Coast/Barista-FIRE Gigs

[The 585]

I've exceeded my coast-FIRE goals and will be leaving my full-time career, returning to the US (Florida) in May. I'm so tired of being inside an office all day sitting at a computer.

I have a cushion of emergency fund cash savings to sustain myself for a bit, but am worried about expensive health insurance premiums while being unemployed. That being said, what are some good low stress part-time gigs which can give me a little extra cash, keep me busy, and hopefully provide health coverage? Ideally I'd like to find something that could sustain me until the end of the calendar year so I can rely on ACA subsidies going forward.

Any ideas or personal experience appreciated!

[rosarugosa]

My DH works 20 hours per week doing patient transport (moving patients on stretchers or in wheelchairs) in a local hospital.  Twenty hours or more makes one eligible for benefits.  It's a pretty low-stress job, since any real patient issues get handed off to a nurse or other medical personnel.  He crushes his step goal just about every day, and thanks to his job, he got vaccinated a lot sooner than he would have otherwise.  There are lots of jobs in hospitals that do not require medical training or involve hands-on care, and hospitals typically offer a wide variety of shifts and schedules.

[begood]

Costco provides health coverage to part-time workers and is apparently an excellent employer overall.

[FLBiker]

My DH works 20 hours per week doing patient transport (moving patients on stretchers or in wheelchairs) in a local hospital.  Twenty hours or more makes one eligible for benefits.  It's a pretty low-stress job, since any real patient issues get handed off to a nurse or other medical personnel.  He crushes his step goal just about every day, and thanks to his job, he got vaccinated a lot sooner than he would have otherwise.  There are lots of jobs in hospitals that do not require medical training or involve hands-on care, and hospitals typically offer a wide variety of shifts and schedules.

Thank you for this!  I'm interested in quitting my job in the next year or so, and I'd like to stay active and have something to do part-time, and I really like the sound of this.  Plus, we just moved to a small town in Nova Scotia, which doesn't have a ton of employers, but it DOES have a big hospital.  I'll keep this in mind!

[Morning Glory]

+1 to the medical transport gig, it's like getting paid to exercise!!!

A friend of mine worked for an airline at a small airport and was trained on all the jobs (check in desk, ground crew, cleaning planes, bag handling, etc.). The pay was crap but he got free flights wherever he wanted to go, often first class.

[Fuzz]

Something in the outdoor industry. Raft guide. Ski instructor. Scuba instructor. Wrangler. Golf pro. Tennis pro. Landscaping. Hiking guide. Do some job with good weather where you're mostly outside and you like your co-workers.

[englishteacheralex]

My favorite job ever, and one I fantasize about returning to someday, was my seasonal job working as a housekeeper at a resort at a national park. Room and board were $200/month (you could do that in the employee housing, or bring your own camper and pay for a hookup for roughly the same amount) and you only had to work from 8 am to as long as it took to finish all your rooms (usually about four or five hours if you were efficient). Two days off/week, afternoons and evenings to do whatever you want. I loved it. I'd do it again tomorrow.

[Metalcat]

My favourite part time gig was as a children's science entertainer/educator. I did wild presentations for groups as small as 6 and as large as 300, age ranges 3-13. I blew things up, set things on fire, and subjected A LOT of children to electric shocks with a Tesla coil. My sidekick was a genetically modified rat that I, um, liberated from a research lab.

It was a ridiculously fun job.

[seemsright]

I think the new stimulus opened enrollment into the ACA. Please do your own research incase I am wrong.

But what about a school janitor. It would be swing, but as low stress as you get and it would only be during the school year, you would get many days off.

[yachi]

My favorite job ever, and one I fantasize about returning to someday, was my seasonal job working as a housekeeper at a resort at a national park. Room and board were $200/month (you could do that in the employee housing, or bring your own camper and pay for a hookup for roughly the same amount) and you only had to work from 8 am to as long as it took to finish all your rooms (usually about four or five hours if you were efficient). Two days off/week, afternoons and evenings to do whatever you want. I loved it. I'd do it again tomorrow.

This sounds a lot like the jobs I've seen at Cool Works: https://www.coolworks.com/
Summer camps, Inns, national parks, ski resorts

[englishteacheralex]

My favorite job ever, and one I fantasize about returning to someday, was my seasonal job working as a housekeeper at a resort at a national park. Room and board were $200/month (you could do that in the employee housing, or bring your own camper and pay for a hookup for roughly the same amount) and you only had to work from 8 am to as long as it took to finish all your rooms (usually about four or five hours if you were efficient). Two days off/week, afternoons and evenings to do whatever you want. I loved it. I'd do it again tomorrow.

This sounds a lot like the jobs I've seen at Cool Works: https://www.coolworks.com/
Summer camps, Inns, national parks, ski resorts

YES! I totally found the job at Cool Works when I was in college. The resort is still there. Signal Mountain Lodge. Best job ever. I tell myself I'll make it back there someday.