The shift started last spring, when David Buck of Minneapolis was laid off from his job as a project manager for an urban developer.

"I kept thinking there must be something more meaningful for me to do, something closer to my heart, something to do with helping people," he remembers thinking.

He's still looking, but in his wake he's gathered scores of other people in the midst of their own mid- and late-career transitions.

Backed by a consortium of researchers, churches, businesses and others, the new group - called Shift - meets every Monday night at the Dunn Bros coffee shop near Loring Park in Minneapolis to swap strategies, resources and inspiration.

"I'm not sure, but I think this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life," said Buck, 46, who is working with advisers to create a nonprofit organization to become a clearinghouse for ideas, programs and people seeking more satisfaction from work.

On Jan. 8, state employment counselor Claire Nelligan of Minneapolis glanced around the coffee shop after three area men described how they'd shifted careers, one selling his firm and becoming a Richfield firefighter.

Nelligan was there to find out whether Shift meetings might be good for some of her clients.

"What impresses me is that this is a good mix of men and women, and of young, middle-aged and old," she said. "I'll attend three more times before I decide for sure, but this feels like a very supportive place for people in career change."

Between 30 and 50 people have attended the meetings, which started in November and typically feature a speaker and conversation about how to go about finding more satisfying work.

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`Safe place to be scared'

Beth Waterhouse, a 56-year-old freelance writer, editor and teacher, is in a quandary.

"I feel kind of stuck, like I need somebody to kick my behind," she said.

Unlike many workers, Waterhouse already made a leap away from "regular work," leading and raising money for nonprofit groups in Minnesota. Now she does "work that feeds my soul - writing about things I care deeply about, the environment and sustainable agriculture."

In some ways, she's almost gleeful about being in the "scary swamp of doubt," wondering when the next writing or editing job will come, and whether to change career course again.

She's been there before, she said, and recognizes it as a signal that her subconscious is exploring how to jump-start her creative spark.

Waterhouse has attended several Shift meetings. A mentor herself for others in the past, she's now looking for someone from the group to help her "navigate the shoals of self-doubt." In two weeks she'll join several others speaking at a Shift meeting about that "journey across the desert."

"What is so energizing about Shift is that it's an absolutely safe place to be scared or in doubt about my work and career," she said. "I'm surrounded by others going through various stages of the same search."