Part Time Work In Retirement (AARP)

5 More Great Part-time Jobs for Retirees
Blogging, coaching or teaching provide opportunities for income with flexible schedules

by: Kerry Hannon | from: AARP | March 2, 2011

Just recently, relatively few retirees took on part-time jobs. Today, the majority of retirees are working as a way to stay engaged, support a lifestyle or both.

For Jose and Jill Ferrer, ages 61 and 56, respectively, it's the whole ball of wax. When they retired from telecommunications careers that spanned nearly three decades at AT&T, they sold their townhouse in Randolph, N.J., for about $360,000 and hit the road.

Since 2005, they've traveled full time from Oregon to New Mexico to Florida and points in between at the wheel of their 40-foot Country Coach Allure motor home (paid for with cash). A Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail motorcycle, a Saturn car and two bikes are along for the ride.


"We're living a lifestyle that enables us to move around as we choose," says Jill. "We usually take our time — spending at least a few days and more likely a week or more in an area. We fully intend to get to all of the national parks."

The couple planned carefully for their retirement. They lived off one of their $100,000-a-year salaries for about five years before retiring and saving the other one. They contributed the maximum to their 401(k) plans and rolled them over into individual retirement accounts once they retired. And they expect to start taking Social Security when they're eligible. "We're hopeful that we have saved enough to last us in a retirement that includes frugal living and part-time work," Jill explains.

For the road warrior couple, that part-time work is a website and blog dedicated to the RV Lifestyle. "We were seeking something we could do on the road to make some extra income. We created Your RV Lifestyle as a site where we could share tips, lessons learned and travel experiences," she says.

And it has worked. With both a laptop and a desktop in the motor home, they use a wireless data plan with an air card for Internet access. On average, they try to do something on the site every day: a blog, a new page or an updated page.

The payoff: They earn a small commission on products sold through the product-affiliate programs related to the RV lifestyle, such as Good Sam RV club, FMCA, RV books/DVDs and so on, that are promoted on the site. They also get a cut when visitors click on Google Adsense ads displayed on the relevant pages.

"For now, as we balance various aspects of our life, we are happy to earn a little extra money — about $700 a month — from the site," Jill says. "And we know the potential is there to grow our website business further."

Whatever your reason for wanting to keep earning income, it doesn't mean you're locked into the daily treadmill. Opting to work a slimmed down number of hours a week gives you plenty of room to travel, enjoy your hobbies, spend time with friends and more.

Here are five great part-time jobs to consider. Pay ranges, which will vary based on factors such as experience and geography, are derived from data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

1. Blogger

The nitty-gritty: Most bloggers are making very little per month. Little wonder. There's lots of competition out there for eyeballs. An estimated 126 million blogs were up and running on the Internet in 2009, the most recent figure available, according to Pingdom.com, which tracks Internet growth. It is possible, though, to break through. An income stream comes from steadily building a following through referrals and generating income from the ads on your page. You can also make money by selling merchandise directly — from books to T-shirts. Developing traffic flow (and money) to your blog is time-consuming. You can't just come up with a few pithy posts on a whim every so often and expect visitors to show up with any consistency. It takes discipline. Use Facebook and Twitter to get the word out.

The hours: Flexible. It's tough to measure how long it takes someone to write a post of around 800 words. It might take three or four hours. The real money-hungry bloggers log in full-time schedules of 40 hours or more a week managing their blogs. While that's heavy duty, you should plan to blog at least three times a week. You also need to keep tabs on the business side — managing display ads and product sales adds up to a few hours a week.

Median pay range: The majority of bloggers make less than $100 a month from their sites. Some bloggers produce more than one blog, which antes up income. There are bloggers who pull in more than $100,000, but they're the exception. Google AdSense, Amazon's affiliate program and Chitika are three income streams to check out. How much income they produce varies by blog. The key is to try out a few.

Qualifications: At the heart of it — passion, a micro-niche that you really know something about, decent writing skills and the commitment to keep feeding your site with fresh content. A successful blog is built on subject matter that's valuable to people interested in the precise topic. Computer skills are a must and knowing how to post photos and YouTube clips is helpful. You have an edge if you know how to use keywords and other online links to lure people to your website via search engine results such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. If you're interested, start with ProBlogger.net. File this under labor of love.



