Nowadays we can expect to survive the second half of our lives and as our work is knowledge-based - we knowledge workers are not finished after 30 years on the job - Are we merely bored?

There are three ways to develop another career: The first way is to really start a career. Our original career decision (at school or college) may have been simply around 'getting a job to make some money' or just to 'get into the job market' in some way. The advice and guidance that we received at this time may have been limited by their own knowledge of what's possible.

In this case the people looking for second careers who have achieved a modest success in their first jobs may be looking to change organisations where they can find challenge. The house is empty with the children gone - they need income as well. But above all they need challenge.

The second way to prepare for the second half of your life is to develop a career alongside your 'full-time' role. The classic example of this is working in a not-for-profit-organisation taking a few hours of our week. But there are other ways of building your experience and skills in a hobby or interest to run alongside your 'day job' so that when the time comes for you to change you can 'hit the ground running', in your new role.

You really need to begin what you want to do in the second half of your career long before you enter it. If you haven't taken time out to do this you will need all the career coaching magic you can get to make up for lost time and opportunity.

The third way is to make a complete change and this is a lot rarer than people think. With the right help however it is entirely possible. People who get that 'back to work' feeling on a Sunday night and who wonder whether there must be some thing better out there for themselves, are right.

The grass is greener, but regardless of the dream they have they need to be sure that their choice of a second career is a wise one and not simply a flight from the routine and frustration that is common to all jobs. First people need to understand what they are good at (their strengths), what they enjoy (do what you love and the money will follow) and what's important to them and visualise an image of how they would like their future to be.

(suspend your left brain judgement and allow the right brain to envision) They need to determine how they would behave in certain situations - whether for instance, they prefer risk-taking, perform well working alone, developing rapport or operating in a team. Working with a good career coach they can be armed with an understanding of their own vision and strengths and be in a position to weigh their career options realistically and start their new careers successfully.

Imagine what your life would be like if you knew your life calling more clearly, became an expert in your field and you got up each morning excited about the day's opportunities for facing challenge and adding value to the world.

You can do this by clarifying your life talent, designing a career around your calling, learning to achieve mastery in your core strengths, making a dramatic leap in your self-confidence and developing your customer's experience to create the trust that takes people with you?

This is what I do. If you want to listen to what other people have to say (you can read some of the testimonials here) If you would like to talk to someone with whom I'm working, then give me a call on 0845 2020 244.

Hi I'm Margaret Stead - a Dream Architect, helping individuals, executives and business owners market themselves online into new jobs, careers - building customer-employer relationships and increasing their job satisfaction.

I offer personal career coaching, workshops, tutorials and classes reports on the telephone and in one to one meetings that help people just like you do job hunting that gets results. You can learn more about my terrific online resources at http://www.careersnet.com or read my popular newsletter. (http://www.careersnet.com/default.asp?page=news0205)