Encore.org is now CoGenerate! Join us:

Sam Rubin and Marci Alboher at an intergenerational workshop. Photo by Sky Bergman. 

If you’re interested in finding an encore career, exploring new opportunities for intergenerational collaboration or simply curious about midlife career pivots, this list offers some good ways to get started. Read these books. The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life by CoGenerate VP Marci Alboher. Purpose and a Paycheck: Finding Meaning, Money, and Happiness in the Second Half of Life by Chris Farrell. How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations by CoGenerate founder and co-CEO Marc Freedman. In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work by Kerry Hannon. Fifty-Five Unemployed and Faking Normal by Elizabeth White. Try before you buy. Volunteering can be a great way to explore a new career path. VolunteerMatch is one of the largest online listings and allows you to do targeted keyword searches. AARP’s Create the Good is another great one for people over 50. If you’re interested in becoming a tutor, try Experience Corps, Reading Partners and Eldera. If you want to connect with teens or young adults, try Sages & Seekers, Girls Write Now and Big & Mini. Feel connected. The Encore Network is a coalition of leaders who champion the experience and contributions of people over 50. It’s a good network to tap if you’re looking for a local group of like-minded encore seekers. Listen to inspiring examples of midlife career pivots on Second Act Stories, a podcast by Andy Levine, and realize you’re part of a growing movement! Harriette Cole’s Dreamleapers is another great place to get inspiration, as is Debbie Weil’s [B]OLDER podcast and Katie Fogarty’s A Certain Age podcast.

Get schooled. There are lots of opportunities to learn and find community in educational settings.

• Try the “midlife wisdom school.” The Modern Elder Academy is working to build a community of inspired and empowered midlifers, offering in-person retreats that take place in Baja, Mexico and online courses that provide opportunities for reflection, insight and inspiration.
• Try this LinkedIn course. Until recently, most Americans associated the end of a successful career with the beginning of retirement. Now, they want to stay in the game—or better yet, change it! Marci Alboher on Pursuing an Encore Career Instead of Retirement teaches you how to jump-start an encore career that may be the most important work you’ll ever love.
• Take this workshop series. The Purpose XChange offers three online sessions with other people from around the world, helping you identify what matters most to you and converting purpose into action. After the series, you’ll join a global community that meets monthly, often with topic experts, to reflect, share stories and build momentum.
• Go back to college. Several universities now offer programs for experienced adults seeking career transition. Check out Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute, Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, University of Notre Dame’s Inspired Leadership Initiative, University of Washington’s EncoreU, University of Connecticut’s Encore!Connecticut, Union Theological Seminary’s Encore Transition Program, University of Texas at Austin’s TOWER Fellows Program and The Ignatian Legacy Fellows Program.

Go for experiential learning. It’s still not easy to find paid midlife internships or jobs that will help you find your second act for the greater good. But here are a few.

• Apply to become an Encore Fellow. These 6-12 month fellowships are a fantastic opportunity to work part-time alongside other generations within a nonprofit focused on something you care about. If you’re a seasoned professional who wants to help a nonprofit succeed while earning a stipend, learn more and apply here.
• Apply to become an Encore Physician. If you’re a retired physician who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and wants to use your experience to help underserved patients, this one-year commitment will have you working with different generations at community health clinics and treating people two days/week.
• Consider service. Check out AmeriCorps Seniors programs for people 55 and over — Foster Grandparents, RSVP and Senior Companions.