2. Athletic Coach/Umpire/Referee

The nitty-gritty: This one's for the kid in all of us. Check into a coach, referee, umpire or scorekeeper post in high school programs, or various youth and amateur leagues. Stress and plenty of time standing go with the territory. And for outdoor sports, prepare for the elements. Travel is usually part of the job, but it's probably a scoot across town. If you're blowing a whistle, you better brace yourself for the possibility of verbal strip downs (parental ire).

The hours: These fluctuate widely by sport and organization. Coaches can figure three hours or so for late afternoons, five days a week; plus weekend days in season. Umpires, referees and scorekeepers usually work two to three hours per game. Figure on once a week for two or three games in an afternoon or evening.

Median pay range: For a coaching position at a school, $3,000 to $5,000 per season is possible. Umpires and referees can make $30 to $50 per game. Independent leagues or private travel teams might pay $50 to $75 per game.

Qualifications: You need to be good with children, possess moderate physical fitness and have an overall knowledge of the game. Specific education, training and licensing requirements for coaches and officials vary greatly by the level and type of sport. Some entry-level positions for coaches require only experience gleaned as a participant in the sport. Umpires and referees usually are required to attend a training course and pass a test. You can gain experience by volunteering for intramural, community and recreational league competitions. If you have a hankering to umpire, check out your local umpire association. For American Legion (high school age), you will need to contact your local division and attend a certifying clinic. There are one-day refresher classes and full courses with several sessions, plus an exam. Some leagues require that certification be renewed periodically. Estimated Cost: $50 application, plus $7.50 for a rule book, $5 for a flipping coin. You may need to pass a background check and applicable drug tests. Additional resources: National Association of Sports Officials and State Association Referees. Look to your local high schools, parks departments, recreational and church leagues, and soccer clubs for openings. Ask if they offer a club-certified referee or umpire class. For soccer, you might need FIFA certification.




3. Teacher's Aide

The nitty-gritty: Kid-central. This post can take some nerves of steel and patience, but the rewards are plentiful. It can be frustrating for some aides to have to defer to the guidance of the teacher in charge, so you need to have a good rapport and working relationship. The teacher needs to respect and value what you bring to the classroom. If not, it's a bust. Be prepared for some grunt work — clerical duties such as grading papers, recording grades, setting up equipment, entering computer data. One of the best aspects is one-on-one tutoring for a student who needs special help, or has a disability that requires individual attention. These are bonding moments of giving back that are worth more than a paycheck. While some of the school day is spent standing, walking or kneeling, most of it is sitting while working with students. Teacher assistants also supervise students in the cafeteria, school yard and hallways, or on field trips.

The hours: Three to five days a week, six to seven hours per day during the traditional school year (eight to nine months). Summer school hours may be available in some districts.

Median full-time pay range: Annual wage: $15,870 to $35,350.

Qualifications: On-the-job training combined with a high school diploma. Some states or school districts may require additional education beyond high school. A college degree, related coursework in child development and previous experience helping special education students can open up job opportunities. Self-starters who can multitask and work independently are highly valued. Fluency in a second language, especially Spanish, is in demand. Many schools require previous experience in working with children and a valid driver's license. Most require you to pass a background check. For more information, go to American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, and National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals.

The promise: Gold Stars.




4. Tour Jobs

The nitty-gritty: Imagine steering a group of curious tourists around historical monuments in Washington, D.C., on a sunny, cherry blossom-bright day in April. That's particularly true if you're a history buff and have a knack for storytelling and showmanship. You need to have a mind for remembering dates and historical facts. You also must interact easily with everyone — from excitable school kids on a field trip to seniors hailing from all over the globe. Tour guide jobs pop up in various places that attract visitors. You might lead visitors through points of historical or local interest, pretzel factories, wineries, breweries and more, doling out tidbits of information in a narrative format. The downside is that it can be hard on the feet and the vocal cords, and the patter can become stifling rote. Your job is to dig down for a fresh and energetic performance each round. Many of these jobs are walking tours, although you may land one where you drive a vehicle, or go with a group on a park shuttle or monorail system. Depending on the assignment, you might have to stand up to eight hours per day or walk and climb stairs. Plus, you'll need to be sharp-eyed to visually monitor guests to ensure compliance with security and safety rules. Less demanding openings, such as ticket-takers, program sellers or cashiers, are also generally available.

The hours: Varying schedules including days, evenings and weekends. It might be difficult to receive time off around peak tourist times, such as holidays and school vacations.

