There is a saying that someone may be a Jack of All Trades. Another version says, "Jack of All Trades, Master of None." Maybe the second one fits me best lately. Since I retired in March I have done several types of odd jobs to make a little money.
I didn't really look for a job for several months, but once I started looking I didn't do much finding. It's not that there aren't lots of jobs out there, but many don't pay much or require specialized training and experience.
I have applied to be a a secretary with the school district, a small business advisor, a grant auditor, a software customer service rep and a couple of other positions I don't remember anymore. Needless to say, I did not get any of those jobs. In fact, I haven't even had an interview for anything yet. Age discriminaton may be a factor, but for every job posted there are usually dozens of applicants. What I really want to do for a living is be a writer, but that market is equally hard to enter.
When I retired I knew that my retirement income was not large enough to support us, but I have always intended. As the funds run low, I find myself doing what I believe my Grandpa did most of his life, he took odd jobs whenever they were offered to bring in money. I don't think I could name one thing he did that I would actually call a career, though he was a sheepherder for awhile in his younger days.
I have followed my Grandpa's example lately as I have done a number of things. I have been a stage hand, taking apart an audio/video display for a convention. I have done yard work raking leaves and trimming trees. At one house I put up the Christmas lights and will probably take them down again after the holidays. Home preservation gave me several odd jobs hauling off 1.5 tons of pipe and other debris, boarding up windows and doggie doors and securing unlocked doors. One of my latest endeavors was to assist a piano mechanic in overhauling a baby grand piano to lubricate 3 hinges for every key.
You would think, from the time spent on it, that setting up a ham radio station was my part-time job, but even when I do it for friends it's only a hobby.
I'm currently watching for an opening at the university as an advisor in the language department, but I'm still at the point where I just don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe that's the problem. Once I grow up, maybe I can find something.
You've got to grow old, but you never have to grow up.
Twist
