"It's a kind of a right brain-left brain kind of thing, music and law," Muhammad said.

His pursuit of a law degree at Pace University has been a 10-year project, far beyond the typical three years for law school, but he said he had no reservations about the decision.

"You have to have a long-term time perspective on your life because you're going to get old anyway and you might as well be getting old and grow," Muhammad said, adding that he wants to contribute more to his family and community through social justice.

More than past generations, baby boomers perceive that they can make major career changes because they expect to live longer and have more time to try new jobs and interests.

Doing the same work for decades can be boring and monotonous for peoples who are constantly looking for new interests, said Helen Harkness, author of "Don't Stop the Career Clock: Rejecting the Myths of Aging for a New Way to Work in the 21st Century."

Walt Root, 45, was in search of something more meaningful after years of marketing at various food companies. "When you become an executive, you don't do anything anymore," he said.

Root discovered a new interest as he began to read science magazines. His awakened fascination with science and medicine helped lead him to the University of California-San Diego's medical school, where he recently completed his first year.

There, he said, he is one of the oldest doctors-to-be -- quite a change for someone who graduated from college at 20 and had an MBA in finance by 21. And he's found that going to school is a different process than it was in the past.

"The neurons slow down as you age a bit and I can't pull all-nighters anymore," Root said.

	Not so fast 'I can't take a vacation'