A future-focused balanced work portfolio might look something like this:

• Work for Learning: For example, in order to remain competitive, people will return to part-time school in ever-greater numbers. Even today, the median age of students at the University of Phoenix is pushing 40 and 1,000,000 boomers are currently enrolled in community colleges.
• Work for Fees: Some folks will still choose to continue their careers in their familiar world of work but they will do this as part-time contributors.
• Work for Fun or for Meaning: Others will add volunteerism to their portfolio in order to benefit their families, friends and communities.

Does a combination of work for learning, for fees and for fun and meaning sound something like a balanced stock portfolio? It should. But, if you still have questions, ask the S-AGE (via Carleen) and the wise one will reply.

LOOK - BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET TO THE FUTURE

I am not suggesting that you may not be able to find your way to a new job that looks very much like your old job. Go ahead and look. But, times have changed and we offer a few cautions about "putting all of your eggs in the old familiar job-search basket." Before you leap forward, take a look at what is happening in the world of mature workers based on demographic change and evolving marketplace need.

• First of all, please accept that there will be fewer regular, full-time jobs in the future of the American workplace for mature workers. Some industries, in particular, will be very affected by off-shoring and technological advances. They will need to curtail their investment in expensive full-time workers here at home. They will, however, love part-time or temporary specialists! Take a hard look at yourself. Is this happening in your industry and to your type of work? Where might you specialize?
• Then, shed the notion that you'll be competing with Gen "X" – you will be competing with other mature workers. Competition is heating up and it will be the better-branded, better-connected, better-trained or better-educated individuals that will be selected for regular, full-time jobs in this new century. Old skills or competencies will not get you in the new door of the future at any price. Do you need to invest in new learning, better self-branding or advanced sales skills?
• Finally, as the old saying suggests - be careful what you ask for! IF you didn't care for the work you once did, why in the world would you seek to do this type of work again, even if it is available, simply in an attempt to get "safe" in your old age? While you might find that old, familiar job again, remember that average job tenure in America's private sector is less than 3 years. At the end of the next 3 years you'll simply be 3 years older and may find yourself looking for work in "all the wrong places."

AARP studies state that one in four boomers want to do something completely different from their previous work. Our experience tells us that many more would like to explore changing from the corporate world into a nonprofit world, to stress-free or fancy-free jobs, or to roles that will allow them to meet new and meaningful challenges. Look around – new opportunities abound!

LISTEN TO A FEW OF MANY ALTERNATIVES ESPECIALLY SUITED TO MATURITY

Temping. The fastest growing opportunities for mature workers are in the "contingent" world. For instance, in 2005 alone, 35,000 very senior level executives and equally senior professionals found their best opportunities in the contingent workforce. Call it interim management, professional temping, project management, consulting – or what you will.

Just to prove how "hot" this temporary market is – the largest employers in the U.S. are not Boeing, General Electric and Microsoft – the largest employers are the temporary employers, like Spherion, who serve all bandwidths of workplace needs. What are the benefits of temping through an agency? The agency does the marketing you may wish to avoid. They offer group rate health care benefits. They will help you to upgrade many of your skills. Whether you work through an agency or market your services on your own, the contingent world is hot and will get much hotter.

Specialized Volunteering for free. Experience Corps has 2000 volunteers in 14 major U.S. cities. These volunteers work with teachers to make sure third graders can read. Everyone I've interviewed who volunteers in specialized areas such as this one, report that it is the "most meaningful work of their lives!" By the way, many volunteer opportunities now offer small stipends to cover your expenses, such as mileage and other reasonable out-of-pocket costs. Contact your local Health and Human Services Agency. They will see you as the "nation's only growing national resource" as Pam Smith, the Director of Aging & Independence Services in San Diego, recently testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Real estate sales or service for a fee as well as to make new connections. No, we are not suggesting trotting around homes in a dwindling market with the other 2.4 million U.S. licensed real estate agents. The "hot" market for mature professionals is in sales and service in the active living adult communities where the price of admission is age 55! Likewise, the 2nd home market is "hot" for boomers who are seeking vacation retreats that will turn into retirement homes. This may be a relatively short (5-10 years) opportunity as there is some early evidence that younger boomers may not be as anxious to live in adult communities as the older boomers have been. Google "Pulte" homes. You will be amazed at the projected growth.

Tutoring for pay. Red hot if you can tutor in math, science and English language skills. Yes, this is a paid profession but even this profession is going offshore because folks in India will tutor for $15-20 an hour (via online/phone connections) and American tutors are charging twice or three times these fees.) You can compete online. What's wrong with your charging $15-20 an hour if you contribution helps our next generation to learn? If you have an educational credential, that's a plus. But, if your own career demonstrates your expertise, many opportunities are available without the formal credential. Tutoring will boom because Generation Y is the most culturally and ethnically diverse generation in the history of America and many need a lot of help.

Foster Care to save a generation. There are over 520,000 children in the U.S. foster care system. Many of these children will do better if placed in homes with "grandparents" than with younger families who are struggling to raise their own families and cannot give them all the attention they may need. Many, many of these children will not be reunited with their birth parents nor will they be adopted – but they could sure use a grandparent to help them along. And, I'll bet some of you could use someone to love, mentor and inspire as well. If you can't take on full-time foster care, there are other intergenerational programs throughout America.

Physician Assistant – a way to realize new dreams. Enjoy many of the benefits of being a physician with few of its liabilities. Under a doctor's supervision, physician assistants do diagnosis, treatment, and patient education, but training takes just two to three years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that PA's will be among the fastest growing careers as healthcare organizations will continue to cut costs by using more PA's and fewer Doc's.

Buy or Build a Small Business or Franchise and join the new wave of entrepreneurs who are a little grayer around the temples than in the past. AARP found that in 2002, 5.6 million workers over the age of 50 were self-employed in an unincorporated or incorporated business, making up 40 percent of the self-employed population.

Explore paid part-time opportunities in the Public Sector. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the average age of federal workers has reached nearly 46 years of age, up more than three-and-a-half years compared with 1990. These folks still enjoy pension-plans and, as one result, many will take their pensions and get out! Part-time opportunities will be bountiful in the public sector as government struggles to contain costs in the future. Debunk the myth that the government does not pay well. According to figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the average federal employee earns a salary comparable to, or better than, his/her counterpart in private industry.

According to a recent Merrill Lynch Retirement Study, the most popular jobs in retirement are (in descending order): Consultants, Teachers, Customer Greeters, Tour Guides, Retail Sales Clerks, Bookkeepers or Auditing Clerks, Home Handypersons, B&B Owners or Managers, Security Screeners and Real Estate Agents.

Get ready for your future… Beat the rush… Plan your mature career now!