Retirement is great because you get freedom back over how you live your life and what your daily schedule looks like. That said, too much free time can get a bit stale if you don’t have meaningful activities to fill it with.
Hobbies are one approach but if those don’t work then you might need a post-retirement occupation to keep you busy. If you’re looking for low-stress jobs after retirement then this guide will walk you through the nuances of 8 different options!
Table of Contents
Factors
When choosing a low-stress job, there are three main factors you’ll need to consider:
- Workload
- Salary
- Location
Workload
How many hours per week will you be working? Having flexible hours and an output-based working arrangement is ideal but if that’s not an option then working 16-20 hours is usually the sweet spot between keeping busy without taking on too much stress.
Of course, it’s not just a matter of how much work you’re doing but how fulfilling those activities are. I’d much rather spend 20 hours per week working on something I love than 10 hours per week doing something I hate.
Salary
If your low-stress job of choice doesn’t pay enough to cover expenses then you’ll have secondary stressors whenever you have to choose between digging into your savings or falling behind on bills.
Aiming for jobs with a higher hourly wage also means you won’t have to work as many hours to get a decent paycheck at the end of each month. Lastly, underpaid employees also tend to be treated worse by their bosses as their contributions have been undervalued from the start.
Location
The final factor to consider is the location of your new low-stress job. Even a dream job can get tedious if you have to endure a couple of hours in traffic just to get to the office each day. That being the case, there are two ideal options to look for.
The first would be achieving location-independence by only applying for remote roles. If that fails, you could look for job openings in countries you want to retire in so you can get a work visa as a bonus.
Best Low-Stress Jobs
Now that you’re familiar with the criteria you should be using, it’s time to actually look at the options that could be available to you. Without further ado, let’s look at eight low-stress jobs for you to consider!
Online Writer
Online writing has been my line of work for the past six years. Sure, it’s seen a gradual evolution across many titles like freelance writer, content writer, and finally content marketer but at the end of the day the business model is the same:
- Write words to promote a product, service, or business and get paid for doing so.
Of course, there are some inherently stressful aspects to client work. These include finding potential clients, convincing them to hire you, and producing high-quality writing before the deadline to ensure they come back for more.
That said, it’s important to realize that you don’t need to write for businesses if you don’t want to. There are plenty of publications that will let you write about movies or video games. The drawback is that everyone wants to write about those things — and millions are somewhat qualified to do so.
As a result, you’ll probably only be offered a couple of cents per word when writing for sites like Game Rant or Screen Rant (both owned by Valnet). In general, being an expert in a specialized niche will pay more than being an enthusiast of mainstream interests like video games or movies.
The other approach would be to start your own blog instead of writing for other people’s websites. This is less stressful than client work since you won’t have to deal with deadlines but the downside is that it’ll take a while to build an audience and there’s no guarantee of success.
If you’re comfortable with spending a year or two figuring out what topics to write about and creating content people want to read (without a guaranteed payout at the end of it) then blogging is certainly a viable strategy.
Those who make it in the blogging world have total freedom about when to write, how often to publish, and what their next posts will cover. It’s also a fairly passive source of income once you achieve success since all you’ll need to do beyond that point is keep your articles up to date.
Client work is more stressful than blogging since you have deadlines but your compensation is guaranteed and you’ll be able to start earning money through writing from the get-go instead of waiting for 1-2 years.
The decision will come down to what you value most: immediate income or future autonomy.
Dog Walker
Becoming a dog walker is really a no-brainer side hustle for anyone who loves animals. There’s virtually no barrier to entry and you’ll have a lot of control over which days or hours you decide to work.
It’s also one of the most enjoyable jobs to have since you get to spend a lot of time around fluffy canine companions. Essentially, it’s not just a low-stress job but actually a stress-reducing job (as long as you’re fine with cleaning up after the doggos).
If you think that dog walking is a low-pay gig reserved for broke college students then you’d be sorely mistaken. There are people who have managed to rake in six-figures annually by walking dogs.
While most people won’t be able to make $100,000+ per year, you could still be earning a dollar per minute by offering 30-minute walking services for $30. If you’re able to pool multiple clients into the same schedule then you could easily earn $120 to $150 for a single 30-minute walk.
You’ll probably need to invest some capital into leads, treats, business cards, and a website that your clients can use to book appointments but there isn’t a lot of overhead costs to think about once you’ve acquired the necessary equipment.
Daycare Operator
It’s not at all uncommon for parents to feel empty once their kids go off to college, get a job, buy their house, get married, and have a family of their own. That said, your children going up and living their own lives doesn’t need to be the end of your childcare journey.
If you really love being around kids then why not open a daycare or apply to work at existing locations within your area? The national median salary for daycare owners is around $50,000 annually or $4,000 per month.
Despite spending on food, toys, liability insurance, and the salaries of other daycare employees, most daycare operators are still able to maintain profit margins of 15% or higher. There are, of course, some risks such as being sued for negligence if a child gets injured at your daycare.
That said, daycares are a great way to spend time around children and make a good living.
