Pathways to Careers in Gerontology

Around the world there is a demographic revolution as populations are getting older. Proportions of older persons are increasing everywhere, which raises real challenges to governments, missions, and communities. In the United States, there is not only a fast growing older segment of the population but also this population is healthier, wealthier, and much more active than older persons are in the past. There are growing opportunities for employment in a wide variety of fields that works with older persons.

Areas of employment include settings like:

Social service agencies
Long-term care settings
Retirement communities
Nutrition programs
Senior citizen centers
Home services to the elderly
Adult-day care centers
Health delivery systems
Planning agencies
Management
Public relations
Program development

Practically every department in the executive branch of the federal government and a number of independent agencies are responsible for policies and programs that serve the older adult either directly or indirectly. These include the departments of Health and Human Services (Medicare and Medicaid), Agriculture (food stamps), Housing and Urban Development (housing for the older adult and impaired) and the Veterans Administration (pensions and medical care). The Department of Transportation, Labor, Energy, Treasury, and Commerce also administer or monitor programs affecting the older adult citizen. In addition, state and local governments sponsor, monitor and administer programs for older people.

Opportunities exist in the following areas:

1) Recreation/Leisure Services:

Travel agent for senior travel and tourism, recreation therapist with special populations such as nursing home residents, retirement community manager, municipal recreation agencies, etc.

2) Communications:

Communications personnel as marketing directors, writers, and artists, who are currently being employed to find ways of improving images of and services to the elderly

3) Community Programs:

Governmental agencies at the federal, state and county level - Area Agencies on Aging, State Departments of Aging, American Association of Retired Persons, National Council on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs, Senior Citizens Centers, Commercial and private agencies, etc.

4) Health Services:

Adult day-care programs, community-based health care programs, Health Maintenance Organizations, Home Health Services, Hospices, Hospitals, Long-term health care facilities, Nursing homes/sub-acute care, Public health programs, Respite Care Services, etc.

5) Social Services:

Information and referral specialist for a variety of social service agencies for the elderly, Meals on Wheels Coordinator, Caseworker in a nursing home, care manager for a county Area Agency on Aging, Housing Counselor for a city housing authority, Transportation coordinator for a county transportation department, Policy Planner for a United Way Agency, a crisis intervention specialist for elder abuse, Friendly Visitors Program coordinator for private/public Social Service Agencies, etc.

6) Business/Technology:

Director of employment agency for Older Adults, Investment Counselor, Pre-retirement Counselor for Industry, Product Designer, Manager of senior Housing, Second-Career Counselor, Public Relations Officer, Market Research Analyst, etc.

7) Criminal Justice/Law:

Elder Abuse Investigator, Victim/Witness Assistance Program Director, Crime Prevention Program Officer for an Older Adult Unit in Public Safety, Conservatorship/guardianship program Director, etc.)

Pathways to employment include:

Get as much training and education as you can find. At Bethel, this includes courses like my Aging from a crosscultural perspective and psychology's Adult Development and Aging. Think about an internship wherein you work with older adults or a senior seminar topic that deals with aging.

Go on for a graduate level degree in gerontology. There are good programs at St. Cloud State and Mankato. We have developed an MA in Gerontology. If you want to do research or go to one of the topic notch programs, check out UCLA or University of South Florida.

Get as much as much experience as possible. This is a newly developing field with as yet undefined professional credentials. This will change. You could enter on the ground floor and make quite a career. Getting experience and making contacts is essential to entering the community of professionals working in the area.

Attend professional meetings and get involved. The Minnesota Gerontological Society meets in April. This is usually pretty inexpensive and a great way to get to see what is going on and getting to meet professionals working in the area.

Use the internet to search for positions. There will be few jobs listed under gerontology, but look for work you might want to do (program planner, recreation director, community planner, etc.).

Do not rule out the business world. There is an increasing need for persons who can work with older workers, develop marketing approaches for older consumers, and so forth.

Additional Sources of Information

National Council on the Aging
409 Third St. SW (2nd FL)
Washington, DC 20024
(Provides training for professionals in aging, publishes magazines, newsletters, and reports; facilitates networking in many areas of work in aging.)

National Institute on Aging
Public Information Office
9900 Rockville Pike Bldg. 31, Rm. 5C27
Bethesda, MD 20892
(The federal government's principal agency for conducting and funding research on aging. Publishes materials on research careers in gerontology and geriatrics.)
One of the recent NIA (National Institute on Aging) publications is the 1993 Resource Directory for Older People. This publication gives a listing and description of all the national organizations that offer health information, legal aid, programs, educational opportunities, social services, consumer advice, and other assistance to older people and their families.

Occupational Outlook Handbook
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin
Washington, D.C.

Social and Behavioral Sciences Jobs Handbook
Federal Career Guide
R.B. Uleck Associates
Box 3009 Diamond Farms Branch
Gaithersburg, MD 20760

National Employment Listing Service
Social Service Bulletin
Sam Houston University
Huntsville, TX 77341