Experience with part-time after FIRE

[BoredAtWork]

Whether to supplement your income or to stay busy or any other reason, what have your experiences been with doing part time work after FIRE. I’m coming from a background in business and finance but have thought about doing something general in retirement as a side hustle like being an Uber driver, delivery driver, bartender, working at a church or school. The appeal is work that is pretty stress free and when you aren’t at work you are 100% able to turn it off. No emails, calls and meetings on weekends or days off.

I’m sure I could make more money doing consulting work in my area of expertise but my experience of using consultants is it is always when things have gone really bad and you need them in an emergency immediately. Not exactly conducive to being partly retired and trying to not be working much.

So what’s been your experience doing part time work in retirement. Either doing something totally different than your career or doing part time in the same domain as your career? Was it enjoyable or quickly became a monotonous grind? What kind of work did you do and why?

 

[aaronc879]

I don't think very many people would consider bartending or being a delivery driver as "low stress". It is very much work. If working part time is being FIRED then I fired in 2011 at age 31 since I have been working part time since then. I have never done any job I would consider enjoyable and can't imagine a reason to work if there is no financial need. YMMV

 

[rodi]

I upped my volunteering when I retired. Still had kids under roof so a lot of school volunteering, and on foundation boards for those schools. I also did some classes at community college.

Now I am backing away from all of the extra obligations. These things, while fulfilling and interesting, were obligations... I couldn't just blow them off without leaving someone/something in the lurch. Since I don't need the money, the idea of working for money, even freelance like uber, gives me the willies... I've had enough bosses, other people's priorities and problems, and time schedules for a lifetime.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

As @rodi says-even volunteering someone is depending on you to show up at a specific time and produce something. Whatever that may be.
Also, my personality is such that I would think about the job on after hours no matter what that job is.
I’m retiring at the end of this year and the only obligations I want are to my family and meeting friends for lunch or outings.
I may change my mind later but I sincerely doubt it.

 

[Firezone]

I just retired at 58 in May . It took me three months to just stop thinking about all the side hustles I could be doing . In fact it took me a full year to make the leap to early retirement .
I was a retired bank Manager of 25 years and , real estate agent and I had many ways I could have gone as far as a second career .Everyone is different . But I’m enjoying the non routine , catching up with family and volunteering here and there . I’m not locked into any commitment . The beauty is you can do a number of things part time . If it’s not your cup of tea you move on . We spent a life time building a career . Once you allow your spirit to just let go of what others think and let go of the idea that’s it’s okay to do nothing for a bit ,you will find what ignites and excites your passion . Many of us at a certain age never had the luxury of defining what we truly wanted . We just fell into a career that may have done the trick for 25 years . Now the canvas is yours to create !

 

[trirod]

I retired a couple of years ago but kept working on a part-time basis for my employer. I also picked up some hours from another firm, at a lower hourly rate but with easier and less stressful work. I’m a CPA doing tax work for businesses and individuals so the work is somewhat seasonal and deadline oriented. This year I’ve worked around 250 hours for each firm. I’m thinking that next year I will just keep the lower stress, lower paid work and give up the higher stress work (my wife thinks I’m crazy but it makes sense to me!).

I do quite enjoy the work for the most part but also like being able to switch off when I am not working, which I find difficult with the higher paid work where I have much more responsibility. There are obviously downsides like having to get something done for a deadline when the weather is beautiful outside or when you want to go away for a few days. It can also be more difficult to motivate yourself when you are only doing a few hundred hours a year so you get into a rhythm of not working (if that makes sense?).

Anyway, I think it worked well to help transition from work to retirement, but I’m not sure how much longer I will do it for. Your skills definitely atrophy when you aren’t doing it 2,000 hours a year and it’s hard to keep up with all of the tax code changes when only working part time.

 

[Markola]

I retired from full time office work a year ago, but missed earning a little jingle jangle. A couple of podcasts that I know of explore side hustles: The Side Hustle Show, and Side Hustle School. Those two hosts really cover the water front of creative ideas that people do.

For myself, I lucked into a small contract for a few hours per week with a nonprofit that I have volunteered for for years.

 

[Jerry1]

I always think about it but can’t convince myself that it would be better than doing what I’m doing (nothing). I can’t get over the thought that if I wanted more money or something to do, I should have just kept working. Frankly, I was making great money and I was coasting towards the end.

If I was going to do anything, I’d have to be of the belief that it would be something I really loved or felt that it had great purpose. I haven’t come across that yet. I’m only 60, so maybe some day. Until then, I’ll just keep living the dream. At times, it isn’t great, but it’s been better than any alternative going on 4 years.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I still want to find a fun job but the joy of not working is strong... my threshold is shifting and I'm getting more and more picky!

 

[Bigdawg]

Walked in the door an hour ago after umpiring a double header. $200 cash for the day. A triple header tomorrow. $325. A nice little weekend of baseball and cash. Had 3 volleyball matches last week. $150 each. Between volleyball and baseball I pull in about 12-15K/yr. Always loved sports. Now I'm sort of giving back and getting paid to do it. Good luck to you OP.

 

[1242Vintage]

I retired from an exec-level engineering management position 18 months ago. Although I was the principal engineer of my Division, virtually none of my time was spent on technical engineering issues.

