A Second Career

Many people work hard all their lives just to retire, then find retirement just too dull or leisurely paced or as well funded, as they imagined. A second or new career may be just the ticket for many. Whether for pay or as a volunteer, full time or part time, temporary or permanent, the most important part of a second career during retirement is that it is enjoyable.

Depending on one’s past career, working as a consultant may be the perfect way to stay in contact with prior networking connections, and earn additional income from one’s expertise. Concerns should include necessary licensing and insurance requirements are in specific fields like engineering or medicine, consistency of the income stream, and the need to market one self.

Employment through a temporary agency can minimize those concerns for a professional. For non-professionals temp agencies also offer a number of benefits like tailoring the work to a retiree’s abilities and educating retirees about what skills they can acquire to improve their employability. In some areas agencies can offer benefits to supplement existing healthcare, or retirement.

Another option many retirees pursue in an entirely new career. This option requires more planning and possibly additional skill acquisition. It may also require additional investment, both in time and money. Also known as encore careers, the biggest difficulty many face is deciding what they want to do. Research is the primary means to answer this question.

Last year a survey by a large insurance company and a San Francisco think tank determined that about 8.4 million Americans, ages 44 to 70, had begun “encore careers” for both personal and professional satisfaction as well as income.

(http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/retirement/2008/08/20/6-tips-on-planning-a-second-career.html) Given impact on many retirement funds by recent market fluctuations I imagine the number of people now interested in second careers is dramatically higher. Obama offered them hope, but for many retirees, Obama has destroyed their retirement.  I think second or encore careers are a great trend both for individuals and for the nation as a whole. If a second career satisfies, then I say JUST DO IT.