What was your Second Act before FIRE?

TDub

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Messages
193
Location
CONUS
Hi, all!

I'm 3-4 years out from retiring from Active Duty as a Lt Col, but I'd like to w*rk an additional 7-8 years before hanging it up for good. I know the Active Duty-to-Defense Contractor transition is a lucrative and well-traveled road. That option is very uninspiring right now, however, and I'd love to hear from folks who had a "second act" and still FIRE'd. I'll be in the age 43-45 range when it's time for something else, aiming to FIRE at 50ish.

I thought about law school, but the return on investment may be low if I spend 3 years in law school and only 5 years practicing. (Even though, I'll admit, it's not all about income. Income does matter, though, since I've re-married and am now co-parenting a total of 4 beautiful kids, and am the primary breadwinner.)

For those of you who had a second act, what did you do?
 
I started my Engineering Consulting business (Sub S Corp) in my early 50's and ran it for 18 years. Worked for mostly large energy companies. Prior to that, I was with a large oil & gas company.
 
I worked as an engineer for a couple of years, then became a teacher at the community college level until retirement.
 
No second act.

I walked away with almost two years worth of total compensation, lucrative stock options that immediately vested, a DB pension , plus a supplementary executive pension paid out in cash over three tax years.

The last thing I wanted was more taxable income. Besides...we wanted to travel. Work was history for me.

Our health was good. DW was tired of being a 'work widow' as she called it. It was time.

Walked away, never looked back. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones.
 
Last edited:
I was a dentist in private practice for 35 years. after selling my practice I taught at the local dental school for 12 years. definately not for the money. really enjoyed doing this. the only reason I stopped was because of covid.
 
My 2nd act was within the same Megacorp. I found a way to sort of create my own niche within the organization and do something that I wanted to do - not so much what Megacorp originally envisioned me doing. I timed this with my Financial Independence. Eventually Megacorp realized I was enjoying my c@reer and told me to do something else within the organization. I told them "No. I'm gone Friday."
 
For me, the military was hardly even a first act, but I'll take a shot anyway. After USNA, I was Navy submariner. When my five year commitment was up, I left as an O-3. Then I went to work as a senior reactor operator at a civilian nuclear power plant, since that was the most lucrative skill I had. After three years, I quit and attended Yale Law School. Then I was a lawyer for 27 years. I was in private practice in NYC for most of them, but served as an Assistant Attorney General before I retired.

I once made a spreadsheet to determine how long it took me to break even economically after my choice to attend law school, considering the cost of tuition (I got no financial aid), the three years without real employment and the fact that it took me a few years before I had a yearly salary as a lawyer that exceeded my salary as a nuclear engineer. The answer was 12 years, and that was possible only because I scored the large law firm job in NYC.
 
In preparation for my "Final Act" at Megacorp, I got a MS degree WHILE still w*rking at Megacorp. My tuition was covered by Megacorp and I got my full salary. In terms of whether it was "worth it" financially, I'd say likely "No."

I put in a LOT of hours as a graduate assistant and "visiting lecturer" as I taught a bunch of "minds full of mush" in my chosen (new) profession. I taught what I knew and what I had learned on my own as I created a position for myself at Megacorp.

I enjoyed the heck out of the process and I think I made a contribution - more to my students than to Megacorp (They didn't really understand what I was doing which is why they let me do it, I suppose).

At one point, I think DW was ready to ditch me! She hadn't signed on for my long hours. Fortunately, it all settled down following my graduation.

No real regrets but I might do things differently if I had it to do over. More likely, I would have changed companies, but that was not on my radar at the time (golden handcuffs cinch just as tightly as rusty ones).
 
I'm 3-4 years out from retiring from Active Duty as a Lt Col, but I'd like to w*rk an additional 7-8 years before hanging it up for good. I know the Active Duty-to-Defense Contractor transition is a lucrative and well-traveled road. That option is very uninspiring right now, however, and I'd love to hear from folks who had a "second act" and still FIRE'd. I'll be in the age 43-45 range when it's time for something else, aiming to FIRE at 50ish.
Work after retiring from active duty as long as you find it challenging & fulfilling, @TDub... and maybe even fun.

But once you reach the tripwire of the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate, be wary of working just from a sense of feeling obligated to work. That's especially the case when you have:
- an inflation-adjusted military pension,
- possibly some VA disability compensation, and
- cheap health insurance.

Don't be tempted to trade life energy (which you might not have) for more money (that you will not need).

