Add meaning and fun to your future years
A happy life is one with meaning, accomplishment, and engagement. Here’s how can you integrate your interests, hobbies, and passions into a purposeful and fun retirement.
Interpreting your results
The basis of this assessment uses a career-interest theory created by American psychologist and former Johns Hopkins University professor John Holland (1919–2008). He published his first paper on occupational theory in 1958, and now his work is the basis of dozens of career-interest surveys and is currently being used by the U.S. Department of Labor on their online database.
The Holland system divides people and jobs into six basic types, arranged in a hexagon with each of the types on a point of the hexagon. The types that are adjacent on the hexagon are more similar to each other than the types on the opposite sides of the hexagon.
Your results
Dominant category:
Secondary categories: ,
Select each triangle to find out more about that category
You are the person who likes to solve problems to organize data or things. You tend to gravitate toward jobs where attention to detail and organization are valued. You like being in the background making sure the logistics are completed without much fanfare. You tend to be in jobs such as banking, accounting, bookkeeping, programming, and other detail-oriented jobs. In retirement, you may want to expand to other areas of interest that you haven’t been able to express in your career life, and you may want to apply those same skills to volunteer opportunities. Below are activities, jobs, or volunteer opportunities you might enjoy.
- Tax preparer
- Virtual assistant
- Inventory worker
- Bookkeeper
- Personal organizer
- Cashier
- Data analyst
- Search engine optimization expert
- Software developer
- Web developer
- Code writer
- Editor or proofreader
- Industry expert consultant
- Librarian or library assistant
- Medical transcriptionist
- Webmaster
- Manage your organization’s membership management software
- Prepare taxes for those who can’t afford an accountant
- Prepare a bulletin for a local organization
- Transcribe sermons or lectures for deaf people
- Manage logistics for the local food bank
- Become your city/town historian
- Organize the local thrift shop or food pantry
- Become a library aide for a neighborhood middle school or high school
- Help with event planning for a charitable organization
- Be a logistics liaison for a small, local political campaign
- Join a local nonprofit board
- Help your friends or family organize their closets, garage, or home
- Organize family photos online or in albums
- Teach someone to sew, knit, or cross stitch
- Create a personalized website for family
- Paint miniatures
- Get a degree: BA, MA, or PhD
- Take a course in:
- App or software development
- Programming
- Bookkeeping
- SEO
- AutoCAD
- Join an industry association, trade group, or book club
- Learn to:
- Knit
- Crochet
- Needlepoint
You are the person who likes to solve problems with tangible things and gravitates toward careers such as agriculture, engineering, trades (plumbing, electrical work, etc.), skilled machinery, forestry, athletics, the military, or law enforcement. You might like to see the tangible result of your work and tend to live a simple life. You have interests in the outdoors and physical activity. Below are activities, jobs, and volunteer opportunities that may interest you.
- Fishing guide
- Driver
- Delivery
- Uber/Lyft
- School bus
- Carpenter
- Sound technician
- Handyman
- Dog walker
- Chef—sous/personal
- Corporate security guard
- Retail or specialty store associate –
- Kitchen
- Tackle/fly
- Auto parts
- Athletic store
- Habitat for Humanity volunteer
- Clean a waterway
- Teach a car maintenance class
- Repair cars for low-income families
- Train or foster a service dog
- Build a community garden
- Build sets for a local theater company
- Hunting or fishing guide
- National Parks Service volunteer
- Teach at the AARP Driver Safety Program
- Volunteer for Meals on Wheels or a local community food bank
- Coach a local youth sports team
- Ride motorcycles or join a motorcycle club
- Run or walk
- Plant a garden
- Fishing
- Welding
- Ride horses
- Woodwork
- Build furniture
- Build a treehouse
- Take your family hiking, swimming or ziplining
- Join an athletic team
- Join a local trade association
- Attend SilverSneakers, yoga, meditation, or water aerobics classes
You are the person who likes expressing ideas. You like to be creative and different from the rest of the population. You cherish being unique. You tend to gravitate toward the arts—theatre, painting, drawing, sculpture, music, photography, crafts—including fine woodworking, and culinary arts. You like surrounding yourself with other creatives and being the first to try a new idea or activity. You may be like many older adults who decided to be “practical” in their careers and find that as you have gotten older you are more attracted to artistic pursuits. Below are activities, jobs, or volunteer opportunities you might enjoy.
