My dad started as a research chemical engineer, moved into administration and ended up a VP of a major corporation. He retired and wanted to go into industrial hygiene but the University insisted on hiring him to teach about OSHA regulations in the business school. He also became a consultant for the EPA, and was asked to take a cabinet-level position in Bush World but he very quickly and firmly said “No!” He went on to found a professional organization in statistical risk analysis and developed a bit of a career as a statistician. He retired from all that and now is getting papers published in his newest interest, cosmology.
I started as a regulatory inspector for the state, went back to school and became a museum curator, and then retired early and became a bookseller.
My mother was a chemical engineer, stopped to raise children, and then embarked on a career as a painter.
My great aunt got a Bachelor’s degree in literature, taught for a while, then stopped to raise kids. When her husband retired, she went to law school, finished at the age of 69 and then practiced law for 10 years.