Encore Careers

I was reading Drive by Daniel Pink, and he mentioned a concept I often talk about with clients later in their careers. However, he had a name for it and I freaking loved it, called “encore careers.”?Immediately as I read that I wrote it down and couldn’t wait to blog about it, so, as I sit here in literally 8-degree weather, well technically I’m inside and it is 8-degrees outside, let’s discuss what an encore career is, and if it is right for you.

Encore Career

For today’s discussion we are going to define an encore career as a career after your “real career” (guessing Webster’s dictionary is not going to be calling me after this blog).? More specifically it must be a different career than the one you spent the corpus of your working years doing.? For instance, if you are a doctor or lawyer simply changing practices is not an encore career.? Or if you are a banker and switch banks, these are simply job changes not that encore career I’m discussing.

Rather, an encore career would be going from a high-powered attorney to running a food shelter or leaving a career in finance to work at the SPCA.? Perhaps it is simply leaving a career as an executive and working at a radio station as music has always been your passion.? Point being, that an encore career must present a whole new challenge although the impetus behind it can be different.

Why Encore

There are a few key reasons why an encore career might be right for you.? For starters, many times people are simply burned out from their profession after decades of exhausting work.? That said maybe you aren’t quite ready financially to retire, but for your sanity, you need a change of pace.? Even if the job isn’t quite as lucrative, I often tell clients to get a job that will simply help financially and you can stop the job you hate sooner.

The other main reason I see people encore is that they have more left in the proverbial tank.? Maybe they are fine financially but at age 60 or 65 they want to take their years of knowledge or passion towards something and repurpose it elsewhere.? This could be to help another passionate organization, do something you’ve always wanted to do, or simply try a new challenge.? Point being you don’t need a reason just want to go do something, well, different.

Quick story.? I have a client who left their career in corporate America after 3 plus years.? They went back to school and literally got their PHD as it was always a bucket list item for them.? Now this person has been doing the whole PHD thing and I just think that is so cool.

How Encore

Now that we have established what an encore career is and the main two reasons people should/could encore, it is time to establish how to think about encore careers.? You see people are simply living longer and healthier lives.? For the two main reasons above, either needing more funds to continue affording your current lifestyle or needing more challenges for your lifestyle these encore careers can be very helpful.

I would look for a few things when thinking through this next career.? Now, depending on your reasoning they all may not be important to you, but let this list be as all-encompassing as possible.

1. Cover your expenses so that you don’t have to dip into savings.?
2. Have a better work balance than what you are currently doing.? Let’s face it, you aren’t doing this to make less money and be uninspired.
3. Be something you’ve always been interested in and want to learn more about.
4. Something you truly are passionate about helping out like a charity, religious organization, or even a startup that you could use your years of experience to help.
5. Be flexible around your busy non-working life.? You may want to be able to go see your grandkids for a week in California and not worry about it at all.
6. Make sure at the end of the week you are leaving with more energy than you started the week.? These jobs should be energy-building not draining.
7. Be a challenge.? One of the top longevity criteria is staying mentally engaged as long as you can in life.? Do your best to avoid truly menial mundane work.? Keep that brain fresh.

Encore on Encore

At the end of the day, people are living longer healthier lives.? The question is how we support this longer lifestyle as the paradigm shifts.? No longer are people working until 60 and dying at 61.? Typical retirements are lasting longer say 20, 30, or even 40 years for many.? The question is how do we support them both mentally and financially so that you can maximize your life potential?? Encore careers may not be a panacea for everyone, but they can certainly go a long way to living that ideal life.

As always stay wealthy, healthy, and happy!