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At the moment, the average retirement age in the U.S. is 61. However, many retirees are still in the workforce, even in their 70s, 80s, and beyond.
“Oh, that’s too old to work.”
Well, maybe, but if you live until 90 and retire at 60, would you want to sit in your rocking chair tossing your fingers for 30 years?
There are many reasons why boomers still want to work after retirement. It could be the high inflation rate, a keen interest in pursuing personal passions, or the need to stay active and engaged.
If you’re a teacher who just retired recently, I just want to say you are not too old to find jobs for former teachers. With your experience and skills, many opportunities are ahead of you, even in your twilight years. So, finding a part-time gig or a work-from-home job that sparks your lifestyle and interest would be easy.
There are many options for senior teachers looking forward to trying new opportunities. Here are the best retirement jobs that offer low-stress, flexible working hours.
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1. Online Tutoring
Retirement is exciting because it could mean being with your loved ones 24/7 and having to pursue leisurely activities that you may have missed out on when you were a full-time teacher.
However, for passionate teachers out there, when the novelty of retirement starts to wear off, you may miss the social connection that school provides. When this day comes, working as an online tutor is the best way to extend your love for teaching.
Online tutoring is 99% work from home. Thus, if you’re on the hunt for remote jobs that allow flexibility, this job is ideal. You can teach within your area, reach out to parents to teach former students, or try online platforms like Wyzant or Chegg Tutors to teach international students of various subjects like English, Math, and Science.
I advise you to teach students through those sites if you want a higher paycheck. Wyzant is looking for teachers for a one-on-one tutoring session for students in grade school to college. At the same time, Chegg offers tutoring services to high school and college students only.
To start, simply sign up to these platforms, choose the subject you want to teach, and wait until a team accepts your registration. The best thing about these apps is that you don’t need to apply for a job. The students or their parents will interact with you should they find you suitable for their needs.
The choice is truly up to you. It also doesn’t matter if you have already found work somewhere. You could make this one as a second job that fuels your passion for educating others.
2. Freelance Writing
As someone who has been in the workforce for years, you would surely want a job that will allow you to work when you feel like it, be employed by someone you like to collaborate with, and earn an income doing what you enjoy. The best way to attain these perks is to try freelance writing.
Most freelance writers decide their working schedule and are free to work from home. If you haven’t had experience working for a client before, it might be best to apply for writing jobs related to your expertise. But if you want to try a new niche, feel free to do so.
Websites like Upwork and Freelancer offer a variety of job listings in popular niches such as travel, finance, food, marketing, and whatnot. These platforms work the same. All you have to do is register, set up your profile, and browse for job opportunities.
Whichever way you want to look for work, you will need a portfolio before applying for a writing job. To do so, you may want to start a blog to hone your writing skills, or you could directly reach out to publications to find jobs relevant to your experience as a teacher. Should you want my advice, I will suggest you pursue the latter.
Are you a retired history teacher? No modern writers can beat your knowledge of American history. Meanwhile, retired English teachers could easily find jobs related to literature or anything requiring language expertise.
3. Virtual Assistant
From the word “virtual,” you already know that this side hustle requires you to be at home facing a monitor. Hate working onsite? Perfect! This job is ideal for retired teachers because they’ve got organizational and administrative skills, which are top requirements for becoming a VA.
But even if you don’t have solid qualifications to be a virtual assistant, you can still find clients willing to train you. To get started, you need to pick your niche.
Some popular niches include social media management, customer service, event planning, and project management. These are easy tasks for retiree folks like you.
Moreover, if you want a VA job related to your previous job, you might want to reach out to educators like you who want to keep themselves organized. You’re an ideal candidate because you know the jargon, audience, and overall goals of an educator.
4. Flipping Things
Many job ideas in this post are self-employment and solopreneur-style small business, but in reality, your choices are endless and not limited to this list. In fact, you can be a side hustler and business owner at the same time by flipping things like clothes, shoes, and collectibles.
Flipping furniture is the most famous venture in this category. Whether it’s a dinged-up sofa at home or vintage cabinets you find at thrift stores, people love the idea of “the find” and reselling them.
No, this money-making hobby doesn’t require much of your retirement fund. Flea markets, online platforms (i.e., Craiglist’s free section and Facebook market), and junk yards offer free items you can flip. On the other hand, you can find discounted furniture at garage sales, thrift stores, and Facebook marketplace.
You don’t need to have a Picasso-like talent either. You will do just fine if you can do little maintenance, cleanup, and repairs. If you want fast transactions, I suggest you sell your flipped items at yard sales or local markets. But if you don’t want the hassle of meeting buyers face-to-face, your best bet is to sell them online on platforms like OfferUp, eBay, and FB marketplace.
Take note, though, that one way to profit in this venture is to price your items accordingly. To do so, consider your overall cost, market price, and the condition of each piece.
5. Make and Sell Crafts
Looking for the best jobs for teachers outside of the classroom? Look no further. If you want to get as far as possible from the teaching world, you could go in the opposite direction, like the business world.
The income may not be as fantastic initially, but you can make money from your hobbies. Are you fond of making Christmas crafts, handmade jewelry, or home decor? Don’t just collect them in your house to gather dust later – make more dollars from them!
According to a study, baby boomers rank 2nd in terms of the highest number of small business owners. So, if more business owners are older adults like you, using the alibi, “I’m too old to start a business,” is unacceptable.
