Retiree Jobs – Finding the Perfect Retirement Job
Work after retirement
I am now living the dream and while I enjoy the freedom of not having to work, working is still a part of my life. The job still provides me with some positive things that I need and I don’t know how to turn off the work ethic that took me a lifetime to develop.
The big difference is now I’m not committed to 40 hours a week, every week. Most of the retirees I know are still working in some capacity. It’s something we do.
But the question most people ask me when they start thinking about retirement is “Why work after you retire?”. An old friend of mine had one of the best answers. He said, “You can sit on the porch just for a while.” He was 80 years old when he took his last part-time job.
The question I always ask is “What do you want to do after you retire?” and there may be several answers to that question. The decision will generally be based on the financial security you will have after you retire. For some of us, working, even part-time, will be a reality. How many older people do you see working in restaurants and department stores?
So what is the perfect retirement job for you?
The perfect part-time job
The perfect job for retirement could be the one you have now. Except on their own terms. I know several people who have retired and agreed to go back to work part-time for their former employer. They can use their vast store of knowledge, work fewer hours with people they already know, and get paid pretty well for it. A win-win situation if you can get it. The place to start is to find out if your company already uses part-time employees or to make an offer to your company to provide valuable services after you retire.
If you have a technical background, you can explore consulting as a part-time job. My consulting work began shortly after I retired in 2009 with a phone call from a company asking if I could help them with a short-term project by doing exactly what I was doing before I retired. I have been working for six months a year ever since.
There are several other part-time job possibilities you could consider;
Do you like to drive and travel? RV dealers in your area may need someone to transport RVs from one dealer to another. Check with your local RV dealers and offer your services as a driver. Some may require a class C driver’s license, but the rewards of getting paid to travel to different parts of the country in a luxury RV can be worth it.
I know a retiree who used to drive cars between car dealerships in his town and another who delivered cars for Enterprise car rental. This type of work is a bit more difficult because car dealerships often have someone on staff who delivers the cars. It doesn’t hurt to ask and it could result in a unique part-time job.
Uber, the ride-sharing service that got its start on the internet a couple of years ago, offers opportunities to make some extra money. I don’t know what the pricing structure is, but it should be easy to sign up and make some extra money. Another great benefit for a retiree is that he can work when he wants and on his terms.
When most people think of a part-time job, the first thing that comes to mind is a low-paying, structured job where you report to a place at a certain time, put in a few hours, and get paid. This works and has been the norm ever since. But, the real key to finding unusual ways to earn extra money is to look around, watch the news, and see what is happening in the world today.
If you see something unusual that interests you, check it out. It could be the perfect part-time job.