Like your job AND want to FIRE

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I've posted here about the fact that I am eager to at least semi-retire, yet I really like my job. A poll here showed that I am in a distinct minority of responders. Most had a moderate to strong "flee" motive.

I should be financially ready for part time in the next 2-3 years. I am confident there are part-time opportunities available (outside my current setting), and I reckon I 'm pretty well over the ego/control-driven motivators (though I guess you never really know til you cut).

I guess it's kind of a nice problem to have, but it's bugging me trying to reconcile all this. Wonder if others can relate, what they have encountered, and how they have handled things.

 

[youbet]

I really like my job. A poll here showed that I am in a distinct minority of responders. Most had a moderate to strong "flee" motive.

My own opinion Rich is that people looking for something better will do better than those fleeing something worse.

While I can't say I really like my job, it's not bad and has provided well for me and the family for a long time.  It was always my option to do something else, but I stayed and that is my responsibility.

Thanks to a lot of hard work and planning, shortly, I have the opportunity to shift direction and do something different going forward by retiring from my career and spending my time at my own discretion.  I'm looking forward to that despite the fact my job is "OK."

When I meet retired guys from my company for lunch, some just go on and on about how they finally escaped, how they hated it, how dumb their managers were, how they were always smarter than their managers, etc., etc.  They seem obcessed.  It's sad.  A few, however, seem to have interests and involvement in activities that really turn them on today.  It's fun to hear them and I'm so glad they are enjoying themselves.  I hope my ER turns out like that, that I move on to something even better, not escape from something horrible.

You seem to have a positive attitude Rich.  If the numbers say you'll be financially ready, why not spread your wings and give it a go?  I've read many of your posts and you certainly don't seem to be fleeing.......

 

[wabmester]

I liked my job, but I was weary of the commute, so I originally planned to take off 6 months or so and then start thinking about what to do next.

I quit at the beginning of the summer and did a bunch of sailing, kayaking, biking, etc.

After a few months, I looked at acquiring a little company, and at one point the negotiations got a little intense.   It had been months since I had felt anything like the stress of negotiating.   I immediately recognized that flood of adrenaline, and I realized that in contrast to months of playing, I didn't like it.

A while later, I got an unsolicited offer for an executive management gig at a well-funded startup, so I went to check it out.    I talked with the other execs and talked to some of the engineering grunts.    The recognition of the constant tension between management and the grunts came flooding back.    The crazy deadlines and expectations for half-baked products was sickingly familiar.

These are things that used to be background noise when I was happily working, but they came into stark relief when contrasted against stuff like day sailing.

I expect you'll find something similar, and your urge to rejoin the "happy" grind will slowly go away.

 

[Martha]

I went from being president of my firm, and service on our board of directors for years, to part time work with no managment responsibilities to speak of. I do not miss that work and I enjoy just doing what I want to do.

I have mixed feeling about the part time work, mostly because I have so much freedom now that any restrictions on that freedom seem burdensome. 

Try it, and see if you like it.  ESR Bob seems to have settled into semi retirement doing what he enjoys doing.  Have you read his book? 

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Try it, and see if you like it. ESR Bob seems to have settled into semi retirement doing what he enjoys doing. Have you read his book?

Read and enjoyed Bob's book as well a a couple brief email exchanges with him.

Sounds like you settled in to a "selective" part-time job description, focusing on the content you enjoy. The seniority-based culture in your profession seems favorable to such situations.

My son-lawyer tells me that that culture is starting to fade a bit nowadays, but it seems to work well for my contemporaries who are attorneys. In medicine, it is a bit trickier, but do-able -- the juniors can get resentful if a senior is not carrying his/her full share of the on-call or weekend role. Understandable, and there is little financial incentive for the extra hours - it just comes with the territory.

 

[Martha]

We have been getting away from senority in our compensation system, but haven't moved to "eat what you kill" either.

Because we don't have to be on call nights and weekends, younger lawyers at least won't have that resentment. But no one likes to see anyone getting a perceived free ride anymore.

I do not make even close to what I did when I was full+ time. But that is only fair.

 

[yakers]

I have so much freedom now that any restrictions on that freedom seem burdensome.

This is the tricky part for me. I used to like my job a lot, I still do. But as I get closer (countdown 535 days) to retirement and less subject to management direction/pressure I am just finding I want no encroachments on my freedom.

 

[donheff]

I have mixed feeling about the part time work, mostly because I have so much freedom now that any restrictions on that freedom seem burdensome.

I am having the same reaction. I liked a lot of aspects of my job and assumed I would want to at least work part time when I pulled the plug. I have a gig now that lets me pretty much do as much part time work as I would like. The work itself is not bad, but I find myself resenting the intrusion on my free time. I will probably keep this connection as a safety net for the next few years, but there is no way I will put in many hours.