Best Retirement J*bs

[Sue J]

For 11 years I had a fun job as an usher at a summer outdoor concert venue.

https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/discover/blossom-music-center/

All late afternoon and evening hours a couple times a week. It was The Cleveland Orchestra on weekends and lots of well known rock/pop/country artists on weekdays.

Many ushers were in my age range or older. I enjoyed it for many years. In the off season we could join the usher crew at a local university for track and field, basketball, football, etc.

Also, I've been a School Crossing Guard for 16 years. But I don't think you'd like that - 1 hour in the morning, one hour in the afternoon following a school calendar. I enjoy it a lot but it's not for everyone!

I don't need the income from my work so it all goes into a Roth IRA. I just like to save.

 

[livingalmostlarge]

I had a friend work at a golf course so he could golf for cheap worldwide. That and he liked working 1x a week and covering when asked.

 

[youbet]

Even if it is only one day, the thought of a schedule, a boss, and someone else telling me what to do is too much.

So true Michael, so true. In my almost 17 years of FIRE, the most important thing to me to protect and maintain was control of my time and my independence. (DW excluded of course!)

 

[Jenna]

For 11 years I had a fun job as an usher at a summer outdoor concert venue.

https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/discover/blossom-music-center/

All late afternoon and evening hours a couple times a week. It was The Cleveland Orchestra on weekends and lots of well known rock/pop/country artists on weekdays.

Many ushers were in my age range or older. I enjoyed it for many years. In the off season we could join the usher crew at a local university for track and field, basketball, football, etc.

Also, I've been a School Crossing Guard for 16 years. But I don't think you'd like that - 1 hour in the morning, one hour in the afternoon following a school calendar. I enjoy it a lot but it's not for everyone!

I don't need the income from my work so it all goes into a Roth IRA. I just like to save.

Also look for jobs as "Security" at theatre venues. Basically it's a $20 an hour job that is like an usher. You don't have to be proactive beyond reporting things to a supervisor. And you get to see the shows and visit with patrons

 

[street]

I'm going to do a couple of days a week for the state university. They have a few projects and will do some of their yard work for the summer. They have asked me the last three years and I said yes, this year.

Very laid back, great people, and they tell me what they want, and I do it. Pretty much on my own and unsupervised.

I might regret it but even me being an introvert I'm looking forward to being able to be around some people.

I know all of them and some for my whole life.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I taught a online college class for 8 years and loved it. I set my own schedule and had no one telling me what to do. It’s the most fun for money experience I have ever had.

 

[Philliefan33]

I have a summer gig that pays me to go whitewater kayaking and/or biking. The j*b part is that I have to guide the paying guests. I control my availability so if it gets to be too much for my introvert tendencies I take a couple of days off and bike by myself. I’ve met many friends with similar interests and learned a lot from my coworkers.

 

[Time2]

Can you find another person in your situation and then the two of you could work one job, but split the hours. With the right person it could be great, you would have someone to cover for you and vise versa.

 

[disneysteve]

Do you have a hobby or skill that you can monetize and be your own boss? That way you get to set the hours and only work as much as you want to.


I sell on ebay. The amount I can earn is limited only by how much time I want to spend sourcing merchandise and listing it for sale. If we go away, I put my account in vacation mode and resume when we get back. And the best part is I love doing it.

 

[COcheesehead]

I forgot about my eBay gig too, but I look at that as a hobby that puts a few thousand in my pocket every year.
I have a retired neighbor who drives a shuttle at a nearby ski resort. It pays for his season pass.
I have another retired neighbor who runs the sound board for a local band.
I don’t understand those that completely eschew a hobby job in retirement. If it adds to your quality of life, go for it.

 

[disneysteve]

I forgot about my eBay gig too, but I look at that as a hobby that puts a few thousand in my pocket every year.

Exactly, which would fit OP's criteria well. You can make as much or as little as you want and work whatever hours are good for you.


I'm not retired yet but I've still made about $1,400 so far this year on ebay just doing it casually on the side. Once I can devote more time to it, there's no reason I can't make $1,000/month or more doing something I really enjoy.


OP, find that thing that you enjoy and you're good at that you can monetize in that same way.

 

[Sue J]

I started my crossing guard job specifically to complete my Social Security credits as I only had 33 when I left a career in 1984 to be a full time Mom. I finished getting the 7 credits but kept the job because I just enjoy it.

I'm in my car for an hour at a time and I get out and wait for the kids when I know they are heading to school or when school gets out. So I have a lot of time waiting in my car.

- I really enjoy the alone time in my car. I listen to music or a podcast or during the right time of year a baseball game. Sometimes I just enjoy the silence. I do some of my best thinking alone in my car.
- I like having something that is just mine, not connected to DH or the rest of the family.
- I'm a natural SAVER and even though DH is retired on a pension that supports us just fine, I like being able to save my income and invest it in my Roth IRA.
- I'm quite the introvert and this gets me out into the world, interacting with the community.
- I don't have a supervisor or coworkers. There are 13 other crossing guards and we have a contact person at the Police Department who handles our payroll. We see each other once a year for a meeting.

