After some big life changes at 50, Mags Wright left her career in banking to pursue her passion by retraining as a garden designer! Here’s what she told us…
Name
Mags Wright
Old Position
Project manager in financial services
New Career
Garden designer
Can you tell us about your current role?
I am a self-employed garden designer. Basically, I help people to get the garden that they want. It could be anything from helping them choose plants for a small border to designing a large country garden.
What were you doing previously?
I joined the Royal Bank of Scotland straight from school in 1983, and I was there for 33 years. I worked in many different areas over the years from the branch network to roles within head office. Latterly, I was a project manager working on change management and business improvement.
What made you decide to change careers?
It started in 2016 when a few things happened. I turned 50 in April that year. That was a moment. You think ‘How the heck am I this age? How did that happen?’
In July, my mum died after a long illness, it made me reflect a little bit that you don’t have forever, and it made me look at where was I in my career and my life.
Then in September of that year I was offered redundancy as the Bank was restructuring. I had been through many restructures but this time I decided to go for voluntary redundancy. By December that year, I had left the bank.
After working for an organisation for 33 years, I was tiring of the corporate world. I wasn’t getting as much job satisfaction as I had previously. It just felt like the right time and the right thing to do although it was a bit scary.
I was tiring of the corporate world. I wasn’t getting as much job satisfaction as I had previously. It just felt like the right time and the right thing to do although it was a bit scary.
What made you choose your new career path?
My interest in gardening has always been there. I grew up on a farm just outside Peebles. My papa had a walled garden on the farm, which he loved. As a little girl, I would follow my papa around the farm, ‘helping out’. He was my hero. So, I’ve ways been a keen gardener.
In 2009, we extended our house and our garden. My friend and I did a night class which taught how to design your own garden. I had a ball doing the course and redeveloping my garden. So that interest has always been there, and I love gardening to this day.
How do you go about building your new career?
When I left the bank, I was busy with the kids, but I wanted to do something that I enjoyed. I started looking into garden design courses. I chose the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) because it was handy, and they provided a varied course offering qualifications at degree level.
I started my studies in September 2017 and graduated with a BSc Garden & Greenspace Design in 2021.
I thought it could be a bit of a hobby afterwards. But I formed a close friend group with three other ladies at the college and you start talking about the future which shapes your thinking. To be fair, I did like the idea of being my own boss.
Above all, you just need to follow your heart. Do your research, make a plan, and go for it. If it’s your time, you need to do it.
How hard was it to make the change?
I’d never studied before, but I had the redundancy money, and I had my husband who was very supportive. So, in a way, it was easier for me than for some on the course.
I got my first actual job through Gardening Scotland where we exhibited a small show garden as part of our second-year college course. It was like a small Chelsea Flower Show.
I started speaking to a lady who said that she needed help with her garden. She was my first client, a lovely lady from Edinburgh, and we created a very pretty, plant-filled front garden with year-round interest. I’ve had three other jobs from people knocking on her door to ask about her garden. If it had been a back garden that no one ever saw, where would I be?
What transferable skills did you find that you had?
I have to understand exactly what my clients want for their garden which involves being a project manager and a relationship manager. Those are the two key skills that I’ve taken from my previous roles in the Bank.
But one skill I learned at the bank is about prioritising. You make your list of priorities every morning and then you follow through and get it done.
What would you say to other people who are thinking of making a change?
Peer support is very important. I still speak on a weekly basis to the friends I made at college. We still go on daytrips to gardens for research purposes. It’s good to build up a network of like-minded people.
Above all, you just need to follow your heart. Do your research, make a plan, and go for it. If it’s your time, you need to do it.
