9 Top Part Time Retirement Jobs

If you are interested in part time retirement it probably means you want to find part time employment.  But at the same time, you want a job that suits your skill set, interests and availability. One option is to pitch your boss a phased retirement. Another is to march yourself down to the local sporting goods store or Wal-Mart and throw your application on the pile. But you don’t need me to suggest those ideas. Instead, let’s consider some cool out of the box part time retirement jobs and how to snare one.

Before we get started, let’s make sure we’re on the same page. If you need to make a full time salary working part time, I don’t think this post is going to help you much. Chances are high that you are going to earn substantially less money working part time. The concept behind part time retirement jobs is to provide a little extra cash just to get you over the hump and at enjoy yourself at the same time.

With that in mind, you can find a great part time job without much problem as long as you are willing to do a little work on the front end to make yourself as marketable as possible. The main idea is to think about what you bring to the table in a new way in order to land jobs you’ll thoroughly love doing.

Hobbies

There are a long list of retirement hobbies that can make you money. What are your hobbies? Have you been at it for a long time? If your pastime is popular among other people too, there are three opportunities to leverage your hobbies into jobs:

1. Classes.

Let’s say you’ve been a quilter for many years. Why not teach a class to share the love? Go to where they sell the materials for quilting and offer your services. Look for other places that already offer these classes and make yourself available. And don’t give up if a few doors get shut in your face. Persistence is the key my friend. Keep checking in from time to time until an opportunity presents itself.

2. Lessons.

Besides teaching a class, you could also offer individual instruction. My hobby is music. I’ve been playing drums for over 40 years. If I retire someday, I could easily teach beginners and it’s something I’d probably enjoy. That rocks.

3. Sales

A client of mine loves working with wood and he makes exquisite furniture. He just retired this year and he’s selling his creations on EBay. Quilters can do the same thing and so might you. Does your hobby involve tangible goods that others use? If so, open up your online shop and get going.

Skills

If you’ve worked for some length of time you acquired skills along the way. What are they and who else might need to tap into them?

4. Bookkeeping

Did you work in accounting? Why not become a bookkeeper? Even if you didn’t work in accounting, it’s not too hard to master a program like QuickBooks and provide services to small business owners. This is a fantastic way to have your own small business without investing a lot of money. Believe me, if you master the software you’ll have a ton of business.  It’s almost impossible to find a good bookkeeper these days. Learn your stuff. Show up on time and deliver great service. You’ll command top dollar and have as much work as you want.

And if you’re a fan of You Need a Budget like I am – why not offer to teach others how to use it or keep other people’s books on YNAB so they don’t have to? This is also an easy way to open up your own shop and provide a service that helps many others.

But if you get a cold sweat every time you see a two digit number, don’t sweat it. There are still plenty of opportunities for you.

5. Health Care

You don’t have to be a retired brain surgeon or nurse to find opportunities in this industry. If you have experience working with older people, why not get a little training and provide light health care or companion services? If you like being helpful, this is tailor made for you. You can help out with errands, light housekeeping, shopping and maybe playing a hand of canasta or two while putting a few pesos in your pocket each week. Bingo!

6. Kids

The nice thing about working with kids is that you probably know more than they do in at least one or two subjects. You can get a job as a tutor or aid at a learning center or provide private lessons. Plus it’s a great way to boost your ego if you find kids that are young enough to teach!

7. Kids with Special Needs

My wife has worked with kids with autism for 7 year at the local school. If she retired, she’d have her pick of jobs. Families that have kids with autism need lots of extra help and are always on the lookout for loving people who are skilled in this area.

Even if you don’t have any experience working with special needs children, you can break into this area if you are very patient and loving. Volunteer at the local school and see how quickly opportunities come your way.

Projects

8. Research

If you have acquired a special expertise in one particular area, think about all the other businesses that need what you have. Maybe you know how to do market research. Which businesses are expanding in your area? Let them know about your experience and find out if there is an opportunity to help them out.

9. Consultant

If you were successful in your career before you retired, think about who needs to replicate your success. The best way to become a consultant (or provide research to others) on a project basis is to sign up on guru.com or elance.com. I’ve found a number of professionals to do research projects for me that way and it’s worked out very well. One did her job so well that she still works with me on a daily basis – 7 years later.

You can see that finding part time retirement jobs isn’t hard to do. All you have to do is first consider all the assets and benefits you offer and then consider who would value those attributes most. Once you do that, all you have to do is approach these people and wait for the job offers to start rolling in.

What part time retirement jobs have you enjoyed most? How did you get them?