jIMOh
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I am probably around 10-20 years from FIRE... in general we save about 25% of gross pay each year... it seems so far away, but believe it can happen. I am 37, wife is 36.
I have w*rked one job out of college. It was a "small" software company (3000 employees) and was a great place to work. Keg parties 1-3X per year out front, customers bringing their products (like Jeff Gordon's NASCAR) and showing them off at press events. In general the culture was relaxed, it was a place you wanted to w*rk and it felt like a second family and small fraternity as much as a corporation could.
A company that profitable gets bought out. I am on employer #4 now (same job, same people, 4th 401k, 4th company name...). Each time we got bigger and things are getting a little too formal for me.
I worked for Ford, worked for US government (as a contractor) and similar large companies prior to taking a job with this small CAD/CAM/CAE company in 1997.
I moved to current city single, and am now married with twin 2 yo boys.
Here is my dilemma- I believe its time to move on. I am faced with many issues which I have yet to resolve, and if you have any sage advice on any of these issues, feel free to chime in.
My roots are 400 miles Northeast of here. If I had to choose a place to live, I chose current location because of this job. I'd love to move to Denver or Colorado area, or back to Western NY where my most of my extended family live. Wife does not want to move.
My career choices are both infinite and limited at the same time. Most of my 14 years have been working with one software package or another. If I tried to get into same field, I could either work for a competitor (one is headquartered in Boston, the other Headquarters in France) or possibly one of those companies out of my house or regional office. I could try working for a customer, but more than likely they would be too big for my taste (customers for us typically are the big 3, aerospace companies, ship builders and similar).
My current city is short on job opportunities which use my particular software...
I have thought about changing careers altogether. I have a Mechanical Engineering degree but that is no longer my interest. In general I would prefer a job where I engage with people (sales or similar) and or deal with numbers or managing projects (I currently do project work, but do not manage projects). Part of me thinks I could work for a tax preparation/financial consulting type field, as I have lots of interest in this, but no experience.
Part of me says if I stay in current career track/industry, I can retire in 10-15 years. Part of me says if I find something I enjoy more, I could retire in 30-40 years even I took a pay cut and saved less. Part of me says move to where I can ski or do outdoor things, part of me says stick with family here.
In last 3 years 3 people close to me have died- two of them worked here, and one was a family member. They ranged in age from 32-50. I really believe I need to find out where I want to be, but feel so many things pulling me in so many directions, not sure which of those I should follow for sure.
One additional caveat- just found out wife hid 10k+ of credit card debt from me (for second time) so there is a part of me thinking some time apart might be better to get my head straight and figure out what I want.
Thx for reading, and looking forward to any advice.
I have w*rked one job out of college. It was a "small" software company (3000 employees) and was a great place to work. Keg parties 1-3X per year out front, customers bringing their products (like Jeff Gordon's NASCAR) and showing them off at press events. In general the culture was relaxed, it was a place you wanted to w*rk and it felt like a second family and small fraternity as much as a corporation could.
A company that profitable gets bought out. I am on employer #4 now (same job, same people, 4th 401k, 4th company name...). Each time we got bigger and things are getting a little too formal for me.
I worked for Ford, worked for US government (as a contractor) and similar large companies prior to taking a job with this small CAD/CAM/CAE company in 1997.
I moved to current city single, and am now married with twin 2 yo boys.
Here is my dilemma- I believe its time to move on. I am faced with many issues which I have yet to resolve, and if you have any sage advice on any of these issues, feel free to chime in.
My roots are 400 miles Northeast of here. If I had to choose a place to live, I chose current location because of this job. I'd love to move to Denver or Colorado area, or back to Western NY where my most of my extended family live. Wife does not want to move.
My career choices are both infinite and limited at the same time. Most of my 14 years have been working with one software package or another. If I tried to get into same field, I could either work for a competitor (one is headquartered in Boston, the other Headquarters in France) or possibly one of those companies out of my house or regional office. I could try working for a customer, but more than likely they would be too big for my taste (customers for us typically are the big 3, aerospace companies, ship builders and similar).
My current city is short on job opportunities which use my particular software...
I have thought about changing careers altogether. I have a Mechanical Engineering degree but that is no longer my interest. In general I would prefer a job where I engage with people (sales or similar) and or deal with numbers or managing projects (I currently do project work, but do not manage projects). Part of me thinks I could work for a tax preparation/financial consulting type field, as I have lots of interest in this, but no experience.
Part of me says if I stay in current career track/industry, I can retire in 10-15 years. Part of me says if I find something I enjoy more, I could retire in 30-40 years even I took a pay cut and saved less. Part of me says move to where I can ski or do outdoor things, part of me says stick with family here.
In last 3 years 3 people close to me have died- two of them worked here, and one was a family member. They ranged in age from 32-50. I really believe I need to find out where I want to be, but feel so many things pulling me in so many directions, not sure which of those I should follow for sure.
One additional caveat- just found out wife hid 10k+ of credit card debt from me (for second time) so there is a part of me thinking some time apart might be better to get my head straight and figure out what I want.
Thx for reading, and looking forward to any advice.