College degrees had become more prevalent. Women were seeking out careers that were once off-limits. Industrial jobs were giving way to even more office work. And America's postwar fascination with materialism—look, there's another new car in the driveway of another newly built suburban home!—was on the wane. When it came to work, Baby Boomers wanted something more than steady paychecks, predictable promotions and the gold watch. Many wanted their work to be, above all, meaningful.
That quest continues today.
Boomers are a wide demographic: the oldest, at 60, are nearing the age when their parents probably thought about retiring, while the youngest, at 42, are just hitting the sweet spot of their careers. Some are fantastically wealthy; some struggle in poverty. But most have approached their working lives with a self-determination unlike any previous generation—and for many, that means starting a whole new career in midlife. "There are tens of millions of people involved here, [asking], "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?' " says Richard Fein, author of "The Baby Boomer's Guide to the New Workplace."
Not all these second career moves are voluntary: for many people nowadays, the journey toward a new career begins with the pain of a pink slip.
For the complete story from The Boomer Files at Newsweek, go to: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13249472/site/newsweek/
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