Median pay range: Hourly wage: $7.72 to $18.87.

Qualifications: Tour guides often receive on-the-job training from employers. The academic background required for a position varies according to the venue. Best skill: The ability to hang on to historical facts, dates and anecdotes and relate that information to visitors in a compelling way. Some cities require licensing, and applicants may have to pass a written exam covering factual knowledge of specific locations and city history. Some community colleges offer short-term courses in tour and travel-related occupations. Certified Tour Professional (CTP) certification is offered through the National Tour Association.

Your hidden gem: Knowing where George Washington really slept.


5. Convention Center Jobs

The nitty-gritty: Convention centers in major cities can be wellsprings for a wide range of part-time jobs with various skill requirements. The panoply of shows rolls in and rolls out. Set 'em up and tear 'em down. Each week, the venues play host to various industry events from exotic food to car and boat shows, as well as concerts and even sports competitions. The demand for workers is a moving target — the perfect scenario if you're looking for the occasional paycheck. Some part-time jobs include nurse, parking lot attendant, parking lot cashier, set-up worker/cleaner, usher and information booth attendant. Many of these jobs have little to no physical labor. There are also food service opportunities for banquets and special dining events. The center's kitchen facility often hires line cooks and servers on an as-needed basis. In some towns, outside vendors will lease space inside a convention center and staff-up for each event. These positions can range from being a barista for a coffee stand to working at a concession stand. Sign on with one of these businesses, and the vendor will call and ask your availability depending on weekly needs.

The hours: The work schedules are irregular and no minimum number of hours is guaranteed. Work is typically available on all days of the year, including holidays. Evening and night hours may be required depending on the job.

Median pay range: Typically $10 to $20 an hour.

Qualifications: This is showtime. It's all about the customer, so people skills matter. Working knowledge of the event industry — including trade shows, conventions, consumer shows, concerts, athletic events and meetings — is a plus for some positions. Pre-employment drug screening and background checks are common. Many convention centers outsource their personnel management to companies that specialize in doing this for large convention and event centers, and hire locals to come in and do specific jobs for individual events. You might stop by at an event and ask booth operators about future openings. Your local convention, sports and entertainment agency should be able to provide employment information. Other job hunting sources: Tap into Convention.net or event management companies such as SMG World, a firm that manages convention centers, exhibition halls and trade centers, arenas, stadiums, performing arts centers, theaters and specific-use venues such as equestrian centers.


Kerry Hannon is a contributing editor for U.S. News & World Report and the author of What's Next? Follow Your Passion and Find Your Dream Job.

from Business Insider - the 25 most valuable blogs

The 25 Most Valuable Blogs

Nicholas Carlson|Feb. 23, 2009, 2:24 PM


Multiplying traffic and CPMs, 24/7 Wall Street came up with a list of the twenty-five most valuable blogs.


This year, 24/7 pegged Gawker Media to the top, figuring Nick Denton's collection of sites are worth $170 million at an 8x operating income valuation.

Nick tells us 24/7 underestimates Gawker's traffic and overestimates its CPMs.

But this is all a game anyway, right?

Here's the rest of the list.
Gawker Properties -- $170 million.
Huffington Post -- $90 million.
The Drudge Report -- $48 million.
Perez Hilton -- $32 million.
Sugar, Inc -- $27 million.
TechCrunch -- $25 million.
MacRumors -- $21 million.
SeekingAlpha -- $11 million.
GigaOm -- $9.5 million.
Politico -- $8.7 million.
SmashingMagazine -- $7.7 million.
SearchEngineLand -- $4.5 million.
Boing Boing -- $3.6 million.
ReadWriteWeb -- $3.4 million.
SB Nation -- $2.7 million.
Destructoid -- $2.5 million.
Mashable -- $2.5 million.
Alley Insider sites -- $2.25 million.
/film -- $2.1 million.
The Superficial Network -- $2 million
Neatorama -- $1.5 million.
Daily Kos -- $2 million.
Talking Points Memo -- $1.2 million.
VentureBeat -- $1 million.
Wowowow.com -- $1 million.

The Best Financial Blogs (from 24/7 Wall Street )

January 21, 2009

The 24/7 Wall St. Twenty-Five Best Financial Blogs

It has been more than a year since we published our feature, “The Twenty-Five Best Financial Blogs.” A great deal has changed. Some of the blogs on the list are gone or no longer have regular posts. Others have grown and become better.

