Of a certain age and earning money on the road.

[VanGrrl57]

Hi to all here.

I don't know if this topic has been discussed before or not or if it's in the right place. If not, please move it to where it needs to be. Thanks!

I find myself literally dreaming day and night about quitting my job so I can be free to travel. I have no issues with my job at all and they have always treated me decently. I just thought I should mention that upfront.

With this being said, I am concerned about being of a certain age and earning money on the road. I will be 60 in April, hence my apprehension. I have been reading the posts about work camping, working at different lodges like the Grand Canyon, and the like but what is my concern is the fact that I'm scared that I am (or will be) considered "too old" to do any of these sorts of jobs. Ageism is very much alive and well here in the USA and, let's face it, especially in the business world, if you are young and attractive, you are pretty much wanted. If not, oh well!

I won't be able to take early retirement until I'm 62 and I will only turn 60 this coming April. However, in my humble opinion, that's considered "over the hill" in the business world and especially so for a woman. My bachelor's degree is in Business Management (with an emphasis in non-profits).

I guess I'm wanting to hear from others here, especially women, how they are dealing with being of a certain age and/or if they have experienced any sort of biased attitude from employers who hire for work camping, working at lodges, etc. I am really concerned about this issue and any advice will be greatly appreciated. I want to be free to travel, yet my fear is that I won't be able to make the money I need to support myself until I reach either early retirement age or full retirement age (for me, that's 66 and 1/2 years old).

Thanks!

VanGrrl57

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

Not sure about how they view single women/rv'ers/?; but when my parents were fulltiming/workamping, they started when my father was 59 and my step mother was slightly older and they had no problems finding positions as camp hosts, caretakers, or (one year) working the beet harvest. In fact, I've heard/read that (unless the work is very physically demanding) most workamping employers PREFER older nomads because we are willing to work hard through a few aches/pains or sniffles; which some younger people are unwilling to do without frequent complaint ...

 

[blars]

Many workcampers are older, doing it after retiring from another job. As long as you are willing and able to do the work, they will hire you. Forest service contractors have trouble filling remote sites with little or no hookups. CLM, hoodoo, and AL&L are a few.

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

Of course, I could be "slightly" biased because my last 2 "corporate" jobs I had several younger employees/managers that I had to pick up working shifts for because they called off (also many were also thieves we caught/prosecuted; but that's another issue).

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

In general, I think age discrimination in hiring is more a of a problem when companies are filling full time positions, with benefits.  Older, more experienced workers expect more salary than kids do, and they often have health issues that can affect the companies insurance rates.  Also, the company might prefer people they expect to be around for years, rather than people who don't have many work years left.

I don't see where seasonal, temporary positions would have that kind of problem.  If anything, based on the young idiots and their poor work habits that I've seen in the work place, it wouldn't surprise me if the companies wouldn't prefer to hire older, more reliable people.

Good Luck!

 

[Reducto]

If you're able to pay attention to details and your hands/wrists are in good shape the poker dealing thing I'm always posting about could be a good option. My best work friend at the World Series Of Poker is a woman who retired from a regular job at about your age and has worked there the last 5 years. She doesn't even need the money, she just loves poker and wants to keep busy.

It pays well and they don't care who you are, just that you can pass a dealing class and show up to work.

 

[bullfrog]

Usually seasonal jobs are so low paying most places are happy to get employees that don't have bad habits, stay clean, and show up able to work. Many of the jobs you would think easy like front desk clerk require you to stand for the whole time and hump roll-away beds up a flight of stairs. Be sure to know what is expected of you as most of these positions are "at will" positions, meaning you can be let go at any time for no reason.

 

[rvpopeye]

On the plus side , college kids have to start late and leave early so someone that can stay for the whole season is more desirable. AND if you show up in late august there are openings to finish out the season...........

But the negative side of that is that sometimes they don't hire but throw the workload onto the remaining staff !

If you spend enough time on it you could possibly find a year or two worth of jobs before you leave.
Ask lots of questions about job duties and be honest about what you can/will and can't/won't do.

 

[slynne]

Thanks for posting this thread. I have some of the same concerns especially since my company just refused to let another employee work remotely so now I am concerned that my job might not be as portable as I previously thought.

Campground host in a more remote site without hookups appeals to me. Is it less work? More? What do you do about getting water or dumping tanks?

 

[VanGrrl57]

Many workcampers are older, doing it after retiring from another job.  As long as you are willing and able to do the work, they will hire you.  Forest service contractors have trouble filling remote sites with little or no hookups.  CLM, hoodoo, and AL&L are a few.

