Why these San Diegans left retirement and now work part time on their own terms

John Granahan knew it was time to stop retirement and find a real job when his Oceanside neighbor approached him with what sounded like a compliment but landed like a wake-up call: “I hope you guys aren’t planning on selling. Your house is all fixed up, and you’re such great neighbors.”

The 70-year-old former soundproofing specialist had run out of home improvement projects. After building an ADU, painting the exterior twice, and “refreshing” both the kitchen and bathroom, he faced an uncomfortable truth: There was not enough paint to do it a third time, and it was time to get a job.

After all, he had a skill, and for sure, he thought people still needed a sound-proofing contractor.  What he found was that many people were doing it themselves with the help of YouTube videos.  

After seven months of rejection letters from every marina, hardware store and lumberyard in North County (despite practicing on a friend’s crane), Granahan finally landed at Ace Hardware in Carlsbad. He was a bit of a newbie and admits his boss probably should have fired him the first week. But standing all day on his new knees while working toward his goal weight reduction had given him resilience and purpose. He was all-in.

Granahan’s story resonates with many San Diego County seniors who’ve discovered that retirement’s promise of endless leisure can sometimes feel more like house arrest in pajamas.

Take Beverly Barrett, 72, who traded her recliner and binge-watching Dr. Phil for a part-time position as deputy county counsel for Imperial County. After 40 years in criminal law practice, retirement felt like intellectual atrophy. “I needed to use my brain,” she says from her North Clairemont home, where she now telecommutes, drafting contracts and legal memos for various county departments. She works five to 25 hours per week and bills at a fraction of the cost as a big-time law practice.  She is engaged, but not exhausted.  Productive, but not pressured.  No managing partner checking her time sheet.

Every day we have is a gift,” she notes, advocating for seniors to seek out the numerous “extra help” positions that government offices, schools and hospitals rarely advertise but need to fill.

Sometimes, the financial rewards can be substantial, as Michael Garrod discovered. The 66-year-old civil engineer retired at 58 and then volunteered for five years with the U.S. Geological Survey on projects for his former employer, Sweetwater Authority in Chula Vista. 

After making a presentation to the board, the general manager asked him to return as a special project consultant. Now he’s working on a $100 million desalination project, about 30 hours per month, billing more than $200 per hour, more than enough to cover a few extra double lattes.

“I wasn’t sure if I had the new technology skills for a modern office,” Garrod says from his Bonita home, “but I was able to learn quickly.  It doesn’t matter what you’re doing as long as you like it and are with other people socializing. Most importantly, don’t sit around and watch TV.”

For Ute Pelzer, who prefers not to disclose her age because she is concerned about age discrimination (though she admits to being retirement age), the transition to part-time work was seamless because the Vista resident never fully retired. After starting as an accountant with a large national firm, she worked in several industries, including clothing, sports nutrition and telecommunications.

A dinner conversation with a friend led to her current role as a fractional CFO at Optima Office, which provides outsourced accounting services to a variety of companies.

“Some weeks I’ve worked as little as three hours, while others have seen me fully engaged working up to 40 hours,” Pelzer explains. This flexibility allows her to watch grandchildren, take month-long trips to Italy, attend weekday fitness classes with friends, and still apply her expertise to companies that need CFO insights but can’t justify a full-time hire.

Susan Cody’s journey from the medical field to flexible caregiving demonstrates how seniors can adapt their lifelong skills to new circumstances. The 74-year-old Spring Valley resident worked for 47 years in health care—from nurse’s aide to Navy Hospital Corpsman to registered nurse—before retiring at 65. She found part-time work through Indeed.com as a non-medical home health aide, earning just over $20 per hour while setting her own schedule.

“I prefer to only work Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a few hours per day,” Cody explains. Currently recovering from bilateral knee replacement surgeries, she appreciates how the position allows her to use her medical knowledge and problem-solving skills while accommodating her physical limitations. 

Her advice to fellow seniors is practical: “Be sure to evaluate the job to make sure that limitations are accommodated. I am not able to stand for long periods of time, so some jobs are not for me.”

Meanwhile, in University City, 75-year-old Ernie Bjork has transformed his 35-year teaching career into something simpler but equally rewarding. Four afternoons a week, he helps elementary school students with homework at the Malcolm X Library through the city’s “Do Your Homework at the Library” program.  Today, he’s using all his teaching skills without the lesson planning or grading. “To me, working with children is not a job,” he says.

These seniors have cracked the code on retirement’s biggest paradox. We spend decades dreaming of not working, only to discover that work — on our own terms — might be exactly what we were looking for all along. 

Thank you to the many people who emailed me with their part-time work stories. You all are an inspiration, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t use all of them. Please continue to email me at bbry@askturing.ai with your suggestions for future columns.