How many years do you work before retire???

Excluding a paper route at age 10 , 41 years of work.

The only one I really didn't mind working at was 2 years at an old time real hardware store as a teen-ager.

Many were 60 hour weeks, so go figure on how much that adds.

Maybe " How many Hours did you work until retirement "
 
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I started as the projectionist in the local theater at the age of 13 and had jobs for the next 47 years with the exception of 6 months unemployment when my Father passed away in January of 1976.
 
Full time employment 27 years. If you count the Air Force, then 31 years. RE at 52.
 
How many years?

45 years for me. First job age 15 at McDonalds flipping hamburgers. making $1.35 an hour. Er'd at 60 first of 2014
 
I graduated college and started full-time work when was 21 and retired when I was 56, so 35 years. Luckily, I was never unemployed during the whole time other than a couple weeks between jobs.

I had worked regularly in our family business about half-time from age 16 to when I left college when I was almost 18 and worked half-time the last 3 years of college
 
Got first job at 15. Local appliance store. Have worked and/or been full time student since then, so 43 years by the way most of us are calculating. In my mind it feels more like 35 years as I tend to discount the years of part time work, most of which were during full time school. Full time 40hrs plus started at 24. Now 58.
 
Funny, considering how many years to work before retiring was really goofy when I 'retired' from the USAF after 20 years at the tender age of 39. Strictly speaking, we could have made our mandatory expenses then and there, but it never would have been 'satisfying'. Indeed, the military retirement and some one-off web development jobs made a six-month period of unemployment very do-able.

I have worked almost steadily since that 'retirement', of late considering how long will it take to build up pension/savings to allow for 'satisfying' living AND coverage of the major contingencies, such as dementia. Oh, some would say I'm already there...
 
Still anticipating, but should be:

Full time "real work" 16-17 for me. (add in regular half-time professional job while SAHD, would take me to 31-32)

DW: 30-31, including residency.

Add another 10-11 for each of us for pre-professional and teen jobs.

EDIT: Definitely not "Early" by this forum's standards, but we have not-very-frugal retirement plans. :)
 
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I'm 56 with 34 yrs on the job since college. Not counting pre-career work, if all goes as planned I'll retire with 38-40 yrs.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
 
31+ full time years for me. Doesn't count part time w*rk for my self-employed dad during HS and first year of college and FT summer jobs the next 2. Only time off - 2 maternity leaves, one 6 weeks and the 2nd 10 weeks.

Still occasionally have a societal guilt tinge, especially with friends and family who won't be retiring any time soon. It's a bit easier recently as a good friend and her DH ERd also. And I've become a semi-compulsive volunteer so it's not like I'm sitting around eating bonbons...


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
 
About a month short of 20 years. That's full time 40-50 hr weeks ... not counting HS/college part-time gigs.
 
Evergreen said:
I posted on this thread over 2.5 years ago, I can now afford to retire. I won't be rich but I should be able to maintain my current lifestyle with company pension and investments. I should be over the moon but to be honest I don't know how to retire. It is almost as if I am embarrassed to retire now! I really want to get out now but society tells me I'm too young at 52.


Did any of you feel the same?


Help!!
Click to expand...

Evergreen, I read your older post and this latest one. Congratulations. I imagine most of work done below the senior leadership level of organizations is just as awful on both sides of the pond. I suspect the main reason for worker disengagement everywhere is that working environments have changed, and not at all for the better.

I FIRE in 13 weeks 5 days 12 hours 26 minutes 23 seconds and counting (but I'm not really keeping track :)) and am not at all embarrassed to be finished with what passes for work these days. In fact, I tell everyone I meet!

What's great about this new adventure you've entered into is that you can make it any way you want. I can't imagine anything better. Have you thought about doing some reading regarding life after retirement? You could start by searching threads here.
 
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I started to w+rk the day I turned 16 and could drive...but as a kid, I spend a few summers doing the entrepreneur thing...cut grass, wash cars, etc. Joined the Air Force at 18'ish and did that for just shy of 22 years...now fully retired at 40 years old...So I'd say about 24 years of full time w+rk

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors. :)
 
This thread caused me to think back . . . My first job was at McDonalds, 1975 for a grand total of $31 for my entire fast food career. Had other summer jobs, cleaning bathrooms and stringing tennis racquets, residence adviser at college, programmer for the student union building and finally a couple of years at a TX corporation and now 30 years at my current. Thinking that next spring we may be able to retire.
 
Expect to retire at 62 in 4 yrs so it will be 44 yrs of mostly full time. I went to college at night and weekends, etc. while working the mostly full time years. Wish I could go out today, but really feel we need the next 4 yrs to feel certain.
 
Will retire in 2017 at age 50 with 37 yrs of work.
Have worked from age 13 thru 21 at assorted jobs while going to school (8 yrs), from 21 through 29 in the USAF (8 yrs) and from 29 to now overseas (18 yrs) with a lil' less than 3 yrs left to go.
 
14 years from high school to retirement, from 18-33 years old

(there's a year in there where I was paid full time but didn't work as I waited for my military retirement papers to process through the system).
 
43 years. This total does not count part time jobs during school years. Retired now 11 years.
 
I worked 27 years in my professional career since grad school, but I taught half-time for 6 years during grad school and worked part time since I was 13.
Will pull the cord for semi-retirement in 6 months--I'll work online about 15 hours a week for a few years while DW (younger) works for another 3-4 years.
 
High School-- 4 yrs. of odd jobs

College--- Worked part-time to avoid debt (5 years: 4 undergrad + 1 yr. student teaching)

Grad School-- 2 years as a TA (paid for the M.A.)

+ 32 years of teaching after M.A.

Total= 43 years.........which kind of flew by.....

:blush:
 
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