This is a list of independent blogs. However, several major media outlets have excellent blog sections including David Gaffen at WSJ.com, Fortune.com’s Apple 2.0 blog, BusinessWeek.com’s Fine On Media, and BloggingStocks at AOL (24/7 contributes content to this site). Obviously, these blogs have a level of financial support that independent blogs do not enjoy. Their writers are paid salaries. They have greater exposure due to their relationship with larger websites. They are excellent, but really should not be compared with websites operated by one person or a small group of individuals. Nevertheless, they should be recognized for their own commentary as well as the exposure that they give to independent blogs.

Financial information on blog sites is not readily available. Most financial blogs are much too small to bring in enough direct revenue to support their writers. Some have newsletters, but it is impossible to know what they yield. A number run Google AdSense links on their sites to generate ad revenue, but, based on data gathered from a few financial blogs, if a site is not in the top of its category as measured by audience tracking sites like Quantcast, Alexa and Compete, it is unlikely to have enough revenue to support even one or two people.

Financial blogs end up being either labors of love or ways to promote small money management or paid newsletter businesses. It would seem to be a tough way to make a living.

Over the last month, 24/7 Wall St. has looked at more than one hundred financial blogs The list came from those blogs mentioned at major media sites and the largest aggregators of financial blogs, SeekingAlpha and BloggingStocks. We also reviewed the lists of “blogrolls” – favorite blog lists – at long-established financial blogs like The Kirk Report and financial commentary sites like Minyanville

After we narrowed the number of financial blogs down to about 50, we tracked posts for several weeks before picking the final twenty-five.

Original content was our most important measurement: specifically, content that was well-written, well-researched and crisp. Blogs that were mostly aggregations of content from mainstream media did not make the cut. This meant that the majority of the copy had to be directly written by the blog's author(s).

Blogs that used profanity were also excluded from the list. It is well recognized that traders are a notoriously bawdy bunch. And, unfortunately, a number of these blogs are incredibly insightful. However, our aim was to create a list that avoided offending any of our reader’s delicate sensibilities.

Anonymous blogs also did not make the cut. It is too difficult to understand the agenda of a blog where readers cannot figure out the writer’s identity and potential motivations.

The final major metric was frequency of posting. If a blog had very good content, but the author only posts once or twice a month, it becomes too hard to follow without referring back to the same story and waiting for weeks for it to change.

24/7 Wall St. also looked at how well read the blogs were based on the number of other blogs that linked to each of the websites on our list. These figures were provided by Technorati, the internet’s leading blog search engine. (Because Technorati indexes more than 1.5 million new blog posts in real time, these numbers are subject to change.) This is the one audience or traffic metric that is universally available for all the websites on the list.

Here are Top Twenty-Five financial blogs, in no special order:

1. Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis (7,903 links). Although Mish (aka Mike Shedlock) is not an economist by training, he adroitly gets into the thick of economic data. Mish looks at comments made by the major media, so–called experts and government officials and serves up trenchant analysis based on his impression of their relevance and validity. The author is not afraid to attack conventional wisdom.

2. Footnoted.org (598 links). The blog’s author, Michelle Leder, digs through SEC filings and comes up with some of the best insights about the “hidden” comments found in 8Ks, 10Qs, and other government filings that rarely get as careful a review. This is one of the oldest financial blogs, founded in 2003.

3. Bill Cara’s Cara Community (389 links) analyzes the capital markets, stock movements, and the economy with an eye to technical guides including volatility, cash flows, trading volume, and price performance and is prolific almost beyond comparison.

4. Infectious Greed (3,822 links). Blogger, Paul Kedrosky, is considered one the preeminent financial market pundits. His site reflects the perspective of a former technology analyst, institutional money manager, and venture capitalist. Infectious greed provides a running commentary on global markets, economic trends, and emerging business trends.

5. Bespoke Invest, also known as “Think Big” (6,112 links), is the blog for a money management and research firm. The site provides a combination of technical analysis and commentary on macroeconomic trends, major sectors of the stock market, and currencies.

6. Angry Bear (2,447 links) is the product of a half dozen Ph.D economists, an historian, and financial professionals. The writers provide individual perspectives on broad sectors of the economy based on their unique training. They look at topics as varied as worldwide trade and industrial production as well as US government programs and regulations like Social Security.

