Finally made it

[CyclingInvestor]

I finally gave notice today, effective Oct 20. A lifetime of saving and
13 years of investing left me in a position that when work became
untenable, I was able to leave.

I have worked as a programmer for 27 years, mostly in aerospace,
then moving to financial programming the last 8 years. I have almost
always had a private office, plugging away at fairly complex software
problems in peace and quiet. I always found work to be a very
relaxing place. A couple years ago, my company started
switching software development teams over to "XP", a particularly
nasty and counterproductive approach. Teamwork is very important
in this approach, to the extent that you have to work in a common
terminal room and have no private office. I am not a social person,
and the constant meetings were driving me crazy. I actually had high
blood pressure for the first time in my life, and the switch to no offices
is just a few weeks away.

I felt much better as soon as I gave notice. My portfolio is already in
its retirement setup (except of course for the final rollover of the 401k
into another IRA), and the financial planning is done. Now all I need
to do is the non-financial planning. Outside of having chosen a
destination (western Washington) amd knowing that I never want
to work again, that has gotton relatively short shrift.

 

[youbet]

Congrats CyclingInvestor!

It sounds like you're going to be able to leave in a reasonably positive state of mind regarding your career, your employers and your peers........ That's important! If you think the constant meetings you have to attend today give you high BP, believe me that retiring with bitterness and resentment will do it to you too! And for the rest of your life! Much better to dwell on all the positives, don't over emphasize these recent negative developments and leave with a smile.

Today marks the completion of my first two months of ER. It is absolutely wonderful! You're going to love it!

 

[mickj]

A couple years ago, my company started
switching software development teams over to "XP"

Is that windows xp or "Extreme Programming?"

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Is that windows xp or "Extreme Programming?"

Extreme Programming. There is plenty of debate going on
as to whether XP is any good. In general, managers love
it because they can treat their programmers like interchangeable
cogs and monitor them more closely, poor programmers like it
because their inadaquacies are hidden by the enforced
teamwork, and good programmers hate it.

 

[Khan]

Congratulations!

You're going to love it.

I finally gave notice today, effective Oct 20. A lifetime of saving and
13 years of investing left me in a position that when work became
untenable, I was able to leave.

I have worked as a programmer for 27 years, mostly in aerospace,
then moving to financial programming the last 8 years. I have almost
always had a private office, plugging away at fairly complex software
problems in peace and quiet. I always found work to be a very
relaxing place. A couple years ago, my company started
switching software development teams over to "XP", a particularly
nasty and counterproductive approach. Teamwork is very important
in this approach, to the extent that you have to work in a common
terminal room and have no private office. I am not a social person,
and the constant meetings were driving me crazy. I actually had high
blood pressure for the first time in my life, and the switch to no offices
is just a few weeks away.

I felt much better as soon as I gave notice. My portfolio is already in
its retirement setup (except of course for the final rollover of the 401k
into another IRA), and the financial planning is done. Now all I need
to do is the non-financial planning. Outside of having chosen a
destination (western Washington) amd knowing that I never want
to work again, that has gotton relatively short shrift.

You might want to wait a year or so to make any major changes; just to find out who you are and what you like.


=========================
I was a programmer for the USAF for over 20 years. Then they decided to contract out everything and made me a manager.

I retired 3 1/2 years earlier than I had planned.

It was either retire or start taking pills (blood pressure, stress, migraines, tooth grinding...).

 

[Mach1]

Many Congratulations CyclingInvestor. Wish you the best.

I am too, having 25 years on software development. In 2003 my job gave me high BP, heart palpitation, hypertention... so I sold the company but kept certain software technologies, I am searching for a young buck or two that can take the software technologies forward once again.

 

[Scrooge]

Congratulations! 18 years in IT and counting here, so I know how you feel :

The advice about not making any drastic changes in the first 12 months (or so) is likely sound based on a number of people's experiences. Professionals even have a term for people flailing around after retiring, moving to another place, then moving back, etc and wasting a lot of money in the process -- "churning". The only exception that I can think of would be if you had a significant chunk of your NW tied up in yout primary residence and wanted to sell it before the real estate market got weaker.

 

[modlair]

Re: XP. This is CMM Level V revisited.

There have NEVER been solid metrics compiled to demonstrate that peer reviews, configuration control boards, independent test teams or requirements review panels pay for themselves. The celebration of process over competence is something driven by factors other than what is truly efficient.

Now, the hard thing to accept is that those factors are legitimate. Airliner makers have to use structured software development processes not because they are better, but because their insurance policies have clauses in them that say they will not pay claims if those processes are not embraced. That trickles down to subcontractors, with the prime contractor announcing in the RFP that no proposal will succeed if the submitting organization does not commit to CMM Level III or XP or whatever.

