By: Fiona Fowler, Guest Contributor
Retirement,
for many, means spending time with the grandchildren or pursuing those hobbies
and interests that a career never gave time for.
However, for a growing number of Americans,
reaching retirement does not mean stopping work. 20% of Americans over
the age of 65 were
working or looking for work last year, twice the figure from 1985. There are
patterns within those numbers though, with 53% of those over 65 and working
have college degrees and the average income prior to retirement was $78,000. It
seems working past the age of 65 has become easier for the healthier, better
educated and higher earning, perhaps the demographic that does not need to work
in old age.
In the United States alone, 2.7 million
grandparents are responsible for raising their grandchildren. We have already
explored how important a grandparent can be in our article The Important Role of Grandparenting, but for many seniors, the role is closer to
surrogate parent. That may necessitate a part-time job, to support the family
you have already raised once.
There are plenty of jobs for seniors who want to
work again, college education or not. The modern world facilitates flexible
working, working from home and freelancing that does not discriminate by age or
education, but merely by ability. We start our round-up of five jobs for
seniors who want to work again with a role that can be done by anyone,
anywhere.
Ghostwriter
The internet has created a whole new industry
that will continue to grow exponentially year on year – ghostwriting. A
ghostwriter can be someone who writes a book or for a magazine on behalf of
someone else, but also someone who writes articles on the internet, much like
this one, from the comfort of their own home. In the ZenBusiness
guide to becoming a ghostwriter,
they suggest that you can work from anywhere in the world. That can often be at
your own pace, doing as much or as little as you like to fit in with other
commitments. All you need is desire, basic grammar skills and a little patience
to learn the ropes.
Consultant
This is a career you might want to explore if
you were one of those successful college-educated, career-driven people prior
to retirement. A lifetime experience in a chosen field is a valuable asset and
it could be utilized by a company or organization going forward. You could turn
your knowledge, expertise and previous contacts into a thriving part-time
endeavor for your previous employer, or maybe even a former bitter competitor.
Pet Sitter
This is a job open to anyone and everyone, all
you need is a love of pets. You can offer your services as a pet sitter,
staying in people’s home whilst they work or are away, looking after their
pets. You may run a small business from home, offering a place for pets to
stay, or even branch out to dog walking, which keeps you active and brings in
some much-needed revenue. The pet-sitting industry is worth close to $400
million in the United States and is growing every year.
Tutor / Teaching Assistant
If you were in the education field prior to
retiring, you might like to keep your skills sharp by offering private tutoring
outside of schools. There is a big market for extra tutoring hours, and Work Chron claims a
private tutor can earn
up to $46,000 per year if they work full time. In picking your hours and your
clients, that earning potential is reduced, but the role would offer
flexibility and some degree of financial comfort.
Customer Service
Representative
There is an abundance of customer service posts
available, many of which allow you to work from home. Often, they are either
telephone-based, or using chat software. This would suit any senior whatever education
they had received, as many simply require a basic grasp of technology, good
levels of customer service and the ability to listen, empathize and solve
problems.
Article specially written for amacfoundation.org by Fiona Fowler
I hope you can write articles on how to avoid ageism. It does exist!