St. Louis Business Journal
Many people are starting new careers after age fifty

By Anna Navarro

June 2000 - Retirement used to be the end of the career road. But not anymore.

Today many would-be retirees are using retirement as a launching pad for new careers that allow them to do what they really want, sometimes for the first time in their work lives.

Americans have added 20-30 years in life expectancy over prior generations. For many who are in good health, this represents a "second middle age", a time when they still have abundant energy and ambition.

However, many mentally and physically active people in their 50's and 60's are burned out on their first careers. Some never found work they enjoyed, but disciplined themselves to stay with what they were doing because of the needs of their growing families. Others enjoyed their work, but stayed in careers past the time when their enthusiasm waned.

Freed of pragmatic considerations like getting their kids through college and gathering their nest egg for retirement, they are poised for change. They are seeking new careers as well as new lifestyles.

While these "second middle lifers" often need to do something dramatically different, they will sometimes pick up on an aspect of their work or hobbies that has lain dormant for years. The new career is frequently more "from the heart" than their prior work. It frequently contains elements of passion or service to humanity that were missing (and yearned for) in their earlier work.

A high-ranking executive in a Fortune 50 company had been coaching people informally for years. It was the part of her job she loved the most. She went into training to become a career strategist while still working in the corporate world. Then she "retired" and in 1996 opened the first Work Transitions office in Chicago.

Besides making a dramatic change in career, she also made some lifestyle changes. She bought a three-acre farm with a stable and rides her horse in a nearby forest preserve often. She also is deeply involved with several charities and church activities.

Her story reflects another major trend I have observed in 50-60 year old career changers: Very frequently they start their own businesses. If this is the path they pursue, we work with them to insure these new businesses don't present a risk to their hard won nest eggs.

Some people in this group opt for work that draws heavily on their prior experience and knowledge of an industry or professional field, but gets them out of the grind they were in earlier.

A physician who had extensive experience with organizational change and is an excellent public speaker became the vice president of a medical consulting firm, advising hospitals on change management.

His job is to close the sale on consulting contracts, then do the keynote address when new projects are launched. He works three days a week on average - and spends the other four at his new home in Florida, indulging his passion for golf. He's made good use of his extensive medical experience - but moved away totally from daily patient care.

These are not isolated instances of super-energetic individuals who are highly unusual for their generation. A recent Louis Harris poll revealed that 80% of those approaching retirement hope to work after they pass that milestone.

I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to make these kind of changes start planning well in advance. The career and lifestyle evolution can take several years to think through and turn into reality. And long term financial planning is critical.

The first step in the career/lifestyle transition is to identify elements an individual wants in an ideal work situation, including skills, working conditions, passions, money, etc., as well as items like time for hobbies or living in a warm climate. The second step is conceptualizing solutions and reality testing them. And the third is implementing the vision. This all requires time for reflection, sifting alternatives and making choices.

It is one of the miracles of my own work life to observe clients in this age group transform themselves from bored, sometimes disenchanted individuals to excited, focused human beings with a sense of purpose. The change can lead to a spurt of late-life productivity and work satisfaction that is the envy of many a younger person!

Anna Navarro is the founder of Work Transitions, a nationwide career consulting firm that trains independent career strategists and consults with individual clients.

This column was originally published by the St. Louis Business Journal. The actual title of the column and date in which it appeared in the Business Journal may be slightly different from what appears on WorkTransitions.com.