Retirees Seek Meaningful 'Second Careers'

From the May 2007 Issue of InFocus

The first of the 77 million baby boomers-the best educated, healthiest, and wealthiest cohort in the history of the United States-began to turn 60 last year. How this group spends its post-career years will have a great impact on society. Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures, believes that the over-60 crowd is turning away from a retirement of leisure.

"People want to keep working," says Freedman. "Work has an enormous role in identity and social structure. Retirees are looking for a body of work, a second career, that is shorter but weighs as much as their first career. These men and women are looking for new opportunities to contribute." Civic Ventures is a think tank that promotes civic engagement among retirees.

Surveys by AARP have found that continuing their education and being engaged in meaningful paid or unpaid work is an integral part of baby boomers' retirement plans. This inclination toward public service is not surprising as higher levels of education often go hand-in-hand with higher levels of civic engagement. With baby boomers representing nearly 20 percent of all students in higher education over the past decade, their activity in civic life is expected to be significant during retirement.

Colleges and universities have begun to recognize the increased interest retirees have in acquiring new skills to prepare them to serve their communities. As a result, new educational opportunities for older learners are emerging.

Creating Community Leaders

North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR) at the University of North Carolina at Asheville focuses on finding productive roles for individuals of retirement-age.

"We support a comprehensive program for people venturing into the 'new retirement'," explains Ronald J. Manheimer, Ph.D., NCCCR Executive Director. "Retirement is a process filled with transitions," he continues. "People retire and go back to work-maybe multiple times. They use education to open up new interests, meet new people."

With equal focus on lifelong learning, leadership, and community service opportunities, the Center offers a variety of programs aimed at developing civic leaders.

Leadership Asheville Seniors is a program for retirement-aged people in Buncombe County. During eight day-long sessions in different locations, participants meet with community leaders, activists, and politicians to gain an understanding of the area's history, challenges, and opportunities.

"We help find the right cause for them and tap into their expertise and interests," says Manheimer. Many participants use the program to reevaluate their choice of volunteer roles or to find new ones.

Leadership Training for Older Persons (LTOP) is a free, skill- and confidence-building program for underserved seniors. The program encourages individuals to take an active role in their community to bring about positive change. "LTOP helps participants be advocates for other seniors. These people may not have the background or know-how to deal with media, run a meeting, or create an agenda. They want more experience. They can go through this program, which includes an internship with an agency in the community or a project of their own. They acquire the skills to become civic activists," says Manheimer.

Opening Avenues for Learning

Second careers require new skills and education. Portland State University (PSU) is opening avenues for learning by offering Oregon residents aged 65 and older the opportunity to audit any of PSU's regular classes free-of-charge on a space-available basis. A few classes require materials fees. There are no education level requirements and participants are welcome to take classes year-round.

"We have about 500 people each term taking advantage of this," explains Michael Burton, Vice Provost, Extended Studies at PSU. "And we have found that the people who do take these classes become PSU advocates and contributors, so we get a lot in return."

PSU is currently exploring the possibility of establishing a learning group aimed for "downsizers"-those 50 or older who are moving to urban settings into condominiums near the University district. The concept is to have participants subscribe for a modest fee and attend a selection of lectures, tours and field excursions around a particular topic.

"We did some market surveys which confirmed what all the national studies have shown that these folks are not going to sit in their rocking chairs during retirement, but want to engage in intellectually stimulating activities that also allow them to make a contribution," says Burton.

Sharing Accumulated Knowledge

Harvard University's Institute for Learning in Retirement (HILR) was one of only four lifelong learning centers in the country when it opened its doors nearly 30 years ago. Since that time the number of university institutes focused on retirement-aged learners has grown dramatically-and the HILR's active membership has swelled from 100 participants to more than 500. Courses at the Institute are peer-taught seminars. Instructors are all volunteers-and are evaluated by the class.

"These courses are taken very seriously," explains Michael Shinagel, Dean of Continuing Education and University Extension at Harvard. "We attract individuals who value this kind of learning and teaching environment and want to remain active intellectually," he continues. "Membership is limited to maintain a sense of community and a spirit of collegiality."

The HILR seeks candidates who will commit time and energy to the program, contribute actively to class discussion, and be willing to lead a study group or serve on one of the program's many committees.

"Institute members volunteer to tutor students in English who are studying at the University from other countries," adds Shinagel. "The purpose of the HILR is to provide people a place to return to the University to continue studies and contribute to society."

He continues: "Members have a chance to study things and teach things they were not able to do while pursuing their active careers. These are not experts telling you more and more about less and less, but people discussing things they care about and sharing their knowledge. You could have a retired brain surgeon teaching Italian opera or a retired business executive teaching the English novel-that's learning at its best. "

Education As Gateway

"Retirees are a vast, untapped social resource," asserts Marc Freedman. "Retirement has ceased to characterize a stage of life and instead describes an interlude between stages." As more institutions expand opportunities for active seniors, continuing education may very well serve as a gateway for these retiring boomers as they move onto developing new "second careers" focused on serving the greater good.

— Kandace Gilligan