Changing careers at 15 years into a job, is it realistic? - any advice?

After 15 years as a welding apprentice I am thinking about moving into a different field. There are 15 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. I have a little time and a small budget for training.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

I took a small pay cut for a year, and it was worth it for the growth afterwards.