Over the past 20 years, the share of Americans working in their 70s rose from less than 10% in 2000 to nearly 15% today. Assuming president Donald Trump doesn’t retire after his exit from the White House in January, he will soon become one of them.
So what’s a 74-year-old former real estate scion, author, television personality, and commander in chief to do? Assuming he doesn’t launch his own TV network, of course.
According to a Quartz analysis of US Census data, about 17% of men Trump’s age held a job from 2014-2018 (the last years for which we have detailed data). Out of the nearly 430 occupation categories collected by the Census, here are the top six for 74-year-old men.
1️⃣ Truck drivers and delivery drivers (5.5% of all 74-year-old employed men)
By far the number one job for a man of Trump’s age, truck drivers made a median wage of about $32,000 per year in 2019. A total of about 1.5 million Americans do this job, and the number is expected to grow unusually quickly due the expansion of e-commerce, and the increased demand for delivery. Famously, Trump appeared to have a great time when he met with truckers in 2017, and even had the opportunity to honk the horn of a big rig.
2️⃣ Operations managers (4.1%)
Operations managers, which include postmasters, make about $55,000 per year. They oversee services-oriented organizations in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Trump’s strengths seem to lie in promotional work and performance, rather than day-to-day administration. This job probably isn’t a good fit.
3️⃣ Retail store manager (3.4%)
The 1.2 million Americans who works as store managers receive a median wage of about $40,000. The majority work at general merchandise stores like Walmart and Target. It’s a shrinking profession due to the decline of in-person retail, and the popularity of sites like Amazon. For the same reasons Trump might not want to be an operations manager, he likely would not be interested in retail store management.
4️⃣ Retail salesperson (3.3%)
Retail salesperson is the fourth most common occupation in the US. Over 4 million Americans do this job. It’s poorly paid, with an average wage of about $12 dollars per hour. Although not lucrative, this job would give Trump an opportunity to continue to persuade Americans to buy whatever he is selling.
5️⃣ Janitors and building cleaners (3.2%)
About 100,000 people in the US work as janitors and building cleaners. It is a physically demanding job that involves working late hours, but only pays about $13 per hour. Trump continues to be in excellent physical condition for a man of his age, but as a self-described “germaphobe,” he likely wouldn’t be a good fit for the job.
6️⃣ Chief executive and legislators (2.9%)
The sixth most common job for 74-year-olds seems a good fit for Trump.1 The former chief executive of The Trump Organization may be interested in returning to his perch. He may also aspire to once again work as a legislator. According to a report from Axios, he is already considering another run for president in 2024.