Job advice for Dad

[Firebird]

Good morning YMers,

My dad recently asked me for career advice (oh, how the tables have turned! He is a government employee, which means he's facing mandatory retirement from his current job in five years (at age 55). He loves working and has no intention of stopping at that point, so he's planning ahead for what he might like to do.

Ideally, the new profession would be at least somewhat freelance based because he wants the flexibility of working more some weeks and less other weeks. He would prefer something for which he had to go to school, i.e., something that would require a certification of some kind.

A few things he is really, really good at:

-Being analytical and deliberative
-Anything that requires mental toughness and discipline
-Writing (he's got a pretty wide range-- very funny when he wants to be, all the way down to detailed technical explanations)
-Explaining things to people and getting concepts across

I suggested technical writing of some sort-- specifically, I thought he might get a kick out of writing chemistry and math textbooks. He is looking into that, among other things.

But since he asked, I thought I might as well give him the benefit of one of my best resources. What do you guys think would be a good career for my dad?

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Is that so? Mandatory retirement at 55, from a govt agency?

What does he do, and what sorts of skills does he have?

[Firebird]

He runs the education department for a minimum security women's prison.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

He runs the education department for a minimum security women's prison.

So, does this mean he has training and/or schooling in education?

[michelyn8]

Is there any possiblity he can remain with them on an on-call or part-time basis? Or maybe even as a consultant?

My BIL was a counselor with our state's juvenile justice system and "retired" a couple of years ago. He then worked on call or part-time until he started drawing social security. We have a lot of retiree's doing that where I work too. Client employees retire and then after six-months, tell us to hire them as part-time so they can still make use of their skills and experience as needed.

[whoisjohngalt]

Substitute teacher?
Running some kind of center for teenagers?
Writing grant proposals?

Lena

[phil5185]

I know a guy who does the GED testing at the prisons. He is well past 55, but I don't know what the age limit is.
He works 1 or 2 days a week, makes the schedule himself so he can be gone for 2 or 3 weeks if he wants to.
Typically, he drives to a prison site (hours & mileage pay), sets up the test room, proctors the test (~ 6 hours I think?), then gathers the results. Don't recall if he grades them or just turns them in to the state.

[Firebird]

So, does this mean he has training and/or schooling in education?

Yes, it does. But he hated being a teacher and would not want to go back to interacting with students on a regular basis in any capacity.

Is there any possiblity he can remain with them on an on-call or part-time basis? Or maybe even as a consultant?

I doubt it. Plus I got the impression that he really wants a change of pace. I think he's looking into alternate government jobs, but is primarily looking to change careers.

Running some kind of center for teenagers?
Writing grant proposals?

I can't wait to tell him someone suggested the first one. The very idea would probably give him nightmares. Teenagers and my dad don't mix.

Grant proposals = very good suggestion, thanks.

Phil, I like your idea but I think my dad is looking for something a bit more stimulating. At this point in his life, it wouldn't really be about the money. He wants to keep working but not just for the sake of having somewhere to go every day. I think he wants a challenge.

[whoisjohngalt]

I figured he dealt with people in prison, can teenagers be that much worse?

Lena

[shanendoah]

My father retired from government work to be a private investigator. It works for him because he had a number of legal and law enforcement contacts from his gov't job as well as the fact that he was CO of a National Guard unit.

Given your father's background, maybe something with one of the local community colleges? Something in their adult or continuing education departments?
Technical or grant writing would be good, or perhaps becoming a certified copy editor?

Are there fields besides education that he's really intested in, where he could combine those with his education background? Health care has all sorts of programs around patient and provider education that he might be able to get involved in. Or perhaps he could become a trainer for a specific type of thing- working with adults in a training atmosphere is very different than teaching a classroom of teenagers.

Ooh, I just thought of this - he should become a certified dog trainer. After all, dog training is more about training the humans than the dogs. (j/k)

[Firebird]

I figured he dealt with people in prison, can teenagers be that much worse?

Apparently the inmates were a lot easier. I have my own issues with teenagers, so I believe it.

Technical or grant writing would be good, or perhaps becoming a certified copy editor?

Last one sounds interesting-- what does it entail?

[shanendoah]

Usually some classes, a certification. I know UW used to have copy editing courses as part of their extension program. And a quick google search tells me the UC Berkely has editing courses as part of their extension program as well.

[Gardening Grandma]

What about online tutoring? There's no face to face interaction with the students.

[Deleted]

Funny, before I got to the part where you suggested technical writing, it's what I thought of. If he's not leaving for five years, he's got plenty of time to learn it.

[debtheaven]

Firebird, a lot of things can change in five years ... he may not have to leave. I could be wrong but I would think he could become a consultant or work part-time or replace other people who do what he does, because you can't just get somebody off the street for that job. (Well, here in France you can as you know from one of my threads, but I digress LOL). But, all this addresses the issue mandatory retirement at 55, and not the "challenge" issue.

As far as possible jobs, I too thought of technical writer, but also writing for a young audience and / or non-native speakers. Because both generally require the ability to distill potentially complicated information into very easy-to-understand English. Or possibly teaching ESL. Or running a prison or hospital library. (Not sure how these things work in the US, just listing ideas). I understand he doesn't want to teach teens, but how does he feel about teaching foreign adults, like Suzi Q? (And me to some extent, but it's not the same thing because I'm not in the US.)

Good luck to him, and kudos to you for being a great daughter! I really think he has time before he has to worry about it in five years. This said, it's always good to be pro-active, and if he is sure he will be required to stop working there in five years, keep in mind that it would probably be easier for him to find a new job at 50 or 51 or 52 than at 55.

[Deleted]

Textbooks are written by experts in that field . . . usually college professors but sometimes high school teachers. He might pull off a "Handbook of English When You Are Incarcerated," but it would have a limited market. At least in my field, schools buy updated versions of the same books year after year. One year we might prefer Glencoe and another Prentice Hall, but at best we alternate. College professors are encouraged to write textbooks because they have a built in buying market . . . their own students.

I think if he is starting over and wanting part-time work, he should set his sites a little lower. If he enjoys tinkering, he might try Home Depot or Lowe's. If he enjoys books, he might try a bookstore. If he's great with computers, he might try fixing other people's.

The point is that you are looking at career path jobs for him. He's been there/done that. By the way, if he doesn't enjoy working with teens, he should NEVER consider substitute teaching. It is much harder than actually teaching, trust me, and the pay is abysmal (we pay higher than most at $75 a day. . . and you must have a college degree.)

I'm going to work part-time in a library in my old age. I even have the degree.

[cronewitch]

Self employed adviser of some kind. Credit councilor, certified financial planner, tax preparer enrolled agent.

Some kind of work with half way house residents just leaving prision to reenter the free world since he may understand them better than most of us.

Working with some nice people who are not ex cons or current cons.

There are a million ways to be self employed and many are able to set their own hours. He could even go more blue collar than while collar and do something more physical. He might try starting a business where he finds the work and hires people to do the actual labor. Something like a moving company where he hires two men and a truck to do local moves for people. We hired the same one twice two years ago to move my brother then my mom. They come to the old house with a big truck and load it then drive to the new house and unload. They charged a few hundred and they received a nice tip each time because they did a great job. He wouldn't even have to lift anything because he can hire strong workers. He could also run a string of house keepers or maintenance people he could find the clients and dispatch the workers then later hire a dispatcher. They have places that will send you 1-2 cleaning people for a half day and the owner gets part of the money.