What do you do? What did you do?

[sgeeeee]

student/highway work crew
student/truck driver
student/coal miner
student/dishwasher
electrical engineer
professor
engineering director
retired

I'm only 3/4 time retired today. I work up to 1/4 time for a small start-up. I don't need the minimal pay, but I do enjoy putting a company together.

 

[brewer12345]

I'm really surprised that I am the only financial industry type here. My compatriots can usually do the math, and long hours are endemic to the field.

 

[Traveler]

Sounds like I'm one the few non-engineer types.
Still working as a television producer/writer/production department manager (27 years and counting).

 

[JWV]

Registered Nurse for 26yrs and counting, labor & delivery. Slipped into middle management for a few years but the piss-off factor was way too high. Too many co-dependents in one place! Tried a few sales/marketing healthcare things but always returned to the bedside which I really enjoyed until about 3 years ago. Relit my fire for FIRE which had been started when the kids were born and I reevaluated how I wanted to spend my time. I may never be able to retire early but hopefully someday will be able to retire. Bob_Smith is my hero

Judy

 

[John Galt]

Most of my closest friends are still working, and they own their own businesses which gives them some
ability to cut back gradually. The odd thing is that
if I ever ask them about retirement (they are all my age or older) I never get a straight answer. I don't think
they have really considered it very much, and I don't know anyone personally who actually retired early
(except for my ex., but she's back working now)

John Galt

 

[LovesLife]

Hi everyone. Count one more for the healthcare profession. I am an audiologist and working part time.

 

[Hyperborea]

This is really interesting.  So far it's a small sample but there sure are a lot of engineering/software types here. Is there something about the demands of this type of profession that makes ER so attractive? BTW I also fit in loosely with this group. No doubt the decent incomes that go with these occupations don't hurt either.

The "decent income" for sure doesn't hurt. It can make it possible to retire early if one wishes though many spend it on current consumption. There are at least a few reasons that there might be a preponderance of software/engineering types but there is also the possibility that because this is a discussion board on the internet that you are going to get more technically savvy people (ok "geeks").

The possible real reason is the intense pace of the software industry. The hours can be brutal. There is also real need to learn new tools and techniques on a very short cycle. This requires a lot of work (often outside of work to keep up) that gets harder as one gets older. There is also an age bias in the computer industry - yes I understand that there is one across the board but in the computer industry that age bias point can be as young as 40.

Another factor is that while the tools keep changing the underlying problems are not much different. That means that for the most part you are constantly re-doing the same thing over and over again just in slightly different wrappers with different tools. A lot of the people in this industry are quite intelligent and so grow board of this treadmill of sameness. That is a big incentive to get out (FIRE) and spend your time doing what you want.

 

[KB]

Another Cobol software/developer/analyst. I work in National Healthcare for one of the big companies.

 

[Nords]

I'm surprised to see...

... how many COBOL programmers are still alive. Were any of you Grace Hopper's co-workers?

 

[black hills Bob]

one more notch for engineering/science.
My area was more physics/chemistry for new product development. It's amazing how management can make such a cool job unbearable.

Life is so sweet when you can stroll under the bar no mater how high it is raised.

 

[GoulashBrother]

Worked for a couple of hearing aid manufacturers as a salesrep/manager and traveled all over the US.
Sold real estate in California for 15 years.
While surfing the net in 1995 while there were only news groups and no websites, I volunteered as a translator for the Bosnian Peacekeeping Mission for a year...nine years ago. Got into management, traveled all over Europe, got out of debt, saved some money and have a few pension plans. If I can survive with the company for one more year , then I can draw early retirement and nevr have to work for anyone else ever agin.

I have my health, and life is good!

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=25717

 

[Cut-Throat]

Re: I'm surprised to see...

... how many COBOL programmers are still alive.  Were any of you Grace Hopper's co-workers?

Nords,

I was a Cobol Programmer for 10 years back in the 70's. There were plenty of Cobol Programmers then that were in their 20's. They would only be in their 50's today. Not too many dead yet.  

In fact I have heard studies that there are more Cobol programmers employed today than other programmers. There are certainly more lines of Cobol Code running today than all of the other languages.

I know who Grace Hopper is, but never met her.

 

[John Galt]

Men, I thought all of the COBOL programmers were
dead or retired too. The things you learn on this site!

BTW, for those of you who were wondering, Grace Hopper was Dennis Hopper's mother. She had a small part in 'Easy Rider'

John Galt

 

[Allan]

I've have worked for myself since I was 24 (almost 54 now) as a custom home builder in Houston. I really enjoy being my own boss and building houses and doing "deals". I have made more than enough money to retire, but I enjoy what I do. I have started the planning of my early retirement in a year or so, I just can't decide what to do with this damn company I've built up. Reading this forum is one part of that planning. What if you enjoy what you do?

Allan

 

[Nords]

What if you enjoy what you do?  Allan

Then you're one of those lucky few who doesn't need to ER. Just keep doing it as often as you can stand it...

 

[Nords]

Re: I'm surprised to see...

Nords,
I was a Cobol Programmer for 10 years back in the 70's. There were plenty of Cobol Programmers then that were in their 20's. They would only be in their 50's today. Not too many dead yet.  

