Best Part Time (Relaxing) Jobs For Your Retirement

Retirement is an enjoyable and relaxing time most people look forward to. These are your golden years when you can just kick back and enjoy, spend time with your loved ones, and maybe even pick up some new activities or hobbies. At the same time, many retirees are planning to work during their retirement.

But this time, it has to be on their own terms and primarily part-time. The reality is when you retire, you’ll probably have a lot of time on your hands and planning to spend this time working part-time isn’t that uncommon. 

There are many reasons why retirees decide to get a part-time job. Let’s take a look at the most common ones:

• Extra income. For some retirees, they may not be a choice. They have to work because they don’t have enough money to cover their living expenses. 
• Too much extra time. After working for many years, adjusting to the drastic change that retirement brings to your life may not be easy. Many people experience boredom or the need to use their experience in some way because of the amount of time they have on their hands. Some retirees fill it up with hobbies, while others decide to work part-time.
• Social interactions. For some retirees, social engagement at work is something they’ve experienced for a long time during their careers and may not realize how much they crave that interaction. A part-time job can provide everyday interaction with people, and that’s what many retirees highly desire during their golden years.

 

Part-time jobs are popular among seniors and worth exploring regardless of the reasons. So, let’s look at the most popular part-time gigs you could consider during your retirement years and how much money that job might bring in for you.

 

Freelancer 

• Experience required: Primarily based on your background
• Average pay (per hour): $32+
• Physical: Non-physical

 

Freelancing has been quite popular among the younger generation, but in the past years, more retirees have jumped into the gig economy. A freelancer could be a good choice if you have had some very specific experience before, such as writing, video editing, graphic design, or other specialty skills. Freelancers can set their own hours and work from anywhere! Websites like Fiverr and Upwork allow you to find jobs as a freelancer and work with clients from all over the world.

 

Consulting

• Experience required: 5+ years
• Average pay (per hour): $35
• Physical: No

 

If you’ve had a successful career and enjoyed working, you can still do it part-time in retirement. You possess a great amount of knowledge and can share it to the next generation doing consulting. You can quickly turn your experience, expertise, and network into making good money. Calculate how much you would earn per hour by dividing your old salary per amount of hours worked. You may even work for your previous employer providing consulting services. Some people find that working as a contractor may pay more than an employee.

 

Non-profit work 

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $15
• Physical: No

 

Perhaps after working for many years, you feel the need to give back to the community. If you think about doing something meaningful, consider becoming a non-profit employee. You can start as a volunteer and work for organizations to serve through charity, education, religion, or philanthropy.

It would help if you decided what cause is most important to you and what skills you can offer. This part-time job may not bring you much money, but more importantly, it can impact your life and help others.

 

Crafting

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $18
• Physical: Dependent on the craft

 

If you enjoy hand-making crafts and have had it as a hobby for some time, you can quickly turn that hobby into a business when you retire. It doesn’t have to be a big business operation or bring in tons of money; just something you can enjoy during your extra time.

It could be welding, cake decorating, floral arrangements, jewelry making, woodworking, etc. The possibilities are truly endless. There’s a huge market for handmade products like candles, soap, knitted items, etc. People often purchase handmade things as a gift for loved ones or as home decor.

You can also sell your products online on a platform like Etsy.com or your local farmer’s market or craft shows.

 

Gardening 

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $16
• Physical: Yes

 

Gardening may be a good choice if you want to spend time outside and be in touch with nature while making extra money. If taking care of plants brings you joy, or you have been thinking about growing vegetables when you have more time, consider turning it into a small business. Selling fresh fruits and vegetables at a farmer’s market can be lucrative even part-time. In recent years, the demand for fresh produce has grown significantly since people are trying to take better care of their health and even eat organic food.

 

Tour Guide

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $16+
• Physical: Yes depending on type of tour

 

Becoming a tour guide may be fun if you live in a tourist area. If you’re a storyteller and you enjoy socializing with people, try exploring what possibilities you’ve got in your local community to be a tour guide. It may be a guide job in a museum, historical exhibit, or taking tourists around the city to show them the best restaurants and attractions. You may need to get a license or certification to educate visitors in the best way, but that would be easy to obtain.

