TahiPanasDua wrote:I left my profession as an architect at the age of 56 and my "retirement" goal at the time was almost non-existent. In practise, I resolved to do only what interested me and even not too much of that. Financial compensation was rarely a consideration.
After a couple of years of enjoyable faffing about, I took a one month highly intensive course in teaching English as a foreign language. This allowed me to continue to work overseas in various countries and join my wife as a teacher at the British Council in 7 countries. I only worked very part time but loved it. Eventually, I did a bit of tutoring which I also loved.
The original poster suggested editing as a possibility. I have done that for 20 years and love it. I started by editing literature translations for the Slovak government. Editing is rarely simply correcting grammar as overseas work sometimes requires total rewrites which is fun. The work flow is very sporadic which suits me but as you are usually the last person in line prior to publication you are frequently given minimal time to complete the job, the only downside. For decades, I have been editing 2 or 3 times a year for a friend who runs a substantial business in Hong Kong. I have been doing this gratis but in recent years she has repaid me handsomely by letting us use one of her vacant flats in Hong Kong whenever we like.
I hadn't intended to write my life story but almost have. Sorry.
TP2.
Funnily enough, TEFL is one thing I am seriously considering for when I retire, though as a volunteer... well at first. I assume that your intensive 4 week course was the standard CELTA? I have the impression that its importance has fallen since the TEFL industry has grown, but I may be wrong. Having worked abroad for half my life, often as the only English mother-tongue speaker, I'm truly sick to death of editing, correcting, re-writing English etc, especially as it's not my actual job, but for the use of a nice apartment somewhere, I may be persuaded.
Many years ago, a French colleague asked me to "just check" the English in a manual he'd written. Turned out he'd translated it via Google or something. It gave me so many headaches, I asked for the French version but he couldn't find it, so I said no. I don't know what happened to it, but it came very close to being used as a suppository in him!
Steve