Studying for the Next Chapter
A variety of degree and certificate programs are available for older and returning students
BY Graham Womack ouglas Houston had spent 17 years in the U . S . Army when the time came for his second act . Houston , who is the eighth generation of his family to serve in the military and the great-great-great grandnephew of 19th-century soldier and Texas politician Sam Houston , was deployed to Operation Desert Storm and rose to the rank of captain before moving to his next career : working in the junior college system , where he became chancellor of the Yuba Community College District in 2011 . “ It was actually pretty comfortable for me to transition from one deeply morally purposed ethos to another ,” Houston says .
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and economic difficulties , more adults might follow Houston ’ s path , trading in a career in which they might have enjoyed many years of success to try something new , even in their middle to later years . In the Capital Region , educational paths are plentiful for those looking to make that transition .
Consider more education
There are many options for those who want to pursue a second career . Some try consulting after retiring from jobs in business or the public sector . Some open brickand-mortar businesses . Others finally try their hand at writing that long-thought-about novel . The sky ’ s the limit , so to speak , for middle-aged or older adults who have savings , a pension or even just an itch to try something different with their remaining working years .
“ What we find is those folks often find themselves in our creative writing classes because they always wanted to write a great novel or … they enroll in some of our computer science classes because they want to establish their own blogs ,” says Celia Esposito-Noy , president and
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