The right way to do this is to try out a lot of different areas and see which ones are actually interesting; once she notices which of those are satisfying, tho

The right way to do this is to try out a lot of different areas and see which ones are actually interesting; once she notices which of those are satisfying, those skills could be further developed. For example: let's figure out if your wife would enjoy being a teacher. To be a teacher one needs some significant education, so the commitment is significant. The right thing then is to try out being a tutor - there's no need for a certificate there, you can just put up an ad somewhere or go through your social network. If enjoyable after 3 months -> consider teaching and getting the required degrees. If not, consider something else. You said income is not the primary motivator. If there's some savings in the bank, that savings should be partially used up to find an answer to this question. The best way to start is to completely quit whatever she is doing right now - a lot of the time the fact that one has complete intellectual freedom of the day really gives some perspective on life. Also, of course, she can pick up minor projects on elance and other freelancing sites, and see which of those projects satisfy more than others. Whichever ones satisfy most, those are the areas where the skills should be developed most.