 40
DATA INTERPRETATION
There are many ways in which the data amassed for this project can be interpreted.
The overall methodological approach which is chosen dictates how the data is filtered
and reported. Some may ask why this type of grounded theory was chosen over other
methodologies. These other methods could have provided a different lens from which to
analyze the data and be more suited to reporting phenomena in a time-sensitive manner.
It has been suggested that a narrative7
method (or other frameworks that examine
that within a social constructionist perspective) would have been better methodologies to
employ in this study. In using other methods such as narrative, it would have allowed for
the integration of the life course paradigm in order to better explain the process of career
change as a fluid trajectory8
. In addition, using a methodology such as narrative would
have allowed for the development of a greater understanding of how the individual
constructed their own reality in terms of how they interpreted their career change. The
rationale for choosing to employ grounded theory as outlined first by Glaser & Strauss
(1967), then by Glaser (1992) and Stebbins (2001) as opposed to a narrative-type
approach stems primarily from a discussion previously identified in this work regarding
the necessity to take a broad inductive, exploratory examination of a given phenomenon
when previous academic understanding is outdated or contradictory9
. As this is an
inductive study to develop a preliminary understanding of career change, the primary
Narrative analysis is an individual-based methodology that focuses on the social construction of people
understanding of reality. As reported by Reissman (2002), “The purpose [of narrative] is to see how
their lives. The methodological approach examines the informant’s story and analyzes how it is put
together, the linguistic and cultural resources it draws on, and how it persuades a listener of authenticity”
(218).
7
respondents in interviews impose order on the flow of experience to make sense of events and actions in
present, and future.
9
See Page 25.
8
Life course looks at how people’s individual stories are shaped by their interpretation of their past,

54. 41
objective was to survey the phenomenon so that future research has a point from which to
develop hypotheses and theoretical frameworks. The narrative methodology examines
the stories of individuals within a given social phenomenon, where the construction of
those stories of individuals is what is of interest ontologically; those stories are a way of
idual. The individual and their construction of their
would have pursued the same goals as a narrative approach. Charmaz’s (2006) version of
p
at
s.
tapping into the identities of the indiv
reality is of concern in narrative-type methodologies. The grounded theory approach as
prescribed by Glaser and Strauss (1967), Glaser (2005), and Stebbins (2001) are
concerned with the social phenomenon itself. The ontology of this type of grounded
theory is the consensus of the accounts of individuals, thereby developing generalizations
that can be taken to a broader positivist level than simply talking about the experiences of
individuals. In this study I am not interested in how individuals came to understand their
personal realities. In using a narrative-type approach, the research questions of this study
would have changed, where the construction of the experience of each individual would
have been the priority, not the discovery of broader substantive theoretical constructs.
Further, using a narrative-type methodology would not have been useful in this case
because it would have given greater voice and embodied the individuals within this study
instead of using a methodology (like grounded theory) which allows for the examination
of phenomena in general instead of examining the story of each research participant.
There is another type of grounded theory that has been introduced recently that
grounded theory posits that grounded theory must discard its positivist roots and pick u
a more reflexive and constructionist epistemology. Because these methodologies look
the social construction of reality, they try to interpret the interpretations of individual

55. 42
This style of grounded theory (and the narrative methodology) attempt to understand how
people perceive their social realities and construct understanding of social phenomena.
These methodologies are highly effective frameworks from which to examine the types
of questions that ask about the individual construction of reality, however when we
generalize about social phenomena, which is the primary goal of this project, we get
away from examining individual accounts.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this chapter was to provide an overview of the methodology being
used in this study. This chapter focused on discussing the rationale for studying lawyers
and educators, the recruitment strategies employed, a brief description of the sample, and
the methodological concerns regarding this study in particular. Overall, the grounded
theory methodology was described in terms of how it is used in this project. This method
focuses on exploring a given topic in order to develop a general understanding of the
issues at play within the phenomenon of midlife career change.
The following chapter will provide a historical-theoretical context which situates
this project within the broader sociological realm. It discusses a variety of different
theoretical paradigms in order to ground this chapter within existing theory.