Next month marks 23 years since I retired from my first act. (I never started a second act.) Those COLAs have boosted my pension by over 77% since 2002, and three of those years were zero COLA.

Further paid employment was never necessary, let alone attractive. In a few months I'll start Medicare and Tricare For Life.
 
For me, the military was hardly even a first act, but I'll take a shot anyway. After USNA, I was Navy submariner. When my five year commitment was up, I left as an O-3. Then I went to work as a senior reactor operator at a civilian nuclear power plant, since that was the most lucrative skill I had. After three years, I quit and attended Yale Law School. Then I was a lawyer for 27 years. I was in private practice in NYC for most of them, but served as an Assistant Attorney General before I retired.

I once made a spreadsheet to determine how long it took me to break even economically after my choice to attend law school, considering the cost of tuition (I got no financial aid), the three years without real employment and the fact that it took me a few years before I had a yearly salary as a lawyer that exceeded my salary as a nuclear engineer. The answer was 12 years, and that was possible only because I scored the large law firm job in NYC.
Love boomers! One of my favorite bosses of all time was an O-7 submariner. He turned me into a Navy geek, for sure.
 
Work after retiring from active duty as long as you find it challenging & fulfilling, @TDub... and maybe even fun.

But once you reach the tripwire of the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate, be wary of working just from a sense of feeling obligated to work. That's especially the case when you have:
- an inflation-adjusted military pension,
- possibly some VA disability compensation, and
- cheap health insurance.

Don't be tempted to trade life energy (which you might not have) for more money (that you will not need).

Next month marks 23 years since I retired from my first act. (I never started a second act.) Those COLAs have boosted my pension by over 77% since 2002, and three of those years were zero COLA.

Further paid employment was never necessary, let alone attractive. In a few months I'll start Medicare and Tricare For Life.
I am absolutely working under the assumption that I will need or want more than I will have by the end of my first (last?) career. Perhaps I won't rush into something new, and see how it feels.

Right now all I can think about is 1. I want to travel with my new spouse quite a bit, and that costs $$, and 2. I will be helping pay for 4 college degrees instead of 2 (because of my new step-children).

Maybe my assumptions are incorrect.
 
I started my Engineering Consulting business (Sub S Corp) in my early 50's and ran it for 18 years. Worked for mostly large energy companies. Prior to that, I was with a large oil & gas company.
People who start businesses later in life really inspire me. This is something I've considered, but it's hard not to feel like I need a formal education in business or accounting first to be successful at it.
 
I am absolutely working under the assumption that I will need or want more than I will have by the end of my first (last?) career. Perhaps I won't rush into something new, and see how it feels.

Right now all I can think about is 1. I want to travel with my new spouse quite a bit, and that costs $$, and 2. I will be helping pay for 4 college degrees instead of 2 (because of my new step-children).

Maybe my assumptions are incorrect.
I see those concerns all the time. It’s part of the Fog Of Work.

Once you reach assets of 25x your net annual spending (whatever you project that spending to be) then you’re financially independent on the 4% SWR. With a COLA-adjusted pension (and eventually Social Security) there are no failures of the 4% SWR.

It’s difficult to predict terminal ranks and VA disability ratings while you’re still on active duty, but most military families project their current rank and current spending. Or if you’re planning to work past military retirement anyway then those numbers will be clear.

You’re absolutely right that you don’t need to rush to a cubicle. Depending on your career field and the federal ethics laws, some prospective employers won’t even reach out to you until 180 days after you’ve retired. The rest of your contact network will keep in touch with you and will totally understand wanting to spend more time with family before you start a new career. Join the Veteran Mentor Network group on Linkedin, read the 2-Hour Job Search book, and start asking questions of the vets who want to share their experience… while getting to know you.

Right now you’re traveling like a two-week millionaire because that’s how we all travel around leave & vacation time. Once you stop working you’ll be able to travel during shoulder seasons (especially if the kids can flex their school schedule & assignments) and travel-hack the logistics. Instead of racing around to do all the things in a week or two, you can rent an AirBnB for a discount month and explore a neighborhood/city at your new relaxed pace. Your family doesn’t need to see three countries in 12 days if they can live local and explore the parks, playgrounds, & museums along with the rest of the sights.

