I’m 50 and need to get a job. What should I do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think for nursing schools, there are some science requirements you must fulfill before you can apply.

You guys have no idea what it takes to get into nursing program and actually get a license. You think it's easy. Well, you'll be for a rude awakening once you even manage to be accepted to nursing school.

LVN. - not difficult.

LVN? What year are you writing from?

Maybe if she wants to be a nurse in the armpit of Oklahoma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My aunt got into real estate at 50 and has done great.

Your rich aunt with a rich husband who has a deep social and professional network she tapped? Otherwise, I call BS.

Why BS? Sales jobs are all about hustle and anybody can be successful with the right effort. Though I have a college degree, anyone with a high school diploma could do my sales job – and I make more than all you GS-15s.

Of course, this is probably not the ideal time for a new agent to be entering the real estate market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. Just want to give my sincerest thanks for all the supportive responses. I honestly was prepared to be bashed and shamed because I’ve been out of work for so long and have no security at all at age 50! Thank you for being kind! 🙏

We're rooting for you, OP. Becoming a teacher for a public school system is by far the best thing I've seen listed here in terms of salary and benefits. You already have the degree and just need the certification. Plus there's a nationwide teacher shortage so you're almost guaranteed to get a job. Look into it now.

OP,
One word of caution about teaching: there’s a reason for the teaching shortage. The job is brutal. Yes, there are openings and you will definitely get hired. Just go in with realistic expectations and be prepared to work 60 hour weeks as you get your feet under you.

I switched to teaching from another career. (Look for resident teacher programs.) I cried daily on the way home my first year, but I feel like I can handle anything now. If you can effectively manage 140 teenagers, you can face anything the world throws at you.

This. Most of you all wouldn’t last a year in a teaching gig. There’s a reason for the nationwide teacher shortage. And recommending a 50 year old with no previous teaching experience and who was a sahm for years to go into it? Are you all serious?

I'm that person and have been teaching for a few years. That said, I agree that the job is increasingly brutal and completely unrewarding and I'm looking to get out (it's not a function of being a new teacher or being older--I hear colleagues all around me who have done nothing but teach for decades and even get teaching awards that they wish they could get out or can't wait until retirement). Don't do it unless you look forward to becoming the parent (as in no authority but all responsibility) for anywhere from 30+ to 150 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take a course in grant writing. Start at small non-profits and work your way up.

I'm in non-profit fundraising and at least in my area we have very high demand. We often hire people who don't have direct experience in the field. A friend of mine who is in her 50s just got a job as a receptionist at a yoga studio. As with all job-seekers, you need to network. Even if you don't have a professional network, briefly mention that you are looking for work to everyone you talk to-friends, neighbors, people at the dog park, etc.

They say sure I'll give you my card then they route you to hr and you never hear from them again. People in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP keep in mind you are entitled to half of all of your assets including half of retirements. I think also get half his social security since you were married more than 10 years but I’m not sure about that.

I’m 43 and if I got divorced I could make do with 1/2 of our current assets and a minimum wage job.

You are right that you can get half of spouses SS if married 10 or more years, assuming half is more than your own full SS. Then if spouse dies before you you can get their full SS instead of your own.

This just happened to a friend of my mom who has been divorced for like 35 years (but 15 year marriage I think). The ex-husband died and her SS doubled overnight. She was mightily surprised.

Wow I didn't know you could continue getting x spouses ss if he dies. But what if he remarried in another country?

[Anonymous]

Nabor Force for now

Requires a college degree

Though low pay better than retail/restaurant/ etc

[Anonymous]

The Capitol Visitor Center is often looking for Visitor Assistants. They aren't right now, but the job comes up frequently on usajobs.gov. Salary, benefits including federal pension, PTO, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised nobody suggested IT. Do a simple QA certification, plenty of centers in NoVa, will take 4-5 months and you can get a 60-70k job and most probably WFH. A fiend of mine just did this, she is 40 and had no prior work experience at all, now she has a 70k full WFH job. Something to think and research.

What is QA certification? Is it more like admin work? I always associate IT work with coding, which isn't for everyone, and you won't get good at it in a few months (unless you have natural inclination and talent for it). If it were easy then every idiot would apply, 70K remote after such short training sounds too good to be true without some connections..

QA is basically a tester.

Quality Assurance.

-someone in tech

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP keep in mind you are entitled to half of all of your assets including half of retirements. I think also get half his social security since you were married more than 10 years but I’m not sure about that.

I’m 43 and if I got divorced I could make do with 1/2 of our current assets and a minimum wage job.

You are right that you can get half of spouses SS if married 10 or more years, assuming half is more than your own full SS. Then if spouse dies before you you can get their full SS instead of your own.

