Years ago, my husband was let go from his job. He only has a high school diploma but is a self-taught tech wizard. He couldn’t get an interview because the computers were tossing his applications out before a human ever saw them. All required a college degree. A human reviewer of his CV might have been willing to take a chance on him, and would never have regretted it, but never even met him.
He became severely depressed for six months. None of the many wonderful things he had accomplished professionally mattered. He finally started part-timing for a trade organization in a related field, running their websites and providing tech support at their conferences. He gradually acquired clients in unrelated fields (restaurant websites, etc.) and then found an equally talented programmer buddy who was on the same path. They became partners, both drumming up business for each other. They’ve done it for 15 years. They found some jobs that really excited and challenged them. They kept learning. They then taught themselves how to do puts and calls on stocks with amazing results. He’s been happier and more successful than he ever was at that old job.
My point is, he had to start small for a side organization while starting his own business. That gave him time to acquire clients he thought were fun or useful. Along the way he found a friend of similar age, intellect, and temperament who stimulated his mind. Even though he’s “retired” they will always work on projects together.
Have you ever worked with anyone whose work ethic, personality, and mind you’ve really enjoyed? Perhaps you could contact that person and noodle taking on a side job with him/her. Or land a distantly-related project yourself and bring that person on?
Hats off to your husband, more power to him!! 👍