The Road Less Traveled: Exploring Unconventional Career Paths at 60+
When I started teaching pilates, my plan was to parlay it into my post-retirement supplemental career, which I have now accomplished. One day, it occurred to me when I was studying for my teaching certification, that a 60+ year old pilates instructor might be an anomaly. On the other hand, I remember having an older gray-haired modern dance instructor in college and, at the time, a number of dance troupes were headed by older, retired dancers. It is fairly well known that dancers and athletes age out of their professions fairly early for various reasons; however, they don’t age out of leading and teaching. Given that fact, it makes great sense that a perfect career path for someone older is teaching or tutoring (assuming they possess knowledge about something others want to learn). It turns out, and I was pleased to learn, that there are many older pilates instructors, and I don’t regret my choice.
I know that my career path is not conventional now, but it never was. In my 20s, as an aspiring actress, I did a lot of theatre, some commercials, a little TV and film and a fair amount of stand-up comedy. In order to support my art, I held several unique jobs - United Nations Public Information Officer, English Teacher, Tour Guide, Translator, Waitress, Cashier, Typist/Word Processor, Legal Secretary and Paralegal. While I enjoyed my work, my greater purpose at the time was acting and my other jobs were really a means to an end. Eventually, I decided that I was too old to be a child star, and that it was time to back burner acting, and to leverage other talents. In my next chapter, after getting an MBA, I worked as a management consultant, Process Improvement Expert, and IT Strategist. Rather than being a means to an end, as in my acting days, these jobs were the “end”; they were the ultimate goal, and they were less unconventional. There are a few other odd jobs I have forgotten (for example, in high school, I worked at McDonald’s for three days of training, and just couldn’t bring myself to go back and serve Big Macs). In addition, through all my life, I have done quite a lot of writing, editing and proofreading, mostly unpaid or part of another job.
Most recently, my business partner, Alex, and I started a social media business. We are both in our 60s, and learning the world of Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, “X” (aka, Twitter), Spotify, YouTube, and, of course, the internet. We produce blogs and podcasts (essentially “vlogs”). Being a blogger, vlogger, or digital marketer, or book publisher is not usually associated with people over 60, yet here we are. It helps give us meaning and purpose and speaks to the serious concerns, and experiences that we want to share with others.
My own background led me to ponder what other unconventional careers there are for people over 60. In order to find out, I did what anyone else would do…. I Googled it. I used Bard. I used ChatGPT. I was woefully unimpressed with what all these sources uncovered; nothing more than a list of jobs we have recommended and written about in the past, as well as quite a few jobs I have held throughout my lifetime. Some of these include teacher/tutor, life or career coach, pilates and yoga instructors, fitness coach, tour guide, travel blogger, personal chef, dog walker, pet sitter, house sitter, museum docent, actor/voice actor, and entrepreneur. Several of these identified unconventional careers were far from easy. For example, “voice actor” was listed as an unconventional career. This creates a false impression that anyone who wants to can get a job as a voice actor. However, competition is fierce for voice actors; very well known film and TV actors with recognizable voices land the majority of jobs; i.e., Morgan Freeman. Entrepreneurship is also listed as an unconventional career; it is also not a slam dunk career for just anyone. In other words, the “unconventional careers” that AI offers up are not necessarily easy careers.
After a little disappointment at the lack of creativity offered by Bard, Google and Chat GPT, I threw a wrench into my search prompt and asked for “funny” jobs. Here is what Google Workspace offered up, in the unedited list below:
Professional cuddler: You get paid to cuddle with people!
Professional mourner: You get paid to cry at funerals.
Professional napper: You get paid to take naps.
Professional taste tester: You get paid to eat food and give your opinion on it.
Professional line sitter: You get paid to wait in line for people.
Professional ghost hunter: You get paid to investigate haunted places.
Professional professional: You get paid to be good at your job.
Professional procrastinator: You get paid to put off doing things.
Professional professional procrastinator: You get paid to be good at putting off doing things.
A couple of these are intriguing, if not dubious. I would be a wealthy woman if I could get paid to take naps (and I would take them much more frequently). I would probably also enjoy eating food and giving my opinion on it (and, yes, there are many opportunities to do this on blog sites like Haro, Substack, etc.) Unfortunately, I am a bit of a picky eater, so I would probably lose money turning down the opportunity to taste turnip pudding or pig’s feet. I also cannot imagine waiting in line for people in exchange for payment. I barely have the patience to wait in a supermarket line, so “professional line sitter” would not be a good job for me. However, I wouldn’t stop someone from trying out some of these options. In summary, save yourself the google search and reflect on your next chapter. You could get paid to investigate haunted places. Better yet, you could get paid to cuddle; the world will be a better place.