Another learn me: Seasonal office jobs?

As I slowly get closer to retirement age, I am considering maybe working longer, but trying to have a seasonal job instead of working through the year.  That way, I'd be able take time for longer travel, or take some daytime classes, or just relax a bit more.  However, most seasonal work I've seen is labor or retail, and I'm not really interested in beating up my body right before I retire, and in retail, I will admit I wouldn't be able to deal with customers unless my living depended on it.

That kind of leaves office jobs, either in office or remote.  The only one I could think of offhand is tax preparation, but as I am not an accountant, it'd be on the retail side.  What other fields are there out there that could be done seasonably, with minimal interaction with the public?  There's got to be a lot I'm not thinking of.

What do you do now?

I'm going down to 2 days a week soon, probably for a year, then I'll retire. But I've thought that if I feel like earning a bit of play money I can always get work in the winter, full or part time. Last time I looked there were 1500 ads on Indeed in my area for what I do,  some part time, so it shouldn't be difficult.

In reply to eastsideTim :

Don't you live in the Midwest? Ski resorts comes to mind.  Surely there's some purchasing/accounting roles that are more needed in season. 

We had a dude named Jan at work for a while who was a retired electrician, he came in 3 days a week during the winter months and helped the younger guys do control panel builds.  He didn't work too hard with his hands but was a great resource for the younger guys who were willing to learn.

We have also had a few engineers who work on a contract basis, either on secret squirrel projects for the boss or building renovations or big custom stuff that needs long term oversight but not 8 hours a day every day sort of work.

Territory sales and technical sales is also two of those career paths that once you get to a point you only have to do as much as you want to and can help transition your territory to another salesperson but stay on because of your relations and product knowledge.  

Lots of back office jobs available remotely that can be seasonal or temporary. I hire 18-20 seasonal guest workers a year - but no office, it is back breaking labor. 

What do you do for your current employer?  Can you do that seasonally, or part time, or intermittently as needed?

DW retired at the end of 2022.  In April she'll be going back as a contractor, at about 10 hours / week, 99% WFH, doing one specific portion of her previous job.

I'll probably retire in about 15 months.  I imagine I may work intermittently for my current employers putting together proposals, since no one else in the office can write their way out of a paper bag.

In reply to Peabody :

I'm in software quality assurance.  Not something I likely want to do seasonally(if even possible), as the tech moves forward quickly enough that time off puts me at a disadvantage.  However, my MS Office, SQL, and general reporting and analysis software skills should translate to other fields.

My ideal would be something that takes up winter and summer, leaving spring and fall free, but I'm keeping myself flexible, as long as one of my preferred seasons would be free.

We do have a ski resort about 50 miles from me, so I'll have to consider that possibility .

A factory type job that is not too fast paced or physically demanding would be cool, too, but it seems like most of the work world is getting more fast paced every year, so it's easier to stick with something in my wheelhouse.

Not exactly an office job, but many ice rinks and hockey tournaments around me will have paid scorekeepers for their leagues. Going rate around me is about $25 for a 1.5 hour game. Sit in a chair behind glass, either by yourself or with one other helper. Pretty easy to do, requires some knowledge of ice hockey, but it would take about an hour of someone explaining it to you to figure it out. Good chance that this is a regional thing though. 

Zamboni drivers are also always in need. No, it isn't an office job and requires some labor, but none of it backbreaking, assuming you can shovel snow for about 30 seconds while standing on ice, and assuming you can move a hockey net (70 pounds?) about 10 feet. 

You should have no problem with those skills.  But be advised you will be taking a step or 2 down and have to deal with some challenging situations when it will be tough keeping your mouth shut.

I spent 6 months helping out a buyer who was involved with a new ERP rollout and didn't have time for the no brainer stuff.  So I took care of posting to the system and resolving minor issues.  Got to work on one new product startup so there was that.  I was a purchasing manager and engineer so this stuff was below my normal pay grade.  So was my pay!

