Second Careers: New Ways to Work After 50

When social critic Bird ( The Two Paycheck Marriage ) ran a survey in Modern Maturity magazine about seniors engaged in second careers, she was stunned by the size of the response--more than 36,000 readers said that they were pursuing employment rather than retirement. This book, a combination how-to and overview of the second-career market, contains short chapters on why seniors should work and how they can discover a fulfilling second career, and an extensive resource list. The heart of the book is a compendium of 28 ``job clusters'' such as ``The Money Business,'' ``Your Own Business'' and ``Travel and Recreation.'' Within each cluster the author describes a variety of jobs, including second careers for people already in the field and niches for newcomers. Thus, an electrician looking to teach can search under both ``Housing and Construction'' and ``Education.'' The book's appeal is its solid grounding in the real-world experiences and day-to-day lifestyles of mature adults who responded to the survey. The result is valuable not only to those over 50 but to anyone seeking a new career. (Jan.)