Starting over at 50+: Can a career change be successful?

Every second retired person wants to continue working. Many are taking the opportunity of no longer  having to and now being able to work to fulfill their potential. The day job is giving way to their true passion. Finally!

A lateral entry into a completely new field in retirement promises to be an adventure.

After all, there is magic in every beginning. But every new start also carries a certain personal risk.

Dr. Franz Kolland, a much-quoted Austrian sociologist and gerontologist, has been researching aging for decades. He knows that staying active in retirement is considered good form these days.

"There is the famous pensioner greeting. It goes like this: 'I don't have time.'"

Busy in old age

American gerontology even has its own term for this: busy ethic. It stands for a frequently observed, almost random hyperactivity in people aged 50+. For many, this state of self-imposed restlessness works well - it is particularly important for men to continue to have full schedules, says Kolland.

Unfortunately, many people don't care what kind of appointments these are. "We see that many activities are pointless. So when people plan their retirement, they should always keep in mind that their future activities are meaningful." Attending 20 adult education courses in different areas is certainly not an enrichment in the long term.

So what should the tasks be in retirement?

"It has to have something to do with your own life. If you don't connect to something that already has a basis in your own life, it won't work."

So is career change in retirement an illusion?

"It's difficult," says Kolland. "But the latest research shows that it's possible." The sociologist is referring here to the so-called continuity of age. This means that what people do when they're around 50, they'll most likely continue to do when they're older.

However, research shows that 20 percent of people over 60 do something completely different in retirement than they did before.

A full fifth of older people are confident about starting a new career. "The other 80 percent are doing what they already know - or nothing. The majority are starting from where they were before," says Kolland.

Restart in Retirement

The explanation for radical change in old age comes from psychogerontological research. It has found that 20 to 25 percent of people over 75 experience fundamental changes in their personality traits. How is that?

"A previously extremely introverted person suddenly becomes extroverted, or someone who was control-oriented lets go," explains Franz Kolland. He stresses that lifestyles are individual and that one - or even two - generations cannot simply be tarred with the same brush: "There is simply no such thing as a homogenous group of 'old people'."

Where is it worth changing careers?

However, if someone has spent 30 years in a full-time job, they need to be patient with themselves to make the transition to a new job. "It requires new skills, an adjustment to a new income - these are challenges," says Kolland.

But it works. The Austrian retail chain Leiner, for example, has retrained older, unemployed seamstresses to sell curtains. And it's been a success. The gerontologist knows: "There are certain jobs that are no longer in such high demand. You can find equivalent work in a new segment."

Senior Connect tips

What skills can you use to easily transition into a new industry? What jobs can you do straight away with a certain amount of previous experience?

👥Communication

A good job for anyone with a technical interest and who enjoys communicating is the  social media manager . For former journalists, teachers, copywriters, consultants, PR experts, managers, advertisers or linguists, it is certainly easy to communicate succinctly with a target group.

But even long-standing experts and specialists can become good multipliers in PR with a little intuition. Social media managers are advertised in almost every company in the private sector today, but NGOs and public institutions are also looking for suitable applicants. The good thing is that continuing education institutes have a wide range of courses in this area - even if you are starting from scratch.

👩🏼‍🏫Consulting and teaching

Anyone who has been a consultant, manager, salesperson, speaker, actor, musician, extroverted professional or teacher in their active working life is well placed to further develop their expertise through teaching or consulting.

👨🏼‍💼Sales

Anyone who has worked in sales, management or consulting during their active career and is experienced in dealing with customers is worth gold to companies. This industry thrives on good contacts, trust and experience - regardless of whether it is a part-time job selling blast furnaces in heavy industry or a competent consultant selling medical shoe insoles.

👩🏽‍🍳Gastronomy & Hotel Industry

Seasonal jobs - for example as a receptionist, at the breakfast buffet in a small hotel or in the management of land and animals - are always an issue. You can find happiness especially in the countryside, in holiday and recreation areas. Jobs in the catering and hotel industry are also suitable as minor employment.

👩🏻‍🎤Something completely different

It's worth keeping an eye on the job market. You might come across a job on the Internet or in the newspaper that you didn't even know existed - or that it would be suitable for you.

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