Last week I spent some time with one of my spouse's Reservists. Single, no kids, he's free & mobile and doesn't hold a "real" job.
With his master's degree he's hired as a non-certified substitute teacher by any of our state's private schools. He lives about five minutes away from his favorite school and he's happy to come in with a phone call the night before (or even the morning of). He really enjoys teaching science or math to a roomful of high-schoolers but he's realized that he makes more money in three months of Reserve duty than in a full school year of teaching. So he takes Reserve orders whenever they're available (including garden spots like Kosovo or Kuwait) but he takes a break from that for several months a year and intersperses liberty with a day or a week of substitute teaching. After a few months of occasional teaching he signs up for another Reserve job and then takes off for a while.
He's financially frugal and could probably retire on his savings, even without the Reserve pension. I observed that he's enjoying his retirement in small doses and he replied that he doesn't think he could ever retire. Of course he'll be done with the Reserves at age 60 but he says that he'll teach until he can't hold onto the podium anymore. He feels that his communications & education skills make a real difference and he's happy to give back to the community.
I spent eight years teaching adult education and I enjoyed just about every minute of it. But when I consider rejoining the workforce I have to consider my wife's example. When she does her Reserve duty, by day three she's had more than enough. By week two she can barely drag her butt out of bed in the morning and stay awake at night. I doubt that my surf reports help her morale, but I don't think that I care to risk the working lifestyle again-- no matter how many happy shining faces I can educate.
I don't feel that my community's needs will overcome my workplace loathing but I'm always happy to investigate the subject in my spare time. Has anyone else had any luck with one or two days a week in a personally-rewarding occupation? Is it worth walking up the street to my local private school or should I just stick to the occasional volunteer work?
With his master's degree he's hired as a non-certified substitute teacher by any of our state's private schools. He lives about five minutes away from his favorite school and he's happy to come in with a phone call the night before (or even the morning of). He really enjoys teaching science or math to a roomful of high-schoolers but he's realized that he makes more money in three months of Reserve duty than in a full school year of teaching. So he takes Reserve orders whenever they're available (including garden spots like Kosovo or Kuwait) but he takes a break from that for several months a year and intersperses liberty with a day or a week of substitute teaching. After a few months of occasional teaching he signs up for another Reserve job and then takes off for a while.
He's financially frugal and could probably retire on his savings, even without the Reserve pension. I observed that he's enjoying his retirement in small doses and he replied that he doesn't think he could ever retire. Of course he'll be done with the Reserves at age 60 but he says that he'll teach until he can't hold onto the podium anymore. He feels that his communications & education skills make a real difference and he's happy to give back to the community.
I spent eight years teaching adult education and I enjoyed just about every minute of it. But when I consider rejoining the workforce I have to consider my wife's example. When she does her Reserve duty, by day three she's had more than enough. By week two she can barely drag her butt out of bed in the morning and stay awake at night. I doubt that my surf reports help her morale, but I don't think that I care to risk the working lifestyle again-- no matter how many happy shining faces I can educate.
I don't feel that my community's needs will overcome my workplace loathing but I'm always happy to investigate the subject in my spare time. Has anyone else had any luck with one or two days a week in a personally-rewarding occupation? Is it worth walking up the street to my local private school or should I just stick to the occasional volunteer work?