A year after retirement an opportunity for a seasonal and part-time job with a large construction contractor dropped in my lap. Now twice a week I get up before dawn, lace up my steel-toe boots and head out to a plant the makes small rocks out of big ones and produces hot asphalt concrete. My day is spent outside crawling around equipment and providing quality assurance testing with equipment housed in two cold and dusty shipping containers.

What it comes down to is the part-time job is very similar to my very first job as a junior engineer fresh out of college over three decades ago. Loved what I did back then, and this new part-time job takes me right back to that feeling from long ago.

 

[Jim59]

If you’re doing work for pay, you can’t say you’re retired.

 

[freedom2022]

I am considering to retire early in the near future. I work for a multi national company as a mid manager. I like the work, but I don't like the customers, cooperate and co workers expectations. Their expectations are not realistic. I think most people like to work, but on their own pace and schedule. Unfortunately, the world does not operate that way. That is why many choose to retire early.

You can do part time consulting works if you can find clients who understand you. You have expertise they need without them paying too much, but they have to be realistic with their expectation on deadline. They may have projects on to do list that are not time sensitive for their bottom line.

Good luck.

 

[Ronstar]

I did about 100 hours of consulting to my employer and one client on projects still ongoing when I retired. But it was just like my former job, so I quit consulting when the projects were done.

And I did a few woodworking and photography gigs for $, but the situation would have to be ideal for me to do any more for $.

 

[Fleur58]

If you’re doing work for pay, you can’t say you’re retired.

I think the definition of "retired" is very flexible these days. If you don't need the money and work anyway--- I think that is "retired" as well. I've run into so many people who are bored with retirement and need something meaningful to do. Might as well get paid for it.

I used to volunteer for free and was treated like an employee. They expected me toshow up and ordered me about like I was getting paid. Did not sit well with me.

I work 2 nights per week for something to do. Otherwise I am retired the other 5 days of the week. If I want extra money, my job pays a $60 an hour bonus on top of my regular rate if I work an extra shift. They call every day looking for nurses. I am a nurse.

 

[Montecfo]

I have toyed with the idea of working and have gotten unsolicited inquiries to work.

But I realize I'm virtually unemployable since I expect:

Flexible hours ( do not want to have to be anywhere before 10AM)

Short commute (never had a drive over 30 min, why start now?)

No calendar based commitments like month-end financials or tax returns (I'm a CPA with both financial and tax backgrounds).

Ability to take off on short notice to go to my favorite out of town sporting events, hit the beach or the slopes.

So I no longer entertain the idea.

 

[Markola]

If you’re doing work for pay, you can’t say you’re retired.

Yes, I can. I’m retired and do what I want to.

 

[pacergal]

I have worked on call with previous employer ever since retirement, last gig was helping with COVID clinics. Once we got those well organized and running, I quit again.
Only, this time I actually did, finally quit! No more on call for me. Five years has been enough and I got "the need to help out" out of my system, not my fault they don't hire enough folks to get the work done.
I may do volunteer work sometime in the future, but not now.

 

[Aerides]

...have thought about doing something general in retirement as a side hustle like being an Uber driver, delivery driver, bartender, working at a church or school. The appeal is work that is pretty stress free and when you aren’t at work you are 100% able to turn it off. No emails, calls and meetings on weekends or days off.

While the stresses of mega corp and business these days can certainly rattle around your head 24/7, the appeal of those other jobs you mention is definitely a case of the grass is greener.

All those other jobs have their own stresses. Different ones, but not carefree by any means. The unhappy screaming customer. The late delivery. The drunk who wants to sit and talk to you all night. The less-than-five-star app rating.

26 years in a business finance megacorp, most of that in management and IT, but the most stressful work-dreams I get are from the 18 months before that, which I spent waiting tables...

 

[FIREd_2015]

I took several years off after I quit my FT career but eventually got bored and wanted some intellectual stimulation and change. I've had a part time gig for several years now and started a second one about a year ago. They are both non-exempt employee positions in biotech. I have no responsibilities once I leave the worksite. The assignments are anywhere from one day to at most 3 weeks. If I don't want to do an assignment for whatever reason I can turn it down. However, I'm not guaranteed an assignment so several months can go by without an offer for work. I make between $15-35k a year. Most of the assignments are out of my local area and if it's to someplace interesting I will stay a few extra days to explore (on my own nickel). I stay in decent hotels and get to keep airline miles, hotel and rental car points. I enjoy traveling and like the flexibility of the jobs and the hotel points come in handy when I'm on vacation overseas.

 

[street]

Yes, I can. I’m retired and do what I want to.

I like that!! I feel when you stop work from your career job you have retired. A part time gig for a few hours or part of the year to me does qualify not retired. I did a gig for 90 days a year to get in shape and to be in the outdoors all day. I loved and got paid for getting in better shape and being around people.

 

[Markola]

I like that!! I feel when you stop work from your career job you have retired. A part time gig for a few hours or part of the year to me does qualify not retired. I did a gig for 90 days a year to get in shape and to be in the outdoors all day. I loved and got paid for getting in better shape and being around people.

Yes, the days when one worked full bore for mega corp, got a gold watch and a pension, then moved to Florida to play shuffle board are over. It’s a mix and match world.