Careers 2.0: Profiles in Career Change

Career Change: A Guide to Finding Your Passion

Seven Common Sense Steps To Finding a Career You Love
 

From High Finance to Fagioli

Quitting a $500,000 a year Wall Street career to run your own Italian restaurant. Priceless.
 
From Art Director to Art Teacher

From Art Director to Art Teacher

Volunteering for the PTA led Gina Plaitakis down the path to a new career.
 
A Second Chance to Become a Pro Golfer

A Second Chance to Become a Pro Golfer

For the best amateur players, turning 50 means a chance to try qualifying for the pro tour. For MIke Goodes, it meant becoming a stalwart pro—and tournament champion.
 

Five Things to Contemplate Before Making a Major Career Change

Midlife career change involves emotional as well as professional challenges. Here are some key issues to be aware of.
 
Five Great Second Careers

Five Great Second Careers

The tough economy hasn’t forced boomers to give up their dreams of second careers with meaning. But where can you find those jobs in tough times?
 

From Retiree (Briefly) to Flight Attendant

Retirement gave Ronwyn Ingraham the chance to indulge her youthful dream of becoming a flight attendant.
 

Empty Nesters Find New Beginning in Provence

One couple parlayed their love of France into a small business, running retreats in a picturesque corner of the French Alps.
 

Buying a Business: A Banker Buys a Zoo

George Oldenburg gave up a successful banking career at 45 to buy a small-town animal farm.
 

Owning a Small Business: From Fortune 500 to the Fish Market

Buying a small business meant a loss of status and income for John Harvey, but it also brought him freedom and a fuller life.
 

Downsized To The Fast Lane: From TV News to Porsche 911s

Getting laid off after 22 years turned out to be a lucky break for Steve Weiner. The former TV cameraman started a company to fulfill his life passion: modifying high performance race cars.
 

Civic Ventures Aims to Bring Out the Benevolence in Boomers

An entrepreneurial nonprofit, Civic Ventures, directs the energy of would-be retirees into philanthropic endeavors that capitalize on their deep, profound experience and drive to give back.
 

Becoming a Pastor: My Spiritual Calling

Susanna Margaret Goulder gave up a glamorous career as set decorator for movies and TV to find more meaningful work.
 

Richer By Far: Developer Now Helps the Homeless

Attending a spiritual retreat inspired real estate developer Alan Graham to remake his life feeding Austin’s homeless.
 

From Dancer to Dietician: Healthy Steps to a New Profession

Helen Butleroff had a rewarding career as a Broadway dancer and choreographer. At 54, she made a surprising and successful shift to a completely different field—nutrition.
 

Personal Reinvention in Park City

Two fast-track New Yorkers find new careers and a more civilized pace in the Wasatch mountains.
 

Going Back to School—As College President

After her brother's murder, psychotherapist Helen Hand found solace and satisfaction by taking over the reins at the university he founded.
 

Dean of the Dream Job: From Radio Executive to Education Entrepreneur

Tom Hooper had dreamed of becoming a teacher. At 42, the two-time entrepreneur dusted off his dream and reinvented himself as director of development at a new private school.
 
Becoming an Author: From the Corner Office to the Bestseller List

Becoming an Author: From the Corner Office to the Bestseller List

How do you go from being a single corporate executive to a married bestselling (and globetrotting) author? Lalita Tademy wrote the book.
 

The PI Wears Prada: One Woman’s Midlife Career Change

When her job in real estate soured and her kids got older, Jeanene Weiner followed a dream and started her own detective agency.
 

Getting Paid to See The World

Rob Geyer-Sylvia loved to travel, but life kept getting in the way. Then, at age 51 he found an exciting new job on the road.
 

Cooking Couple Turns to Comedy, Personal Training

Michael and Ellen Albertson found fame together as The Cooking Couple but abandoned that lucrative career to pursue their separate dreams.
 

Test-Drive Your Dream Job

Years of dreaming about a career change led Brian Kurth to his perfect job. The Oregon entrepreneur helps clients take a trial run at their own dreams.
 

Best LinkedIn Groups for Job Seekers

Join LinkedIn expert Phil Rosenberg on a tour of the social network's best groups for job seekers.
 

Career Change: Downshifting Your Career as a Retirement Strategy

Shedding hours or responsibilities can help you move toward the career transition you want.
 

