Does Your Job Still Define You?

A common theme found in studies of retirees is the psychological struggle that many experience letting go of their job. Immediately after retirement there is a sort of “honeymoon” during which the retiree experiences the euphoria of not having to get up or be anywhere to meet the demands of an employer. Later, after the thrill of nothing mandatory to do wears off, a “what have I done” attitude or even depression can arise, caused by the retiree’s detachment from work.

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How Not to Pursue a Second Career

Baby boomers are bombarded with articles and books about how to reinvent themselves, pursue a second career, and “finding their passion” after leaving a traditional workforce position. I support all of these concepts. However, implementing a “second career” plan requires a lot more care than some people realize. Curt Schilling, a highly successful professional baseball player, is now a prominent example of being careless in his “second career” planning.

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Working in Retirement: Intentions vs. Reality

According to a recent Retirement Confidence Survey, Americans are now shedding their false confidence about their retirement futures and accepting that their meager retirement savings won’t last very long. But the benefits of accepting that they have a retirement problem may be short-lived. Read more

The Problems with Working Longer and Retiring Later

Some Social Security reformers want to increase the retirement age from age 66, perhaps even to age 70. I don’t think this would work for many, if not most American workers. This cost saving strategy is based on the assumption that increasing the retirement age would cause folks to work longer. I see two problems with this theory. Read more

The Psychology of Career Change

I attended a presentation this morning on the psychology of career change. The presenter was Tom Boyd,  a cognitive psychologist who is also a university business school dean. He was excellent. He is also an experienced career-changer, starting as a swim coach, then product manager, psychology professor and college dean. Read more

The Hard Truth About Shifting into a 50+ New Career

I just finished listening to Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder.com tell a room full of boomers how to “shift into a new career.” A show of hands quickly indicated that many of the attendees wanted a job – any job. Another 1/3 were working, unhappy, and looking. So the focus of the session was really about how someone in our age group can find a job. Read more

Work for Boomer and Retired Scientists, Engineers and Product Specialists

Are you a retired engineer or scientist and looking for some work to do? Or are you a baby boomer with a technical background looking for a phased retirement? If so, I found a job portal site that may interest you. Read more

Retire to a Second Career

Different circumstances and goals motivate baby boomers toward different types of “retirements.” Some have just had it with work, period. Others are OK with what they do for a living but are looking to gradually “phase out” of a full-time career. Still others are dissatisfied with a long-time job or career and want to try something different.  These I will call the “I want a second career for my retirement” folks. Read more

Second Career Transition Jobs for Baby Boomers

I am working on an article about phased retirement.  One aspect of phased retirement is finding a transition job to get you from full-time employment to being completely retired. In some cases, that can mean simply decreasing your work level in your present job. In other cases, a transition job may require a career change altogether. Read more

Alternative Retirement Income from Personal Creativity

I am a proponent of alternative income streams. Baby boomers are confronting a multitude of financial risks that may delay or ruin a planned retirement. These include job loss and simply not having enough money to retire. Developing a secondary income source can help. Read more

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