Your very first travel hack happens on terminal leave. You can sign out on leave and fly military Space A in CAT III (active duty) instead of CAT VI (retiree). Space A is more of an adventure than a known schedule (or even a known destination), but we’ve been using that military benefit for over 40 years. I’m always happy to stretch out on the deck of a C-17 with my sleeping mat & pillow instead of a cramped lie-flat first-class seat on United Airlines. Let me know if you have more questions about that, or read Stephanie Montague’s Poppin’ Smoke site.

Funding college is a very personal decision, and you’ll pay for what’s right for your choices. I’m going to speculate that your family would like more of your time rather than four fully-funded rides to Harvard followed by medical schools. The kids who have to work a few hours during college (whatever that looks like) tend to do a better job with picking their majors, getting good grades, and scoring internships to explore their career opportunities.

Aside from possibly transferring your GI Bill to your kids (I’m assuming you’re past that opportunity), you can start browsing SavingForCollege and other blogs now to learn more about dual-credit high-school courses, community colleges before transferring to the state school, the university’s financial & alumni scholarships, and work-study. You’re not going to pay full retail. Depending on your retirement location (like Texas or California) you may get YellowRibbon or free state tuition/expenses. (Although I wouldn’t live in TX or CA just for the free college.) And you have to keep a close eye on that one kid who wants to join the Space Force… or Marine infantry.

Love boomers! One of my favorite bosses of all time was an O-7 submariner. He turned me into a Navy geek, for sure.
Based on you being in your 30s-40s, if you tell us his name we can tell you whether he served with Gumby or me when we were all younger.
 
I am absolutely working under the assumption that I will need or want more than I will have by the end of my first (last?) career. Perhaps I won't rush into something new, and see how it feels.

Right now all I can think about is 1. I want to travel with my new spouse quite a bit, and that costs $$, and 2. I will be helping pay for 4 college degrees instead of 2 (because of my new step-children).

Maybe my assumptions are incorrect.
It will be important to look into FAFSA to get a better idea of what you will be on the hook for when it comes to 4 kids in college. If they will all be going to college at about the same time, you may be surprised at how much aid is available - depending on what you AND your spouse are taking in and what you both have as a "stash."

I don't recall if there is a way to access FAFSA info in advance of your first student getting within a year or so of college, but here's a site to peruse.


 
Hi, all!

I'm 3-4 years out from retiring from Active Duty as a Lt Col, but I'd like to w*rk an additional 7-8 years before hanging it up for good. I know the Active Duty-to-Defense Contractor transition is a lucrative and well-traveled road. That option is very uninspiring right now, however, and I'd love to hear from folks who had a "second act" and still FIRE'd. I'll be in the age 43-45 range when it's time for something else, aiming to FIRE at 50ish.

I thought about law school, but the return on investment may be low if I spend 3 years in law school and only 5 years practicing. (Even though, I'll admit, it's not all about income. Income does matter, though, since I've re-married and am now co-parenting a total of 4 beautiful kids, and am the primary breadwinner.)

For those of you who had a second act, what did you do?
As an alternative to the defense contractor path, have you considered serving in some liaison capacity for military-connected learners at a nearby college or university?

Colleges and universities in many states are trying to expand these programs, and so there's a need for leadership in developing offices to serve these students. Positions like this can be most- or full-time and involve connecting with local and regional groups that serve former service members.

Somewhat niche, but figured I'd put it out there.
 
....

Based on you being in your 30s-40s, if you tell us his name we can tell you whether he served with Gumby or me when we were all younger.
Yes, I do know some O-7/8/9 submariners. One of them was my roommate while we were in Nuclear Power School in Orlando. He was the first O-7 in my USNA class.
 
If they will all be going to college at about the same time, you may be surprised at how much aid is available
That's no longer the case. Meaning increasing federal financial aid because of more than one kid in college. It used to be that Expected Family Contribution was divided by the number of kids in college. Now Student Aid Index ("SAI") does not have this divider. This changed last year.
FAFSA Simplification Act Changes for Implementation in 2024-25 | Knowledge Center
 
I did a little over 3 years as a GS-14 when I retired. Then one day the BS meter pegged and I resigned. The financial part of ER was much easier than the mental part. I look back now and think what was I thinking? Life is much better now.
 
That's no longer the case. Meaning increasing federal financial aid because of more than one kid in college. It used to be that Expected Family Contribution was divided by the number of kids in college. Now Student Aid Index ("SAI") does not have this divider. This changed last year.
FAFSA Simplification Act Changes for Implementation in 2024-25 | Knowledge Center
Heh, heh, yeah, it's been a long time since we had kids needing aid for college. Thanks for updating.
 
Back
Top Bottom