i am in a similar situation, but i find that the most help people need is to sound off their problems and get someone to look at them from a different perspecti

i am in a similar situation, but i find that the most help people need is to sound off their problems and get someone to look at them from a different perspective. you are not giving them directions, you are just pointing out things they may not have considered. usually the people already made a choice or have an answer, but they need someone to confirm that it's a good one. when you are alone facing a problem, sometimes it is difficult to sort through it all, and then it helps to have a second person to confirm things, or help you step through the problem with a fresh mind until the right solution becomes self evident in summary, you are not sharing your knowledge but your experience and the wisdom that you have acquired over the years. and a lot of that is not specific to your career but simply a factor of being older/ having worked longer. in theory any 50 year old could be a mentor to any 30 year old. we just seek out people with a similar background because it is more likely that we understand each other.