What are the things you wish you knew earlier about switching careers at 35 in Singapore?

The biggest thing nobody told me, at 35 with a HDB loan and one kid, the financial gap is the killer, not the learning curve. I took a 30% pay cut moving into tech sales from teaching. My advice, before you switch, live on the new lower salary for 6 months while still earning the old one, and bank the difference. That's your buffer and your reality check. Also, don't romanticise the grass on the other side, every industry has its own nonsense and politics. I'm happier now but it took me a solid two years to claw back to my old pay, and that stretch tested my marriage and my patience. Talk to your spouse honestly about the temporary dip, get their buy-in, and treat the first two years as an investment period, not a sprint. If you go in expecting instant reward you'll be sian and want to quit.

I'll be the wet blanket. Switched at 36 and honestly I sometimes regret it. The new field had ageism I didn't anticipate, interviewers politely wondered why someone my age was entry-level, and a few younger managers seemed uneasy about hiring someone older than them. It's not impossible but be ready for it. What helped was reframing, I sold my maturity and my ability to manage stakeholders and stay calm under pressure, things a fresh 25-year-old can't offer. If I could redo it, I'd have moved to an adjacent role first rather than a total 180, using my existing domain knowledge as a bridge. Smaller jump, less risk, still growth. Total career reinvention at 35 with a mortgage and dependents is doable but brutal, and the emotional toll of starting from the bottom again is heavier than the pay cut. Don't underestimate either, but if the current path is truly dead, better to move than rot.