A skills-matching service that helps generate millions of dollars of pro bono help for community organizations each year also serves to introduce skilled professionals to careers in the nonprofit sector.

Many of the professionals who have volunteered to help nonprofit organizations with specific projects have continued to work with those organizations after the projects are complete, said Lindsay Firestone, manager of strategic partnerships for the Taproot Foundation. Some have gone on to serve on nonprofit boards or as salaried employees, she said.

The Meaning of Career Development

In published articles and in the world of work, the concept of career development and work placement is understood in two distinct and uniquely different contexts.

One meaning, primarily observed within corporate and professional settings, is understood as a series of work experiences, education pursuits, job titles and duties that must be sequenced for career success in life.

It came as a surprise to me when I learned that the problem (at least a big one) underlying the nursing shortage in this country is a shortage of nursing faculty to teach students interested in entering the field. A solution that came to mind immediately was the opportunity for older nurses to take up encore careers as nursing faculty in greater numbers.

The latest Chronicle of Higher Education reports the positive outcomes of a study of online Doctorates for nurses.