From Coasters to Mosters: Choosing Growth at Any Age

In my last blog, I talked about Bad Leaders. Bad management is one of the key drivers of all kinds of attrition from moving away from one team to another internally, leaving an organization altogether, leaving one career path for another, and even (early) or on-time retirement.

The point is that many people working today will likely have a variety of roles, an evolutionary career path, possible redundancy, and retirement, especially early retirement, leaving a job before 65.

When I gave Gemini this badly engineered prompt:

How many jobs will people working today in the US and Western Europe have in their life? Knowledge worker roles/white/pink collar only, basically roles which require 4 year and advanced university degrees.

Here is what it told me:

While historical data once suggested a career was a single-company journey, the current trajectory for knowledge workers in the US and Western Europe points toward a significantly more fragmented professional life.

Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the OECD, and recent 2026 labor market reports, here is the breakdown for degree-holding professionals:

The average person entering the workforce today is expected to hold approximately12 to 15 jobsover the course of their career. For the specific "knowledge worker" demographic (those with 4-year or advanced degrees), this number often trends toward the higher end of that range due to higher mobility, specialized skill-stacking, and the "white-collar cooling" observed in 2025–2026.

As people live longer and traditional career paths become less linear, more individuals are considering or undergoing career changes later in life. In my role at Gartner, I encountered many people who were not necessarily done working for various reasons, but who were looking for some kind of change. There are individuals who are happy to settle in for the final one-quarter to one-third of their working lives and focus their energy elsewhere. Fair enough. My position has always been that work consumes too much time and energy for it not to be a source of growth, fulfilment and yes, happiness, in addition to a salary and benefits. Life is too short for that.

So, if you are a coaster, happy to glide along, read no further. But, if you want to continue to find purpose and meaning in your professional life, read on. Let’s call you the mosters. This is also a topic I’ve written about before in a different context, my Retirement Reimagined series.

Our research has identified a variety of drivers for late-career transitions or second careers among individuals over 50.

Here's a synthesis of common reasons, with supporting evidence:

Going Towards Something: A Desire for New Challenges and Growth

Many people in their 50s and beyond, having achieved a certain level of comfort or mastery in their long-term careers, begin to seek new challenges and learning.

Work can become stale or unfulfilling. Mosters have a strong desire to continue learning, be stimulated, and grow personally and professionally. This is often cited as a key motivation for staying engaged and even feeling young again. (Lincoln College Alumni, Rest Less)

With fewer family financial burdens (e.g. mortgages paid off, children grown), individuals may feel liberated to pursue work that aligns more closely with their long-held interests, values, or a desire to make a social impact. Many gravitate towards purpose-driven careers in charity, youth work, or environmental sectors. There are a huge number of societal challenges to choose from, let’s face it. (Sert.work, Rest Less)

A longing for work that offers more intrinsic rewards, such as personal growth, meaning, or a stronger sense of contribution, rather than just financial gain or status. (Vogelsang et al., Rest Less)

A desire to reduce the intensity of work, achieve better balance, or pursue flexible work arrangements that suit their evolving lifestyle and health needs. (Your Career)

Going Away From the Status Quo: External Pressures and Dissatisfaction

While many changes are proactive, a significant number are driven by external circumstances or dissatisfaction with a current role or management structure.

Economic shifts, industry changes, or company restructuring can lead to job loss, forcing individuals to seek new employment. This can be a major driver, particularly for those who feel involuntarily worthless. Given the current predictions about the role AI will play in future economic reality, redundancy and job instability will become even more significant. (ONS, International Longevity Centre)

Long careers in demanding roles can lead to exhaustion, stress, or dissatisfaction with working conditions, prompting a search for less taxing or more supportive environments. (Rest Less)

Feeling unsupported by management or colleagues can lead to a desire to leave.Many people are dissatisfied with their direct management and the obviously dysfunctional ways their companies are being run. It’s a complex set of issues, but front-line testimonial evidence indicates that even people with well-paying positions find the disproportionate rewards for the upper tiers of management difficult to understand. When it comes to their direct managers and teams, tolerance of bad behaviour from active disruptors (bullies) to visible non-contributors (laziness and incompetence) is driving team morale to all-time lows. (ONS)

While many want to work longer, a significant number of older workers face health conditions that make their current job unsustainable, leading them to seek different types of work or to leave the workforce prematurely if suitable roles aren't available. (Centre for Ageing Better, Your Career)

For some, financial necessity (e.g., inadequate savings, rising healthcare costs, decline in traditional pensions) compels them to continue working and potentially change careers to ensure economic well-being in later life. (Vogelsang et al.)

Overcoming Barriers and Dispelling Stereotypes

While the motivation exists, research also highlights significant barriers.

Many older workers face age discrimination in hiring processes, with employers often preferring younger candidates due to stereotypes about adaptability, tech-savviness, or energy levels. This can make career transitions particularly challenging, even if the older worker is highly skilled and motivated. (Slugger O'Toole, Centre for Ageing Better, Your Career)

Many mid-lifers feel underprepared or unequipped to make beneficial career moves, and there's often low awareness of available career guidance or reskilling opportunities. (Phoenix Insights)

While older workers possess a wealth of experience and transferable skills (e.g., loyalty, stability, problem-solving, crisis management), they often need support in identifying and articulating how these skills apply to new industries. (Sert.work, Rest Less)

Career changes after 50 are driven by a complex interplay of personal desires for growth and fulfilment, alongside external pressures and challenges. While older workers bring invaluable experience, navigating these transitions often requires overcoming systemic biases and accessing targeted support for reskilling and career guidance.

Our mission at Logan Advisory Services is to help people find happiness, fulfilment with compensation that reflects their true worth in their careers. Sometimes that is a slight adjustment in their current circumstances. In other situations, it is a longer and harder road.

Research Highlights:

• Phoenix Insightsresearch indicates that about a third of individuals aged 45-54 anticipate changing careers before retiring, highlighting the rise of "second careers."

• The Office for National Statistics (ONS)data points to stress, redundancy, and lack of support as common reasons for older workers leaving previous jobs, with a significant proportion looking to move into new occupations or sectors.

• The International Longevity Centre (ILC)highlights the issue of over a million over-50s being "involuntarily workless" due to "shocks" like redundancy or ill health, emphasizing the need for policies to support longer working lives.