This just happened to a friend of my mom who has been divorced for like 35 years (but 15 year marriage I think). The ex-husband died and her SS doubled overnight. She was mightily surprised.

Wow I didn't know you could continue getting x spouses ss if he dies. But what if he remarried in another country?

You aren't getting the ex spouse's Soc. Sec. You would be getting the survivor benefit based on your past marriage to the ex spouse. You have to be 60 to get a survivor benefit based on the ex spouse, not re-marry, and of course, the survivor benefits have to be greater than your own Soc. Sec. based on your own work record. https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/2878#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20information%20you,spouse%20had%20enough%20work%20credits.

It's not like you just suddenly get to claim all of the ex's social security payments.

The same with a wife (or other spouse) claiming soc sec. based on the other spouse's work record. You don't get the same amount that the working spouse gets. You get to top-off YOUR soc sec. up to 50% of the working spouse's benefit. You don't get 50% of the working spouse's benefit PLUS your own soc. sec. benefit.

Soc. Sec. calculates what benefit you have earned based on your own work record (let's say $600/mo). And then they calculate the spousal benefit (let's say the working spouse's full benefit was $2000/mon.; so 50% of that would be $1000.... so they pay you $600 first from your own work record, then "top off" your benefits with an extra $400 -- which is the spousal benefit that makes your total monthly amount =$1000 --- which is 50% of the value of the working spouse.

You do NOT get $600 on your own record PLUS $1000 (50% of the working spouse's Soc. Sec.) for a total of $1600. Does not work like that. You get a max of 50% of the working spouse's benefit, OR your own benefit if it is greater.

[Anonymous]

OP -- would you qualify to be a school counselor? What would that take? Seems like a better job than being a teacher, and would have a better salary than a teacher's assistant. Less intense daily interaction with so many kids as a counselor.

Or maybe something administrative -- it really just depends on how much $$ you actually need. Is this the money you need to pay the mortgage, or just a job to start contributing to social security?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised nobody suggested IT. Do a simple QA certification, plenty of centers in NoVa, will take 4-5 months and you can get a 60-70k job and most probably WFH. A fiend of mine just did this, she is 40 and had no prior work experience at all, now she has a 70k full WFH job. Something to think and research.

What is QA certification? Is it more like admin work? I always associate IT work with coding, which isn't for everyone, and you won't get good at it in a few months (unless you have natural inclination and talent for it). If it were easy then every idiot would apply, 70K remote after such short training sounds too good to be true without some connections..

QA is basically a tester.

Quality Assurance.

-someone in tech

Also don't go to those tech job fairs. Some dumbass on here recommended it to me and they only wanted engineers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP keep in mind you are entitled to half of all of your assets including half of retirements. I think also get half his social security since you were married more than 10 years but I’m not sure about that.

I’m 43 and if I got divorced I could make do with 1/2 of our current assets and a minimum wage job.

You are right that you can get half of spouses SS if married 10 or more years, assuming half is more than your own full SS. Then if spouse dies before you you can get their full SS instead of your own.

This just happened to a friend of my mom who has been divorced for like 35 years (but 15 year marriage I think). The ex-husband died and her SS doubled overnight. She was mightily surprised.

Wow I didn't know you could continue getting x spouses ss if he dies. But what if he remarried in another country?

remarriage of the ex-spouse does not affect your benefits or rights to collect survivor benefits based on ex's work record. Both the wife at time of ex's death and the former wife can collect survivor benefits (assuming the second marriage meets the time requirements).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My aunt got into real estate at 50 and has done great.

I'm going to go out a limb here and guess that she got into it about 10 years ago? I am no expert, but everything I read about the housing market these days suggests this is not a great time to get into real estate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised nobody suggested IT. Do a simple QA certification, plenty of centers in NoVa, will take 4-5 months and you can get a 60-70k job and most probably WFH. A fiend of mine just did this, she is 40 and had no prior work experience at all, now she has a 70k full WFH job. Something to think and research.

What is QA certification? Is it more like admin work? I always associate IT work with coding, which isn't for everyone, and you won't get good at it in a few months (unless you have natural inclination and talent for it). If it were easy then every idiot would apply, 70K remote after such short training sounds too good to be true without some connections..

QA is basically a tester.

Quality Assurance.

-someone in tech

Also don't go to those tech job fairs. Some dumbass on here recommended it to me and they only wanted engineers.

oh, yea, no, QA testers don't get recruited at tech fairs. That was a dumb recommendation. You can look for those jobs online.

However, OP being a sahm for that many years with no tech background isn't getting a QA tester job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second the preschool option. They always need subs, aides and administrators. I would check with private schools as well.

but they get paid nothing. I think these are dead end jobs for most people. Substitute teaching is the worst. The pay is a joke.