 

[skyking1]

I kept my crane certifications up to allow for some fill in work. I can do 50 hours a month and not affect my pension draw. I happen to enjoy crane rental work when it is in small doses.

 

[tmm99]

I'm glad to see that a lot of people here are doing what they enjoy doing and getting paid to boot (and there's nothing wrong with that!) Being FIREd makes a lot of things possible for us. No more money worries and we can pretty much get to do whatever we want.

 

[Music Lover]

I don't know if something like this job would work for you... but...

Frank loved his "fun job" doing sound and lighting for shows at bars in the French Quarter, here in New Orleans. He did have to work on the weekends, but I'm sure one could find a similar gig where they need someone to fill in on weekdays, to give the weekend guy a break. He loved hanging out with the musicians and locally famous folks like that. They loved him too and often would even tip him generously in addition to the money the bar paid him. He got to do sound for a drummer that he had idolized since he was a teenager, and for a comedian that everyone locally knows and loves, and many others. Everyone appreciated him and said he was the best sound guy in town, which of course he loved hearing.

This year he quit because he's getting older and feels like the music is getting more and more loud and tasteless and the younger musicians are less and less professional than their predecessors. Also we read about more older guys getting mugged while walking to their cars alone in the wee hours. But he had a wonderful time with that job for several years.

There's a learning curve doing sound and it's not a job for beginners. Someone without a solid grasp of the basics can get in trouble real fast if something goes wrong...and it usually does.

 

[skyking1]

the other good gig is anything on the water, in the summer. I always feel a little guilty taking the check. I do love working around boats etc.

 

[W2R]

There's a learning curve doing sound and it's not a job for beginners. Someone without a solid grasp of the basics can get in trouble real fast if something goes wrong...and it usually does.

Oh OK.... I never did that job myself, so I didn't know it was that hard. For Frank, it is ideal because he gets to use his engineering skills setting up systems and running sound for the musicians. If something goes wrong he can troubleshoot it before there's a problem; this is his way of adding to the performance, I suppose. He feels like he is part of the show in some sense. He has made many lifelong friends over the years this way, and never has had problems such as you described. But then, he's Frank - - (happy sigh!) My version of Superman.

 

[Music Lover]

Oh OK.... I never did that job myself, so I didn't know it was that hard. For Frank, it is ideal because he gets to use his engineering skills setting up systems and running sound for the musicians. If something goes wrong he can troubleshoot it before there's a problem; this is his way of adding to the performance, I suppose. He feels like he is part of the show in some sense. He has made many lifelong friends over the years this way, and never has had problems such as you described. But then, he's Frank - - (happy sigh!) My version of Superman.

I often run sound for both of my bands from the stage, so it's not necessarily hard. But you have to know what to adjust, how to adjust it, where to plug things in, along with several other things.

Good sound people rarely have problems because they know what they're doing and they make it look easy. It sounds like he found a great hobby/part time job.

 

[disneysteve]

Same here. Even if it is only one day, the thought of a schedule, a boss, and someone else telling me what to do is too much.

That’s why I love selling online. I’m the boss. I make the schedule. I decide when and how much to do. Some days I do a lot. Some days a little. Some days nothing at all.

 

[1242Vintage]

My fun little retirement job is quality assurance engineer for a rock and gravel quarry. Spent my whole career in the construction industry, working my way up from lowly junior engineer and ending as the principal Engr in the corporation. And now this part-time job takes me right back to the fun I had in the very early days of my career.

The pay is excellent and my employer is happy to have someone to call when workload increases. It’s a good situation.

Heading out now to my lab (two shipping containers full of testing equipment and supplies) for a few hours of work.

 

[38Chevy454]

I have a small home based business related to my old car hobby. Just like DisneySteve said, it puts some money in the pocket, and I can do it mostly when I want. Started it 14 years ago when working and it was mainly tax benefit. That tax benefit is still true now in retirement. Since it is related to my old car hobby, it doesn't really seem like work so much as compared to a regular job.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Good sound people rarely have problems because they know what they're doing and they make it look easy.

That's the truth, brother!

One sound guy that helps us out is good but not great. My band has had some others that really knew what they were doing, and were experts. SOOO much better overall, for them, for us the band, and ultimately for the audience. A top notch sound guy is very worth it.

 

[Car-Guy]

Haven't worked (for money) a single day since I retired 10 years ago. I did play around with collectables (fun not work) for a few years but not for profit. The only job I'd even consider, or be interested in, is being a Gigolo but at my age it would be a part time job.

 

[Music Lover]

A top notch sound guy is very worth it.

And many of them charge accordingly. It's not uncommon for the sound guy to make more than the band members...that's for the average bar band, not A list bands.

In fact, one of my friends quit playing in bands to become a sound guy. Less hassle, better pay.

 

[teej1985]

I umpire baseball and officiate volleyball. There are games year round. Baseball from late Feb thru the end of Oct. Volleyball basically year round. Can work as much or as little as you like. U r independent so take the games/leagues/levels you want.

How did you get the volleyball gig? That sounds fun.