Encore career…an interesting phrase, recently added to the lexicon. In today’s professional world, one may have a number of careers. I had several, in fact. I initially worked as a teacher in the Peace Corps, teaching English to Thai middle school girls and boys. Then I became a social worker via a two-year stint at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. I had field placements at the Boys’ Training School in Lansing, Michigan, working with adjudicated delinquent boys. Then I had a second field placement at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor, working with hospitalized veterans who had severe adjustment challenges. Then, after graduate school, I was offered a job as Assistant Professor of Social Work at Gallaudet College, the liberal arts college for students who were deaf. Working with deaf students became my overall career. Yet, within that general rubric, I had several careers! I was, sequentially, a social worker, a teacher of interviewing techniques, a manager of social work services in Gallaudet’s Elementary and Secondary school, a manager of all pupil personnel services in that school, an assistant director of the school, a manager of recruiting and marketing for the high school, a manager of recruiting and admissions for the college, and subsequently, a CEO of a school for the deaf in Michigan, and later, in Buffalo, NY. Whew! Makes me a bit tired to contemplate that. Any one of those could have formed a satisfying career in and of itself. However, for whatever reason, I continued to seek new opportunities.
After I retired, my wife and I “hit the road” in a 35-foot motor home, and visited 44 states! Still seeking the next phase. What IS around that next corner? We found it in Tucson, and settled here. I got restless again, so at age 65, I began coach training at the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara. I received my certification as a life coach in December, 2005, and opened my business, Success Plus Coaching, in January, 2006. I’m still at it, and still seeking.
My encore career will NEVER be complete. I love being involved, I love making a difference, and I love engagement. Happily, I am married to a woman who supports my quests and who keeps me grounded!
What is an encore career? It is anything you make it to be!
Until next time!
David
