Saw this post pop up, reread it, and saw my own post from 3 years ago. I was underemployed and despairing. I was worried I wasn't resilient enough to work full time.
Pleased to say that this past August, I found a full time teaching job. Far from being unable to manage it, I work 10 to 11 hour days! My psychiatrist is very pleased. I had expressed that I was fearful of being unable to manage it, but she encouraged me to go ahead and try it; if it didn't work out, then I could quit. My bipolar disorder has stayed in remission and I feel pretty good. The only addition has been some ADHD meds which I've likely needed all my life, but I TRULY need now as there's so much multi-tasking in teaching.
The down-side to being a first year teacher is that I'm not tenured, so I only have a 10 month contract. The last hired is the first fired. I've just been informed by my principal that they've lost funding for my position for next year. :( If no one leaves, retires, or transfers, I'll be out of a job. She does believe that at least one of those things will happen and I'll be able to come back next year. But, I'm wondering if I should start putting my resume in at other schools just to be proactive.
It'll take 2 more years to get tenure/ be hired permanently, but my performance review is great, so I'm hopeful that everything will work out. It kind of sucks to be 45 and still not established in your career, but I have been able to pay off some debt, actually a lot of debt, even though there's more to go! I also have started a retirement account, so I feel a little more secure about the future. It'll take 10 years to be pension vested, but I should be able to do that. I'll still be able to retire at age 65 with 20 years of service. So much of this is about reducing the anxiety of being able to retire and live comfortably in our golden years.
If you're in your 40s, it is definitely worth it to start a new career. It is not too old, and there is time to recoup education costs and secure a retirement. If you're on the fence, my advice is to go for it!