Welcome back to How I made itMetro.co.uk’s weekly career travel series.
This week we talk to Bridget Forster, 53, who has reinvented her career time and time again and proves it’s never too late to try something new. If the desire is there, it’s worth exploring.
Based between the Isle of Wight and Cork in the Republic of Ireland, Bridget now works in careers advice – but not before working for the armed forces, then as a barrister and then as a bomb disposal officer.
Bridget is constantly adapting and is also eager to help women build their careers through her company Be The Bridge Today, providing leadership training and advising companies on women’s representation at senior levels.
Here’s how she pulled it off.
Hey Bridget. What jobs have you had?
I’ve had a number of careers and in hindsight I’ve always fought against female stereotypes.
I joined the army after university and trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
I was an officer in the Royal Corps of Signals, one of the first women to join the Corps directly rather than through the Women’s Royal Army Corps.
I served primarily in Germany, where I led a troop providing mobile, secure communications to the Multinational Army Corps, and toured as a Joint Commission Observers liaison officer with the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia during the war.
When I left the armed forces, I retrained as a lawyer and specialized in spatial planning and public law for more than 10 years.
Coincidentally, I met an ex-military colleague while on vacation in New York, and he worked for the United Nations at the Mine Action Service (UNMAS). He persuaded me to apply for a position at UNMAS in Libya as a project manager.
After a few years I took an Explosive Ordnance Disposal course and moved to Palestine to take over the management of the Mine Action Program there.
During my time at the UN, I received training in hostage incident management, security and risk management, project management, and training in the humanitarian management systems, as well as some UN leadership training.
Wow – an impressive resume. Since you’ve changed careers often, has that stopped you from progressing in the first place? How do you arrange it?
I think there’s always a reset cost when you change careers because you have to take a few steps back when you start out, but transferable skills and experience make the learning curve easier to manage so costs can be mitigated to some extent.
You just have to be willing to take the time to understand the new culture and language in the beginning. I’ve never been too proud to ask questions or explain that I don’t understand something.
I’m an avid knowledge collector and can read quickly thanks to my time as a lawyer – that certainly helps. Networking too.
At age 48, was it difficult to retrain to become a bomb disposal officer?
There was a real need to increase the representation of women in the sector.
I was supported in applying for an Explosive Ordnance Ordnance Disposal Level 3 course, an intensive five-week programme. It was five tough weeks, both physically and mentally.
I was the only woman and the oldest person on the course and in peri-menopause.
While I’m glad I worked in that job, I suffered from burnout and took some time off after the bombing of Gaza in May 2021. When I returned to work, I realized I had to set boundaries to manage my recovery.
As I worked on it, I became less tolerant of a leadership culture that paid lip service to achieving equal representation of women at all levels of leadership, but failed to create the environment conducive to retaining female talent.
The culture did not support boundaries between work and personal life. There was also a lot of trauma on my team.
With the help of a coach, I realized that my values didn’t match my job, so I quit my job.
Is this why you wanted to build the business you have now? Again, was it difficult to make such a big shift?
It was a terrifying leap to go from a very well-paying, seemingly “glamorous” or at least “adventurous” job to this vague idea of a female company founder.
The macho power structures that suggest people are failures or can’t hack it when they ask for help or challenge the status quo make people – especially women – afraid to admit they can’t handle it, and in a suffering from burnout at a frightening rate.
I think it’s time I worked to create cultures that encourage female talent retention and empower women to advance into leadership roles, to break the cycle that prevents equal representation of women in senior management positions.
What is the best career advice you have?
Not everyone’s opinion matters. Choose carefully who influences you.
And don’t worry if you don’t have a five-year plan.
Focus on your values, focus on staying curious and learning continuously, be alert and open to opportunities as they arise.
An average day in the working life of Bridget Forster
9:30am – 12:00pm: The morning is spent on her book, either doing research or writing.
1pm-4pm: She plans, designs and writes webinars for her company Be the Bridge Today.
She’s also working on training sessions and recordings for an upcoming podcast, as well as catching up with her mentees.
4:30 p.m.: She calls it quits and heads to the gym to unwind.
What do you like most about your job?
I gain control over my time and I can spend more time with my husband, my family and friends.
I think when you’ve been lost in the emotional and physical demands of a job for a long time, there’s something very precious about simple things like cooking dinner together, joining a neighborhood club, or being able to grow vegetables in your garden.
What do you like least about your job?
Sometimes it’s hard to put your money where your mouth is when you work for yourself.
It can be lonely and overwhelming. I still struggle with insecurities and indulge in bad habits like procrastination and doom scrolling first thing in the morning, but I have strong female networks and some great male allies who can help me see myself through their eyes and bring me back can lead to healthier behaviors and remind me to find the joy in things.
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