Finding Fulfillment at Midlife: The Second Chance Career
Midlife is a time of change. The career you built may now be nearing its end, and with it the identity you felt so secure in. You are suddenly aware that there are all kinds of possibilities, but without the tools or the confidence to pursue any of them.
So how do you find fulfillment at midlife? By pursuing a second chance career that offers new meaning and opportunity for growth and development.
In this post we'll explore possible fields to explore, including: teaching, coaching or mentoring new generations; exploring human sexuality; and health care as a second chance profession.
The following is a list of resources that we've found to help you develop your own second chance career exploration process:
* Second Chance Founding Fathers: A Directory of Midlife Groups and Organizations That Support Younger and Middle-Aged Adults Deciding to Start Their Own Nonprofit Organisations
* Second Chances, Third Chances and Fourth Chances websites. These websites list numerous organisations that support people who are providing important services to children (daycare workers and teachers), parents (parental assistance) or the elderly (nursing homes for the disabled).
* Nonprofit Mythbusting website, a project of Feeding America which aims to debunk some common myths about running a non-profit organisation.
* Wikibook – The Nonprofit Movement: Running a Nonprofit Organization offers a general overview of the non-profit sector.
* SEEDS Online website, which provides information and materials for people who want to start a nonprofit organization.
The following list is a starting point for anyone who wishes to explore exploring a second chance career. This is not an exhaustive list of possible second chance careers, but it's an initial exploration tool that you can use to help you create your own list. When you've decided on the types of second chance careers that interest you, we encourage you to follow up with further resources and blogs for more information.
Midlife Second Chance Career Exploration Tools
Possible Career Options for Midlife Career Changers
1. Starting your own business in a highly competitive globalized economy is one way to find fulfilling work in midlife. Your competition may be younger, but you have the maturity, experience and wisdom to make your second or third (or fourth!) career a good one. Here are some ideas to help you get started:
* Small Business – Starting a Small Business is another possible option for midlife career changers. The website provides step-by-step information on what it takes to start your own small business, especially when you don't have any previous experience in starting a business.
* Business Ideas – The following websites provide ideas on how you can start a business in any field you choose.
2. Other people may be able to help you:
* Degrees for Transition is a website that provides advice and background materials for midlife career changers who wish to achieve their post-secondary education in a non-traditional manner.
* Nonprofit Recruiters Directory Listings provide organisations that specialize in hiring professionals with non-profit experience, often to fill key positions in strategic areas like finance, research or human resources.
3. Volunteer opportunities are another way to pursue a second chance career. Think creatively about what your interests are, and volunteer with an organisation that better suits you.
Recommended Reads for Midlife Career Changers
1. What I Want to Do When I Grow Up: A Guide for Young Women who Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up by Jennifer Ditson offers practical advice for young people who have trouble identifying a mission in life or finding direction in the chaos of their teen years.
2. Who Do You Think You Are? by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend highlights things that can be learned about yourself, almost on a daily basis, by asking the question "who do you think you are?" These discoveries can enrich your life in all aspects of your life, from understanding how your own ideals shape your behaviour to discovering new ways to express yourself and develop meaningful relationships with others.
3. Making Your Life Count: A Guide for Young Adults – from Conformity to Independence by David Bell is an easy access resource that offers advice for young adults and adults at midlife about making their lives count now, as well as planning for the future. There are no wrong answers, only different ways of seeing things.
4. What Color is your Parachute? by Richard Bolles has been a best-seller for over 30 years. It has helped millions of job seekers make a career change by identifying their transferable skills and passions, and provides advice on how to use these take advantage of opportunities that are available in today's competitive labour market.
5. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser is an excellent resource for anyone who wishes to learn how to write non-fiction in a clear, compelling way. One of the best books on non-fiction writing in print today.
6. The Unwritten Rules of the English Language by John McWhorter teaches us to appreciate the underlying patterns of language and provides an excellent introduction to metamessage. These hidden codes can help you express yourself more successfully in writing, speaking, and interpersonal relationships.
7. On finding Your Way: A Guide for Young People who don't Know where they're Going or What they want to Be when they Grow up by Jennifer Ditson is ideal reading material for young people who are still puzzling out their identity and direction in life. As a teen, you might actually be ready to make a change, but you don't know how to go about doing it. In order to find your way in life, you'll need some direction.
8. The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar explores how we make choices every day–the sandwich we pick for lunch, the words we use to describe someone who just left the room, the career we choose for ourselves.
9. At the Midlife by Patricia Carpenter offers no easy answers, but instead, provides a wealth of solid information about midlife and helps readers reach their own conclusions about how to deal with life's challenges as they approach middle age.
10. In Search of Fulfilling Work: The 3 Keys to Finding Work That You Love by Eldon Taylor explores your values, vision and passion. It will help you uncover what you really want in life, how to find it and go after it with passion and determination.
11. What Color is Your Parachute? For Retirement: Job-Hunting Made Easier by Richard Bolles provides a step-by-step approach to finding your next professional career in retirement.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a first or second career, midlife is the perfect time to find it. Midlife career change provides an ideal opportunity to embrace an entirely new job and begin a new chapter in your life.
Are you thinking about making a midlife career change? What has stopped you from doing so? We'd like to hear from you! Please leave your comments below. Thank you!
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