7. The Big Picture by Barry Ritholtz (11,223 links) has recently moved from his long-standing site on typepad, where he's been since 2002, to http://www.ritholtz.com. Ritholtz is one of the most well-respected market and economic pundits and bloggers who manages money as his day job. Multiple posts a day on subjects as diverse as criticisms of the business press, digital media, and key economic indicators. Sophisticated analysis made clear by an unmistakably irreverent voice and excellent use of charts, tables, and graphs.

8. Naked Shorts (833 links) covers ETFs, hedge funds, monetary policy, and current events. Bangs on hedgies and the accounting profession and its practices. Not fond of the practices of many US government agencies.

9. A VC (2,777 links). Long-time venture capitalist Fred Wilson passes along his opinions on new technology and how it converges with emerging parts of the economy. Wilson talks in detail about where he is investing his venture capital money and why. His Union Square Ventures has taken positions in new ventures including Del.icio.us, Feedburner, and Twitter.

10. SeekingAlpha (63,563 links), the grandfather of financial blog aggregation, also has its own editors and columnists. This is by far the largest collection of financial blog posts in the world. Readers who want to find articles from hundreds of sites get a one-stop-shop at SeekingAlpha. If it were not for this web site, a large number of blogs would have almost no readers.

11. Clusterstock (1,613) links) follows and comments on business, the stock market, and economic news throughout the day. It has a staff of several outstanding writers lead by Henry Blodget. Articles by John Carney are particularly good. It is now combined with another strong site called Silicon Alley Insider.

12. 1440 Wall Street (1,216 link). Although the site is “intended for the institutional equities crowd,” we won’t hold it against them - it’s still very good. Covers money markets, sell side, buy side, private equity, Wall St. research, and media. Strong analysis. Strong on multimedia.

13. The Kirk Report (1,571 links). This is one of the oldest financial blogs and it has been consistently good. It has a number of articles which are simply links to other sites. Strong on stock analysis, market recommendations, and volume investing. Too bad some of the content requires being a “member.”

14. Calculated Risk (11,057 links) is among the most thoughtful and thorough financial commentary on the internet. Period. Tears apart poor economic assumptions. Gets to the heart of the elements that move the economy and markets. Big focus on housing and economic analysis

15. Abnormal Returns (1,009 links). Disregarding our own rules for what blogs should be on this list, this site is the only one that simply provides lists of links to other financial sites. However, there’s a reason we’re making an exception as these are carefully selected and come with good short intros. Links are regularly organized by subject.

16. TraderFeed (2,437 links). The author, Brett Steenbarger, is one of the most intelligent voices in the financial blog business. Strong on technical analysis, broad market commentary, and the psychology behind trading behavior.

17. Alpha Trends (1,046 links). Extremely strong technical analysis. Good video commentary which it claims is the highest subscription membership for financial videos on YouTube. Covers stocks, ETF, and index movement.

18. Econbrowser (6,597 links). Run by two professors, both with economic backgrounds. What readers would expect from academics looking at the markets. Indepth and often complex analysis of a broad range of topics from infrastructure to policy making to consumer spendings. More than any other site on this list, Econ Browser is not for sisses.

19. Peridot Capitalist (192 links). Written by a money manager, one of the oldest and better regarded financial blogs. Good corporate earnings analysis and looks at undervalued stocks.

20. Information Arbitrage (957 links) The author has been in the M&A and derivatives businesses for some time. Strong and rich commentary on current financial events, investment risks and rewards, and the current credit and economic crisis.

21. Maoxian (290 links). Strong pieces on day trading, technical trading, balance sheets, and ETFs. Strange graphics. Writer tries to be anonymous, but it hasn’t worked.

22. 10Q Detective (277 links). Writer has been an equity analyst. Good at digging through government filings to find information for investors which is both helpful and sometimes amusing. Good place to read how public companies “game” the process of SEC reporting.

23. Ticker Sense (538 links). This site may be the most well known for its weekly poll of financial blogger sentiments about the market. Written by money management firm Birinyi Associates. Has excellent analysis of global economy and major sectors of the stock market. Use of tables and graphs is among the best.

24. Upside Trader (356 links) Good technical analysis which follows the market carefully. Strong charting on individual companies. Great place for day traders.

25. Carl Futia (133 links). One of the best financial forecasting blogs. Employs various technical analysis including some he has developed. Notable for his thoughtful and approachable writing. Posts very regularly.

Douglas A. McIntyre and Ashley C. Allen