Most people retire with the idea that they are done working forever, but sometimes retirees go back to work. The good news is, with a little imagination, you can find plenty of fun part-time jobs after retirement.
Some people get bored with retirement and decide they want a part-time job to fill time. Others realize their retirement savings isn’t enough to make ends meet. Still others look for a sense of fulfillment by staying involved and keeping their mind active and healthy.
If you are looking for fun part-time jobs after retirement, but aren’t sure where to start, consider going back to your roots. What did you enjoy doing as a child? What is an activity you relish but perhaps put on the backburner before retirement?
There are plenty of second-act ideas. Here are a few to spark your imagination.
8 Fun part-time jobs after retirement
Driver
If you like to drive, ride-sharing services, like Uber and Lyft, let you work when you choose. The flexible hours and opportunity to meet people from all over the world are big incentives. You need a car, a valid driver’s license, and a smart phone, because the services operate through mobile apps. It’s easier if you know your way around your local area, but using GPS apps can help you navigate unfamiliar locations.
Crafter
If you have a hobby of handcrafts, you can turn it into a small business. Quilting, sewing, painting, and woodworking are all creations people enjoy purchasing. There’s a big market for handmade soaps, macrame, candles, clothing, and other personal crafts and unique artisan goods.
Check with your community for seasonal craft fairs where you could set up a booth to sell your products.
You could also create your own personal website with minimal computer website building skills or pay someone else to do it for you.
If you don’t want to create your own website, Etsy is a nice option to sell your items online. It’s a user-friendly site that takes you step-by-step through setting up your online store. They require a small fee for their service, which also helps keep the payments safe and secure.
Gardener
Do you have a green thumb? If so, there are several products in high demand:
- Grow beautiful flowers and create bouquets to sell.
- Sell homegrown fruits and vegetables at a roadside stand or at local farmers markets.
- Grow fresh herbs to sell or dry them and offer them in packets. You could sell lavender pillows.
Tour Guide
Being a tour guide is a great gig for people who live in a tourist destination. It can help you get to know your town’s history even better while meeting all kinds of interesting people. You could look for a job with an existing company, (big cities have walking tours for food-lovers, boat tours, bike tours, ghost tours, and more), or you could start a tour of your town’s most interesting areas.
Edith Pair started the “Mushroom House Tours” in 2006 in Charlevoix, Michigan. A guided GEM car (like an oversized electric golf cart) takes riders to all 28 Mushroom Houses designed by Charlevoix native, Earl Young. Along the way, Pair teaches riders the history of the houses, which are a unique feature of Charlevoix. In 2021, Pair won the Charlevoix Chamber of Commerce’s Tourism Excellence Award and was voted the “No. 1 Thing to Do” on Trip Advisor. She turned her local knowledge into a successful, fun business venture.
Babysitter
A lot of grandparents are already spending time with grandchildren, especially if they live nearby. Many aren’t paid for that; they do it out of love. But if you enjoy spending time with children, you could earn some money at the same time.
Babysitting can be a flexible part-time job that allows you to work at your convenience. For a steady income, you could become a part-time babysitter or day care provider for working parents. Or you could offer to babysit evenings or weekends, giving parents a chance to get out.
Pet sitter
Along the same lines of babysitting, if you love spending time with animals, you could earn some money pet sitting. Many pet owners prefer to have their pets stay home or in another person’s home rather than taking them to a kennel during vacations or business trips. Put the word out in your social circles and neighborhood that you are a pet sitter for hire, and you could find yourself enjoying a fun, part-time, flexible job taking care of other people’s pets.
Movie theater attendant
Working at a movie theater could be a good fit if you love movies. Theaters often hire part-time employees and allow workers to see current movies for free. Not only could you earn some money and meet new people, but it would help reduce your entertainment costs.
Seasonal worker
One of the advantages of retirement is having more freedom to relocate or live in separate places throughout the year. If you’re willing to pack up and move for a seasonal job, you could get paid to live and work in a dream location. You could find a job at a vacation resort, a beautiful wilderness area, a summer campground, or even a dude ranch. Check out the website www.coolworks.com for information on various seasonal jobs or www.flexjobs.com for thousands of listings of flexible work in 50 categories.
Anyone over the age of 55 can apply to work on specific project assignments at National Parks. This is a fun program allowing you an opportunity to use your valuable skills supporting the National Park Service. It’s a great way to make money while living in a beautiful place, and some of these jobs offer free housing.
