November 23, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Life, part two

by Suman Mudamula

For Dee Eslami, retirement from a 23-year career as vice-president of a South San Francisco manufacturing firm was no time to rest on her laurels.

Certainly, she wanted to watch her grandchildren grow. Two years ago, just before entering her 60s, Eslami moved to Palo Alto to live closer to her daughter.

But since Eslami enjoyed being with people and had a strong work ethic, she turned instead to a new career -- real estate.

"I don't have to spend time away from home as with my previous one (job)," she said. "And I always had this interest in real estate."

Now, she finds homes and negotiates deals for her clients, which she finds as exciting and fulfilling as her old career, Eslami said.

"I am a people person. So it was a way to help people while earning a living. And I enjoy it tremendously," she said. "This (job) is really a blessing."

The concept of retirement is evolving from what it was 50 or even 20 years ago. With the baby-boom generation entering the golden years, no longer are people completely withdrawing from professional life in order to perfect their golf games, tend to their zinnias, or travel across America in an RV.

Not yet ready to hang up their working boots, many boomers are looking to prolong their productive working lives with more fulfilling second careers -- often plunging into uncharted territories.

Experts believe that for the population born between 1946 and 1964 -- which numbers about 78 million in the United States -- retirement is just another transition into another exciting stage of life, one offering new opportunities.

The changing notion of retirement is so significant, it has become the subject of academic research. According to Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, research director at the Institute for the Future, an independent non-profit research group in Palo Alto, the boomers will not retire in commonly recognized ways.

"They are going to radically change the way we think about and approach aging," he said.

Kim Pang pointed out that people with good retirement portfolios and a combination of planning and luck will have the means to continue doing interesting things.

In turn, society's work and retirement patterns are likely to change, including more elders taking on temporary employment.

For some people, continued employment is driven by financial need.

Dr. Jacqueline Jackson, a licensed clinical psychologist and consultant in Menlo Park, said baby boomers have more responsibilities on their shoulders than previous generations. They are taking care of their parents while their own children are leaving home at a later age. They are also supporting their children through undergraduate and graduate school.

So "as they are retiring they are off to start second careers as entrepreneurs to support their lifestyle," she said.

Other people return to work out of boredom.

At the age of 56, after a 22-year career in computer sales with many Silicon Valley technology companies, Jan Prisco "just wanted to get out of the rat race."

She spent three years of retired life volunteering with "Girls for Change," a program at East Palo Alto High School, and taking it easy.

But Prisco eventually discovered that she wanted more out of life. "I had a lot of energy and my mind was getting sluggish," she said.

That's when she decided to get back into the working world with a less stressful job. Now telecommuting as a sales director for a technology company, Prisco said she's leading a healthier lifestyle. Finding a balance between work and general interests was the key, she added.

It is this new perspective on retirement that's prompted consultants and counselors to focus their work on career changes and options for older adults. Carol McClelland, a consultant in Menlo Park, has just published a book, "Your Dream Career for Dummies," in which she identifies some of the issues related to retirement.

Urging her older clients to think creatively, she asks them to conceive an ideal picture of life after retirement. McClelland then helps them chart a blueprint for a change in career and lifestyle.

With no one-size-fits-all solution, she said, clients must find the plan that suits own interests and needs.

For those who are financially secure, some second careers grow out of interests and hobbies. Dr. Jackson pointed out that many of her clients, after retiring from corporate world, took up coaching high-school track teams or working with inner city youth. Some opened day care centers.

"They put their feet in areas they have always been interested in but had no time to pursue," she said, "even if they are not as financially rewarding as their earlier jobs."

Prisco, the telecommuting sales director, agreed. The retirement years allow people to try new things, since the focus is not so much on earning money but just enjoying each day.

Sometimes those new careers are vastly different than former ones.

Linda Logan works as an art instructor at the non-profit Avenidas.

"I was a clinical virologist in my previous life, as I refer to it," she said.

Three days after her retirement in 2000, the former biotechnology worker enrolled in painting classes. When an art instructor left Avenidas, Logan stepped in. Ever since then she has been "hooked" on teaching.

Learning a new set of artistic skills proved challenging for Logan. "My work at research laboratory was scientific and precise, which always followed a set of criteria. Art is creative, with no rules per se and so it was invigorating to switch over," she said.

She thinks one is never too old to take a chance. Now 58, "I have a bunch of things on my 'to do' list," she said.

It was the lure of business that brought Lise Poulsen, 52, back to work -- only on her own terms.

Burned out from her 35 years of work as software developer and manager, Poulsen thought she was ready to give it all up despite fears of financial setback. But just after six months of free time and volunteering as an events coordinator with Silicon Valley Open Studios Committee, she was ready for a new business plan.

"Doing volunteering work was a good discipline, but the most difficult thing after retiring is to keep yourself focused and busy," Poulsen said.

She started working on her self-taught hobby of making wool handbags to turn it into a profitable business. "It was a way of using my skills from the technology field to something different," she said.

For many boomers, launching into a new field may require gaining new skills. Poulsen is learning to interact with a wider group of people to market her craft -- very different from the small groups she was used to working with in her earlier career.

"It can be very challenging," she said. "I am surprised at how much hard work it is, but I enjoy it."

Mary Anderson, an organizational consultant and coach at Life Management Consulting in Menlo Park, said that baby boomers can also leverage their previous careers into new ones. Calling them "wisdom workers," she said these people have accumulated great insights in their areas of expertise.

These experienced workers are capable of taking up any job that allows them flexibility. They could diversify into the jobs that do justice to their years of experience.

"These seasoned professionals can transfer into 'overlooking' jobs such as consulting and coaching," she said. With established networks, which could turn into referral networks, the older adults have huge resource banks. "A client of mine who was a nurse moved to take up a job as a personal, nutritional and wellness coach after retirement," Anderson said, "because she could work her own hours."

Some of the credit for the changing diagram of retired life goes to the front-runners of the baby-boom generation who have not yet renounced their tough working hours.

At 74, Ginger Johnson is a beacon to the baby boomers. While working in textbook publishing business for 35 years, she kept up her volunteer work with the American Red Cross and Planned Parenthood. Alongside these she also served as a board member and fund-raiser for Girls' Middle School in Mountain View.

Her suggestion to soon-to-be retirees is to get involved with outside interests as soon as possible.

"It is very difficult to retire from your life-long profession and do other things unless you've already been involved in other things," she said. "To retire cold is not that easy."

Today, the busy retiree has found her way back to work, as the director of transportation at Avenidas.

"Working at a worthwhile job is fulfilling; it keeps you feeling younger," she said.

And additional income is always good, she added.

Editorial intern Suman Mudamula can be reached at smudamula@paweekly.com.

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