Want a career with more of a purpose?

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."

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Forum for transition

That kind of talk "makes me know absolutely that we're on the right track," said Jan Hively, 75, who cofounded Shift with Buck.

Hively is a former deputy mayor of Minneapolis and senior fellow at the University of Minnesota's College of Human Development. She started the Vital Aging Network at the university, which trains citizen advocates and promotes civic involvement and empowerment for older people.

"Feeling stuck is not a bad thing. It's a powerful sign that you're hard at work on your next move - career, relationships, politics or something that's core in your life," Hively said.

In addition to providing a forum for people to discuss career and personal transitions, Buck, Hively and others on the Shift board envision providing a link between new programs and existing services that help people with change.

"There really is no limit for what people can do," Buck said. "Maybe you'll come out of retirement, or become a lawyer at age 60, learn how to play the ukulele, become an artist, start a group to save the walleye, who knows?

"I've met so many people who, like me, felt they should be doing something much more meaningful in their lives, and we want to help them do that."

The group is seeking foundation grants to help get better established - and perhaps to help pay Buck to run the organization.

Three months of severance pay and unemployment benefits, plus a working wife, have helped him continue the work with Shift, he said, "but it would be nice to turn this into a paid career change."

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Warren Wolfe - 612-673-7253

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SHIFT MEETINGS

Shift is a non-membership collection of people exploring career transitions in their middle or later years, launched last fall. It meets on Monday nights in the back room of the Dunn Bros coffee shop across from Loring Park. The group seeks to create a forum to help people add more meaning in their work lives and link up with existing work and career services.

Other activities

- Shift links mentors with people who want advice and guidance in examining career choices.

- Book discussion groups meet periodically on Wednesday nights to talk about books tackling career choices and changes.

- Leaders of Shift are seeking grants to expand the nonprofit's activities, including a Midlife Transitions Resource Network and small-group meetings on such topics as health insurance.

Next meeting

- At 7 p.m. today, Sean Kershaw, executive director of the Citizens League, will talk about the impact of baby boomers on society. At Loring Park Dunn Bros, 329 W. 15th St., Minneapolis.

For more information

- Call Shift founder David Buck at 612-308-9394 or go to www.shiftonline.org