...but expect to continue work doing something you love, what is it?
Ah, for me THAT is the question--well, in addition to the question of finances. These days, I am getting discouraged and feel that ER is all a big fantasy for me.
But to continue the fantasies, these things have popped into my mind from time to time, but they require so much time and energy with most likely little probability that anyone would hire a 50+ year-old grad:
- Go back to university and study to become an architect
- Go back to university and study to become a doctor
- Go back to university and get a master's in library science
After all the studying related to any of the above, I might be so burnt out that I wouldn't even want to work using the new degree.
More doable ones, which I could start on now and not wait until I retire:
- Get a master's degree in Computer Science and then teach at the local community college
- Take drafting and graphic design classes at local community college and work in some firm using these
- Have my own business doing web pages or database applications for small firms or non-profit local firms
Out-there ideas:
- Like another poster, get a food booth at a downtown corner and sell noodles, fried rice, and egg rolls during the nice-weather months
- Back up my BF as a rhythm guitarist during his gigs
- Get certification to be a masseuse and yoga instructor
Frankly, I am still having a tough time figuring out 'what I want to be when I grow up'...
As you can see, I share that problem with you. There are so many things to do and learn, but I only have one body and one life. I am 45 years old and work as a computer programmer basically. Things are going OK at work but I forget how old I am and getting older--I keep thinking there's enough time to do other things. But as one gets older, options close off with hireability, age discrimination and stuff in most fields. And as I get older, my energy levels have waned, too.
It seems to me serial careers were not much tolerated by big employers. They want continuity in one profession and concentration in one field. Maybe that's changing because of the necessity of surviving with a job (even any job) in the face of massive layoffs. But even then, if one's career path zigs and zags in different areas, one doesn't command as much salary as someone who has been an "expert" or "pro" in one field.
When one is FI, though, careers and resumes are things of the past, hopefully, and one has more freedom to explore doing what one loves, which is your question anyway: working doing what we love.
