What was/is your job?

Maggie if thats anything like most of us that will be quite soon

At the age of 5 I decided that I wanted to be a teacher. At the age of 80 I am still imparting knowledge having taught every age from nursery to mature students including gifted children and those with very severe disabilities. What a rewarding life it's been.

greenmossgiel,only jobs around the house,why want some jobs done?

Well, now you're asking.....!!??? I'm afraid DH isn't the handiest person, and his efforts have stopped me from asking him to do many jobs around the house. I'm sure that's been a deliberate ploy on his part!

no probs

Pharmacist 51 yrs in 8 hospitals,one prison and over 50 community pharmacies!-following OH's career path
Primary school teacher 10 yrs when my 3 children were in school.
Divorced at 55
Trained in massage and reflexology just before my first retirement at 60.
Kept on doing part time pharmacy until I was 75
Now 80. Enjoying full time retirement -painting,photography,gardening
involved with local sustainability/transition group.
I babysit for my Japanese neighbour and thus have 2 surrogate grandchildren.Sadly don't see much of my own grandchildren because of distance and divorce.

Crikey, Maniac - a life well-lived indeed!

Ive had lots of different jobs over the years but was a foster carer from my 20s - 40s while my 3 kids were growing up.
Then I worked as a Residential social worker for 8 years. Gave up childcare and became PA carer doing agency work mainly and going abroad with wealthy disabled people on their holidays. Saw the world in my 50s lol
After our grandson was born I looked after him while the DIL went back to work. It didnt work out too well full time as we had conflicting ideas on childcare so just have him 1 or 2 days a week now, but decided I wanted to work from home as a childminder so started a childminding business last October which is going OK. Im not making a fortune but I love being my own boss and Im back doing childcare which is great!

Is approaching 60 too old to be training for anything? I'm pretty much worn out with what I'm doing but can't imagine not working.

Made redundant at 58, I negotiated re-training as an ESOL teacher (English to Speakers of Other Languages) and did this for a couple of years until my health got in the way.

Being made redundant is unspeakably dreadful in your 50's

It was horrible and especially as I had only 20 months before i could retire anyway. I think I may just have got over resenting it 12 years later. Mind you, if I met my former line manager in the street, I might not be answerable for my actions!

We'll bail you out Annobel

Knew I could rely on Gransnet!

Good heavens Maniac that's really amazing - makes my life look so boring and unproductive

Annobel there are a few people in my working life I would feel the same about! In the days when you were taught typing and shorthand at school I have to say this put me in good stead especially when the kids came along and I needed to help put bread onto the table - well more like holidays really! Have worked in banks, accountants, estate agents, solicitors, local hospital, met some good friends and in one civil engineering company met my husband - so not all bad. Would have liked to have the wherewithall to do a degree in history at some stage .... sounds like another thread coming on...

Open University, belle?

had quite a few jobs, usually boring and mundane, until i became a care assistant at 46, still doing this now ( careing for the elderly). i love my job even though it can be stressful and quite hard physically at times, not getting any younger myself! but fortunately am still healthy.

Thought of that Baggy but kids came along, life went on, and like most Mums put family first - and still doing so!

Relief that Jangly has at last come clean. How did she incorporate that manky apple, referred to on another thread, into a published recipe... I wonder.
I've been a terrible butterfly - careering rather than sticking to a career...
Full time mum; NCT teacher; NCT trainer of teachers; Science teacher in series of comps; teaching psychology to trainee health visitors etc; training officer in a psychiatric hospital; training officer in a water company (great job as they had loads of money post privatisation); customer service manager in water company - dealing with public and managing a bunch of men in the water depot; self employed trainer- teaching project management to engineers (who? me?); working in a charity that helps women to get back into workforce; advising companies on who to recruit, based on candidates psychological profile and interviews; chair of governors in secondary school.
Some of these paid, some not, some overlapping. Punctuated by various life crises (divorce, breast cancer etc) and house moves. Somewhat credit crunched a couple of years back after looking after son in NZ for 6 months (should i have put very adaptable cook, dog walker and housekeeper for cancer patient ...?)
Did a bit of temping in HR, doing lots of interviews in a car company.
Since then have been writing the book... enjoyed the research and writing but the getting it finally tidied up.... aargh. Missing teaching, so doing a course in yoga teaching (a rather basic one) so as to teach gentle yoga and stress management ... Can't imagine wanting to not have some kind of work going on. However no particular desire to work full time either...

All gransnetters are computer literate, though, aren't they? And I bet they weren't taught that at school. So at some point in their lives they must have either been required to learn about computers or wanted to for their own sake.

Doesn't that mean that gransnetters are self-selecting up to a point?

I can't help but think that many women old enough to be a grandmother possibly do not use a computer.

I taught in primary schools for 37 years and did love being in the classroom with the children. DH, also a teacher, and I took early retirement just over a year ago, disillusioned by all the box ticking, constant changes and over-planning that had taken the joy out of sitting with children and talking to them. When they bring ideas back in that you were using years ago and which had been thrown out, you know it's time to get out. However after a tricky year healthwise, we're now voluntary helpers at our grandchildren's school ,one or two mornings a week. It's wonderful and reminds me why I went into teaching in the first place. I feel that I've come full circle and have re-found the joy of working with children instead of mainly writing about them.
Rosie

I spent the last 20 yrs of my working life as an Ambulance Woman for the LAS here in London, I loved my work I was just a plain ordinary driver no paramedic courses for me and I loved it, but unfortunately all the heavy lifting involved wore out my hips and spine and after two surgeries and a hip-replacement I reluctantly admitted defeat and took Ill-health retirement . A sad day and it took me a year to come to terms with it but now I wonder too how I found time to work and am enjoying my retirement to the full...

Inspired by all your great jobs! Have never settled on a career but flitted from one to another: Accounts assistant, admin in stock brokers (London), part time retail assistant while bringing up children, working in dress hire, service receptionist in a garage, car sales, clothes sales, own deli with husband, own retail clothes shop with husband, estate agent, local paper advertising rep, property advertising manager, (gap, lived in Spain), more advertising sales, recruitment consultant, employability tutor on government training scheme - made redundant!

Thats it! Just turned 60 but want to work again but finding it impossible to find anything. they say variety is the spice of life, and it has been great trying different things but find I am jack of all trades and master of none!

Granvan I've looked for the last 5 yrs but no luck its not easy for us older ones and I also must admit I did feel a bit guilty as at the time 2 of my grandsons were out of work , would I be taking a job from them was in the back of my mind..