Bundaberg's Gary O'Brien has decided at the age of 50 that he's no longer content to ‘take a back seat' in life.

His wife has completed a degree, which helped her become partner in an accountancy firm. Gary reckons it's now his time to shine.

Gary O'Brien has found a new drive in life

Previously, he has had a series of careers, starting with banking and moving into coffee shop ownership, a couple of milk runs, a vinyl sign-writing business and more recently night-shift taxi driving.

Gary says he has always put his wife and kids first in pursuing career opportunities and it was only recently he decided he was still fit and healthy enough to become a policeman.

He enrolled in a TAFE program to qualify for consideration (and then acceptance) at the police academy and completed 5 months of training before deciding he was not cut out for the Thin Blue Line.

"I was the grandfather of the intake, then aged 48, and was left out a bit when they segregated into groups. But the main issue was I was uncomfortable handling firearms," he said.

"Another issue was that I realized they would have wanted to relocate me away from my family.

"At least I had a good crack at it (police academy) and the skills I've learnt have proven useful handling the drunks and idiots who sometimes get into cabs late at night."

Gary's return to TAFE to complete his Certificate 4 in Justice Admin Studies put him into contact with a tutor, who suggested he had the aptitude to succeed at university.

"I knew about the STEPS bridging program but then found the fast-track pathway of Lift could be better, since I've got plenty of life skills and work skills already," he said.

"I'm learning about goal setting and my mid-term goal is to enroll next year to study health promotion or social work. The former could certainly be a growth area as the government has been pumping millions into health programs, which are needed because so many people just are not looking after themselves."

Gary said his experience with Lift has been positive so far, with "plenty of support available for the taking if you need it".

Details about Lift are available via 13CQUni (13 27 86) or lift-admin@cqu.edu.au