DENVER — Retiring doesn't mean you're ready to quit working altogether. More and more older adults are looking for an encore — a second career.
Universities across the country are happy to help — for a price — as part of a growing trend of offering classes for experienced professionals who aren't ready to take a bow, but don't know how to launch their encore career.
"I thought it would be a good time for me to explore something I might do differently," said Dinah Mann, a student at the Changemakers program at CU Denver who left her corporate job earlier this year.
"Traditionally I’m at an age where everyone assumes you’re going to retire, but I’m at a point where I have actually several more years where I’d like to work," she said.
The Changemakers Program is in its second semester, with nearly two dozen students who meet twice a week for guest speakers and group discussions. Students can also audit other classes at the university.
"The purpose of this program is to help them use that wisdom to figure out how they want to proceed with the next chapter of their lives in a way that is meaningful to them," said Anne Button, founding director of the program.
These adult education programs tap into a new revenue stream: as fewer teenagers enroll in college, trends show older folks have money to spend on it.
"We really see this as there's no time that you need to stop learning and stop coming to universities, we can serve people at all ages and stages of life," Button said.
The program costs $3,400 per semester and is currently enrolling for the spring. Applications are due by Dec. 15.
Mann hopes the program will help her write her next chapter, because she's not done yet.
"I think it keeps us young, it keeps our minds going to learn new things," she said.
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