What Career to Pursue? Advice to an Older Person

I received this question from a reader:

I'm a 60 yr. old man and have never been able to answer the question, "How does one figure out what to do for a living"?

When I answered him, he responded,

"Extremely useful suggestions and ideas. I WILL heed your advice."

So I figured I'd share my answer with you.

Dear Pat (name changed,)

Here's a short answer. At 60, the most likely to be successful routes are:

a) To live your self-employment dream: create something, run something.

b) Tell everyone in your current and past that you're interested in a job, perhaps one that utilized (insert your best skill or interest) and whether they know someone you should talk with.

c) Look through directories of careers. An easy way to find them is to visit the career section of a public library.

If you end up finding work using b or c, you may well want to have a creative avocation--write , paint , take photos, act, sing, etc.

Hope that helps.