TiHabanero

A group of us that were remote workers just got downsized out of a job. We were contract workers in the corporate world, and were all shocked when we got canned. Tired of corp work and thinking of doing something completely out of the wheelhouse, driving a truck or delivery vehicle! Won't be making the money, but have very low cost of living so it won't be a hardship. At 60 it may be tough to convince someone to take me on. Anyone out there change horses in the middle of the stream? Tips and suggestions?

berner

I would say that the hard part is maintaining a positive attitude while you scan the horizon. Just faking a smile is likely to put a real smile on your face.

Retro Grouch 

Pretty much matches my age and situation when I started my school bus driving gig. If you have a clean driving record and a clean police record they'll hire you and they'll train you for the required CDL.

delbiker1 

I am in my eight school year as a school bus driver, 59 yo when I started. I never considered doing this until I found myself struggling to get a job that I could physically perform, and do it for a number of years. I have chronic back and shoulder issues, which have included numerous surgeries. I saw an ad for school bus drivers, applied and got hired. The actual hiring took close to two months due to having to get the CDL training, driving a school bus training, background checks, etc. The contractor that hired me had a state certified CDL trainer and supplied that at no cost, also no pay. Same with school bus classes run by the state of DE. Definitely a big income drop, but also frees up the day, for me, from 8:30am to 2:00pm. I had a mid-day route that I did 2015 thru 2018 school years, but cut back to 3 days in 2018 and gave it up this school year.

It is not an easy job, a lot of responsibility for comparatively low pay. In 2015 I started with a different contractor on a different route, special needs elementary and 3-4 year olds that go to a TOTS program. Much better than a regular route. A lot less kids at one time, always a bus aide and my bus has to have AC. I drive more miles but a lot fewer stops. I don't know if I would still be doing it if I'd had a regular school route for more than the first few years. Parents, administration, traffic and idiot drivers in a big hurry, and of course the students, make it very stressful at times.

big john

A service advisor at a new car dealer might work for you if you are a people person/salesman. You don't need to know about cars, really. Where I used to work as a technician the advisors could make over $100k and age is not a factor. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

canklecat

Drivers are always in demand. I did that for awhile in the 1980s during breaks from college, or on long weekends. Odd little companies that served as brokers between European car dealerships, and we'd contract to buy from one at a little above wholesale, drive it to another dealership that needed more vehicles, and they'd pay a premium for a car that they'd flip for a huge profit in a much more lucrative market. Probably the most fun job any driver could have. But that market doesn't exist anymore. It was just a quirk of the Reagan era go-go economy and attempts by Mercedes and other manufacturers to artificially create shortages to keep profit margins high.

Some friends who are in their 50s-60s drive for Uber and Lyft. They all have the usual horror stories about idiotic customers, but more riders are fine. It's just the jerks who really stand out in memory.

I also sold cars for various dealerships in the 1980s, mostly during summer breaks from college. It's not a difficult job to learn and very low physical requirements. But it runs very hot and cold, making money some months and none others. Dealers may be required to pay minimum wage if commissions don't cover that minimum, but in reality no dealer will hang onto sales people who don't produce.

That was a very cutthroat era, and the biggest pains in the a$$ were other sales people, not customers. There were always other sales people who'd cut into your business without asking, or lying and telling return customers you weren't there, etc. Technically a violation of dealer protocol but rarely enforced. Dealers would often create a shark tank environment, hiring two or three times as many sales people as they needed, and let the sharks kill off the wannabes who had any sense of integrity or were just filling floor space. Back then customers didn't have access to genuine dealer costs (although some customers would pretend they did, usually flawed info from bad sources), and dealers for high demand vehicles would blatantly add on huge markups -- Honda in particular did that, and customers would pay the extra $2,000 or so anyway.

The car business is very different now, so it's probably saner for sales people. But I'd bet the commissions are much lower now.

big john

There is a big market for services that move cars around. Here (car city) there are many one-man operations with a pick-up truck and car carrier trailer which can move 3 cars at a time, dealer to dealer or auction to dealer, etc. I don't know how much they make but it requires an investment.

As for car sales, a good salesman can make a lot but it's definitely harder than it used to be..

Oh yeah, I worked at dealers where they created "Shark Tank" for the techs and I hated that. We were always paid piecework and only got minimum wage recently.

john m flores 

Damn, sorry to hear. Best of luck to you...

rseeker

Sorry to hear that TiHibanero. Aren't we having record low unemployment, with everybody looking for quality employees? That might be a reason for optimism. I hope!

Olefeller77 

It has been brought up in conversations in our midwest area that the railroads need good help. There seems to be 2 basic requirements. The employee needs to show up for work on time . The killer seems to be -must be able to pass drug testing . They train new workers.
Might be worth checking out. In our area drugs sometimes seem to be more important than work.

