Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice on my next career move. I’m in my early 40s, living in Europe, and I’ve spent about 15 years doing management consulting work in the banking industry. My background includes a Computer Science degree from 2004 and an MBA from 2010.
Back in the mid-2000s, I worked in tech as a Linux system administrator and later spent a couple years doing kernel development around 2007. After getting my MBA, most of my consulting work focused on capital markets and trading platform implementations, especially with derivative products at major financial firms. I was at a big consulting firm for years before going independent as a freelancer.
I’ve been out of work for about 18 months due to some personal and health challenges. Now I’m ready to get back in but I’m seeing fewer opportunities in banking consulting. Companies seem hesitant to bring on external consultants like before.
My priority now is finding something stable and sustainable rather than chasing the biggest paycheck. I’m considering several options but would love input from others who might have faced similar transitions:
- Moving back into technology: Maybe focusing on machine learning or AI development, though I wonder if companies would consider someone my age competing against recent grads
- Data engineering roles: This seems like a growing field that might be more welcoming to experienced professionals
- Staying in financial consulting: Finding another firm and developing a deeper specialization area
- Becoming a quantitative analyst: Though this would require additional mathematics training in areas like stochastic processes
- Different consulting specialties: Like enterprise software implementation (SAP, Salesforce, etc.)
I’m open to other suggestions too. Has anyone made a similar career pivot in their 40s? What worked for you?