3. What Works for You?

If you're thinking about switching to a new field, whether full time or part time, or you're considering work for reduced pay or even on a volunteer basis, here are some ways to get started.

Assess your skills and experience – think "transferable"

Know thyself. First, identify what experience and skills you can offer – and what kind of environment and challenge you're seeking.

Perhaps you're good with numbers, or good with people, or a great listener. Maybe you're a creative type or a logistics management whiz.

Accounting, marketing, communication, database management, human resource development, fundraising, special events organizing, and information technology are useful in all kinds of jobs for the greater good.

Whatever your skills, there may be an opportunity to use your experience in a new way that benefits others.

Find Help Finding Yourself

If you're having trouble visualizing a "new you," access some information and help. Check AARP or the U.S. Department of Labor, where you can obtain job descriptions and industry projections.

Many college career offices offer a reasonably priced career-changer package, including standardized tests plus a session with a counselor. Or you can hire a career or life coach – but look for one who specializes in pre-retirement transition issues.

Maybe you can't be a ballet dancer, but you can dance

If you secretly longed to be a ballet dancer or basketball star all those years while you ran the family widget business, you're not too old to do some good with your dream. The could-have-been ballet dancer might work with older dancers; the wanna-be basketball star might fundraise for a youth athletic league.

Nibble before you bite

Take your time and try a few things before leaping headlong into a commitment. Perhaps you can find an internship or work part time as a temp on an exploratory basis. Even within the same field of interest, say hunger relief, one nonprofit agency can differ enormously from another.

If at first you don't succeed...well, be flexible

If you don't connect with a paid position, consider volunteering as a steppingstone to a job. Of course, there are no promises in such an arrangement. Tip: Be sure to let your boss and colleagues know you're seeking paid employment.

Think about compensation in a new way

You'll face trade-offs in building a new life based, in part, on service. Some people trade the freedom of early retirement for a job with health benefits. Others trade a high salary for the chance to work on interesting problems and the rewards of spending time doing something important.

If you're concerned about salaries in the nonprofit world, check out these publications: The NonProfit Times Annual Salary Survey, 2003; Compensation in Nonprofit Organizations, by Abbot and Langer; and the Guidestar Compensation Report.