Here are some ideas from my forthcoming book: He’s History; You’re Not; The Girlfriends Guide to Mid and Late Life Divorce (in your 40s, 50s, 60s)
If you’ve spent your life as a homemaker and are now being thrown into the world of work you are probably terrified. Yes, there is lots of age discrimination out there for the over 55 divorcee, but there are actually areas where being older is actually an asset, or at least not a detriment.
- Medical and healthcare
- There is always a need for lab technicians, x-ray technicians, pharmacy technicians, medical billers. Call your local community college and find out what courses they offer. Some of those courses can be completed in a year, often part-time, and will qualify you for a well-paying job.
- Education or childcare
- Working as a substitute teacher or in a child care center might not pay a lot, but if you love kids it can be rewarding. Nanny work sounds demeaning but nannies in New York City, for example, can make $50,000 a year or more, especially if you have any background in elementary education.
- Taking care of the rich
- Be a butler. Like nannying, wealthy people hire “butlers” to organize their lives and homes. If you live in or near an enclave for the rich, and excelled in managing your own home you can take a course in “butling” and gain certification. Butlers make big bucks. Check out www.butlerschool.com for a description of what “butling” is all about.
- Civil Service
- You get government jobs by taking a test, making age discrimination much less of a factor. There are hundreds of different jobs at the county, state and federal level, in all kinds of fields for all experience levels. The qualifications for civil service jobs are much more flexible than for corporate jobs—experience often substitutes for education, and best of all, it doesn’t matter how long ago your experience was. I applied for a job where my qualifying experience took place twenty years ago. I took the test, got a high grade and a lot of inquiries from various agencies. Another big plus of government jobs: job security and great benefits, including health insurance that you keep after ten years of service.