I haven't done this in a long while, but I'll bet you a hundred bucks that the average programming generalist can go to the nearby small town (not large one) an

I haven't done this in a long while, but I'll bet you a hundred bucks that the average programming generalist can go to the nearby small town (not large one) and start knocking on business's doors, offering to help them with any computer issues they have -- and generate enough money to live on. If you can make a web page, update a computer, tweak some configuration settings, show somebody how to use their phone, or configure all that new stuff they bought last week? You'll make money. Making money is simply friends helping each other out. If you're 55 and know a lot of stuff about computers, you should be able to help other people out. Now, you probably won't make that million you used to be worth, but you're not in the soup line, either. It gets more difficult in large cities because it's harder to reach business decision-makers, and there's so much competition. But there's no doubt in my mind that there isn't a huge and growing need for the tech equivalent of day laborers. And we don't have to be 25 and have a strong back. Be very careful that the attitudes and prejudices you pick up as you age don't hurt you a lot worse than your skill choices or work history.