Give me your late life job change ideas

September 19, 2024 7:42 AM

I’m an urban dwelling freelance writer in my late 50s. Work is not as steady as I would like and I’m considering, just considering, what I could train to become.

This is partly an exercise to get me thinking about what might be possible, either as a supplemental side hustle or a complete work life reinvention. Assuming my health and good fortune hold out, I hope to work for a dozen more years. What could I train to be? I know this is really broad, but that's the point, just to get me thinking about a grab bag of ideas I never would have considered but are possible for someone at my stage of life. Assume I’m willing to get some training, but not years and years of it, and that my innate aptitudes are not particularly STEM-y. Working with people is great, but not teaching kids in a classroom. Thanks for playing!

posted by gigondas to Work & Money (12 answers total)

What else do you like? What else do you do? What are your transferable skills? Can a hobby become a paid gig?

There's a new initative in the STEM world to turn STEM into STEAM - adding arts. Maybe that could be an avenue - you've probably got lots of creativity and creative ways of using art.

Could be standard MeFi chat - but have you considered therapy? If you're wordy, thoughtful and eloquent, perhaps being a therapist! Or just the good old fashioned work coach to see if they have any insider info more related to your locale.
posted by london explorer girl at 8:06 AM on September 19

Librarian work doesn't pay that well but it can be steady and many people work in the profession up to their advanced ages.
posted by xo at 9:04 AM on September 19

I have a friend who was feeling stuck in a crummy job in their early 50s, so they completed a SalesForce certification, did a project for free for another friend's non-profit demonstrating their skills, and then got a job surprisingly easily.
posted by hydropsyche at 11:12 AM on September 19

As a different approach, I'd say to look at job listings local to you from these organizations:
-City government
-County government
-Community colleges, colleges, and universities in your area
-One of the big business employers

This will give you an idea of what's available locally, and it might give you an idea of what large organizations in your area are looking for. Perhaps you will find something that seems compelling and that you might already be qualified to do.

(I'd advise against pursuing librarianship, which requires a degree that takes 1-2 years and can be a competitive job market, especially if you're not geographically mobile. But looking at staff jobs in libraries could be an option.)
posted by bluedaisy at 1:55 PM on September 19 [2 favorites]

You probably already have a lot of the skills for communication and marketing jobs. I'm not sure if there are any certifications that would help in that area but it's worth looking into.

You could volunteer to do social media for a nonprofit and add that to your resume.
posted by entropyiswinning at 2:04 PM on September 19

I've had these thoughts too! Off the top of my head, here's what I've considered:
- Medical imaging technologist
- Phlebotomist
- Licensing to drive bus
- HR Block offers tax specialist training
- Bookkeeping
- Temp agency as an admin

I've spent quite a bit of time daydreaming over my local community college's website. It's kind of fun to imagine all these (very different!) lives we could lead.
posted by unlapsing at 5:15 PM on September 19 [1 favorite]

Technical editor
posted by Jacqueline at 6:32 PM on September 19

I would say, generally speaking for someone in your age bracket, the top two categories might government work or allied health.

In my area, government jobs generally have a high vacancy rate. And medical-type jobs have a growing demand. Look at your local community college and the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
posted by NotLost at 6:43 PM on September 19

Some things I have considered (I’m of a similar age & have done freelance editing for a while now):
- medical coding (local CC offers courses)
- paralegal (CC courses)
- tutoring (ESL, writing, phonics)
- pet sitting/ dog walking

The local CC offers a lot of different options and tuition is fairly cheap if you are a resident.
posted by tuesdayschild at 8:41 PM on September 19

just a shot in the dark here (I haven't done such work myself), but social work? I know of at least one freelance writer (who was well-known for writing about X topic) living in an urban area who pivoted to social work (particularly, running community groups about X topic that they already had expertise on from writing about it)
posted by switchback at 8:56 PM on September 19

Therapy and social work require years and years of training, which OP said they don't want.
posted by carlypennylane at 5:56 AM on September 20 [2 favorites]

Can your skills be applied to grant writing and fundraising?
posted by Salamandrous at 6:17 PM on September 28