- Music writer or publisher
- Photographer/editor
- Independent radio DJ
- Book reviewer
- Commissioned artist
- Art instructor
- Video editor
- Multimedia artist
- Graphic designer
- Mural painter
- Web developer
- Design consultant
- Retail or specialty store associate
- Craft store
- Art supply
- Music supply
- Art gallery
- Graphic design for nonprofit
- Teach dance to children
- Sing in community choir
- Take pictures for local humane society or rescues
- Write a blog
- Prepare meals for charity food delivery services
- Writing coach
- Teach music lessons
- Build/paint bird houses for Audubon Society
- Host/hostess for nonprofit art gallery
- Direct or paint/build scenes for local children’s theatre
- Teach an art class
- Write a novel, short story, or poems
- Publish stories of your life to give to your family
- Scrapbook
- Take an art class
- Go to concerts
- Learn to play a musical instrument
- Contribute your photos to online photo libraries
- Play in a band or musical group
- Write music or movie scripts
- Create craft activities
- Take a photography course
- Learn to paint or study watercolor/oils
- Attend symphony, plays, or gallery openings
You are the person who likes idea problems. You tend to gravitate toward the sciences in professional life or in your interests and hobbies. You also gravitate to some parts of the medical world—mostly in the science of medicine, rather than the patient care of medicine. You like the freedom to explore an idea as it suits you. You like to solve abstract problems. You have interests in reading and intellectual activities. You may enjoy solving mental puzzles. Below are activities, jobs, or volunteer opportunities you might enjoy.
- Museum guide
- Geology guide
- Science consultant
- Weather station operator
- ACT/SAT test prep teacher
- Tutor
- Science writer
- University archivist
- Genealogy researcher
- Substitute teacher
- Lab assistant
- Local politician
- Retail or specialty store associate
- Medical supply store
- Pharmacy tech
- Book store
- Tutor math at an after-school program
- Planetarium guide
- Reference library aid
- Local museum docent
- Write/edit articles for favorite science pub
- Science tutor
- Contribute to Wikipedia articles
- Visit museums
- Collect butterflies
- Research family genealogy
- Take your family to your local natural history museum
- Teach a science class for a home-school co-op
- Create science experiments
- Take classes at a local university or community college
- Get a master’s degree or doctorate
- Read science journals
- Join a local research, scientific, or teaching association
- Hospital aide
- Crisis counselor
- Self-help author
- Nanny/babysitter
- Concierge
- Mediator
- Legal aid advisor
- First aid or CPR instructor
- Community college teacher
- Red Cross worker
- Surgical waiting room guide
- Interpreter/translator
- Tutor
- Tour guide
- Substitute teacher
- Answer phones for a small office
- Retail, boutique, or specialty shop associate
- Staff the “Mom’s Day Out” picnic
- Organize a dance for the local VFW or dance club
- Lead a book discussion club
- Organize a picnic for underprivileged kids
- Volunteer as a greeter at a local fundraiser
- Serve meals at the homeless shelter
- Tutor kids who are learning to read
- Staff the information desk at a hospital
- Visit the elderly
- Give walking tours of historical downtown
- Fundraiser for a favorite charity
- Event planning for a favorite charity
- Mentor at Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Volunteer at a local YMCA
- Cub Scout/Girl Scout leader
- Teach a class
- Join a travel group to see the world
- Take a cruise
- Learn a second language
- Organize a weekly game, book, coffee or supper club
- Learn/take classes in:
- Counseling
- Social work
- Nonprofit management
- Court-appointed special advocate for children
- Join a local club or association
You are the person who likes to work with other people—very often to persuade them to see things your way. You tend to gravitate toward businesses that involve selling or marketing. You are interested in how money works and how to make money work for you. You might be interested in politics at a local, national, or international level. You sometimes like to speak in front of groups and often like to be the decision maker in an organization. In retirement, your interests may have turned from business to charitable work—and you have perhaps been disappointed with the outcomes you see in charitable work. In retirement, you might like activities, jobs, or volunteer opportunities such as:
- Management analyst
- eBay seller
- Consultant
- Ombudsperson for local college
- Chamber of commerce liaison
- Executive recruiter
- Event planner
- Leadership development blogger or author
- Business owner or co-owner
- Industry consultant
- Personal shopper
- Mystery shopper
- SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) volunteer
- Mentor to Junior Achievement
- Write a political blog
- Organize political rallies
- Teach finance classes at your local university
- Volunteer at a legal aid clinic
- Become a board member or provide marketing consulting or accounting for a nonprofit
- Mentor with a local entrepreneur center (through the chamber of commerce or university)
- Start or partner to start your own nonprofit
- Canvas for a local politician
- Do research for a local political campaign
- Volunteer for your local SBA
- Track investments and teach others how to invest
- Join Toastmasters
- Help a family member start a small business
- Mentor a young entrepreneur
- Create a TED talk
- Take a class in:
- Political science
- Online marketing
- Business
- Financing
- Guest lecture at a local high school, college, or university
- Start or join an association or trade group
- Join a chamber of commerce
You are the person who likes working with other people—to help others. You are the social workers, schoolteachers, and the people in the practical parts of medical care, the counselors, and any of the other helping professions. You like to work on committees to solve community problems. You tend to be the visible volunteers in community activities. You like to solve problems through discussion and collaboration. In retirement, you sometimes take an active role in the lives of your grandchildren’s childcare or educational supplementation. Below are activities, jobs, or volunteer opportunities you might enjoy.