When you are finally there after having finished your teaching career, you will feel you have definitely earned your retirement. The excitement and work involved in the process will be behind you, the dust will have settled and the rest of your life will be in front of you. It can be the most exciting and challenging time of all.

How likely is it that I can start a whole new career?

Research has been done on longevity so that while no one can actually predict one’s life expectancy for certain, we know that if we take care of ourselves, and barring existing medical conditions, people can live to a ripe old age. Many will live as long as 30 or more years after what used to be a normal retirement age.

With that in mind many teachers begin to make plans before they retire to build on successes in the classroom and move into new employment opportunities. Your skills as an educator can be used in areas such as consulting, teaching courses at the local junior college, or doing university work. Many people may want to go back to earlier dreams and try to make them a reality by expanding their skills and trying out a whole new field. It takes a strong person with considerable talent and many important skills to be a successful teacher. Books and web sites, some especially designed for educators, provide information on how to parlay your skills into exciting and rewarding new careers. Many people do this successfully and you may be one of them.

What stages can I expect to go through as I adjust to my new retired life?

Whenever one retires from the work world, researchers have found that there are definite stages that people go through as they enter this new chapter in their lives. These phases do not apply to everyone, because retirement is experienced on an individual basis but it is worth considering what many people encounter. Here are some of the possibilities:

Reorganizing at Home

Many people feel a sense of relief when they can pay attention to all the unfinished chores at home. They may need to reorganize space to accommodate their new lifestyle. This may involve staking out territory if one shares living quarters with someone else. As household tasks are shared in different ways, new roles at home may need to be defined. Economic issues may surface as people negotiate the kind of lifestyle they’re going to have with the income being brought in. For some this all is done with ease and for others it can prove a difficult process.

The Honeymoon Stage

You might find, as many do, that you experience a “honeymoon” period soon after retirement marked by feeling you are permanently on vacation. People become preoccupied during this time with doing pleasurable activities that were put on hold. Others enter a period of rest and relaxation. Busy teaching careers allow for limited time alone so some people quite happily do very little in the early retirement phase.

Not everyone experiences this “honeymoon” phase. You may be a person who already had a full and active schedule in addition to your work before retirement. People like you can easily establish a retirement routine that is comfortable and productive soon after retirement.

The Disenchanted and Reorientation Stages

For some people, adjusting to retirement may be difficult after the honeymoon phase, or after they’ve allowed themselves time for rest and relaxation. You may begin to feel a sense of loss as you miss the productivity and meaning that you had while working. This is the time to redesign your retirement experience to include activities that will be more satisfying. Make an “I’ve Always Wanted to Try” list and start chipping away at it. What a luxury to have time to experiment with choices to get the right fit. Some people find that a part time job fills some of their needs and others decide to spend meaningful time volunteering.

There are countless opportunities to donate your time. Monitoring new teachers, writing for education journals, becoming involved in adult education, or donating some of your expertise to an elementary school can be productive outlets. Joining local organizations and volunteering in the community in which you live or where you taught helps one stay active and involved. Some people find ways to combine volunteering with adventurous travel opportunities in organizations such as Earth Watch.

The Enlightened Stage

Mastering a comfortable and rewarding retirement routine takes some people longer than others. It takes time to figure it all out; what your roles will be and how you’ll be able to do what you want to do with the income you have, how best to utilize your talents, and what new activities to tackle. Once you enter this stage, many people say that it’s really the best, most rewarding time of their lives. One retired NSTA member stated passionately, “I have a whole new way of looking at things now that the pressure cooker is well behind me. I evaluate all the possibilities and have put in place the activities I really want to do that are fulfilling, fun, and challenging. I wouldn’t have traded these years for anything!”

AARP, Teachers ‘Retiring’ to New Careers.

http://www.aarp.org/working_options/teachercareer.html

Atchley, R.C. (2000) Social forces and Aging (9th Ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Christine A. Price, Phd, OSU Extension State Specialist, Gerontology, The Ohio State University, Senior Series

http://hec.osu.edu/famlife/aboutus/price.htm