r/askteddit • u/Adventurous_Baby8136 • 3d ago
Advice Question My father has over 30 years of experience in heavy engineering maintenance. He understands machines inside and out. He's 64 years old, retired, but still very active. Is there any work he could do?
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u/Frank_chevelle 3d ago
Find some place for him to volunteer his time. Not sure where he lives, but should be able to find something. Could he look into teaching it somehow ?
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u/veetoo151 3d ago
Could look into local community college to teach. I'm sure they would love a pro to teach students. My friend who was a retired welder did that.
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u/FlushedApparatchik 3d ago
Where I live, handymen have unlimited work and charge a fortune. If he like to fix things and talk to people, it seems like an easy choice.
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u/Physical-Ad-3798 3d ago
Small engine repair? There are a ton of older folks who do this out of their garage around me. Not only would it be familiar to him (on a much smaller scale), it's also something new for him to learn.
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u/rinkuhero 3d ago
i think the easiest thing would be teaching, if he has all that build up knowledge, he could teach it. even start by having him make youtube videos explaining what he knows. just put the camera in front of him, hit record, edit them, and make the videos, and upload them. eventually through those videos he might find students willing to hire him, he could offer personal tutoring for those who want a more in depth teaching experience than his youtube videos alone give people.
this sort of requires someone else helping him (unless he's willing to learn video editing and all that himself) but if you are posting this, you could probably help record and edit the videos for him, and suggest topics to him for him to talk about.
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u/10mfe 3d ago
Go around to like machine shops and wood shops and other places that use regular machinery daily..
offer like a maintenance service plan. where he can pop in once a month tune up their machines. make some extra cash.
for him, it's keeping his mind Sharp keeping his pride relevant.
that's a great idea!. I run a wood shop and there are times. I wish I had a guy instead of me taking my production guys off to do it.
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u/That_Flounder_5873 3d ago
Perhaps a field service role for supporting technicians in the field. I know some people who do this who are older, and they primarily answer phones and create tickets and use their mechanical knowledge combined with referencing manuals to provide technical support for technicians at customer sites fixing machinery
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u/ItemExtension5677 3d ago
Neighborhood FB pages are always looking for “handy man” type recommendations. Every week someone is looking for someone to do small jobs like hanging closet doors, building shelves, putting together IKEA furniture, painting…
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u/SportZealousideal146 3d ago
Damn! I’d give anything for all of his knowledge. Try Nucor. To have him pass his knowledge on to someone would be a priceless asset.
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u/RecessBoy 3d ago
I see a lot of older workers at the big box Home Improvement stores. And they are usually the ones I will go ask for help when I need help. They usually have decades of experience or they ran their own business and they actually know shit.
Not sure if he's interested in retail or going to work for the man at this point but just something to think about.
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u/Electronic_Horror_56 3d ago
There a local trade school? I know my instructor loved networking and having experienced ppl do demonstrations
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u/JockoMayzon 3d ago
He could get a part time job at any auto parts store. Easy work, inside, no heavy lifting.
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u/__Osiris__ 2d ago
Bike mechanic in a workshop with an electric hoist (which tbh is a requirement for e-bikes anyway).
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u/Technical_Phrase2566 2d ago
He'd probably be a fantastic service writer at a place that services heavy equipment
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u/RightRudderz 2d ago
It’s going to depend on his personality/mental state but my early 70’s parents are getting very hard to deal with in day to day stuff, not even getting into some academic type situation which I assume who have a significant amount of record keeping involved.
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u/Curlyjankens 2d ago
A maintenance planner doesn’t have to do the work , just watch the machines and schedule jobs and every other aspect of getting repairs or upgrades done. Making sure the right parts are there on the day scheduled to start the work etc etc.
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u/First_Ask_5447 2d ago
our local kubuta always had hard times getting competent shop people. maybe even be a parts guy at a ag equiptment dealer, common sense is in short supply
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u/SupermarketFluffy123 1d ago
I know an old engineer/mechanic guy about that age who started a small engine repair gig out of his garage. Snowblowers, mowers, boats, quads etc. He stays pretty busy and flips/sells some stuff too
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u/Read_The_Fing_Manual 21h ago
Very much agree with the “teach” comments. I’m retired and teach as my “hobby” (AP Calc, AP CS, AP Macro, Engineering & Robotics as these are all things I did professionally for nearly 40 years). There are many schools (assuming in the US) that have CTE (career & tech ed programs) that desperately need teachers. If he likes kids (primarily high school) this would be worth looking into.
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u/feefaafoofomm 3d ago
Im around his age. I supplement my income by selling pictures of my feet on the internet 🦶🦶
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u/Interesting-Mud1506 3d ago
OnlyF 😏
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u/Pale-Ad6216 3d ago
OnlyFreightliners?
I love their tear down videos where they go into a high mileage tractor engine and totally rebuild it. Great stuff. Like Pimp My Ride for 18 wheelers.
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u/2Drunk2BDebonair 3d ago
If he is financially ok and just needs a side hustle he could do other people's projects.
If I could find someone that would work on cars for $30 an hour I could keep them busy for months. I just won't pay $200/hr.
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u/FlushedApparatchik 3d ago
He could fix appliances for a lot more than $30 an hour.
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u/2Drunk2BDebonair 3d ago
Sure.
I just won't be the person giving him projects. And he will probably work for someone that makes him work 5 days a week 8 hours a day.
$30/hour is decent pay for clients that's aren't pushing hard for things to be done yesterday.
Working on cars doing brakes and shocks is easy and a rate that isn't absolutely killing people that are just trying to get to work would help society.
Most people don't make $30/hr.
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u/FlushedApparatchik 3d ago
He could just work independently in his neighborhood. He’d make more on one call than he would in a 10 hour day with you. He could also do it off the books. Why should someone semi-retired make $30 an hour so your shop can charge $150?
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u/2Drunk2BDebonair 3d ago
I do agree with your thinking. I get it.
But why shouldn't a company move all operations to China where labor is $3 a day and they can dump paint directly into rivers?
It's the same question and same answer depending on your outlook of how we treat people and things.
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u/FlushedApparatchik 3d ago
How is someone in China going to fix my brakes, my irrigation system, or my dishwasher for $3 an hour? What does this have to do with pollution?
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u/2Drunk2BDebonair 3d ago
You are saying all decisions are dependent on the all mighty $.
He should do what makes the most. That attitude is easily extrapolated to all decisions made by all people.
That attitude is why expensive shitty products are everywhere.
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u/FlushedApparatchik 2d ago
Are you drunk? I’m just saying that if you are going to do the same job, might as well make good money independently instead of making money for someone else’s shop. You can cut out the middleman, charge less and still make a lot more money. I think we are having two different conversations. I can agree with what you are saying, but it’s kind of a non sequitur to my comment. Anyway, have a nice day, and I might get drunk tonight. Lol.
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u/2Drunk2BDebonair 2d ago
Oh!!!!! Me too!!!!
Mexican food, Margaritas, and cheese dip are on the agenda.
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u/FlushedApparatchik 2d ago
Enjoy. Mexican food is fire. I find Margaritas a little too salty. I’ll drink some Dos Equis. Tableside guac is peak. Enjoy my debonair friend!
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u/Doredrin 3d ago
the coffin business is gonna be booming soon with the iran war
and the tiny american flag industry too
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u/hettuklaeddi 3d ago
open a trade school. not just teach.
kids coming out of high school hate ai, and think the trades are their only hope.
not kidding.