[Closed] career change in your 50's. ideas.

Beer taster.

Or

Ballet tutu fluffer..

What are your skills and what would you like to do?

skills?  no idea.

friendly, hard working, good time keeper, never been unemployed, quick learner, good at building bikes, good with maps.

I'd also ask how much is money of importance? Do you have a mortgage to pay / any other expensive commitments?

no mortgage, no expensive commitments.

could at a push take a 50% paycut.

What are you interested in?

If you can survive on a basic wage (eg retail) then you might be able to gain some time flexibility.

Anything you have ever fancied learning?

would love to build bikes all day. also like the outdoors, in my youth i was a coal merchant. bloody loved it. getting paid for keeping fit and strong.

think i may apply to the royal mail.

If you can afford it look for part time. Best thing I've ever done. Was in engineering all my life up until I got made redundant about 10 years back, (I'm 52 now), paid our mortgage off with redundancy payout, worked part time for Screwfix for a couple of years, now driving home delivery shopping van for a supermarket. A five minute walk from the house, work 24-28 hours a week. Saturday, Sunday and Monday off with early finish on a Friday. Don't earn anywhere near as much as I used to, but we dont really spend much so its all good. Only trouble is finding the job in the first place from my experience, it took me a while to fall into this job, but now couldnt be happier.

Outdoor pursuits instructor?

I do a bit with Cubs, though not as a job, and the emphasis is on being safe and engaging with the kids. From the couple of times that I've met you I would guess that you have the personality and presence to be rather good at it.

My lad has just come back from a residential week with his school at a place in Yorkshire and he's been banging on about how good the instructors were.

Loads of RM jobs going by me recently.  Get on their jobs mailing list and they'll send you vacancies.

Look on local council website-

Look on local train operator website- platform staff (ie person with a whistle) is a top job, inside outside lots of tea.

You could use your friendliness to approach prostitutes and build up a rapport. Convince them that with your good time keeping skills and map reading ability you will be able to coordinate their appointments all over the city and get them there on time, everytime, stress free. You've never been unemployed which proves you are reliable and your hard working nature, and quickness to learn will mean you will soon know all the details of their clients, including their likes and dislikes and you can start managing diaries/appointments on their behalf. You also like building bikes so you are not a wierdo.

Congratulations, you are on your way to having your very own stable of whores.

I was forced into a change of career in my 60’s! Kicked out of a job I’d been doing for eleven years, and it was a relief, the pressure to continually do more and more work, in the same amount of time, with zero tolerance for even small errors almost amounted to bullying, and it was making me ill with stress. Plenty of other people have subsequently left of their own accord, so it wasn’t just me.

I was stuck for what to do, I’d been in print and print processes for most of my life, I had no idea what to do, but fancied a driving job, that wasn’t a courier! A lot of google searches suddenly threw up an advert in a box on this site, which caught my eye, so I replied with my CV late on a Tuesday evening. Got a call at 9 the next morning asking me to take part in a conference call at 11am, at the end of which I was told my team leader would pick me up at 4.30 the next morning! 😳

That led to me working for a British Car Auctions Logistics team, covering most of the South of England and part of Wales, mostly the South-West, and driving roughly 100,000 miles or so, in a very wide selection of vehicles, from an ambulance to a Maserati Ghibli.

Work dried up back in April, it had been a bit patchy for a while, so I needed something more permanent, I contacted one of the businesses I’d been a frequent visitor to in Westbury, who repair and refurbish Motability cars, and also store Enterprise hire cars and vans, and they were rebuilding their on-sire logistics teams, who move cars around the site between storage areas, and fetch cars for ‘platers’, drivers doing what I used to do. Emailed their head office the same day, got a reply asking me to call next am, a long conversation led to me being booked for an interview the following Monday morning, Wednesday I got a call offering me the job, I started on the following Monday! Been there nearly four months now. Means lots of walking, about five or six miles a day, occasionally I get to take a car off-site to Bristol for screen replacement and calibration, but there are usually roughly 2-3000 cars spread across the main site and two storage areas, so we’re always on the go. Not sure about working through the winter when it’s pissing down, mind!

Good Luck, with whatever

Go part-time. Life's too short for work.

could at a push take a 50% paycut.

From what to what?

