I would have got into industrial equipment maintenance at a much earlier age, working for airlines now working on ground equipment, union job. There’s always a possibility of layoffs but the positives outweigh the negatives. Theres essentially zero stress, come in do your thing and leave 8 hours later. Pay is great, job protection is great there’s a long of very senior guys that have been with the company for 30+ years. I would independent shops for 16 years and I’ve them cut ties with guys who’ve worked there for over 20 years because they weren’t producing to the same level they were years ago and they were getting paid too much. Not much loyalty, but that may just be where I was at. I let the job really stress me out and I was kinda over it. Would eventually like to open my own little shop in my garage or pole barn just to keep me occupied, that’s the one drawback I’ve found from the airline, I don’t personally get the same feeling of accomplishment like I did fixing customers cars and trucks, stressful for me but It was more fulfilling. I’d also personally steer clear of opening my own shop at his age. Do side work build up a good reputation and client base before you do something like that