After your final handshake with bosses and coworkers of God-only-knows-how-many years, saying goodbye to your work table that had been your strength, hope and courage for all those trials, late-nights and tears, you are now entering a new phase in your life. It should be an exciting one, something to look forward to—and you are, at the beginning, at the very least!
Months later, when your business clothes are now hanging clean and nicely undisturbed inside your cabinet and every nook and cranny of your house has been feather-dusted, vacuumed and even soaped, and there’s nothing left for you to do but rearrange the furniture for the nth time, reality will sink in:  you need your career back!
Be it boredom, financial reasons or simply the need to stay productive, acquiring a second and even a third career would be the perfect choice for seniors. One good thing about career decisions later in life is that no other factor is to be considered but yourself. In other words, no pressure at all! You can choose whatever you want as long as you can endure it and it can make you happy.
To further encourage you with the idea of second careers, there are many–and I mean lots!—who already made the big switch, even those who are not in their retirement years yet. Some are successful business owners who just happen to be interested in some other things and now that they have already established a money-generating venture for their family to live comfortable by, they realize that it is, indeed, the right time to pursue their happiness—and did exactly.
If you are interested in having a second career later in life, just make sure that it is fulfilling—enough to make you look forward doing every waking hours. Certainly, you don’t want something that is similar to your pre-retirement job, instead choose something that is close to your heart. It can be a new business venture, or an organization intended to bear social impact, or an altogether different area of expertise which will require you to attend school again. Your second career is all up to you!
When pursuing a second career, it is important to not let your imagination run wild with you. Of course, there are things you need to consider before actually making a life-changing decision. For one, you need to be really certain of what you want out of it or is it worth exerting effort for. If not, then drop the idea at once. You also need a good support system. Why? Expect naysayers to mess your way to success especially at the beginning when everything is still shaky and uncertain. Also, keep your finances in check since you are most likely to be spending much while staying jobless for months.