Contemplating a career change eight years ago, Julie Dufour decided she needed to do some soul searching.

“What do I want to do for the next 35 years that I’m passionate about?” wondered the Bradley resident who had spent more than a decade working with children with special needs.

The answer led Dufour, who had already earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation and master’s degree in recreation therapy, to enroll at Eastern Maine Technical College in Bangor, where she earned a diploma in food technology in 1997.

Now a chef with a local food manufacturer and a faculty member at both the Bangor college and the University of Maine, Dufour, 40, enjoys her jobs and finds that each day brings something new.

“The food field is so exciting. There’s so much to learn,” she said.

Dufour is among an increasing number of adults with four-year degrees who view the Maine Community College System as a springboard to a new career.

The former technical college system, which officially became the community college system last year, offers more than 300 one- and two-year programs.

Since 1997, the number of incoming students with prior college experience – ranging from a course or two to a full-blown degree – has risen 76 percent, from 1,165 to 2,053, according to Maine Community College System spokeswoman Alice Kirkpatrick.

Many of these students are displaced workers “coming back to get a marketable skill to start a new career. Others have decided now’s the time to pursue a lifelong interest,” she said.

Community colleges are a popular choice for adults because they’re close to home, offer short programs designed to match up with the economy, and are affordable, Kirkpatrick said.

“I got everything I could have gotten at a big college at a fraction of the cost,” said Dufour. “I found everything I needed right in my own community.”

The trend – sometimes referred to as “swirling” or “reverse transfer” – underscores the “broad, diverse and incredibly important missions of community colleges,” said Norma Kent, vice president for communications for the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C.

Tracking the number of community college students who already have degrees is difficult because many community colleges don’t require student transcripts, said Kent Phillippe, a senior researcher at the American Association of Community Colleges.

But based on a 1999 AACC survey, an average 28 percent of students in nondegree programs and 5 or 6 percent of students in degree programs at community colleges already have four-year degrees, he said. Some community colleges report that as many as 25 percent of their degree program students fit into that category.

At the newly renamed Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, about 40 percent of incoming students have some prior college experience, according to Dan Crocker, director of institutional research.

“It’s increasing because more and more folks are seeing community colleges as a viable option,” he said.

Eastern Maine Community College specifically asks on its application what, if any, college experience the prospective student has, said Greg Swett, dean of student services.

Those with college degrees “represent a really important part of our student profile,” he said. When people discover the number of students with degrees “they are surprised, and it makes them think twice about who’s coming to EMCC. They need to understand that we really do have a variety of backgrounds.”

Eric Clark enrolled at the Bangor college several years ago after realizing he was in the wrong profession. He had already earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry and started working as a junior researcher at Jackson Lab in Bar Harbor, when it dawned on him that he preferred computers to DNA.

For Clark, 30, of Bangor, who now works in EMCC’s technology department, the community college’s two-year computer science program was perfect because “I didn’t want to spend another four years [in school]. I wanted something that could get me into the workplace a little faster.”

Changing careers can be daunting, said Dan Brown, who was a high school history and math teacher for 12 years before enrolling in EMCC’s electrical and automation technology program in 2001.

“Going from a stable work environment to try something new is taking a risk,” said Brown, 38, an Old Town resident who is now employed at Eastern Maine Medical Center’s clinical engineering department.

“But I needed to make a change. I needed to do something for myself and my family to make me a better person. And it was a good decision. I haven’t regretted it,” said the father of two.

Patricia Sutherland, director of development and college relations at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle, said the number of students with four-year degrees at that school also has increased.

Between eight and 15 incoming students each year have college degrees now, compared to one or two several years ago, she said.

While the increase may be due in part to the limited job market, it’s also testimony to the community colleges’ improved marketing techniques, said Sutherland.

“We’re doing a better job of selling ourselves,” she said. “People come here, get an affordable education and get good jobs. That’s why we picked up more [students with] four-year degrees. We have something to offer them that they haven’t found yet.”

Kris Clark’s plans to work at the U.S. Department of State didn’t pan out after he earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies in 1983. He tried teaching but decided it wasn’t for him.

“I picked up the newspaper and looked to see what jobs were available and what I could work at that would give me a stable work environment,” said Clark, 49, of Brewer. He enrolled in 1986 in what was then the technical college in Bangor, earned an associate’s degree in medical radiography, and now works as a magnetic resonance imaging technologist.

“It was surprising to some people that I changed directions completely,” he said. “Seemingly I threw away a four-year degree. But in my mind, I didn’t. I make a lot of day-to-day judgements and references based on what I learned about world affairs and political candidates.”

Rebekah Trombley taught elementary school in Washburn for 14 years when she decided she was ready for a change.

“I wanted something that was totally different and that was a challenge,” said the 47-year-old Presque Isle resident who’s studying electrical construction at Northern Maine Community College. She plans to use her skills in the family’s construction business.

“You’re never too old to learn something new,” Trombley said.