Hello, friends. I need your help! Thank you in advance if you have the patience to read my long post. One of the great benefits of working as an interpreter/translator is that work can come any day/any time and I have the ultimate power as to when I will say yes or no to any job offer. On the other hand, I'm also at the mercy of my email inbox, constantly waiting for new requests to come in. I feel a little stifled in that this "power" goes both ways. I can only accept jobs that I'm actually offered, and have to sit on my hands waiting for those offers to appear. I would prefer to have other freelance, per-diem options to allow me even more flexibility when those times come where interpreting work is scarce, or if I need to switch directions in my work, or if I have to move. I'm just a bit stumped as to what my options are. Apart from interpreting, the only ideas that have come to mind are teaching English online (doesn't pay well, but you can choose your hours), and driving for Uber or Lyft (also doesn't pay well, but also allows you to choose your hours). For temp work, I've considered medical coding, bookkeeping, paralegal and nursing. These all have their advantages and disadvantages, but none of them have quite the same level of flexibility (and don't pay as much) as interpreting. I'm happy to learn new skills, get new degrees or certifications to make this happen. I'm just looking for ideas at this point. I'm looking for jobs where I can either temp or work for just a day or so on location move on to the next place. Maybe there's nothing out there quite like interpreting (and so I live a semi-charmed kind of life!), but if there's anything similar out there, I would be grateful to find out! Thank you in advance!
I've given this some thought as I'm retiring in 2-3 years and might like something extra to do. -programming. Whether writing actual software or simple apps. I have some ideas for this that I suspect might do OK (not sharing those!). -writing. This could be writing books, Kindle books, or magazine articles. Probably not for me except for some select topics, but I doubt these have the market to make the effort worthwhile. -small manufacturing. I'm thinking of things I can make in my garage. Needs to be specialty items that aren't worth making for large manufacturers. In my case this is some specialty hiking gear, some of which is not currently available anywhere. Could also be the topic of a book should I choose to write one. -sewing. One could affiliate with a dry cleaner to do alterations or possibly with a specialty company to work at home. Again, I'm thinking hiking/backpacking specific items. There are a number of what are called 'cottage manufacturers' that might utilize competent sewing services. Unfortunately my sewing skills aren't so great. -gardening. Sell fresh vegetables, berries, potting plants, etc. at farmers markets or even on Craigslist. -tutoring. I tutored through graduate school for extra money and suppose I could do that again. -handyman type work. It turns out I have a knack for repairing appliances. I've repaired friends refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc. I'm not sure I'd want to do this professionally though. It would take the fun out of it. -babysitting/pet sitting/house sitting. None of these are likely to result in full time employment wages but it doesn't sound like that's what you're after.
My late pal Jay Conrad Levinson's book "Earning Money Without a Job" is still a terrific resource and fount of ideas for situations like this. Ten bucks on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/yb2zsurn
