Have a serious question here - What can one do at age 50 with a

[Bobbieo]

photographic memory particularly with numbers other than being a card shark in Vegas. The person in question only has a GED and has been in trouble with the law for most of his life.

[rug]

1. Private investigator, as long as he doesn't need to be licensed.

[Lars39]

2. Those companies that do inventory counts for other companies.

[rrneck]

3. Inventory control.

Although the card shak thing sounds pretty good.

[xfundy]

4. He could work up a nightclub act

Others have done it. Upside, using his excellent powers of memory. Downside, may not pay much, unless he memorizes credit card numbers-- then another downside, if he uses them unlawfully.

[Bobbieo]

5. xfundy - This has been my problem for some time. I know his talents but I have been scared to death

as how he would make use of them particularly when he was on drugs. He is GD genius when it comes to numbers. I'm dyslexic and can barely add two and two

[roughsatori]

6. The nature of the criminal activity and time passed since is important

for anyone to know before even hazarding a guess. A criminal record can be a fatal flaw on most applications. I worked for an HR department for a time. If a person had felonies on their record, and had been addicted to substances, we sometimes worked around the issue.

For example: A person who committed crimes while addicted to drugs, but who now had substantial recovery time, and a solid work experience to back-up claims of being in recovery, would be given a fair interview. Due to the fiduciary responsibility in some positions, the applicant would not be hired in any capacity that involved monies.

Crimes of a sexual nature, or a lack of any long-term 9 to 5 job with good references would disqualify the individual for even entry level work in our non-profit company. We had 750 employees.

Since lying about one's criminal activity is ground for immediate dismissal, your friend needs to be up-front, and truthful--but needs proof that they ARE NOW responsible enough to show up, work, and live with-in the law.

Your friend will have a very difficult time finding a job with health benefits, etc., with that history.

If your friend attends any 12 Step programs regularly, their sponsor may know someone who will risk hiring them for certain jobs. I had a friend who was in recovery and owned a cleaning agency, he would hire people in NA, and AA for his service. He demanded timeliness, hard-work, and honesty--but he paid well, and encouraged his workers.

[Bobbieo]

9. He is not only my friend, he is my son. I face the reality of what his genius could do in

the wrong hands. I bet Ben the Ponzi Schemer or Frank Abramof could have put him to good use. Maybe it is for the best his talent was never discovered.

[roughsatori]

11. It sounds as if his Genius has been in the wrong hands since he has had a life of criminal activity.

A few people have recommended librarian. That requires a Master's Degree. As you did not reply to the specifics, I can only hope that he is receiving help from a therapist, or at least a 12 Step program. It is very difficult for a male over 40 to get a job--even if they have work experience, and a clean record.

My brother was in a similar situation, and at 43 years old he had to "settle" for any job that would have him. His poor history made any claims of genius a moot point. My brother worked in the boat factory for 5 years, he stopped breaking the law, and he stopped drinking. He first went into a rehab, that did not work that well. But AA, for him, did work. After 5 years, he moved on to a better job.

I wish your son the best. My heart goes out to him. And it was very hard on our father and mother when my brother was always being chased by the law, going to prison, etc. They had to stop allowing him to sponge off of them every time he claimed he wanted "to change my life around." It was his way to use them. My mom shed many tears over him.

If your son WANTS to change his life, that is a start, he may have to think of returning to school (again, one needs funds,), or taking an entry level menial labor job to build up a work history.

My father was a brilliant man. He was an alcoholic. When he got sober, he had to face the facts of his actual life. His genius only got him a job as a janitor (due to his work history). But within 6 years he had been promoted 4 times. Once to supervisor of a large department. It was not his genius, it was his hard work, and his love of family that pulled him through.

My IQ is 165+, that is 35 points over the genius score of 130 on the WAIS test. Genius can be pretty meaningless when one factors in the reality of one's actions in how one lives. I squandered much of my life, and my brains really got in the way much of the time. I used "brilliance" as avoidance. A way of feeling unique. I, too, had to "bite the bullet," and start my life much later than many other people do.

If I were great at counting cards I would be in Vegas instead of typing. Being a "genius" does not mean one is "smart."

[noamnety]

7. museum archiving

librarian
cartographer
trail guide/spelunking guide

[scentopine]

8. sports writer - must know names, stats, details, history, etc -nt

[Historic NY]

10. Library work, cataloging, organizing, perhaps writing a computer program.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Perhaps writing a comedy act. It's hard to get even 20 minutes of material.

If he's funny, witty, etc., he could work at comedy clubs with connections.