14 Careers Without Age Discrimination in 2020

Some of the links below are affiliate links, so we may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Check our disclaimer for more info. (* = affiliate link)

Looking for a job gets harder as you age, and many careers come with a ton of discrimination. However, the trick is to find a career where age discrimination is just a phrase, and people will value your experience.

Here are 14 careers without age discrimination:

Retail
Cosmetologist
Writing
Consultancy
Real Estate
Childcare
Teaching
Sales Representative
Advertising or Marketing
Hotel and Tourism
Green Cleaning
Restaurant
Gardening
Customer Service

Finding a job doesn’t have to be difficult. Especially when you know where to look. Consider these 14 opportunities and learn some more tips on finding a job by reading this article.

1. Retail

Supermarkets, boutiques, and other stores are always looking for new people to work with. If you are good with people, this job might be the right one for you. There’s usually no age discrimination when it comes to these positions. And customers appreciate anyone with a smile on their face and a helpful attitude.

You can look for positions in your area. In general, supermarkets may mean more work. So if you’d rather not carry heavy products, you can also consider working at clothes stores, shoe stores, or any similar stores that won’t require much carrying.

2. Cosmetologist

If you have a knack for makeup and hair, why not try to monetize it by becoming a cosmetologist. Cosmetology is an area that often doesn’t have any age discrimination since it’s all about your work — results show your talent and competences, not your age. Of course, if you don’t have any formal training, you can take a course. But these are usually shorter than most courses anyways.

After you complete your course, you can open your own salon, or get a chair at one of the salons that rent a chair. There are many different areas of cosmetology — from manicure and pedicure to hair and makeup, and even more subcategories. Make sure that you find the one that works for you.

3. Writing

With writing, there is truly no ageism — the more life experience you have, the better your writing will be. Consider careers like technical writing, copywriting, writing non-fiction books for clients, blogging, etc. You can do this job either with a company full-time or through freelance contracts.

Writing is usually a flexible job, especially if you’re freelancing or working from home. For example, you can write at any time of day and night, and the most important thing is that the work is done properly. Consider taking an online course or reading about this line of work to get a better grasp of what is required.

4. Consultancy

If you have a lot of experience in an industry — finance, marketing, or business, perhaps — you can consider a field of work like consultancy. Your main job would be to help companies go through transitions or come up with solid plans. The more experience and knowledge you have, the better.

Think about starting your own company or joining an existing one. If you have coworkers who would also be fit for this job, consider joining forces to start one powerful consultancy. It won’t be quite the same as your job, so make sure that you understand what it takes to consult. You might have to invest some time to fill knowledge gaps. But you probably won’t need formal training.

5. Real Estate

To become a real estate agent, all you need to do is pass certain courses and pass the certification exam. Anyone can get into this industry, and it might just be something you love doing. If you are easy to communicate with and have a bit of charm — as well as a knack for making people see a home rather than a house, you’ll do great.

You can join an agency — which is a cheaper, less risky path to take — or start your own real-estate agency. For starters, it would be best if you worked with someone more experienced before doing something on your own. Theory can’t beat apprenticeship.

6. Childcare

Whether you want to be a babysitter or join a kindergarten as a teacher, childcare can be an excellent, rewarding career. Parents are normally willing to pay more for older, more experienced babysitters. Especially if you can provide some additional services, like helping them with the homework, prepare specific meals, or even tutor them. If you think that you could do this, then babysitting could be a good job for you.

On the other hand, you might need a degree or a certification to be a kindergarten teacher. So do your research before you start looking for a job.

7. Teaching

If you always loved working with children, you can consider a career in teaching. You might need to get a bachelor’s degree and a certification, but you can probably become a substitute teacher without a certification.

Teaching can be very rewarding, and most schools don’t care about your age as long as you’re good at it. There are other jobs at school you can take up, such as working in the library, doing an administrative job, assistant to the teacher, bus driver, etc.

If you’re interested in teaching, read our other articles about the topic:

8. Sales Representative

This job is great if you don’t have a degree, but you’d still love to do something fun and rewarding. You’ve probably heard of Mary Kay or Avon Cosmetics. Well, those companies sell through sales representatives or direct sales associates who earn a percentage of everything they sell.

If you want a flexible job and you would like to work as a salesperson, then this job could be good for you. You’d need to know a lot of people, but you can also branch out to online channels or find some creative ways to sell more. There are many companies looking for sales reps right now.

9. Advertising or Marketing

Just like with many other careers on this list, the marketing and advertising industry thinks that more experience equals better results. So, if you already have some knowledge in this field, you can easily climb your way from a junior to a senior position.

If you don’t have any experience with this, but it seems interesting to you, you can take a course or get a degree. Study the marketing campaigns from some of the biggest companies and look for good examples online. This can help you get a better grasp of what you will be doing.

10. Hotel and Tourism

There are several careers in tourism that are quite welcoming to older people. For one, if you have a spare room or two, you can start a bed and breakfast inn or AirBnB, which seems to be a wonderful second career for many people. Next, you can work at a hotel as a maid, receptionist, cook, etc.

You could even start your own tour agency, either one that sells local tours and packages or one that sells tours to other countries. Both can be equally fun. You can come up with unique, specific packages that would drive more people to visit your area.

Alternatively, you can consider having an organic farm and deliver produce to hotels or offer management services.

11. Green Cleaning

Cleaning businesses are quite common, but there is an increasing need for green cleaning businesses that use natural products to clean homes and office spaces. The main goal is to protect the environment while still keeping our living and work areas clean.

