About Me

I'm 48 and I Want to Change Careers. Am I Crazy?

Currently, I'm a business consultant for pre-revenue startups and a web designer specializing in ecommerce and marketing automation. At 21, I dropped out of university, where I was studying to go to med school, to join an early internet company, a decision that shaped my career path.

Early on, I led and founded software companies, driving millions in sales. As CEO of my first company, we developed successful tracking systems for visitors, transactions, and affiliates. My work with PHP's creators, using it to handle extensive web traffic and transactions, was a highlight.

In 2004, I started a company creating custom video content management systems. Despite its success and profitability, I struggled with severe anxiety. I experienced episodes with extreme physical symptoms where I felt like I was dying.

Diagnosed with anxiety and panic attacks in 2008, I was medicated, which helped me mitigate the extreme physical symptoms, but left me emotionally disconnected and not caring about anything in life. Realizing the negative impact this was having on me, I quit medication in 2009 and neglected my business, which led to its decline. This, however, helped me to better manage my anxiety without drugs.

I also addressed my anxiety through lifestyle changes, including exercise, meditation, and clean eating and fasting. Today, my anxiety is well managed without medication because I work without ambition and have daily practices designed to mitigate stress.

For work, I started taking private clients, avoiding the ambition of starting another company. I’ve been building digital products and consulting startups, but this work has become unfulfilling. I'm finding it harder to secure new clients and the work to do this well requires more ambition, which is something I try to avoid.

Now, I'm contemplating a career change at 48. I want to use my mind for the benefit of humanity. When I was young, this was going to be in the form of medicine. I was studying pre med in college with the intention of becoming a neurosurgeon. That path is no longer feasible, however I still want my mind and my work to have an impact.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, I have found a new path that I can pursue, but which would require time for learning new skills. I need to learn programming, natural language processing, machine learning, data structures and algorithms and more to break into this field. However, the current and future impacts that AI will have on humanity makes it the perfect place to unleash my tempered ambition without the fear of anxiety creeping in.

I want to study the application of artificial intelligence systems on the problems of the world. I want to find ways to use this remarkable technology safely and with maximum impact for everyone. Can it be used to cure cancer? Can it solve the problem of homelessness? What about preventing the loss of arable land and other precious natural resources?

I question the feasibility of this change and wonder if it's wise at my age. I'm torn about starting over in a new career, especially one like this that will require me to learn so much. Is it too late for me? Should I stick to what I know, or is a change possible at this stage in my life?