Pair launch podcast for women at 'career crossroads'

Susannah de Jager and Patsy Day's podcast went live on Thursday

Two women who quit their corporate jobs have started a podcast to inspire others who are facing a "career crossroads" in their 40s and 50s.

Susannah de Jager and Patsy Day, both from Oxford, walked away from their jobs in finance and law shortly after the coronavirus pandemic.

During that time, the pair said they found themselves "on a quest to find the path through the wobbly middle" of their careers.

They said they launched their podcast, called The Wobbly Middle, to help other women facing career uncertainty in their middle age.

The two friends are using their experience to inspire others

Ms de Jager, 38, had been working in finance for 15 years and said that, while she enjoyed it, the demands of family life and the stress of the job had "collided".

"You don't want to go back to a high-pressure job but you want to do something," she said. "You don't just want to sit at home and do nothing when the kids are at school."

Similarly, Ms Day, 46, said she had been working in her dream job as a lawyer but found it had become draining.

"I took some time off and loved it. I knew what I didn't want to go back to but I didn't know how to move forward," she said.

The two friends said more and more middle-aged women were quitting their jobs because of family, perimenopause and because they were "tired of the way the corporate world still looks".

'You're not alone'

Each episode of their podcast, which launched on Thursday, will feature conversations with other women who have made bold career pivots.

"We really wanted to tackle confidence issues and I think feelings of uncertainty are totally normal," Ms Day said.

"What's amazing is that everybody has these feelings, everybody has these low ebbs of confidence and what we're trying to do is be a companion to people in that moment," Ms de Jager added.

Their guests include a midwife-turned-femtech innovator and a journalist who switched to a job in recruiting.

Ms de Jager said: "We're just thrilled to get it out there and we hope it resonates with other women like us."