If you want to join this industry, you can look for a company to work with, or you can start your own business. Work through recommendations. For instance, find a local small business or a family to clean for and then ask them to recommend you to others. Soon enough, you would have plenty of clients, and you might be able to hire more people.

As for the green cleaning aspects, you can find some recipes for homemade products online and test them out on your own home.

12. Food

When it comes to food, the only thing that matters is how it tastes and looks. If you are a good cook, you can use that to your advantage. Even without formal training, you could find a restaurant that would appreciate your skills. You can also join a catering business, work in a bakery, or start your own pop-up restaurant.

Consider food trucks too or anything similar — perhaps cooking for older people, creating meal kits for others, etc. Requirements for starting a food-related business are quite strict, but if you can do it, the food business is quite fulfilling and low on age discrimination.

You can also join another company — bring your stellar skills and great attitude and you shouldn’t have a problem finding a job.

13. Gardening

While gardening is physically demanding, it’s also relaxing and very lucrative. So, if you have a green thumb, consider finding your spot in this field of work. You have many options here. For one, you could start your own gardening business, open a plant nursery, join another gardening business, etc.

As long as you can do your workload, companies should have no problem hiring you. If you have a good eye for aesthetics, you can also work as a landscaping designer.

14. Customer Service

Customer service is a simple job that you should be able to do from home. Of course, there are opportunities to work in an office as well. With this line of work, it’s important that you are good with people and that you can stay calm while following the rules.

Working with people — who are often going to have a problem — is not the easiest job in the world, but you might find it rewarding to help someone who needs it. Many companies are always on the lookout for customer service agents, whether to man the phones or emails, or perhaps even the live chat options.

These companies also offer training in most cases, so you can get to know their products and the technology they are using.

Tips To Get A Good Job No Matter Your Age

No matter which career path you choose, there are some simple things you can do to ensure that you get the job you want. Here are some of them.

1. Have a Good Attitude

One of the biggest concerns that employers have when hiring older people is that they have lost their passion — everyone wants motivated employees. A tired, negative attitude could torpedo your interview.

But, if you turn that frown upside down and show your potential employers that you are more than willing to invest yourself in your job, take a positive stance, and learn, your age won’t matter as much.

Try to find a job you’d be passionate about, something that would be rewarding to you — it will be much easier for you to have a positive attitude if you love what you do.

2. Consider Part-Time Opportunities

Part-time work doesn’t get enough attention because it’s paid less. However, many older people have found joy in doing two part-time jobs. This way, you can make a decent income and still get to do something that you love.

You can combine any two jobs that you like, as long as their hours make sense for you.

3. Think About Freelancing

Freelancing would allow you to work from home with flexible hours. Naturally, you would have to pick a line of work that suits freelancing. This can include writing, designing (interior, graphic, etc.), programming, data entry, virtual assistant work, etc. There are many jobs to choose from.

Building up a portfolio may not be easy in the beginning, but if you work hard, you can create a great career for yourself.

4. Freshen Up Your Resume

To get a good fresh start, take a look at your resume and fix it up. First, address any formatting issues — research what modern resumes look like and apply what you see. Next, you can omit any information that reveals your age. You are not required to share that information, and you can also not disclose the length of your employment or any dates related to your employment history.

This will give your resume an ageless look and help you find a job with ease. Once those pesky numbers are removed, people can focus on what you can bring to the table. You should also shorten your “Experience” section — include only your most relevant jobs or the most recent ones. Add an overview of the rest in a separate section.

Keep your resume to 2 standard pages at most and be concise. Include keywords that you can find in the job advertisement, and make sure that you refresh your resume every time you apply for a different job. Make it suited for that specific company.

Find more actionable tips in our article about CV Advice for Over 50s: 10 Actionable Tips.

5. Learn a New Skill

If your current skills can’t seem to get you a job, consider learning a new skill. It doesn’t have to come from formal training — you can take an online course and expand your competences. For instance, you can take a digital marketing course, an SEO course, a social media course, or even go for programming, graphic design, Photoshop, etc.

You can do most of these courses online, and it would help you add something fresh to your repertoire. You might even be able to turn it into a new career.

6. Network and Communicate With People

When it comes to finding a good job, networking may be your best bet. Contact your old coworkers, bosses, friends, and family. Tell them that you are on the lookout for a new opportunity and share what you can do. Go to events related to your industry and mingle with people.

You can also use the online world to your advantage and find contacts on LinkedIn. Put yourself out there and connect with people as much as you can. Someone might have an opportunity for you, especially if they already know your value.

7. Brush Up On Your Interview Skills

The interview part of getting hired is nerve-wracking, but it’s also necessary and one of the most important parts of the process. So, to boost your chances of getting a job, you should do your research and learn what it takes to succeed.

For one, you should know more about the company than just what they do. Be prepared to answer some questions on what you think about their mission, vision, etc. You should also know how to elaborate on your skills and experience as well as answer any personal questions. Being prepared is one of the best ways to come to the interview confident.

8. Look for Specific Companies That Hire Older People

Rather than looking at an industry, do your research on a company that hires older people. There are plenty of them out there, and you will have bigger chances there. The positions vary from managers, senior associates, analysts, and others.

A single company usually offers several positions, so you could choose from those. You can find these opportunities by doing research online, in specific social media groups, on various websites, etc.

Conclusion

Even though age discrimination exists in all industries to some degree, you’ll find that these careers are quite welcoming to older people. Remember that changing careers isn’t such a bad idea and that you might enjoy your new career even more than your old one.

Refresh your resume and show your potential employers your best attitude. Good luck!

14 Careers Without Age Discrimination