 

Coach

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $15
• Physical: Yes

 

Coaching a new generation may be a good fit if you are fond of sports and have some experience. It allows you to share your love for sports and stay active during your retirement years. You should enjoy being around kids of all ages and love sharing knowledge to see others grow in their athletic ability. Your local schools or colleges may have some open positions to consider. Pay generally isn’t high, but it can be an excellent job for your golden years. 

 

Virtual Assistant

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $16
• Physical: No

 

A virtual assistant may be the right job if you are comfortable with technology and like doing more administrative work. You don’t necessarily need tons of experience, but being familiar with computers and basic programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This job can also be fully remote so you can work out a convenient schedule for you.

Nowadays, you can easily find a job as a virtual assistant online using websites like Fiverr, Upwork, Linkedin, etc.

 

Tutoring

• Experience required: 1+ year
• Average pay (per hour): $18+
• Physical: No

Retired teachers or if you have a specialty in an area of may consider part-time private tutoring as an attractive option to make some extra cash. But this job is not only for teachers; you may have some experience and skills that can be applied to educate others both professionally and kids too.

For example, you can teach foreign students English, and there is a huge demand for native speakers among international students.

Or you may have some experience in healthcare that may allow you to teach CPR or First Aid classes. It all depends on your background and what you can offer regarding skills and knowledge.  

 

Dog Walking

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $15
• Physical: Yes

 

If you love animals and want to get outside more often, dog walking may be a perfect job for you. You don’t need experience, but affection for pets is a must. This job is quite popular since many people work day shifts and their furry friends still need some exercise.

In addition, you can ask around neighbors and relatives about pet walking. Also, the alternative may be pet sitting – when clients go on vacation and need to leave their pets with somebody.

For retirees, it’s a great job that doesn’t require much time and allows enjoying fresh air daily while making extra cash.

 

Golf Course Marshal 

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $17
• Physical: Yes

 

After spending many hours on a golf course, some retirees consider working part-time as a golf course marshal or ranger. This job combines their love for the sport and some extra cash.

The golf course marshal generally helps to manage the flow of golfers around the course. Playing golf recreationally would be considered a plus as well.

This job is not very high-paid, but most people choose it not for financial reasons. It has many perks, like typically receiving free rounds of golf, but the most important is getting to turn your lifelong hobby into your regular job.

 

Uber Driver

• Experience required: 1 year of driving experience
• Average pay (per hour): $15
• Physical: No

 

If you own a car, enjoy driving and socializing with people, this part-time job may be an excellent fit for you. Becoming an Uber or Lyft driver is a very flexible part-time gig where you can set your own hours and work just a couple of hours a week if you want.

All you need to start is a vehicle, one year of driving experience, and a smartphone to set up an app.

 

Movie Theater 

• Experience required: Less than a year
• Average pay (per hour): $17+
• Physical: No

 

Working in the movie theater may be a fun gig for someone who is a film-lover. You don’t need any experience and will have access to all the new movies. Sounds like a dream, right?

The schedule is also pretty flexible – you can pick your own hours and work just a couple of days a week. So, if you have a movie theater in close proximity, it may be an ideal part-time job for you!

There may be many reasons why retirees choose to work during their golden years. Working after retirement does have its benefits – from avoiding getting too bored to social engagement needs.

Nowadays, you can easily find a part-time job that fits your schedule and feeds your soul; it can be fun and enjoyable while bringing some extra money.

However, you should keep in mind that you’ve already spent most of your life working, and taking up more work during your retirement may end up not as gratifying as you think.

Most people look forward to their retirement, primarily because of freedom from work, long-deserved rest, and precious time they can dedicate to their families.

At the end of the day, missing out on things like that can be something you will regret the most. So ensure you are keeping balance as you consider part-time work.