According to the research featured in the Harvard Business Review, birth rates have decreased. Simultaneously, life expectancy has increased. As a result, more people are in the workforce for a longer period of time. After realizing that more of the older generation has opted to start fresh in an encore career, one might wonder if they’re looking for a second chance at what they really wanted to do when they were younger, but didn’t have the confidence or knowledge to do earlier in life. There are a few reasons behind why many older workers have opted to try again and start an “encore career” in their later years.

Choosing Passion over Profit

In the earlier decades, college-aged adults were encouraged to go to school and get a degree to make them employable. Getting a degree that aligned with a passion only worked if the passion was law or medicine. Otherwise, it was always best to get a job that paid the bills and provided for the family. As a result, many people pursued degrees that led to high-powered and high-paying careers. However, those careers were emotionally and mentally draining.

During the 1980s, motivational speaker Les Brown pointed to studies that showed that most heart attacks happened on Monday morning as people were preparing to go to jobs they hated. The amount of stress associated with certain careers was too much for many people to handle. Now, those same workers are now in their older years. Their children are grown and their homes are paid off. Yet, they still long to fulfill certain passions. In the age of digital media and Google, it’s never been easier to start a business, figure things out along the way and become profitable. Even if the profits don’t come immediately, the pursuit of a life-long passion is worth it to an older worker. It’s the equivalent of getting a second chance at life, and who wouldn’t want to get it right the second time around?

Purpose-Driven Careers

When a person discovers purpose behind what they do for a living, it makes it much easier to get out the bed in the morning, sit in traffic and get to work. Most people long to do work that makes a difference in their world. It doesn’t matter how futile it might seem to someone else. If the person knows their work matters and it can fulfill them at the same time, there’s a different spark and energy behind the work.

Oprah Winfrey is a great example. Her career has allowed her to become a philanthropist, media mogul and billionaire. Yet, at the core, it started and still consists of conversations. She sits down and has meaningful conversations with people and records them. Many could look at the concept of an interview and say it’s just a random conversation that doesn’t really matter. Yet, there’s a certain type of energy behind the way she interviews and interacts with each person that shines through and allows her work to stand out above the rest. This is what a purpose-driven career can produce: meaning and value.

Shift and Refocus on Essentials

When people are able to experience the beauty of an encore career, there’s usually a sense that certain things don’t matter and it’s time to get back to the bare basics and essentials. Many people maintain a specific career because they want to keep up a certain lifestyle. When there’s a shift to what really matters, money isn’t as much of a factor anymore. A good quality of life is the main goal for older workers who switch careers later on in life. Once you can experience a good quality of life, you’ve achieved true success.

I am a Real Life Example of Following a Passion into an “Encore Career”

As a long-time lawyer and a business executive, I was an advisor to business and non-profit executives as well as entrepreneurs.  After beginning my family, these strong connections allowed me the flexibility and freedom to develop my own business. DeSantis Trusted Advisors centers around the core concepts of trusted advice and perspective. My “encore career” has allowed me to follow my passion to help clients in a variety of businesses.

Are you contemplating an “encore career?” Contact me to discuss the benefits and challenges—let’s figure out if it’s a good fit for you.