I know there's a lot here, but I tried to cover the important details while keeping it short as possible. All help & ideas are much appreciated.
Experience:
- He's worked at the same place for 25 years. It's a small construction company (2-3 employees). They build in-ground swimming pools, and since the company is so small my dad's a jack of all trades. He does general labour, operates heavy machinery, plumbing, electrical (wires pumps and heaters, repairs them too). He also does pool & spa maintenance (balancing chemicals, cleaning, etc). Overall he's well versed in labour trades and construction.
- Before that he worked as an electrician. This was in the 90s and for another small company. He didn't have official certification but worked as an apprentice. This would have been his real job.
- He has a high school education. No post-secondary or other certification.
- No experience with computers. He's never owned a computer before. He has little experience with technology overall (i.e. he knows how to use his iPhone, Facebook, Netflix, connect to Chromecast) but that's about it. No technical experience.
Medical Issues:
- Earlier this year he had a minor heart attack. While at the hospital for his heart attack he developed a blood infection from one of the IV's. This caused his joints to inflame tremendously, causing permanent damage. He also experienced borderline kidney failure.
- He has gout & arthritis in most of his joints, which is now far worse due to the infection. There are some days he can hardly walk. He will push too hard at work, be jack hammering for hours, then be stuck in bed for the next week.
- He has very high blood pressure, and I believe the physical stress/pain from work is making it far worse.
Traits & Ideals:
- He's a great person, but not a people person. He's your stereotypical construction guy. Rough around the edges. I couldn't picture him working in customer service.
- He has an incredibly strong work ethic. In-fact, I feel like that's why he has so many medical issues now. He would rather crawl to work than take a day off.
- He does not want to (nor can he) continue working manual labour jobs.
- He currently makes $35/hr. He's happy to take a pay cut if it means a better job. I think he could live off $20/hr.
- He mentioned he wants an office job (or at least a job where he isn't on his feet all day). I'm not sure how practical office jobs are since he has no experience with computers.
- He has a soft spot for seniors & care-taking, for years he's mentioned how he would like to work in that field. This has always surprised me since he's generally not a people person. But he's also very squeamish with bodily functions and has joked about how he wouldn't be able to change their diapers. So that might be out of the question.
Job Ideas:
First & foremost, I think my dad should take some time off and go on medical or EI. He's a little stubborn about that though and wants to keep working. Here are some job ideas I've come up with:
- Security guard. He's a big guy (6'4, 240lbs), and most of the time spent would be at a desk looking at monitors.
- Bank teller/accountant. I have an aunt who was a stay at home mom for 20+ years, and was able to become an accountant/teller after a short course. This would be similar to an office job.
- We don't have Uber here yet, but I think Lyft is coming soon. We also have SkipTheDishes he could deliver for. I don't know if these are enough to replace an income with though?
- UPS or other delivery service. I know they're still on their feet quite a bit and do a lot of lifting, but compared to my dad's current job it's a big improvement. I feel like it might be hard to land one of these jobs though.
Submitted December 20, 2019 at 06:59PM by cevapig https://ift.tt/2EBMgq3