I took early retirement at 50 and ended up as a qualified bike mechanic and taxi driver, driving folk around the Scottish Highlands. That wasn't planned, just accidental. I'm pretty sure you could turn your hand to building bikes for a bike shop, learn a bit more, do the courses and get a qualification.

I guess it also depends on how flexible you are about location - is this the time for a bigger chance to a new house, new surroundings, and maybe new opportunities in that way too?

Some kind of tour guide Tony? I bet you would be real friendly and happy dealing with folk.

Outdoor pursuits instructor?

I do a bit with Cubs, though not as a job, and the emphasis is on being safe and engaging with the kids. From the couple of times that I’ve met you I would guess that you have the personality and presence to be rather good at it.

My lad has just come back from a residential week with his school at a place in Yorkshire and he’s been banging on about how good the instructors were.

This, this is a great idea.

Re-train, then go help MoaB ?

Or there are plenty of outdoor pursuit centres in and around where you live, plus you’ve the awesome NYM and YDales on your doorstep ohh and the Peaks not that far away either..

You could use your friendliness to approach prostitutes and build up a rapport. Convince them that with your good time keeping skills and map reading ability you will be able to coordinate their appointments all over the city and get them there on time, everytime, stress free.

Wasn't that a film with Bob Hoskins , Mona Lisa 🙂

Go Window cleaning and work 2 days a week. Thats what I did when I was 50. £1 + per minute aint that bad.

Outdoor pursuits instructor?

If you can spend a couple of years and £10k on qualies and a hundred odd experience days ticking off mountains and paddling rivers (while not earning), then work for £12k a year (tops) for every weekend, a couple of evenings a week, no holidays from April to October and either as repetitive as it comes, or wait for 5 years experience before any centre will employ you on a senior contract, then go ahead...

Serious answer - one of my old staff was 50 year old teacher who decided on a career break. She came and was brilliant, her life experience and skills was just what we needed. She came for 2 years, amd I've just heard 8 years later she has gone back to teaching. She did get a by on the back to back mountain days and DofE chasing...

At 50 plus the last job I would be looking at would be Royal Mail its a fairly hard working job and you would only get a 24 hr contract but with the chance to work more hours possibly full time hours. You start at the bottom with the dregs of the duties in the office, Avoid IMHO

How about cutting the current job to 3 days a week? Would give you time to think/act on other possibilities and might alleviate the current need to leave a bit?

If the outdoor pursuits is of interest this is quite interesting.

https://highadventureoec.co.uk/jobs-training/trainee-instructor-scheme

You seem to put an emphasis on never been unemployed - so I assume you want to carry that through till you retire at 65?

At 50 we start to feel the hard living of yesteryear, and keeping up with motivated and fit 30 year old in an active job becomes a tough ask. So I`d say look at something you feel you will be able to physically do till your 65.

I had always worked in heavy industry. But in my early 40s decided to retrain as a social worker ... so many avenues and different service users groups to work with a social work degree. Def worth a look ... or if you dont fancy the whole degree route, there are other qualifications that will get you into the industry, and doing a very similar role, but as a support worker.

The link jay little put up sums up outdoor work - £300 a month for a couple of years of two nights and five/six days a week before you get off site, then £600 a month when qualified...

Any local bikeshops need a mechanic? Personal Protection work :-)?

Do you live near a Center Parcs? You could spend all day building and repairing bikes in one of their cycle centres.

I tried to change careers at 50 after getting made redundant. I tried -

Dog sitting/walking - boring as hell

Working on a farm - Yep, could've carried on with that

Looked at the outdoor pursuit thing - as Matt says, money during the training is impossible to live on unless you're at home with the parents

Ended up back in the ol' IT game, but on half the money. Massive loLZ. But it was still the only thing that could pay the mortgage, unfortunately.

I'm sure you're a more patient man than I am, so the dog walking might be a doer - apparently people earn decent money off it.

My wife started as a post person aged 46, coming up for end of her first year now. She loves it. Walks 10/12 miles per day, shares van with another postie, each does their own round. Part time hours for her are 08:00-14:04 five days a week, with only Sunday guaranteed off. She's always been fit and active, running & dancing. Long term I worry about her backs postural alignment as the bags always on one shoulder. All sorting offices seem to offer their own version of part time hours. Lots of overtime available, which they like fulfilled as if you stick rigidly to your basic hours it shunts the workload onto your colleges. Mix of old timers, youngsters, early retirement folk doing the job. From your previous posts, just consider your ankle / AF in an active, walking job. Apply, go for it, what's to loose.

