Second Careers: New Ways to Work after 50 [Paperback]

Caroline Bird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1992

Based on a survey of six thousand senior citizens by Modern Maturity magazine, this guide describes the rewards of embarking on a new career after age fifty, and provides detailed discussions of job-hunting strategies for a wide variety of occupations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When social critic Bird ( The Two Paycheck Marriage ) ran a survey in Modern Maturity magazine about seniors engaged in second careers, she was stunned by the size of the response--more than 36,000 readers said that they were pursuing employment rather than retirement. This book, a combination how-to and overview of the second-career market, contains short chapters on why seniors should work and how they can discover a fulfilling second career, and an extensive resource list. The heart of the book is a compendium of 28 "job clusters" such as "The Money Business," "Your Own Business" and "Travel and Recreation." Within each cluster the author describes a variety of jobs, including second careers for people already in the field and niches for newcomers. Thus, an electrician looking to teach can search under both "Housing and Construction" and "Education." The book's appeal is its solid grounding in the real-world experiences and day-to-day lifestyles of mature adults who responded to the survey. The result is valuable not only to those over 50 but to anyone seeking a new career.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Social critic Bird provides a fresh perspective for those people 50 years old and older who desire to continue in the workplace for financial, social, physical, and emotional reasons. Using actual reader responses to an AARP Modern Maturity questionnaire, she offers the older worker a framework in which to examine basic life/work planning issues such as kind of work enjoyed, type of careers to consider, new skills, networking, resume writing, and age discrimination. Bird also provides data on the availability of jobs in the major professions. Each profession listed contains a description, options for experienced, retired workers, as well as options for newcomers to the field. The appendix lists thorough resources, and there is a pertinent bibliography. Recommended for popular collections.
- Linda Malone, Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (January 27, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316095990
• ISBN-13: 978-0316095990
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #376,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars When It Comes to Career, 50 Can Be the New 20!, July 5, 2009

By 

John R Koenig, Certified Hypnotist (Warwick, Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Second Careers: New Ways to Work after 50 (Paperback)

When I turned 50, I had just sold a Rhode Island advertising agency I had founded to my partner. We had 14 employees, a couple of million dollars in business. And my buy-out gave me enough liquidity to take a breath and see what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Kind of like a 20 year old don't you think? My question was once again "what did I want to be when I grew up?"

I choose to re-activate a strong interest. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy. I was fortunate to have this and I imagine it would be harder without a passion other than one's primary work. But, I had been "practicing" hypnosis on a casual way for many years since I first became certified in 1979. And I had produced and marketing a hypnotic video and audio series as a part-time endeavor in the 1980s.

Still it was quite a break to go from CEO/Creative Director of an advertising agency to hypnotist. But it is one I made gladly. And I have never looked back.

I ordered this book from amazon.com as research for a group I run "Out of Work but In Control" where I help people downsized by today's economy find new fits. I found it helpful and see that it could be inspiring for anyone in their middle years asking themselves the question "now what?".

These are people for whom 50 has become the new 20. And this book can help them see what is possible and help with the steps on making the possible into the real. It offers some specific suggestions that you may not have thought about. The style is down-to-earth and practical. Let me know how it works for you.