Hi and thanks.

I know what CLM is but what is hoodoo and AL&L?


VanGrrl57 

 

[VanGrrl57]

If you're able to pay attention to details and your hands/wrists are in good shape the poker dealing thing I'm always posting about could be a good option. My best work friend at the World Series Of Poker is a woman who retired from a regular job at about your age and has worked there the last 5 years. She doesn't even need the money, she just loves poker and wants to keep busy.

It pays well and they don't care who you are, just that you can pass a dealing class and show up to work.

Hi and thanks, Reducto.

I had thought about dealing but I'm not entirely sure if I could or not because my second oldest brother is a professional card player out in Las Vegas. In fact, he has participated in the WSOP and still occasionally does even though he's pretty much retired. He took early retirement at 62 and because he loves cards/poker, he still occasionally participates. He's been after me to come out there for a while now as he's not one for the cold up here in SD. 

VanGrrl57 

 

[VanGrrl57]

Thanks for posting this thread. I have some of the same concerns especially since my company just refused to let another employee work remotely so now I am concerned that my job might not be as portable as I previously thought.

Campground host in a more remote site without hookups appeals to me. Is it less work? More? What do you do about getting water or dumping tanks?

Hi Slynne.

Being a campground host in a more remote site without hookups appeals to me, too. Since I live in a van, hookups are not that important to me. 

As for getting water, I keep a certain amount in my van plus I imagine that there's probably water available but I'm not entirely sure about that. As I don't have to dump tanks, I don't know anything about that, either. Hopefully one of the more experienced people here can answer that question.


VanGrrl57 

 

[Reducto]

I had thought about dealing but I'm not entirely sure if I could or not because my second oldest brother is a professional card player out in Las Vegas.

There are plenty of dealers there with relatives and spouses playing. If you wind up getting assigned to his table you can always get re-routed elsewhere.

 

[VanGrrl57]

Okay.

Thanks Reducto. I guess I just assumed that I wouldn't be allowed because of the familial relationship. 


VanGrrl57 

 

[blars]

I know what CLM is but what is hoodoo and AL&L?

Hoodoo.com has a ski area, contracts to run campgrounds in some national forests in Oregon and Washington, and at least one RV park.
American Land and Leasure is another company that runs forest service campgrounds.
1000 trails also does this. If you have a particular forest in mind, call the ranger station and ask who runs their campgrounds.

For water, sometimes they will put a tank on stilts and fill it from a tank on a truck. They may have you dump into a tank in the ground or into a vault toilet, to be pumped out as needed. Ask the company you will be working for, they expect these questions.

 

[DuneElliot]

As someone who has worked in the guest ranch industry for years I can tell you every place I have ever worked seasonally has always hired older people as well as younger people, often in the office or for house keeping management etc. I don't think you will have a problem

 

[slynne]

OOOOh. That American Land and Leisure site has opportunities in Michigan! One of the campgrounds on their list is one I go to frequently because it is the trailhead for a good backpacking trail so that helps me get a feel for what the duties might be. I never noticed a campground host there before though. Just a drop box for paying the camping fee but maybe that means it is remote enough that they are having trouble finding folks? I am still a few years away but this is promising.

 

[bullfrog]

With American Land and Leisure be careful in the past they paid but then took out of your check for campsite fee, so what looked like $600 a month became $300 real quick. Volunteers worked two days a week and got free campsite and utilities while we worked manual labor five days. Volunteering a few hours two days a week doing campfire talks would have been much better!

 

[davidsan]

Hi Van Grrl,

I wouldn't worry about the job situation if you are open to short term, seasonal work which might be physical and different from a professional career with pay around $10 an hour.  

I just turned age 80 and spent the past five years working seasonal jobs while full-timing for seven years.  Enjoyed every one of them. Also, very happy when I finished each one, usually for a period of three months. Nothing like FREEDOM! 

I have several advanced degrees yet loved the work at Amazon, selling christmas trees, camp hosting, doing wine demos, and many summers volunteering for Oregon State Parks.  My favorite work in retirement was teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) overseas.  That did require a Masters in ESL but provided five years of traveling the globe. There are an infinite number of jobs out there for us retirees only limited by our imagination and tenacity.  

Good luck to you!

 

[closeanuf]

You might look at temp services that are nation wide.  Express Employment is always advertising on the radio and if you get in their database you should be able to move around the country from temp job to temp job.  There are several companies that are nationwide.