56. 43
CHAPTER III
HISTORICAL-THEORETICAL CONTEXT
Although little academic attention has been given to the reasons that drive people
to change careers in their mid thirties to mid fifties, there are still several well-established
s that are useful for understanding particular aspects of this kind of
ork will truly add to the
theoretical paradigm
career change. Grounded theory may develop from within emergent empirical data, but it
is important to find where this theory fits within the overarching sociological world. In
order to situate one’s research in the academic domain, past literature and established
theories are used in order to acquire an awareness of where one’s research fits within the
field of sociology. As Stebbins (2001) explains: “exhaustive literature reviews are
wholly justified [in exploratory studies] as background for… empirical or theoretical
examinations of particular areas of research… so that proposed w
corpus of writings” (42). With grounded theory it is acceptable and important to have a
sense of the past relevant literature and theories, as long as exploratory research carves

57. 44
out a unique niche that either builds on the existing substantive area of study or develops
a framework to explain phenomena that have not been previously examined.
The goal of this chapter is to identify where this project intersects and fits within
established theory. This chapter is intended to give the reader an awareness of some
different theoretical paradigms that are applicable to this project in order to contextualize
it within the broader sociological discipline. Although the theories included in this
chapter are but a sample of the ones that are relevant to this career change phenomenon,
they do provide a broad basis from which to understand the different factors that are at
play in the lives of career changers. As well, these sociological paradigms provide a
place from which to theoretically branch off for future studies.
The theoretical provenance of this project does not fit within a single discipline;
instead it intersects several different sociological paradigms. It is important to provide an
awareness of other theoretical perspectives to frame this specific project because this
endeavour synthesizes themes such as professionals and work, aging, devotion, family,
and personal fulfillment. In order to provide a foundation from which to understand how
this project intersects broader sociological themes, a discussion will be provided of
Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1996 [1902]), Stebbins’ theory of
occupational devotion, the life course perspective, and Taylor’s Malaise of Modernity
(1991).
WEBER’S PROTESTANT ETHIC
Stebbins (2004) raises the issue of how Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism (1996 [1902]) is an integral part of understanding a devoted person’s

58. 45
motivation to work. The core of the Protestant Ethic is concerned with the drive of
individuals who commit themselves to their work above everything else. In essence,
Weber’s essay discusses what motivates these people to work. The historical core of this
theory is derived from the Protestant Puritan rationale, whereby a commitment to one’s
business through a divine calling is religious salvation. The ideas of
the day and the way that work was conducted were forever changed by the Protestant
introduction of religious asceticism; changing ideas and values shaped the world’s
material production process. At the core of this ethos are three personal paradigms
(Stebbins, 2004: d to their work
and committed to working hard. The second is value: a person values his or her time and
successes at work more than non-work or leisure activities. The third aspect is belief:
through hard work people hope to prove their self-worth and faith that they are among
God’s chosen. Although the sense of religiosity has disappeared from the modern
capitalist work ethic in favour of a secularized version, several basic principles of the
Protestant Ethic remain: success through hard work, the desire to achieve occupational
success, self-enrichment, and personal fulfillment from occupational success.
precursor to occupational devotion, for the reason people are fulfilled by the work they
believed to produce
25). The first is attitude, where a person should be devote
The Calling
Weber’s argument hinges on the notion of “the calling”. Martin Luther was the
first to propagate this “sense of life-task, a definite field in which to work” (Weber, 1996
[1902]: 79). He preached that every person had a calling that was set forth by the grace
of God. To live a good life in God’s eyes was to follow the position in which one has
been placed in society and to work hard at the job that has been set forth. The calling is a

59. 46
do is because they are good at it, they enjoy it, and they cannot envision themselves doing
a different type of work. In addition, Weber writes that “[t]he differentiation of men into
classes
cus of attention and care
shift to
at a given time.
Asceticism
One of the main themes that emerges from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism (1996 [1902]) is the development of an ascetic lifestyle that comes with being
a successful Protestant. Everything involved in the Protestant system was built on
and occupations established through historical development became for
Luther…a direct result of the divine will…God had assigned [each person] a religious
duty” (Weber, 1996 [1902]: 160). Still, this exhortation proves to be incongruent with
the group of people that I am examining because they abandon their professions and work
situations in order to pursue a new and unrelated occupational endeavour (in other words,
rejecting their callings and following a new one).
Perhaps Karpiak’s (2000) notion of a second calling is of value. Karpiak posits
that during midlife, the concerns, physical health, desires, and fo
ward other interests and/or skills than were previously being employed. Instead of
Weber’s belief that people should follow the career in which they are placed for their
entire working lives, perhaps people are able to have multiple callings throughout their
careers if they are interested, excited, proactive, and devoted to whatever occupational
situation they may be passionate about at that time along the life course. If we shift our
understanding of the calling from a lifelong vocational situation to a state of passion and
excitement for one’s work situation that is accompanied by a strong work ethic, we can
acknowledge that perhaps the calling is able to be whatever occupation that a person feels
devoted to