I didn’t know tha the pay was so low .. 🤔

The link jay little put up sums up outdoor work – £300 a month for a couple of years of two nights and five/six days a week before you get off site, then £600 a month when qualified…

So tutu fluffer it is then.

So tutu fluffer it is then.

Unfortunately dancers have less money than IT middle managers, or other professions that we're familiar with, so usually you have to pay to fluff tutus, rather than the other way around.

Same principle applies to dance photography, apparently 🙁

Dog sitting/walking –

We use /Know a few dog walkers , even in our smallish erea they have to drive a lot between mostly half hour appointments . Thats for a  5/6 quid fee , 10 ish for an hour . The real money is either multi dog owners or dog sitting when the owners away . Non of the ones we know are exactly living the dream .

My uncle, who used to work for RM in logistics now works for a funeral directors.

Despite the somber mood, he quite enjoys the work - lots of inside / outside, meeting people. Apparently, despite having just lost a loved one, a lot of people want to have a chat.

Have you thought of retraining as a brick layer? There's a shortage at present. Drove past a local building site yesterday and noticed a sign saying brick layers wanted. It's out door work but don't think you can lay bricks in heavy rain or extreme cold. Plumber of bricky world be my choice if I got made redundant.

B&Q.

They seem to have a policy of employing older people with trade / retail experience.

Customers like to get advice on DIY stuff from men in their 50's it seems.

They'll also have much more opportunity for part time work  than a trade supplier.

My retirement jobs would be-

Grass cutting

Window cleaning

Errands for older people who cannot get out

Learn barbering- mobile hair dressing, ride round between appointments

All together i reckon it's quite a good wage

Grass cutting

Oh yeah, looked at starting one of those gardening franchises - quite a big initial layout and wasn't sure my back could take gardening full time.

Applied and got turned down for a postie job too. Couldn't have paid the mortgage anyway, so was quite relieved. If you want to work part time, with an early start and not earn much, it's quite appealing.

Perchy has probably got the closest answer.

Ton has the people skills sorted, as well as product knowledge retention skills and no doubt the “follow me, it’s just down here” skills.

And they offer flexiable hours, and no doubt would be crying out for people like you.

Is there one local?

Ton has the people skills sorted, as well as product knowledge retention skills and no doubt the “follow me, it’s just down here” skills.

Hardly a career change though.

Errands for older people who cannot get out

I think there is a growing market for the grey pound services. From holidays, to errands, simple DIY, to frankly friendship and getting out. I think folk will pay, and that's a growing market.

For an expert in fist-pie, Bouncer?

Or internet Big-Hitter. Very rewarding job but few have the skills or determination to succeed.

For an expert in fist-pie, Bouncer?

Darkest episode of Neighbours..... Ever.

I love you Perchy 🙂

I hear that a lot.

It's because I'm an endlessly repeating lazy trope

The link jay little put up sums up outdoor work – £300 a month for a couple of years of two nights and five/six days a week before you get off site, then £600 a month when qualified…

Thats the inevitable consequences of market forces when these factors converge: 1. Minimal entry qualification/requirement so a huge "eligible" population; 2. A job that (at least from outside) appears fun and interesting; 3. Employers who are usually funded by LA's (and cash strapped parents) who's requirements are you have the minimum necessary, rather than best possible person for the job.

On the plus side, for someone looking to move career, a lot of the entry level qualifications could be obtained by someone with experience it the activities and the right attitude, pretty quickly in their own time at weekends/evenings.  I know a few people with good pension pots who have or are looking to move into the guiding/coaching/leading side of stuff rather than mass produced school groups, where grey hair is more valued and real world experience of customer service, marketing etc will help them do well.

The last paragraph sums up one of the reasons wages are low - people will take them! Either young or retiring, folk think it's a fun and glamorous job. They then take low wages, often with income elsewhere from parents and pensions.

This is exacerbated by the need to keep costs down, and the big players in the market. The career of many an outdoor instructor is a couple of years - they're the ones on our for the cool kit and fun.

To make it a proper career, that pays ok and is interesting (not back to back 2hr high ropes sessions) you find folk who like either being on nature or like people. They then suffer the low wages through dedication.

I'm still yet to find another safety critical career that pays as low as outdoor education.