at age 48,  I'm trying to start a new career in animation.
Right now most of my hopes are pinned to doing high-end ecards. I love the creativity of it, because at this scale you can do everything from concept to completion. I use Poser because that's where all the inexpensive goodies are, and it actually works okay for this level of sophistication (as in, not very). 
I started in CG over 6 years ago with Lightwave  3D.  I wouldn't have a prayer getting an actual animation job in the normal route, so I've looked for and found ways that might monetize what I can create, but it's too early to tell if it will really pan out.