60. 47
efficiency, rationality, and utility. To be a faithful Protestant meant to be devoted to
one’s calling and always be working. Even the wealthy must work because it is God’s
will that everyone be busy and productive in order to be faithful to their calling.
Overall, what emerged from the Protestant Ethic was an idealized image of the
modern businessman (Weber did not discuss women in this essay). The modern
businessman, at least ideally, has a conscience that is impeccable since he maintains a
strong moral conduct and makes his wealth by conscionable means. He follows his
calling. He works hard, is passionate about his work, and derives personal fulfillment
and self-enrichment from his labours. The modern devotee businessman is motivated
first by success in itself and then by the extrinsic fruits of his labour. The core, however,
is based on devotion, working to the best of one’s abilities, and recognizing occupational
successes as a core part of one’s identity over leisure activities or material comforts.
This vocational doctrine described by Weber provides a historical background for
how the modern work ethic has emerged in the capitalist system. The doctrine of work as
prescribed through the Protestant religion shaped the way that people went about doing
business where hard work, thrift, and dedication to one’s occupation were paramount.
This theoretical perspective allows us to situate the career change phenomenon
STEBBINS’ THEORY OF OCCUPATIONAL DEVOTION
historically.
Stebbins (2004) provides a theoretical discussion of occupational devotion. This
theory provides a description of the appealing nature of professional work and how

61. 48
people take pleasure in their work because they see it as socially important, challenging,
and deeply absorbing (Stebbins, 2004). The theory of occupational devotion consists of:
a strong, positive attachment to a form of self-enhancing work, where the
with such intense appeal that the line between this work and leisure is
realize a unique combination of, what are for them, strongly seated cultural
activity (being involved in something) (2).
The occupations of devotees are generally found within four separate categories:
small business, skilled trades, counselling and c
sense of achievement is high and the core activity (set of tasks) is endowed
virtually erased… it is by way of the core activity and its tasks that devotees
values: success, achievement, freedom of action, individual personality, and
onsulting, and professions (3). The
entifies six criteria that characterize devotee occupations. He
believes that to generate occupational devotion a job must possess particular qualities.
The first criterion is that the principal work activity must require substantial skill,
knowledge, and/or experience for the job to be conducted successfully. The second
factor is that the work must offer a variety of tasks. The third quality of devotee
people who engage in these jobs generally get a great sense of fulfillment from their work.
Also, a large degree of their self-identity is derived from their work success. In fact,
occupational devotees are often people who enjoy their jobs so much that they would
continue to do the same work even in a situation where they were wealthy enough not to
work. Devotees find the central activities of their work to be attractive and rewarding to
the point where “the positive side of their occupations is so intensely appealing that it
overrides the negative side” (Stebbins, 2004: 4). Although the attractiveness of jobs may
sometimes be for extrinsic reasons (e.g. high salary, positive and fun work environments),
the occupational devotee is most passionate about the intrinsic rewards of the job (e.g.
pride of their product, sense of fulfillment and purpose).
Stebbins (2004: 9) id

62. 49
occupations requires the work to be significantly creative or innovative in nature so that
the individual doing the job is able to express his or her personality through working. In
this situation, Stebbins argues that, in such work, boredom will only come about through
fatigue
e rise and fall of occupational devotion: beginning, development,
establishment, maintenance, and decline (87). This brief discussion talks about how the
may diminish
from m
lost interest or control in the work as “the bloom simply falls off the rose; the worker or
from working too long on the job. The fourth principle of devotee work is that
the worker must have significant control and flexibility over the timing of the work. The
fifth requirement of devotee work is that the worker must be good at the core tasks and
must enjoy the work. The final criterion for identifying devotee work is that the devotee
must work in an environment that is conducive to allowing the devotee to work without
significant disruption. Overall, if these criteria are in place, occupational devotees would
be just as happy to do their work as a leisure activity as they are to do it for monetary
compensation, and the positive aspects of the individual’s job outweigh the drawbacks
(Stebbins, 2004).
The purpose of including this theory is to show why people may be drawn to new
jobs because they see the potential of achieving an intensely enjoyable work experience
by engaging in occupational situations that hold the properties identified by Stebbins.
However, one limitation of this theory is the brevity in which Stebbins (2004) recognizes
the notion of “career”, where people engaged in an occupation pass through five different
stages in th
rewards that were present during the early years of a devotee occupation
aintaining a job that does not evolve or change with the increasing experience and
expanding interests of the worker. Stebbins describes the period when the devotee has