Option Two: Remaining in Same Professional Career
This is the option chosen by many mature adults who operate within a specific profession. They continue to work as physicians, architects, psychologists, accountants, veterinarians, etc. It is in the professions that seniority is often viewed as an asset rather than a liability. The 60 year old physician is seen by his patients as being “wiser” than the young doc straight out of medical school (think Dr. Welby), just as the 45 year old man seeking a psychotherapist is much more likely to choose the 55 year old shrink than her 32 year old associate. In a few professions in which technology plays a major role (engineering, architecture, geology), there may be a preference from the younger person; but even in these instances those who are new to the profession will seek out a mentor or, at the very least, want to associate with an older person who has gained a strong reputation and knows the professional landscape.
The key to being successful and satisfied with this career option is the challenge of finding a way to remain professionally vital, despite often doing the same kind of work and facing the same kind of problems each day. How does one avoid burnout as a college professor who has taught history for forty years and sat on every major university committee at least once or twice?
Option Three: Retiring from Any Position of Formal Accountability
This is one of the two traditional options. The woman who has spent all of her life in a large corporate setting finally gets a chance to breathe fresh air. She does not want to spend any more time in a stress-filled environment. While she might want to do some volunteer work, she avoids taking on administrative responsibilities and sitting on interminable committees. Instead, she seeks active work with children or helps to build a home through Habitat for Humanity or sings in the local community chorus. This career path is often associated with the experience of women hitting the “glass ceiling.” They move up through an organization, being given career advancements because of their knowledge, skills and hard work. Then they hit the organization’s ceiling with regard to the highest position that a woman is “allowed” to hold. This is an invisible (“glass”) ceiling that can never be formally acknowledged, but the ambitious woman knows the ceiling when she hits it. It is not unusual at that point for the woman to leave her organization and formally retire (or start her own business — Option One).
Download Article 1K Club
