Most people who continue working after retirement age don’t stay on in their current jobs, according to Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging & Work. Instead, they leave for “bridge” jobs – the jobs that span the period between quitting a career job and leaving the labor force for good.
PHOTO GALLERY: Click Here for the 10 Best Jobs for Older Americans
A good bridge job has several key elements. A 2008 AARP survey of older workers found that 88 percent want a friendly work environment in their next position, and 74 percent a flexible schedule. A total of 38 percent say they’re looking for part-time work, while 34 percent would like to work from home.
Plenty of online resources exist to help seniors find jobs like these. In addition to Retired Brains, the resources include Retirement Jobs, Senior Job Bank, PrimeCB, Retiree Workforce, and Seniors4Hire.
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To provide a snapshot of the best jobs out there for older adults, we turned to the work of Kerry Hannon, AARP’s jobs expert. Her 2012 book Great Jobs for Everyone 50+ groups the best positions for seniors into ten categories. The jobs she identified fit seniors’ needs because they tend to be more professional (research shows seniors tend to hold more professional jobs), generally don’t require long hours, and offer flexible schedules. Here are the top-paying jobs across all ten categories. The pay scales are based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though Hannon notes that pay can vary widely based on location, experience, and employer.