Welshboy

My 40-year career was in the access industry (scaffolding and then cherry-pickers) and I'd always planned to retire at 60 but just after my 57th birthday a company merger saw me squeezed out three years short. I'm determined not to touch my private pension until I'm 60 so I decided to use my redundancy to cover the first 18 months and dig into my life savings to cover the 18 month gap. Not ideal but I have taken on some Christmas period work in retail for the past two Christmasses and have been kept on working 2 or 3 mornings per week which is brilliant for pocket money for me and paying for a family holiday in April and hopefully another in October. One huge spin-off is that I can now commute to work (10 miles each way) after 35-years of being a company car driver.

TakingMyTime

Tip: Hang in there.

What always saved me was that my cost of living was always low. I never carried dept or got myself in situations of living from paycheck to paycheck. If you can manage your current funds and keep your overhead low it will give you a bit more time to find a job that you really want rather than the one you need.

indyfabz

Problem is that if it's a union position it's all seniority-based. One reason there is a lot of hiring is that it's hard to make decent money as a newb, and you are basically on-call. Folks often go through training and then don't stick around that long because they don't get enough work or get crappy, third-trick shifts. Imagine living a life where you have to report to work with only four hours' notice. And yes: You do have to pass a drug test. At least around here.

On that last note, I was reading in the NYT a few years ago about how industry does, in fact, have trouble finding people who can pass drug tests, especially in areas where industrial/manufacturing work is more prevalent. Some people go through the application process and then say "Never mind" when they are told they need to test clean. One guy who runs a steel fabricator in IN said the lightest thing he makes in something like 2,200 pounds. The heaviest is over 20,000 lbs. From a risk management perspective, he can't have impaired people working in that environment. I cannot remember the exact figure, but the positive test rate of one manufacturing company's potential hires was staggering.

Biker395 

I've not had to do that ... at least not yet. I have had clients who were a major source of income come and go, and that's certainly interesting.

I can identify with the notion of doing something completely out of the wheelhouse. It's probably pure romance, but something about the notion of being a long distance truck driver appeals to me. The problem with that sort of career (besides the long hours and lonely road time) is that it is a career that is on the way out ... Soon to be replaced with trucks that drive themselves.

But at our age, it probably doesn't matter. Have you considered driving four UPS or FedEx?

Moe Zhoost

Sorry to hear about your situation. The job market varies by location. Around here, construction and driving/delivery jobs are hot, as are most IT jobs. Seems that we are having a foodie explosion too, so restaurant are hiring (at the typical low pay).

Good luck to you.

rumrunn6

low unemployment, doesn't mean good employment. sorry for your loss of career

Leisesturm

Only if its true. Is it? Where is the evidence? "Oh we just can't find any qualified workers ..." Check the wastebaskets in HR. They are overflowing with applications and resumes. And the ER's (and the morgues) are overflowing with the people who filled out those applications in good faith.

Leisesturm

You do not want to drive a delivery vehicle in your declining years. I'm not even sure you want to be a long haul trucker. My brother is (maybe was) and he has been suspended pending the outcome of a recent crash. This was the third and they get harder to avoid with all the distracted civilians out and about. Plus its about as sedentary as a job can be. I'm going to have to suggest you think about retail. Not just any retail, but specific employers known not to be ageist. The only ones I can think of that also pay decently are: Costco, Trader Joe's and Home Depot. There may be others. I would avoid Target or any of the Big Box Old Navy, JC Penney or other clothing retailers. Very ageist. Good luck.

rseeker

OK. I said that based on "I've heard" and because NPR probably isn't misstating the national unemployment rate. Which doesn't go very deep, I'll admit.

John_V 

A few of the guys that I sometimes ride with were in the same boat prior to their full time retirement. They were products of "company reorganization" which means "were letting all the old times go in order to hire younger people at half the salary." A few of them went to work for the county school board as bus drivers but some of them became Uber and Lyft drivers. Depending on where you live, this could be something that you can do without a large investment in equipment or certification training. And it's something that you can get into right away. I actually thought about doing it myself, just for something to do, but after a little research, I found out that it would cut into my riding time.

Jmpierce

That happened to me in 2002. My new manager replaced me with a guy much younger than me at a lot less my salary. At the time I was married with two kids, a dog and a mortgage. I couldn't find work for a few years, finally got work at the botanical Garden here at much less than what I needed to make ends meet. Fast forward five years, a divorce several jobs later I applied at the police department at 53 years young. The next oldest person to my age was 32. All you needed to do was pass the fitness test. Bicycling was my life saver. I was riding around 5k miles a year and was in good enough shape to pass the fitness test and then spend six months running and doing push ups.

Good luck in your search. Don't get down, ride your bike, believe in yourself and you will be successful.

Flip Flop Rider

maybe substitute school teacher

big john

I don't know the law where the OP lives but in California you need a credential to teach, even as a sub. There are, however, ways to achieve a credential without a Masters. I have a "designated subjects vocational education" credential. The idea is if you have 5+ years of experience in a field you can teach that field after a few classes on education.
If his state has something like that, then it's a great idea.

Flip Flop Rider

Good info, I guess it varies state to state. Here in SC, you do not need to be a certified teacher, but you make more if you are. You could literally work every day

NC does not have to be certified either

big john

Wow. There must be some kind of screening and job requirements?