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It may seem improbable now, but by the
year 2020 nearly half the people in the
United States will be age 50 or older.
The result of baby boomers (those born
from 1946 through 1964) getting older,
this societal age shift is already
apparent in the number of mature workers
opting to start brand new careers rather
than “winding down” their work lives.
Discovering new professional
possibilities and aptitudes while
gaining self-fulfillment in the process
is what this re-careering trend is all
about.
Local professionals who exemplify this
growing baby boomer phenomenon recently
shared their stories at a re-careering
panel discussion presented by Tempe
Connections and ASU’s Faculty
Ambassadors Program at the Tempe Public
Library.
Consider these examples:
After enjoying a successful career in
accounting, Barbara Huff set her
sights on the field of developmental
psychology. Now a doctoral candidate at
ASU, her focus is on how people continue
to learn throughout their lives and what
motivates them to keep learning.
Steve Moyer
spent his first career as an attorney in
San Diego. When he moved to the Valley
to make a fresh start, he answered an
employment ad for a theater manager and
got the job. Today he is the house
management supervisor at the Herberger
Theater Center in downtown Phoenix, in
addition to being a photographer and
wood sculptor.
Ric Garza
now works as the events coordinator for
the Poisoned Pen mystery bookstore,
which has two Valley locations. But for
20 years of his work life, he was with
the Phoenix Police Department and
attained the rank of police sergeant.
One of the people who heard these
real-life re-careering stories during
the Tempe Connections program was south
Tempe resident Ken Bond, who
retired a year ago from the Maricopa
County Juvenile Court System.
Bond spent most of his 34 years with the
court system in various juvenile
probation managerial positions, and now
is looking into other fields “to see how
my skills could translate to something
else.
“I’d like to find something I could do
part time to help pay for our youngest
daughter’s education,” Bond said.
While he explores new work options, Bond
is serving on the advisory board for the
new Workforce Transition Center at
Gateway Community College.
Re-careering panelist Barbara Huff
talked about several studies related to
lifelong learning, including one by a
Penn State researcher who did
longitudinal research for the National
Institute on Aging. That recent study
showed people’s mental abilities
actually increase in their 50s, 60s and
even 70s.
In the field of psychology, Huff
explained that the term self efficacy
means believing that you can. When
embarking on a whole new career,
self-efficacy “can be the greatest
predictor in achieving one’s goals and
showing how much you value the new
venture,” she said.
Huff also shared information about ASU
Tempe Enclave, a program she helped
establish in 2004 that offers
mini-courses in various science and
humanities topics for older adults. To
find out what would pique the interest
of prospective Enclave students, Huff
first surveyed 350 people living in the
far East Valley. She discovered that
their motivations for continued learning
included exercising their minds, feeling
a sense of accomplishment, and keeping
up with important developments in a
changing world.
Steve Moyer
talked about how, while working as an
attorney in the San Diego area, he had
volunteered to help some friends
coordinate entertainment events like a
concert series. That volunteer
experience helped pave the way for his
new career in theater management once he
moved to the Phoenix area.
“When considering a new career field,
for some people it’s good to try
something related to a hobby,” Moyer
noted.
For Garza, the research skills he honed
while studying library science
definitely came into play as he worked
on various criminal cases for the
Phoenix Police Department. In turn, his
law enforcement background has proved
beneficial in working with mystery
authors at the Poisoned Pen bookstore
whose books deal with the criminal mind.
“Think broadly when choosing another
career path,” Garza advises. “Look at
fields that are somehow related to the
professional experience you already
have.”
Baby boomers interested in re-careering
and other upcoming programs available
through Tempe Connections can go online
to
www.tempeconnections.org or contact
program director Rebecca Bond at (480)
350-5490. |
