High-flying Partners Lead To Male Career Change Trend

Many professional men are now planning career changes because their successful partners can offer them financial support, new research has revealed.

According to research carried out by the Training and Development Agency for Schools, a third of men have a partner who earns as much or more than them, making a career switch more feasible for many men.

Half of those men surveyed said that their partner would be able to support them through training while they changed professions.

The research revealed that the top professions favoured by graduate men considering a career change are: teaching (41%), science research and development (29%), engineering (21%), retail (19%) and social work (16%).

Traditional office gripes appear to be driving the change, the research revealed. Forty-one per cent of men said that they were tired of office politics, while 31% said that they disliked being tied to a desk and nearly a quarter said that they did not find the office conducive to creativity.

Thirty-five per cent of men also claimed that money was no longer the most important factor when choosing a career. Age and family also appeared to change men's outlook on their working life, with nearly a third saying that turning 30 made them re-evaluate what they wanted from their careers, while 18% said that becoming a parent had the same effect.

Mike Watkins, Director of teacher recruitment at the TDA, said: "Career changes are now fuelling the ranks of teachers as never before, particularly in areas where we have a high need, such as maths and science.

"This research confirms that professional men are re-evaluating what they want from a career after a few years of working life. It's evident that the appeal of office life can wear thin and that men are looking for more than just a high salary - they want to make use of their skills."

The research was carried out by PCP in October 2006 and was based on a sample of 1,000 graduate men over 30 who were working in one of the following office-based professions: accountancy; banking/finance; design; HR/recruitment; insurance; law; IT and telecommunications; marketing/advertising; media/publishing and sales.

(KMcA)