5 Jobs For The Semi Retired Active Ager

We look at some jobs that the semi-retired active ager can consider.

Are you considering an early retirement? Maybe you are thinking that it’s better to love the job you do and not stay on with a job you are getting bored with? Perhaps it’s time to rethink your situation in a full-time job or the usually-more-than 40 hour work week.

Semi-retirement refers to a decision you make regarding how you earn your income. Semi-retirees often choose to work a fixed number of hours per week or month to earn their keep. Once a certain ‘financial’ level that’s comfortable is achieved, they can spend time on non-paid work or interests such as learning a new skill, sustaining relationships with family and friends, or performing community service, as they arrange their lives around optimising time rather than working for salary.

There are several factors you might want to consider before you embark on a semi-retired lifestyle. These include discussions about earning less as well as working out with your partner or spouse about the impact it might have to a joint-income situation, especially when it comes to family matters such as children. There should be some attention paid towards the impact if any, on health, medical or insurance plans.

On the other hand, there are definite benefits in opting to work as a semi-retiree. Semi-retirees get to enjoy the excitement of working on an interest or passion as opposed to working solely for money. It’s like reliving the early days when climbing the career ladder was not as immediate. You can also pick industries and jobs that might have been a dream, centered on a passion or perhaps provide free perks such as a great location, freebies or access to events.

We pick out five possible jobs the active ager can consider.

Art Gallery/Theatre Guide

If you are a fan of the arts and have some background or perspective related to arts and theatre, you might want to consider becoming a guide and help nurture and build the interest of those visitors of art galleries, museums, theatre and such. Perks of the job include being immersed in an environment of fine arts and talking to like-minded people.

Data Entry Specialist

Consider home-based or contract office data entry roles if your workstyle is all about short stints of intense focus and you are comfortable with figures and numbers. In an office environment, there is some level of social interaction with colleagues and the satisfaction of a hard output at the end of a work period.

Nursing/Eldercare

In an increasingly ageing society, you can contribute by taking care of the those who are older and need home-based help. If you have a nursing or patient-management background, organisations are always looking for help.

Alternatively, even without a nursing background, you can always help by providing home care services to elders through organisations such as U Live. These services cover a diverse range of services such as companionship, helping out with daily physical exercise and mentally stimulating activities or even accompanying them to doctors or the hospital.

Private Residence Caretakers

There might be a sweet deal somewhere if you are comfortable trading your time a few months a year to become a caretaker for a private residence. Caretakers help watch over properties for owners in their absence, and there is usually free lodging involved in exchange for caretaking services and compensation that includes meals and/or salary/allowance.

Property caretaking can provide you with the chance to live a life in a another city or country, to be exposed to different cultures as well as complete your travel bucket list if any. There’s also the benefit of living rent-free and saving money. You can learn more by signing up with The Caretaker Gazette.

Teaching Online

“Those who can’t, teach” is a common refrain heard in Singapore. This was the title of a performance staged by The Necessary Stage in 1990 and was written by Haresh Sharma.

Through the internet, there are lots of opportunities for those with the right skill and knowledge sets to participate in teaching. Students are no longer defined by age or location. You can consider volunteering with organisations such as “Teachers without Borders”, set up a Youtube channel or simply record videos or podcasts about topics you are interested in sharing about.

In this case, if you have the expertise, experience and want to ‘pay it forward’, teaching might just become the domain of those who ‘can’.

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