5 Tips for Midlife Career Change

Experts say it’s important not to rush a career transition. Develop a process that includes friends and advisors, and stick to it.
 
Son, Let’s Be Partners

Son, Let’s Be Partners

When he was young, Jack Rodgers passed on the chance to join his father in business. But decades later he came out of retirement to join his own son in a new venture.
 
From the Investment Business to Culinary School

From the Investment Business to Culinary School

John Stephano gave up a nice salary, enrolled in cooking school at 40 and let loose his lifelong passion for food. The hardest part was convincing himself not to stay on the safe path.
 

Self-Promotion for Introverts

Networking works best as a lifelong pursuit--especially for people who aren't naturally inclined to be self-promoters.
 

6 Tips For Planning a Second Career

Moving into a new field later in life can be fulfilling. Here are six essential steps to making a successful transition...
 

Making at Career Change at 81

Ruth Roberson lost her last family member when she turned 81. That’s when she chose to heal herself by becoming a caregiver.
 

Joining the Peace Corps at 51

Valerie Stinger’s desire to help the less fortunate, live in a foreign country and add to her lifelong learning led her to a dramatic career change, joining the Peace Corps at 51 after a career in pharmaceutical product development.
 

From Mergers to Mantras: Opening a Yoga Studio

Nobody likes losing his job. But for those willing to reimagine their careers, the experience can be an opportunity to create a more balanced and fulfilling life.
 
Independent Women: Friends and Former Freelancers Open a Bookstore

Independent Women: Friends and Former Freelancers Open a Bookstore

It’s an act of courage to open an independent bookstore these days. But two friends took a flying leap—and landed on their feet.
 

The 10 Most Important Success Factors for 50+ Entrepreneurs

Feeling the urge to start your own business? Here are the key success factors to consider before jumping in.
 

Career Change Doesn’t Stop: From Reporter to Mom to Computer Scientist to Sculptor

At 40 Jean Proulx Dibner reinvented herself once. At 56, with the help of self-assessment, she did it again, turning a hobby into a new career.
 

From Actuary to Educator: Steve Vernon's Leap into Midlife Entrepreneurship

After a career giving pension advice to corporations, Steve Vernon retired early to educate others about the next phase of life.
 

Five Tips for Freelance Success

Looking back on twelve years of freelancing, here are five key rules I’ve used that have helped me to be successful.
 
She Dreamed of Africa

She Dreamed of Africa

Vivian Glyck gave up a six-figure salary to help a hospital in Uganda—and has never felt richer.
 

Producing a Second Career: Starting a Nonprofit Theatre Troupe

It took Marcia Seligson a few false starts before she found the next act that was right for her.
 

Working at a Nonprofit: Journalist Is Moved by its Mission

Elaine Purchase hears a small voice that calls her to help the most vulnerable—drug-exposed and medically fragile infants.
 

Giving Back: From Actress to Social Worker

Carol Mannes stages a career comeback as a social worker to help her fellow thespians cope.
 

A Portfolio Career Brings a Retirement with the Right Life Balance

Accountant Peter Harris wanted to improve his life balance. Developing a life portfolio plan helped him do it.
 

Seeking to Start a Farm, Tim Will Finds a New Career Creating Jobs

An ex-systems analyst put his skills to work getting an economically depressed region back on its feet. His efforts have been recognized with a $100,000 Purpose Prize.
 

What Does it Take to Break into Health Care?

Health care jobs are expected to continue growing rapidly through 2016; here's how you can break into the field.
 

Laid Off at 55, Choosing to Become a Nurse

Bob Seymore lost his job in medical-equipment sales then found his calling in a second career.
 

How to Make the Switch to a Green Career

Green careers will be one of the fastest-growing employment categories in the years ahead; here's how you can make the switch.
 

The Accidental Winemaker

The abandoned lima bean farm that was meant to be a retirement retreat grew into a new career for vintner Deborah Hall
 

Finally, He Bought the Farm

Once Barry Meinerth dreamed of being a veterinarian. He ended up with a big job in magazine production, but a few years ago his lifelong love of animals led him to buy a farm, and now he produces alpaca wool—and self-fulfillment—instead.
 

Using Her Sense of Humor to Build a Portfolio Career

Sue Burton Kirdahy left her successful career as a financial marketer to follow her passion for laughter. After some twists and turns, she has built an exhilarating portfolio career as a humorist and creative consultant.
 

DreamBlogs: Career Changes in Progress

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