What Do You Want to Do?

What Do You Want to Do?

It seems like an obvious question, doesn't it? But it has multiple dimensions, especially for people entering the 2nd half of life; including time, type of work and compensation. Many people I talk to are looking for non-traditional schedules. They mean to work, and not necessarily just any time they feel like it, but perhaps only for certain months out of the year. Others want to work only on a contract-basis, perhaps a month or two at a time. This variety of approaches may make these people a form of contingent workforce. That can be attractive to employers needing help, but not in a hurry to expand their full-time, permanent workforce in the face of economic uncertainty. Others simply want to work part-time, a few hours at a time, a few days a week. This can sometimes make finding suitable work difficult. Then again, in certain fields, part-time employees are the norm, rather than the exception.

Next, what kind of work do you want to do? Is this your way of giving back? Is it a way to meet and talk with new people? Do you have a hobby or other special interest you'd like to pursue? I know people who have picked up enough know-how to be dangerous in web-site design and related work to take that up as a part-time occupation, helping those who know a lot less about it than they do. Still others were always intereested in books, so working in a bookstore suits them perfectly. Have you left your first career intending to get as far away from what you did in that time? Do you want to continue to work in the field in which you worked during your first half of life? That is sometimes the best way to maximize your income. Which leads us really to the next question.

Yes, there's the question of compensation. I have heard it said that volunteers are under-valued by their "employers." The mind-set apparently is that volunteers aren't getting paid, so you can waste their efforts with impunity. Much of what I read about the social dividend from retired baby-boomers engaging in the volunteer workforce actually provides dollar-estimates of the value of all the volunteer work being offered by this workforce. Whichever camp you are in, placing real value on their contribution seems to make better sense. The fact remains that you have to gauge what you want out of this new form of employment. If you plan to do it for money, how much will you want to make this employment suit your needs? If you just don't want to fall into the trap of being undervalued (or asked to do very little of any importance) because you are uncompensated, how much will be enough?

There is a growing segment of the population (especially under 65) who want to work to obtain health care coverage. This is not as common in smaller businesses, so it may narrow your options a bit. In the alternative to having employer-provided coverage, you may just want to ratchet up the target for wages you wish to earn to cover the cost of getting it for yourself through someone like AARP (anyone over 50), MegaLife or other health insurance provider.

The bottom line is, think these things through ahead of time and you can avoid chasing rabbit trails that are leading somewhere you really didn't want to go in the first place.