Careers

Gerontology jobs are everywhere: Find your unique path in this rapidly growing career field. Our faculty will guide you every step of the way.

Older adults are the fastest-growing segment of the world's population, creating a high need for professionals trained in aging and later life. This trend will continue in the decades to come. A VCU Gerontology degree provides real world learning that furthers discovery and innovation to prepare students to improve the quality of human life. The program explicitly promotes knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion to educate and prepare people to serve a growing and diverse population of older people.

VCU Gerontology incorporates the strength of interdisciplinary collaboration to serve humanity, as it is designed to equip learners in a wide variety of fields in order to solve society’s challenges and leverage the opportunities of the major demographic shifts our world is undergoing. VCU Gerontologists become experts in aging and later life and their skills are highly needed, leading to career growth, stability and security.

Rapid growth of the longevity economy

By the year 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 will double to two billion, and approximately one in five Americans will be over 65. This rapid growth is creating a need for gerontological training and education. 

The longevity economy encompasses services and businesses that aim to improve healthy aging through innovation and technology.  The longevity economy is rapidly changing the employment and financial landscape through shifting consumer patterns, extended working years, and the need for supportive and innovative technology expansion.

Agetech is at the forefront of the longevity economy and is projected to see substantial job growth over the coming years due to the increasing need for innovative solutions to support older people. By 2030, the market is expected to exceed $2 trillion globally and is expected to significantly impact job markets worldwide, creating opportunities in technology, business, engineering, and marketing. communications and entrepreneurship. 

In the USA, older adults comprise most of consumer spending – currently $7.1 trillion per year and projected to rise to $13.5 trillion by 2032.  Education in gerontology will be critical for the workforce as professionals with a background in gerontology will be better positioned to contribute to the development of innovative solutions, products, and services to support a rapidly growing number of older people. 

Careers in policy, advocacy and community

Job opportunities for people with gerontology education are also growing in policy, advocacy and community-based service provision. In the United States alone, there are 56 State Units on Aging (SUAs) in all 50 states and 622 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) that employ over 34,000 individuals to provide a wide range of services and support for older adults, including health care, housing, and social services.

Healthcare

Gerontology education also equips healthcare professionals who work directly with older people. BLS data for gerontology jobs includes: 1) the senior living workforce, which is projected to need to fill more than 1.3 million occupational openings through 2030, 2) health services managers and services for the elderly, which are expected to grow 32% through 2029 3) jobs in geriatric care management, which are expected to grow about 28%, and 4) the forecast that more than half of the current nursing home and assisted living workforce is expected to retire by 2043, creating ample job opportunities for employees with gerontological training and education (Virginia NHA Workforce Report, 2023).

A holistic education for a meaningful career path

This gerontology degree is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of individuals in holistic aging and careers in gerontology. Students explore the diverse, growing and dynamic availability of careers in gerontology and will focus on applying gerontological concepts to practical and professional situations. We prepare students to apply specialized gerontological knowledge to their career field.

Graduates are prepared to enter the workforce by demonstrating a holistic understanding of adult development and elderhood from a biological, psychological, social, and spiritual perspective. Students will demonstrate the ability to understand the physical and psychosocial experiences inherent in the multidimensional experience of aging.

Students develop essential skills for success in careers integrating gerontological knowledge and practice. Such skills include communication, empathy, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration.  Additionally, students develop knowledge of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging and demonstrate the ability to act as advocates by shaping positive, person-centered attitudes (both their own attitudes and the attitudes of others) about aging and elderhood that are rooted in person-centeredness while supporting others’ agency, autonomy, and self-advocacy.

Our graduates are prepared for our future world

This knowledge and skills acquisition will set our graduates apart and hold the key to many career pathways as our world continues to change, including careers in social services, business, communications, and health professions.