As an educator, you can also use your experience to provide digital products like study planners and other printables. Check what others are looking for and read reviews to see which items can be profitable. Once you already know which items to sell, list them on Etsy. This site is the best platform for all things crafts and digital products.
6. Side Gigs
I worked for many years in a banking job that I disliked and constantly dealt with the stress of working with temperamental bosses and colleagues. Now, I work as a full-time blogger and a Dasher in my free time. Did I regret this sudden career change? Not one bit.
I love how the gig economy is booming these days. Not to mention that making money from your car is one of the most popular side hustles in the United States. This type of side gig will also not be extinct soon, so it’s safe to say that you could work in a few years or so.
You could be a Dasher, too. While the gig economy is not the most popular job for former teachers, you may be surprised by the number of retirees looking forward to being part of this increasing population.
It doesn’t matter if you’re over 60, so long as you can make deliveries on your bike or car. You could also make deliveries for Uber Eats, Instacart, or Amazon or work as a driver for Uber or Lyft.
The best part of joining the gig economy is that I don’t get late-night calls from my boss or co-workers, I can set my own hours and spend most of my time with my family. I wouldn’t trade these benefits for anything in this world.
7. Dog Trainer
The income of a dog trainer may not be suitable for your 401(k) contributions, but they are low-stress jobs for retirees nonetheless. If I were to retire one day, I wouldn’t mind caring for dogs for the rest of my life. I don’t think it should be considered a bad life living and working for dogs.
Of course, it would be a bonus if I’m getting paid to walk or care for them. Got bad arthritis? Forget hitting the gym at 6 AM. After all, daily exercise is part and parcel of working with dogs.
Take note, however, that caring for dogs and training them as a job require different criteria. The former may require little to no qualifications so long as you can be with dogs, while the latter needs experience and training to teach dogs the basics of good behavior.
The most common commands dog trainers teach are “stay,” “come,” “sit,” and “down.” I trained my dog by myself and learned the basics through YouTube. However, one way to get high-paying jobs is to get a dog trainer certificate. Your certification will persuade fur-parents that you’re serious about your craft.
8. Teaching Art or Music
Anything related to art or music is my dream profession. Unfortunately, while the universe was showering the gifts of talent, I might have been sleeping peacefully. Just kidding.
Seriously, if you’re an ex-teacher of the arts or music, your retirement should not hinder you from sharing your talents. And if life has gotten in the way and you didn’t get to pursue your God-given gifts when you were younger, it’s high time you focused on them now.
Many kids and even young adults are looking for art and music teachers to hone their talents. Find your potential mentees by advertising your classes on social media or offering them at community centers.
You can make money teaching one-on-one lessons on instruments, singing, or even painting and drawing (if you’re an artist). The cool thing about this path is that it’s a high-paying fun job you can enjoy post-retirement. Plus, it immerses you in your passion for the arts and music every waking day of your life.
9. Librarian
You may be a retired educator, but it doesn’t mean you’re also a retired bibliophile. For former teachers who still want to be in school or at least want to be surrounded by books, you could work as a librarian.
This is the best place to be for senior teachers looking for part-time jobs for retirees. Most librarians work part-time and away from a classroom’s hustling and bustling setup. The library is quiet, perfect for people who love a peaceful environment and being with people with similar interests – the love for books.
If you really love books, you can also make money to get paid for reading books. To double your income, you could work as a librarian and read books simultaneously during your shift. Pfft! That’s hitting two birds with one stone.
10. Substitute Teaching
Your age will not bar you from returning to teaching after your colleagues throw out confetti for you on your retirement day. So, if you want to return to teaching by being a substitute teacher, don’t hesitate to do so. Remember that your retirement is not a hindrance to pursuing your interests.
After all, this is one of the best jobs for retired teachers because experienced mentors like you can do well in this setting. The job is already familiar to you because you perform the same thing pre-retirement. The only difference is that it is a slow-paced job. You’re not working permanently and have less workload than full-time teachers.
To get hired, reach out to your previous school or apply to other schools to cover long-term absentees. You will most likely get hired doing the first choice, while the latter option ensures more shifts because you’re applying for multiple schools.
11. Gardening/Landscaping
Gardening and landscaping are cheap hobbies yet easy-going jobs where you can talk to your clients about flowers and plants all day. It requires little to no investment because most tools are already available at your home. What’s not to like, right?
You don’t have to be a botanist or degree holder in landscaping, although it won’t hurt to be one as it would warrant a higher paycheck. It will also be easy to find clients because some could be a friend in an older neighborhood or fellow retirees who might need your green thumb and gardening skills.
These jobs only require you to ensure that plants are healthy and the soil remains productive. Other responsibilities also include watering, weeding, and, sometimes, planting new plants.
As a perk, you can ask clients for free or discounted plants to have in your beautiful garden collection.
12. Life Coach
Ophrah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Leonardo De Caprio seek the guidance of a life coach. You see, even famous people who seem to have it all sometimes need life coaches, and for everyday folks like us facing similar life issues and feelings, it can be even more helpful.
Young adults need the life learnings you have accrued as a teacher and individual over the past years. Pay forward or lend a helping hand for all the blessings you’ve received over the years.
Life coaches are willing to listen, ask questions, and give life advice that may help people nurture their future.
If you are eager to make this a new career path, it pays off to get a certification and establish your personal brand. You can get certified through Certified Professional Career Coach and build your brand by leveraging social media.
These strategies will help you land better-paying clients, especially for stay-at-home moms who want to make money giving motherly care and advice.
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