I’m (38 M) currently approaching the end of a career (22 plus years) and am considering changing fields to do something completely different. I have had a reasonably successful career in my current field and will be mortgage free / have a fairly decent public sector pension that will be able to partially subsidise any future wage.

Reflecting in the last 20 years, I feel like I missed an opportunity to get into business and now that I’m approaching 40 feel like this is probably my last chance to make a credible effort to do something in business. In order to get started, I’d really like to learn and become proficient at sales. I’m particularly interested in working for a small company where I can take what I learn and maybe start my own company with my new found knowledge.

My question is, what sort of money can be made in a commission based sales job in the UK (i.e. total including base salary, commission and bonuses). Also, do you think it’s advisable to undertake a course in sales or is it better to just try and get some first hand experience (after doing some self study)?