Librarian
If you’re a heavy reader and want to spend most of your time learning new things in a quiet space then becoming a librarian could be a viable post-retirement job to pursue. According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for librarians ranges between $44,000 and $67,000 depending on which state you live in.
The five highest-paying states for librarians are:
- Wisconsin ($67,339)
- Nevada ($64,796)
- Minnesota ($64,464)
- Massachusetts ($64,335)
- Oregon ($63,707)
Meanwhile, Florida is the worst state for librarians with an average salary of $44,064.
There is a higher barrier to entry to become a librarian compared to the other low-stress jobs on this list. Most librarian positions require that you have a Master’s Degree in Library Science (preferably from an ALA-accredited program) which is a two-year graduate program.
Contrary to popular belief, reading books and shushing patrons isn’t all librarians do. The scope of work includes hiring employees, ordering books, processing late fees, and keeping the book displays organized.
If you don’t mind getting a your Library Science Master’s and dealing with the other tasks that librarians are responsible for then this is certainly a high-pay path worth considering.
Tour Guide
Those who love sightseeing and learning about the cultural heritage of countries could consider becoming a tour guide. It’ll usually be easier to become a tour guide for the country or city you grew up in since you’re already familiar with the local area.
That said, there’s nothing stopping you from moving to a different country and applying to become a tour guide there. If you feel you’d enjoy giving tours around European villages more than US cities then you should definitely go for it.
The barrier to entry is fairly low with most companies only requiring a high school diploma for those applying to tour guide positions. That said, you will likely need adept storytelling skills and a sense of humor to do a good job once you land the position.
You’ll also be responsible for adhering to safety codes to keep customers out of danger.
While being a tour guide may not be very stressful mentally, there is a certain level of physical stress that you’ll need to endure. Most tour guides stand and walk for extended periods of time so you’ll need to stay in shape.
Speaking of staying in shape…
Martial Arts Instructor
Teaching martial arts is a great way to stay fit, keep learning, and make decent money in the process. For reference, being a martial arts instructor pays around $19 per hour which isn’t half bad for an activity that’s fun and keeps you in shape.
Of course, there’s generally a minimum level of skill that you’ll need to get hired at a gym, attract students, and keep those students coming back for more than one class. How much experience you’ll need really depends on what type of martial art you’re teaching.
You could become a Krav Maga instructor after completing a certification course that usually takes less than a month (and even shorter if you have a military or law enforcement background).
More traditional martial arts like Taekwondo generally require you to be a first-degree black belt before you start teaching (whether at your own dojo or someone else’s school). Getting this belt could take you three to five years depending on how much time you dedicate to the art.
As you can see, the barrier to entry and certification timeline can vary wildly depending on which martial art you plan to train people in. But, if you have existing qualifications or a deep interest in the art, there’s nothing stopping you from becoming a martial arts instructor.
Language Tutor
If you speak more than one language then becoming a language tutor could be a great way to monetize your skills and fill your time with meaningful work. Thanks to platforms like Preply and Verbling, it’s super easy to conduct online lessons remotely.
Furthermore, you’ll be able to set the availability on your calendar giving you full control of which hours you want to work. In general, most tutors earn $15 to $20 per hour but the hourly rate they’re able to charge will depend on a few factors such as:
- How much demand there is for the language they’re teaching
- How advanced they are both the language being taught and the language of their students
- How many positive reviews they have on their tutor profile
It’s also worth noting that the platform will take a commission on everything you earn. The commission rate can vary between 15% and 33% depending on which platform you choose. Even so, many tutors still earn hundreds of dollars per week after fees.
Consultant
If you’re just coming out of a long career in a single field then why not continue utilize the skills that you’ve gathered over the years? Consultants are able to earn a lot of money while traveling the world and engaging with dozens of large companies per year.
The main downside of this path is that you’ll likely still be working 50+ hour weeks which could be a pro or a con depending on how much you enjoy the job. If you include travel time then that could easily go up to 70+ hours per week.
In terms of how much you’ll be earning, the average salary for consultants is close to six figures and you can easily go over that if you decide to work with top consulting firms like KPMG, BCG, Bain & Company, or McKinsey.
Those who hate long flights and working more than 40 hours per week probably wouldn’t derive a lot of joy out of the consultant lifestyle. However, if you miss the productive sprints from your heyday but want to travel more then consultancy could offer a good middle ground.
If you’re not careful then consulting could easily become a high-stress job with poor work-life balance which is why I’ve saved this entry for last. Still, if you enjoy the consulting work (and travel perks that come with it) then working long hours may be worth the fulfillment.
You could also consider becoming a fractional CMO that only works 10-20 hours per week.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of post-retirement career paths with varying degrees of flexible working hours, travel, and income potential. If you prioritize full autonomy over higher earnings then blogging or dog walking could be the right path for you.
Conversely, those who miss the fast-paced lifestyle of knowledge work could become consultants that work on businesses instead of working in them. There are plenty of middle-of-the-road options like martial arts or language tutoring that help you monetize your skills as well.
The sky is truly the limit. It all comes down to figuring out what the day-to-day work of that occupation would look like and whether or not that’s something you’d enjoy. My advice would be to always optimize for enjoyment rather than raw income (except when it’s highly impractical).