The existential theory of radical mid-life career change is a theory focusing on work salient individuals around the age of 35 and beyond who have previously established a career path and who are in a position to alter that path due to minimal environmental constraints. The theory postulates that at around this age the realization of the finite…

Discusses the transition from teaching in a college to working in business. Points out similarities and differences between the work of academe and the business world. (EL)

This research paper explores both the meaning of career decisions and the implications of these decisions for teacher education. Since a pilot study indicated that gender realization was influenced by the historical era in which people are raised, four subjects--two men and two women--from different age levels were selected to be the subjects of…

Middle aged women who have previously been occupied with family and community activities often experience increased role stress when they begin to invest more time and energy in their work roles. To compare coping styles women use to adjust to job changes, 71 women, aged 30-62, who had changed jobs within a 3-year interval were classified into…

Two surveys were conducted regarding the career and life transition needs of National Hockey League (NHL) players and their spouses. The Professional Athletes' Career Transition Inventory was distributed to player representatives and members of eight NHL teams. Results revealed that 85 percent of players believed it important that help be provided…

A study was conducted to increase understanding of the mid-life career decision factors of vocational teachers in trade and industrial education. A sample of 179 conditionally licensed occupational teachers in Indiana who had initially been employed in industrial occupations were willing to participate in the study. Four additional criteria were…

The recent literature concerning mid-life transitions of men and the impact upon their personal and interpersonal lives is reviewed. Areas of concern addressed by these materials include adult development, issues and tasks of mid-life, and life phases. A framework for evaluation and therapeutic intervention is provided for counselors and helping…

In 1986, responding to the nation's teacher shortage, especially in the fields of mathematics and science, Chevron USA funded the ENCORE Program to facilitate the entrance of nontraditional recruits into the profession with alternative credentialing. Chevron also funded this study of mid-life career change to teaching in order to enable…

This study examined the questions of what alterations to teacher preparation programs are needed to better accommodate the older, second career person. Focus of the study was on a group of students who had been recruited from industry into a special science/mathematics teacher preparation program. Recommendations for teacher education program…

The federal government must undertake action to direct and speed the transitions of dislocated workers to new employment. Dislocated workers comprise only 1 or 2 percent of the nation's 11 million currently unemployed workers. Cyclical macroeconomic factors are responsible for the high unemployment rate, not structural factors such as new…

The need for new expertise in problem solving in the work setting has emerged as a woman's issue because work outside the home has become a primary means for personal goal attainment for about half the women in the United States and because traditional career patterns and norms are ineffective. Career planning is the process of individual career…

Past research has examined middle adulthood as a developmental process with outcomes predictive of development into old age. A study was undertaken to explore adult psychological and career development from an ecological perspective taking into account factors that influence and modify self-perception, values, identity, and social interaction. A…

Use of the term "crisis" to define the midlife era suggests a limited sense of choice and control. The term "transition," however, emphasizes a process of change and suggests that the individual has both choice and power to grow and develop. An open-ended questionnaire was sent to professionals (N=42) in medical, psychological, sociological, and…

Much research has focused on retirees and disengagement from prior work roles. One neglected variation is entry into second careers. Seventy persons, aged 50 to 87, who had retired from or left one occupation and taken up a second career selling their work at art and craft fairs, were interviewed. Respondents had held a variety of responsible…

Undertrained workers, not dislocated workers, are the real problem in the American economy. The vast majority of the workers affected by structural change in the American economy appear to make employment transitions fairly swiftly and smoothly, with no need for public intervention. Undertrained workers, mostly employed and scattered in all…