As children grow up and leave home, many parents find themselves facing an “empty nest” and wondering what to do next. This new phase of life presents an exciting opportunity to rediscover passions and explore new career options. For empty nesters in the UK, there are many great choices that take advantage of their availability, experience, and desire to find meaning at this stage of life.
Pursuing a Second Career
One option for empty nesters is to go back to school and start a brand new career path. Many choose professions focused on helping others, such as nursing, teaching, or social work. The life experience empty nesters bring is valued in these fields. Additional education or training may be required, but this can be enriching. With children out of the house, empty nesters finally have the time for intense study and apprenticeships required to switch gears.
Turning a Hobby into a Job
Empty nesters can also take a hobby or interest and turn it into a viable career. For example, someone passionate about food and cooking could pursue becoming a private chef, caterer, restaurant owner, or food writer. A green thumb could start a gardening business. Interest in arts and crafts may lead to selling products on Etsy or local craft fairs. The possibilities are endless when empty nesters turn lifelong passions into professions.
Part-Time and Flexible Work
The freedom of an empty nest also presents opportunities to scale back full-time work and pursue part-time or flexible jobs. This allows empty nesters to continue earning income while also having more free time for leisure, travel, and retirement planning. Part-time work options include consulting, freelancing, tutoring, participating in the gig economy, or seasonal employment. Seeking flexibility is ideal for empty nesters looking to strike a work-life balance.
Look into Fostering
While not a traditional career path, fostering can be a fulfilling opportunity for empty nesters in the UK. Fostering provides the chance to open up one’s home to children in need of support and stable housing. It allows empty nesters to experience again the hustle and bustle of a busy household. The day-to-day care of fostered children also provides mental stimulation and a sense of purpose often missed when children first leave home.
There are certainly sacrifices and challenges involved in fostering, but also many emotional and personal rewards. Foster carers have the satisfaction of giving back and making a real difference in a child’s life. There is a formal assessment process to become an approved foster carer, including training, background checks and home inspections. Various fostering agencies across the UK recruit, train, and support foster carers.
On top of this, foster agencies like activecaresolutions.co.uk provide foster carers receive a weekly fostering allowance to cover the child’s living expenses. The amount depends on the age of the child, level of support required, and the fostering agency. Additional allowances may be granted for birthdays, holidays, or school activities. While finances should not be the primary motivation, the fostering allowance helps reimburse foster carers.
The empty nest stage offers exciting new possibilities for parents in the UK. Whether pursuing a long-held passion, finding flexible work, or opening their home to foster a child, empty nesters can discover renewed purpose. Their availability, life experience, and desire to help make them ideal candidates for rewarding second careers or opportunities like fostering.