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Careers in Gerontology

As you consider possibilities of working in the field of aging, there are a number of questions you need to think about so that your career plans will match your interests and abilities.

What aspects about aging intrigue you? What professional role are you interested in? What kind of activity do you most enjoy: direct service? administration? planning? research? advocacy? Do you wish to work with well older persons, active in the community? the frail older person who may be housebound? the developmentally disabled older person? what kinds of work settings would you find most congenial to your personal and professional values? What is most important to you about a job?

Graduates with a minor in gerontology find diverse and growing career opportunities in the field of aging. Examples follow:

  • Adult Education Programs (and continuing education for older adults)
  • Home Health Care Management
  • Senior Center Management (coordinating and developing recreation and leisure programs)
  • Aging and the Built Environment (working with builders, architects and interior designers)
  • Health and Aging (including program design and evaluation and health policy analysis)
  • Intergenerational Programs (programs and services linking older persons with children and youth)
  • Legal Analysis and Advocacy (including institutional advocacy, estate planning, guardianship, tenancy, and elder abuse)
  • Marketing, Design and Product Development (developing and assessing the usability of new products for older adults and redesigning existing products in user friendly ways)
  • Multicultural Issues (designing and developing culturally sensitive programs and services for older persons)
  • Technology and Aging (consulting with those who develop and administer computer software and develop ways to use technology to improve existing programs)
  • Workplace Issues (Older adult workers rights and re-training for multiple careers in human resources)
  • Volunteer Program Management
  • Long Term Care Administration ( Employment opportunities for long term care administrators are available in: adult day health care programs, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, geriatric centers, home health care programs, hospice facilities, hospital systems, intermediate care facilities, rehabilitation facilities, special population programs -- AIDS, developmentally disables, mental health, etc.)