Career planning after 50

In prior generations, workers in their 50s were either enjoying the final years in the executive suite or counting the days until back-breaking manual labor was over. The over 50 workers were busy planning retirement, buying fishing gear, checking out motor homes and looking at retirement in Spain.

Look again - today’s over 50 workers are planning their second career move. They may retire from the present job at 55, 60 or 65, but they have no intention of retiring from the workforce.

In fact, they’re as excited in planning the next career as they were in securing that first job. Many are more excited because they know themselves better than they did at 18 or 21. They’ve developed work skills and preferences over the span of their career and combined with their self awareness are looking at different ways of finding fulfilment.

Here’s the great part of this new generation of non-retiring older adults: they’re energized by this second chance to have a new career choice. Whether the city manager chooses to take a less stressful job running a recreation center or the teacher from an inner city school decides to set up a craft store to make a business out of a hobby, the over 50 workers are merely transitioning to their second and possibly third careers.