If you go to the tech temp agencies they should be able to find something fairly fast.  Women go on maternity leave, people have situations that require time off and there are always special projects that no one has time for.  Just be advised you will see things that you don't like, just bite your tongue.

On the other side of tax prep, doesn't the IRS do seasonal hires to process tax returns? In the 90s I used to see TV commercials for that sort of thing.

I've known a couple of people that did temp jobs for USPS and UPS during the holiday season. 

That's spring and winter options.

In reply to j_tso :

There is (or was) a processing center in my metropolitan area for the IRS, so that is definitely an option.

My father drove cars for Hertz for a while after he retired, flexible schedule, minimal face to face with customers. They have a bunch of people that move cars from place to place or get them serviced. Not great pay but very flexible and he liked it.

My town is dominated by Cedar Point but they have Kings Island down your way. Not everything is customer facing. I know teachers who used to work summers in Cash Control. This was generally traveling to cash registers around the park with a security guard and counting down the money collected. They have lots of bus/shuttle drivers too, both CDL and non CDL. This is often moving employees from farther out employee parking lots so again not really customer facing but employee facing. 

They're beginning their hiring frenzy right about now so glance through their listings for ideas. 

In reply to porschenut :

Temp agency is another option, and one I'd consider if a consistent job is not available.  As for biting my tongue, I worked in a very toxic environment for about 8 years, so I'm pretty good at it.

Thank you all for the ideas!  Please keep them coming if you think of anything else, too.

My FIL has always said that the best job he ever had was mowing grass at the cemetery, and he wants to do it in retirement. There is a lot that I don't agree with the guy on in terms of business, but I sure as hell think that he's got the right idea there. 

I suspect they probably work through temp agencies, but an outfit that does retail inventories would likely be something your skills might leave you usefully overqualified for. 

A baseball stadium?

Not an office job, but I see a lot of retirees as courtesy shuttle drivers at nicer-brand car dealerships.  Seems pretty low-stress and maybe available part-time or part-year.

Putting around in someone else's fancy, almost-new cars, meeting new folks every day, and not dependent on hustle like Lyft or Uber.  Don't have to be chatty if you don't want to.

On the subject of mowing, a retired friend of my fathers took a job running the large mowers at the golf course that my brothers wife owns, and he loves it.   Seasonal work, he gets left alone and not hassled, they love him because he is reliable and does good work.   He doesn't need the money, just likes having something to do to get out of the house.  

Friend of mine retired as Executive Chef at a top end hotel. Bob has a job operating a mower at a golf course, and no one knows his background at the golf course.

My daughter got hooked up with a Grand Rapids, Michigan nursery that supplied spring veggie and flower plants to the Wally World garden shops.  

During the spring until late June they watered and sorted the plants but didn't work for the store.  Some days they'd hit 2-3 stores.   She worked the days she picked.  

Then at Christmas they were back taking care of the poinsettias for a month.  

eastsideTim said:

I'm in software quality assurance.  Not something I likely want to do seasonally(if even possible), as the tech moves forward quickly enough that time off puts me at a disadvantage.  However, my MS Office, SQL, and general reporting and analysis software skills should translate to other fields.

Have you looked into contracting?  I know there are some companies that want to hire short term QA people to staff up before particular releases.

One of the contract agencies I've used in the past deals in lot of short term assignments. I know a few people who retired and were doing short term assignments during the winter months.

If you don't mind the execution and report writing side of software validation there should be options for contract assignments that last for 2 months and up. The rates we were paying to the agency probably equates to $50-$90/hour to the individual. 

Datsun310Guy said:

My daughter got hooked up with a Grand Rapids, Michigan nursery that supplied spring veggie and flower plants to the Wally World garden shops.  

During the spring until late June they watered and sorted the plants but didn't work for the store.  Some days they'd hit 2-3 stores.   She worked the days she picked.  

Then at Christmas they were back taking care of the poinsettias for a month.  

That's what my Wife's done the last twenty years, and since she's been there, there hasn't been a time where they haven't been desperate for people. Which enabled her to pretty much dictate her hours. There was no money in it, but she loved the work and ability to decide when she worked.