Starting a New Career at 40 in Canada

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Key Takeaways

• More Road Ahead Than Behind: With CPP’s standard age of 65, a new career at 40 can run 25 years.
• You’re in Good Company: 38% of Canadians aged 35 to 44 want to do something completely different.
• Know Your Benchmark: Statistics Canada puts median wages for ages 35 to 44 at C$63,770.
• Five of Six Roles Start Lower: Only DevOps begins above that benchmark, at C$67,498, on PayScale data.
• Credits Cut the Cost: The refundable Canada Training Credit covers up to half of eligible tuition fees.
• Traineeship and Bootcamp programs at Fortray build job-ready tech skills with 1:1 mentorship and hands-on labs.

Here’s a sum most 40-year-olds never do… Start full-time work at 22, and by 40 you’ve put in 18 years. Retire at 65, the standard age for the Canada Pension Plan, and you still have 25 years to go. You’re closer to the start of your working life than the end.

That’s why a new career at 40 is a practical plan, not a midlife gamble. In Employment Hero‘s 2025 Annual Jobs Report, 38% of Canadians aged 35 to 44 said they want to do something completely different. This guide covers what tech roles pay as you progress, how to cut training costs and where to start. Fortray Canada helps career changers and IT professionals train for these roles.

Why Is 40 a Smart Age to Start a New Career in Canada?

Because your highest-earning decade is still ahead. Statistics Canada puts median wages at C$63,770 for workers aged 35 to 44 and C$67,800 for those aged 45 to 54, the highest of any age group. A switch at 40 gives a new career time to reach that peak, not just coast to retirement.

You also bring things a 24-year-old graduate can’t. Twenty years of managing budgets, calming upset clients and keeping projects on track are skills tech teams find hard to teach. And the demand is there: CompTIA counted 297,702 active tech job postings in Canada in 2025, with tech employment projected to reach 1.54 million this year.

The worry most people raise isn’t really age. It’s money: a mortgage, kids and the fear of a junior salary. That’s a fair worry, so let’s put real numbers on it. If you’re still in your 30s, our guide to career change at 30 in Canada covers that earlier window.