Point being, the extra levels of review are about safety, not efficiency. They just hide behind efficiency declaration, but the truth is they are about getting contracts and avoiding lawsuits once they have them.

 

[Scrooge]

That trickles down to subcontractors, with the prime contractor announcing in the RFP that no proposal will succeed if the submitting organization does not commit to CMM Level III or XP or whatever.

Point being, the extra levels of review are about safety, not efficiency.  They just hide behind efficiency declaration, but the truth is they are about getting contracts and avoiding lawsuits once they have them.

I can see how CMM can be used that way, but I have never heard of XP as an outside requirement. How often does it happen?

 

[SteveR]

I thought XP meant eXtra Problems.

 

[jazz4cash]

My portfolio is already in
its retirement setup (except of course for the final rollover of the 401k
into another IRA), and the financial planning is done.

It seems like everyone automatically wants to do the rollover to an IRA, but one advantage of leaving something in the 401k is that you can withdraw at age 55 (instead of 59.5) without penalty. I thnk the 401k is required to let you continue the account as long as it as >$3500.

 

[Renderdog]

Congratulations CyclingInvestor, I know exactly how you feel. Not to go on about myself, but our situations are very similar, so I'm going to go on about myself...

I retired 11 months ago. I spent many happy years programming simulation computer graphics, mostly in a computer room off to myself. Then the others working in my area retired or left for other positions, which left me managing the facility and contractors, work I found tedius and unrewarding. So I retired after 26 years. One last task was to write a program showing a space capsule docking with the space station; another good reason to leave NASA - not really a step forward, in my opinion.

I'm also a cyclist and I've been surprised how much more cycling I do now that I'm retired. I just got back from trips to the French Alps last week (beautiful) and the Colorado mountains in July with friends (fun).

I'm also considering a move to the NW, but the Eastern half of Oregon or Washington, maybe Walla Walla. I grew up in Sacramento so I've always thought about returning to lower humidity, somewhere with snow and mountains nearby. I live in very nice cycling country outside of Huntsville Alabama, but the summers are not much fun. My solution so far has been to travel to the mountains in summer, but I wonder if I'd be happier living somewhere different.

A friend, also a cyclist, who has moved a lot for work, recommended caution on moving. I have a lot of friends here, but I've always found cycling offers plenty of opportunities to make new friends quickly. I'm going to make extended visits to the NW over the next couple of years, then see. While I like my friends here I'd hate to not take advantage of the freedom retirement gives me to explore my options.

Last, I've not done as much "work" on the computer at home as I thought I would. I have several small projects, along with computer art, that I'm looking forward to working on. I feel a little guilty for not making more progress on those, seems there is always something to divert my attention; hopefully I'll have more dicipline and get back  into it, I love nothing more than to lose myself in programming.

I volunteered at my local library and that has led me to read much more; I've always been a reader but seeing so many good books pass by keeps my reading list long.

Since we have much in common I'll be interested in hearing from you and following your retirement!

Mark

 

[Martha]

It seems like everyone automatically wants to do the rollover to an IRA, but one advantage of leaving something in the 401k is that you can withdraw at age 55 (instead of 59.5) without penalty.  I thnk the 401k is required to let you continue the account as long as it as >$3500.

Only if you leave the job where you have the 401k in the year you turn 55.

You can leave it in the 401k if the balance is $5000 or more.

Your 401k will be protected from creditor claims, but an IRA's protections are dependent on a mix of state law and on federal law.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

It seems like everyone automatically wants to do the rollover to an IRA, but one advantage of leaving something in the 401k is that you can withdraw at age 55 (instead of 59.5) without penalty. I thnk the 401k is required to let you continue the account as long as it as >$3500.

This only applies if you leave the company at age 55 or later, otherwise
withdrawing from a 401k has the same rules as an IRA.

 

[LOL!]

One last task was to write a program showing a space capsule docking with the space station; another good reason to leave NASA - not really a step forward, in my opinion.

That was my very first consulting job back in 1983.  The NASA subcontractor that hired me came in and made a movie of the computer graphics program that I wrote. So yep, not a step forward.

The rest of  this thread is really dismaying to me.  I am trying to hire some programmers now.    One problem I am running into is that all the programmers want to work by themselves in a room by themselves.   They don't want anybody to double check their software and they don't want to explain it to anybody else either.  That leaves the company in a bind when it doesn't work and no one else can help out because they haven't got a clue what their colleague has done.

Anyways, teamwork is very important in software development nowadays.