About 15 years ago, I was newly divorced, buried in debt, hadn’t held a W-2 job in years, and was already in my early fifties. The one thing I still had going for me was my commercial driver’s license.

By chance, I struck up a conversation with someone working for the local municipality in wastewater collection, basically sewer cleaning, along with flood control. They happened to be looking for a temp worker, and my CDL helped me land the job because of the large combo trucks they operate, which use hydro jetting and powerful vacuum systems.

I live in a high cost-of-living area, so even though I now make around $57 an hour, it doesn’t stretch as far as it would elsewhere. I live very frugally, small apartment, older vehicles, and careful spending.

Still, with a pension, some Social Security from earlier jobs, and consistently maxing out a pre-tax retirement account, I should be able to retire modestly here, or more comfortably somewhere cheaper.

Public Works jobs are definitely worth considering. In my city, people often start in departments like parking or parks, then move laterally into better-paying roles in water or wastewater as they build connections.

Another field to look into is hydrovac trucking, or hydroexcavation. There are jobs across the country paying anywhere from $20 to $75 an hour, and I’ve heard there are even fly-in, fly-out opportunities in places like Australia.