Doing Meaningful Work
Working in Your Later Years: The Reality Gap

If Necessity is the Mother of Invention...

OnaWhimHere's an interesting statistic: Over 60 percent of the membership of the United Inventors Association is over 50, according to John Calvert, the association's executive director. "There's a boom in inventions by people over 50," he tells The New York Times.

The Times article, entitled "More Older Adults are Becoming Inventors," profiles several inventors, some in their 70s and 80s.  James West, 84, "obtained 11 patents when he was over 60." He tells the Times, "Anyone can be equally inventive at 75 as at 40. It's having the time to bring ideas to fruition. ...Bringing something new into the world is exciting and extremely rewarding."

Still, inventing is for risk-takers. It isn't just coming up with the ideas -- it's also making product prototypes, applying for patents, getting funding, and more. That's why "only 2 to 3 percent of all inventors make any money from their inventions," experts told the Times.

Nonetheless, if you like to generate ideas or make things, you might be the type of adventurous soul who could invent an encore career by becoming an inventor. Read the article to learn more.

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