What jobs for 60+ year olds?

I’m 57 and work in an HR dept. Our jobs are not being taken over by AI. Mine involves a huge amount of experience and skill that I’ve built up over 35 years. I use AI to help me do my job but very little of what I do could be taken over by a computer.

PP has already clarified her comments about the suggestion to go for roles that are not computerised. It’s about AI, not people in 50s and 60s not being able to use computers.

I think it’s going to be slim pickings for anyone doing lower level general admin jobs - it will be all about specialist knowledge, contacts , ability to close deals etc within many commercial sectors

I'm 60, work in an Accountancy firm. I've been using a computer for over 30 years.

But most of the people above have presumably been doing their jobs for years. How many of those jobs could you move into from an unrelated job? Senior food scientist? I think not. Museum work? Very competitive. Teacher? You'd have to retrain.

I'm 55 and quality assurance in an insurance company. Started in the call centre 9 years ago. Company quite happy to employ over 50s. We have some in their 70s still working there.

Nhs admin and school admin are both computerised jobs. I’ve done both. I worked with computers when I was in my 30’s until I retired in my 60’s. Lots of people in their 60’s are capable of using technology.

Not for much longer if the government has its way....

I’m a PA/EA in my 50s. Computers have been edging my role out for years as managers do their own correspondence and appointments, there’s no filing etc.

You just have to keep flexing to what is needed. I now do office management, accounts, research as well as the traditional role. And have learned to use AI to my benefit rather than resisting it.

So my plan is to just hang in there as long as possible and then retire. I really don’t want to do retail, manual or call centre work.

Jobs are not going to be swallowed up by AI just like that.

In my area, older people tend to step away from frontline operational roles, and become non-op, I.e. admin or specialist roles. If you've already taken the steps up the ladder into management it's much easier.

It would be very easy for me to continue doing my job until I was 67, but no way could my partner (operational prison officer) carry on until that age. A 67 year old prison officer trying to restrain a 25 year old prisoner is really only going to end one way.

I'm nearly 60 and if I were made redundant I really don't know what I'd do. I work in tech, but realistically, tech companies will not be queueing up to hire a 60 year old woman, when they can have someone younger and, let's face it, probably male. Plus, the tech job market is very competitive at the moment - I know several people of all ages who are struggling to find jobs.

Unskilled or low skilled jobs that have been mentioned include warehouse work, retail, care work - too physical at my age, and why would they pick me over someone younger and cheaper, who will have more stamina and who may already have done a similar job?

As for retraining as an electrician or plumber, again it can be fairly physical and to be honest, I don't much want to retrain for something completely different at my age, when I'm hoping to retire in 4 or 5 years.

Fabulous! I used to work in labs and there were v few over 50, so that's good to hear.

@Llhvj surely they just look for other jobs in their sector - why do you think no one would hire over 50s. In my sector - infrastructure - older workers are sought after for their expertise.

I’m 59 and a HR Manager for a wealth managers . My friends of similar are - accounts manager in a law firm, payroll for a large corp, hairdresser, office premises manager, clothing store manager, payments in a large investment bank, accountant in insurance firm,

In my company I’d say 35% of the staff are 50+ and that figure is higher in our regional offices. It’s only London head office where the staff are a lot younger.

Everyone in my office is over 60 except one. We do advice work, telephone helpline, assisting with benefit forms, support for older people with alcohol dependency etc.

At 60 I got a part time job as an immigration caseworker. Civil Service, all the other new starters were much younger. Public sector employers can be pretty flexible re age.

I got a job age 58 at a Dagis (Swedish child care). It's contract work but pretty regular - there is a mixture of ages.

Umm most of the senior directors and the CEO at my workplace are in their 50s and 60s. Does everyone else work in Logan's Run or something?

Thank You

I am just 60 so OPs thread interested Me.
>> Off to check it all out now . I am good at spelling thankfully.

I'm tempted when I retire to go and work for Waitrose part time (we live in Waitroseland so about 6+ stores in easy commute. Salary is poor, but you do get a discount in both Waitrose and JL - and that'll probably do us fine.

As per usual we have a government that doesn't know its overstuffed backside from it's elbow along with a left hand that doesn't know what the right hand is doing as most of them have never done a day's physical labour in their pampered lives.

So on the one hand we've got the government (and the likes of Far.tage) banging on about how working from home is the root of all evil, alongside the government saying let's tip these lazy wasters out of their wheelchairs and into work but no extra adjustments there, plus we're all now going to have to work until we're 75 and then drop dead in harness.

Do MPs have the logic bits of their brains removed before entering the hallowed halls of Westminster?!

I assumed that by 'not computerised' she meant that jobs that use computers are more likely to become done by AI than jobs that don't.

I didn't take it to mean the over 50s can't use a computer.