In fact I have heard studies that there are more Cobol programmers employed today than other programmers. There are certainly more lines of Cobol Code running today than all of the other languages.

I had no idea that COBOL had made the generational leap. I took a Dr. Hamming course a long time ago where he gave the impression that the language's collapse was imminent even then... you know, back when Ada was going to rule the world.

I guess that'll teach me to never underestimate the industrial deathgrip on recycling old code.

 

[Jarhead*]

I've have worked for myself since I was 24 (almost 54 now) as a custom home builder in Houston.  I really enjoy being my own boss and building houses and doing "deals".  I have made more than enough money to retire, but I enjoy what I do.  I have started the planning of my early retirement in a year or so, I just can't decide what to do with this damn company I've built up.  Reading this forum is one part of that planning.  What if you enjoy what you do?  

Allan

Allan:

Congratulations on being on the "front line" for 30 years, and still enjoy it.
Unless you are highly motivated (want to live in an entirely different area, have a passion about some other activity, etc. etc.), it is pretty hard to beat "I enjoy what I do".
Speaking personally, I was generally enjoying my work, but approaching age 50, the siren call to move back to the Sierras of No. Calif. overwhelmed my "soldiering on".
My kids were raised, etc. etc.
The carberator is working fine, why fix it?
If you have enough to retire now, it will be a comforting thought in the future, if events play out that make retiring more attractive.
Regards, Jarhead

 

[Paul]

I am still working as a software engineer or project lead, comtemplating to become a manager. I am sure this is the right path.

 

[Hyperborea]

Re: I'm surprised to see...

I had no idea that COBOL had made the generational leap.

Oh heck, the University of Waterloo (UW) was teaching it to computer science undergrads in the 80's.  UW has a co-op program (one semester of school and one of work) and a lot of those students needed COBOL skills to get those work term jobs at the insurance companies and such.

I guess that'll teach me to never underestimate the industrial deathgrip on recycling old code.

There are people building "bridges" to connect that old COBOL code up with newer front ends in Java.

 

[johnblake]

Another factor is that while the tools keep changing the underlying problems are not much different. That means that for the most part you are constantly re-doing the same thing over and over again just in slightly different wrappers with different tools.

Exactly, I quickly got tired of optimizing code for the latest wiz bang processor (which was usually obsolete in 3 years), building systems that are faster, and cheaper, but basically do the same thing, and re-releasing perfectly good products because someone has a new idea that was never demonstrated useful to real customers.

I think engineers do have a tendency to RE. Many are ideosyncratic and selected their profession because they enjoy designing things, not for the money. Many spend far less than they earn. They quickly learn that their goals don't mesh well with coporate life.

I have friends that are doctors, lawyers, scientists, engineers, and business people. Several of the engineers RE.

 

[johnblake]

Re: Retired

Navy-- submarines-- nuclear engineering, weapons, & military training instructor.

When I was in College in the early-mid 1980s the Navy was actively recruiting engineering students. They offered a very sweet deal -- free tuition for a few years commitment after graduation. I considered it because I was strapped for cash but I was concerned that I wouldn't enjoy living on a sub.

I only knew one student who took the deal. I heard from him a few years later and he was happy and working on a military career.

 

[JWV]

I was concerned that I wouldn't enjoy living on a sub.

I only knew one student who took the deal. I heard from him a few years later and he was happy and working on a military career.

Nords, it must have been you!

Judy

 

[yelnad]

I'm an academic counselor at a large university.

 

[Nords]

Nords, it must have been you!  
Judy

That's my generation, but it wasn't me. I wish it was!

In the 1960s & 70s Rickover had heavily recruited science & engineering grads and even forced the Naval Academy to put 80% of their students in those majors. However the well quickly ran dry when he retired (1982) while the submarine force started Reagan's Cold War expansion.

I think JohnBlake is referring to the Nuclear Power Officer Candidate Program (NUPOC). Students got a year or two of full-ride scholarship in exchange for ensign's bars and a four-year active-duty obligation. That was just about how long it took to complete nuclear power training and a sea tour. I took a slightly different (much more painful) path and I always envied the NUPOCs. I hope that program is still around. ROTC is probably second-best. Service academies are in a category by themselves but that's a whole 'nother subject.

Anyone who claims to enjoy living on a sub is a hypocritically deluded bald-faced liar. (EDIT-- I toned that down a bit. I don't want to be antagonistic.) Federal high-security prisoners enjoy a better quality of life, less work, more free time, and much more cubic footage of personal space than submariners. A submarine career is all about the lifestyle, the mission, and the teamwork-- which I enjoyed very much-- but it's not about the shipboard amenities. Read "Blind Man's Bluff" for a more balanced perspective.

I haven't received sea pay since 1992, but some of my old habits & preferences will never die. When our master bathroom shower pan cracked, my first post-retirement home-improvement project was to rip out the shower stall and put in the biggest darn whirlpool tub we could find. It's a good start on a new life, but my spouse is still trying to rehabilitate some of the habits I picked up from those years of sea duty...

 

[Zorba]

Scientist, more specifically astronomer
(but please don't ask me for a horoscope ).

FI but not RE. The good days still outnumber the bad days. Most days
I can't believe that I actually get paid for having so much fun.