New career for 60+ info-tech entrepreneur/manager?

September 22, 2009 12:10 PM

Demand is way down, and so my dad is closing down his software contracting company. He founded it in 1985, and has always been its primary manager and salesman, so he has no current programming skills. He is over 60, but can't afford to retire yet. What should he do now?

He lives in the DC metro area, and many of his clients have been government contractors or telecommunications companies.

From the glowing testimonials the employees wrote for a "memory book" which they gave him, it seems that he has a unique and much-appreciated management style. They describe him and the corporate culture he created as scrupulously ethical, efficient, rational, transparent, putting employees first, and so on.

He's incredibly intelligent, hardworking and committed to tasks that he takes on.

His Myers-Briggs type is INTJ, but over his life he's worked very hard to aquire skills in sales, understanding others, and public speaking, none of which come easily to an Introverted Thinker.

He's also near-fluent in Hebrew and has a lot of handyman skills.

He knows he could get work as a Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor, but I think it's not really worthy of his abilities.

Are there organizations or career counselors that specialize in finding a new career when you're close to retirement age?

Is there a market for his management style, which inspired such employee loyalty that people turned down offers for much higher-paid jobs?

Should he look for work in the UK, where he was born, or in Israel, as well as in the DC area?

What fields of work will be most welcoming of his personality, which is about 1/2 English, 1/4 Asperger's-ish, and 1/4 rationalist non-conformist?

Any and all ideas are welcome--there's really no box to think inside for this situation.

posted by r0w to work & money (13 comments total)

Has he tried selling the company, along with himself, to a competitor or larger similar company?
posted by Lyn Never at 12:12 PM on September 22

Anyone with sales and management skills in the software industry is VERY valuable. Why not switch into another area of software contracting that has more demand? I have a similar business but work in a completely different area (nothing to do with government) and notice a lot of demand.
posted by lsemel at 12:48 PM on September 22

Agreed with Isemel. Unless your father is looking to leave the software consulting industry, someone with his skills and experience will be very valuable to other consulting firms. Keeping a consulting firm in the black for 20+ years is no small accomplishment. He should call his primary competitors. He should look for newly founded consulting firms that need some experienced management around. He should look for companies that also target telcom and government contractors. All of these will have a need to increase their sales, particular in this economy. His contacts and experience would seem invaluable.
posted by centerweight at 12:54 PM on September 22

I can't offer any advice, but your "personality fractions" bit at the end is hilarious. Your dad sounds very interesting.
posted by ShadePlant at 12:55 PM on September 22 [1 favorite]

That personality type sounds a lot like a programmer. Has he considered teaching himself something that's more current, and then trying to market it? For example, Java is not so hard to learn, and there are certification tests that could validate his expertise in lieu of experience. I also agree with Isemel and centerweight that someone with sales and management skills in the software industry may be able to find a non-programming job there.
posted by ubiquity at 1:15 PM on September 22

>For example, Java is not so hard to learn,

aye, there's the rub
posted by Palamedes at 1:20 PM on September 22

He should look into high-level consulting and sales for government contracting companies.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:33 PM on September 22

Was he contracting directly to the govt or subbing to the big primes? I would suspect that if he has contacts at the primes there is a place for him in capture management, proposal writing, or biz dev.
posted by COD at 1:49 PM on September 22

Talent scout, or whatever these agencies that hire out contractors call someone who recognizes talents and places people.
posted by Gungho at 2:10 PM on September 22

Wow, what a guy! I'd love to know more about your father. I'm near his age, and involuntarily retiring from my sales job in December, and have faced his situation.

He is a *treasure*! His resume speaks volumes as to his wonderful, diverse skills. If I were him, I'd contract out to be a TRANSLATOR for a government agency, scouring the web for nefarious activities. He could also TEACH at local tech schools-basic computers, etc...plus he can work for SCORE.

What a wonderful future he has, I wish him the best.
posted by ~Sushma~ at 2:17 PM on September 22

many of his clients have been government contractors or telecommunications companies.

He doesn't already have a security clearence does he? If he did, that and close to fluency in modern Hebrew (does he have any other languages?) might make an impressive application package for various sorts of national security work. Continuing citizenship or close ties to Israel and the UK might make this more difficult though, especially if he's not already cleared.
posted by Jahaza at 3:14 PM on September 22

Note Dell's recent purchase of Perot Systems. Why? Because hardware purchasing is down, but like their two largest competitors, IBM and HP, software services is more of a perennial business. Your dad should really look at keeping his hand in -- it will be a lot easier than actually changing careers at his age.

Hope he finds something.
posted by dhartung at 9:19 PM on September 22

Thanks for the responses. I should have specified more about the INTJ personality type (also known as "Mastermind"):

"Although they are highly capable leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once they take charge, however, they are thoroughgoing pragmatists. Masterminds are certain that efficiency is indispensable in a well-run organization, and if they encounter inefficiency-any waste of human and material resources-they are quick to realign operations and reassign personnel. Masterminds do not feel bound by established rules and procedures, and traditional authority does not impress them, nor do slogans or catchwords. Only ideas that make sense to them are adopted; those that don't, aren't, no matter who thought of them."

See also http://typelogic.com/intj.html

INTJs can get extremely frustrated if we have to work within an organization that is not responsive enough to our ideas on how to improve its efficiency, and we are very impatient with having to play office politics. After over 30 years of self-employment, I can't imagine my dad fitting into an organization except at a very senior level. I can imagine him as a consultant or the executive director of a nonprofit.

Lyn Never: The company cannot be sold: it has to be turning a profit to be worth buying.

lsemel and centerweight: That is good to hear.

ubiquity: You called it. My dad started out as a programmer (in the 70s), but wasn't too happy working for others, and soon founded his first company with a couple of friends. I'm not sure he'd find programming a sufficient mental challenge now that he's used to running entire organizations. In recent years he's been treasurer and president of his synagogue.

COD: Sub-contracting. I suspect that he never had the patience to deal with the irrational intransigence of the federal contracting process.

Gungho: I think you mean a headhunter or recruiter. That's not a bad idea. My dad's job ads for many years included a programming problem, and people had to submit their answers as part of their applications. Sometimes people would just submit answers because they enjoyed it, not because they were looking for jobs.

Sushma: SCORE sounds interesting, and I will forward him the link. I don't think he'd be a great teacher, unless he had highly motivated students.

Jahaza: I'm pretty sure he doesn't have security clearance, and I don't think he's much interested in national security. He would never give up his UK citizenship, and I think that might be a problem for security work.

I'm thinking he might enjoy being executive director of a Jewish organization or a major program within one, especially if they would pay him to travel to Israel.
posted by r0w at 10:45 AM on September 24