Gigs, Careers, and Encores

The notion of encore careers (the term was made popular by Marc Freedman, head of Civic Ventures, a San Francisco think tank) has been percolating now for some time. But several factors today are prompting more people to pursue such jobs: undersize nest eggs, increased longevity, a desire to tackle society’s ills and, in many cases, an urge to find a different kind of life.

— This trend piece on boomers and their “encore careers” is totally of the moment, and almost already irrelevant. It introduces us to boomers who once had corporate jobs but left or retired to work in the non-profit sector: teaching, working with the elderly, doing good (and for the cynic, competing with new graduates for a limited number of jobs).

This trend seems on its last legs, however — boomer-specific and then gone. Even the word “career,” seems antiquated. Younger generations won’t be having encore careers because we don’t have regular careers. We won’t be changing it up late in the game. We’ll be changing it up throughout our lives, gig after gig after gig.

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