Job to have/skills to learn that could help FIRE transition

[Spondulix]

I'm 10 years from FIRE (or less). I love my job, but I think I'll be lucky if I make it 5 years before getting downsized. Full-time jobs in the field have been going away for years, and the ones left have salaries quickly going down. Plus, I've just lost my passion for this line of work. I know I could sustain freelance if I had to, but I'm in a great position now to lay some seeds so I could transition to something else (even if it was just part-time to start). I've typically got free time on the job, flexibility to take classes, and I'm eager to learn something new.

What fields or jobs would you look into? What would you learn? I'm intentionally not saying what I do (for the sake of brainstorming. :)

[Nudelkopf]

What do you WANT to do? Get a job doing that :)

I'm happy that teaching scales well - if you want to work part time, then you just teach less classes. Perfect for parenting or transitioning to retirement :) But... Don't become a teacher.

[Spondulix]

What do you WANT to do? Get a job doing that :)

I'm happy that teaching scales well - if you want to work part time, then you just teach less classes. Perfect for parenting or transitioning to retirement :) But... Don't become a teacher.

lol. I've actually been offered classes before, but I just can't ethically teach college students a skill that I don't think they can go make a career out of anymore.

[Spondulix]

Lost your passion?? Hmmm... I'm not sure. Maybe if I tell you what I want to do, it might help prop thoughts. I would like to open a women's artist retreat w yoga, meditation and such. Think women's weekend getaway to relax and recenter. So I am thinking of getting a massage therapy lic., become a yoga teacher or get my natural food chef cert. So I will be in charge of one aspect of the retreat and hire the other parts. Or so that is what I'm thinking. Want to fill one of the spots? ; )

Only if I can get free massages!! :)

Part of what I've been questioning is barrier to entry... do I need to get a degree/certification/etc, will I have to start entry level. So, a lot of that leads to starting my own business.

Property management seems natural if I thought we'd have rentals someday, but I'm not really into that. I really enjoy finance, but not sure what kind of job I could take (or business to start) where I could take the knowledge and use it to help myself, too...

[JLee]

What sort of work do you want to do in general?

IT can be lucrative, or it can be a soul-sucking dead-end job.

[lovesasa]

I really enjoy finance, but not sure what kind of job I could take (or business to start) where I could take the knowledge and use it to help myself, too...

Financial Advisor? http://wealthpilgrim.com/how-to-become-a-financial-planner/

This is something I've considered if my big head in the clouds dream career doesn't pan out. As the quote goes, what you do when you're procrastinating is probably what you should be doing for the rest of your life. And we are here on a financial planning forum...

[Prairie Stash]

Volunteer as a tax preparer. Help out low income folks with taxes, get your skills polished up. Then in FI you can make some money as a casual tax preparer.

[College Stash]

I feel like being a CPA could be useful to some extent. Also gives you the option of working part of the year (busy season) if you want extra cash, etc.

[Spondulix]

Volunteer as a tax preparer. Help out low income folks with taxes, get your skills polished up. Then in FI you can make some money as a casual tax preparer.

I love this idea. It never crossed my mind I could just volunteer (and wouldn't have "clients" to maintain, really)

[Ynari]

Lost your passion?? Hmmm... I'm not sure. Maybe if I tell you what I want to do, it might help prop thoughts. I would like to open a women's artist retreat w yoga, meditation and such. Think women's weekend getaway to relax and recenter. So I am thinking of getting a massage therapy lic., become a yoga teacher or get my natural food chef cert. So I will be in charge of one aspect of the retreat and hire the other parts. Or so that is what I'm thinking. Want to fill one of the spots? ; )

This is basically what I want to do!  I'd like to get into massage/physical therapy mostly out of personal interest, but it makes a great flexible FIRE career. Part-time work is already common in the industry, and it scales well for anywhere from an hour up through a couple dozen hours per week.  A certification takes 6 months to a year with evening or weekend classes, and tuition is usually under $10k or so. It'd be something fairly easy to figure out as I approach FIRE.

I don't want to live in LA, though. Chippewa, are you flexible on location?

[Spondulix]

Volunteer as a tax preparer. Help out low income folks with taxes, get your skills polished up. Then in FI you can make some money as a casual tax preparer.

I love this idea. It never crossed my mind I could just volunteer (and wouldn't have "clients" to maintain, really)

I looked into this - I can get training online for free (!) to do basic volunteer tax prep (catered to elderly, disabled, etc). If I want to get paid to do taxes (in CA), it's a $5k/year fee (ouch). But, I like the idea of trying the waters a little before jumping in deeper, and for a good cause.

[SpendyMcSpend]

I'm looking at a community college massage therapy program and it takes 2 years to complete even FULL TIME.  Are there really short programs out there?

[Ynari]

I'm looking at a community college massage therapy program and it takes 2 years to complete even FULL TIME.  Are there really short programs out there?

Where do you live?  Each US state has different requirements, usually around 500-800 hours, but some you can begin practicing with as little as 250, others take 1000.  I hear Europe is more rigorous, but I haven't looked into licensure there. http://www.massagetherapy.com/_content/careers/MTreg.pdf

But, for instance, a Chicago massage school I've looked into is a 600 hour program, takes 6-7 months "full time" (3 days per week), and 10-11 months "part time" (3 evenings per week). http://www.newschoolmassage.com/class-schedule.html  Each school will have different schedules offered and may cover different things, but they all have a similar academic foundation.