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The Jobs That Get Better With Age

The Jobs That Get Better With Age

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Last updated by Kayley Harris on

Do older people make better Real Estate agents? Are there other jobs we do better too? 

Ten per cent of licensed agents and 9% of sales consultants in the real estate industry are working way past the retirement age in Australia. Social media, changes in legislation, time constraints on lifestyle, competitiveness within the industry and advertising demands are all features of the property industry, so what keeps seniors interested in the business and can they keep up with changes and demands of the job?

The reality is, senior agents and sales consultants are being hired by vendors and employed by agencies for their results. This could be one of the few industries that is ageless and provides flexibility in working hours for agents well into their 70’s and 80’s.

Cheryl Oprandi was teaching science in the UK when she and her husband emigrated to Australia. When she arrived in Perth she was offered a job at Curtin University as a lecturer but it was a light bulb moment for Cheryl.

She asked herself if that was really what she wanted to continue doing and it turns out, it wasn’t.

Following her heart (something we hear a lot of here at the Fiftyup Club), she enrolled in a Real Estate agent’s course and for the past 4 years she has been working in real estate.

The transition has been so good, her husband also left his job and completed the course and now both of them work in the industry.

We spoke to Cheryl on the Daily Drive show this week and we asked her about the popular misconceptions about real estate agents….hear her reply here.

Have you had a career change later in life? We’d love to hear your story. kayley@fiftyupclub.com.au

Originally posted on .

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Wendy
Wendy from VIC commented:

Peter, I have heard over the years that Coles and Woolworths store managment are not good, decent communicators with any staff no matter their age. Perhaps you could speak with your Union delegate or Union office directly. All the best. 

PETER
PETER from NSW commented:

I am now 54, I was terminated from my job of Wards Person in a Sydney Public Hospital after 15 years as I was getting sick a lot my physical and mental health was not good I recently became employed by Coles at Western Sydney Store due to finishing at 11:00pm at night it took 2 hours to get home where I live in a South Eastern Suburb of Sydney, I did get in touch with the area manager of which became very annoyed with my, I did leave a voice message on the manager's mobile in the morning which this manager did open to listen to, the manager called me just before 4:00pm Wednesday afternoon of 17/05/2017 the manager was annoyed with me as I told the manager due to me relying on Public transport I can not work at the particular Coles store as the nearest train station is 20 minutes walk but I got lost on the way which ended up taking me 50 minutes to walk then having to wait 11 minutes for the train to the City , the streets are not well lit due to leafy trees blocking out the street lights making the walk unsafe, this did stress me out, the manager was left with the task to find some one to get for that shift as stated I did leave a voice message that the manager never listen to, the manager demanded I text the days and times I worked which I did, wanted to ask if I could have my working hours changed or if I could be transferred to a Coles store closer to where I live with in the manager's area but the manager abruptly ended the call, I could not event say that I did leave the voice message, now I have no idea if I am terminated or if I am going to get a change in working hours or if I am going to reassigned to another Coles store !!! 

Someone
Someone from QLD commented:

I'd be interested in those other jobs as well. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

You haven't answered your second question. Are there other jobs we do?......... 

Tony
Tony from SA commented:

Hi Kayley. I'll leave it to you but I think you are aware that I fit this category too, now approaching 77. I spent nearly 34 years with the Bank of New South Wales (later Westpac) in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and San Francisco, and didn't want to retire, so am now in the wine industry, currently with Nick Haslegrove Wines in McLaren Vale. I've also dabbled in media work, as you know. Best wishes, Tony Morgan 

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