Retirement

@ghrit Like the post.

One of the things I have been working on 5 weeks a year with my vacation is "puttering about" with no deadlines and no artificial emergencies, locking the door on the 32X30X10 garage I built a few years ago and picking out a "project" knowing I am the only one with a key to that door.

 

Well, I finally retired from the Florida Department of Education - about five years before I intended. Seems the 'powers that be' here are on a tear about 'reducing costs', and their first item is always reducing positions and manpower. Learned I (and most of my mainframe team) was on the 'short list'. So to mitigate any problems with my retirement benefits, I popped the chute and bailed out early. My two team mates are on the short list too, and one already planned to retire next year. They will likely follow me out the door. The IT department we are in has had no appreciation for or knowledge of what the Mainframe team does, and how critical it is. In my final few days, they were going batcrap crazy trying to find out if anyone else knows my applications and duties - they don't. BWAHAHAHA!! I take an odd sense of humor in their finding out they are at least temporarily screwed. My team mates have their own duties and things they do that I did not know - we tended to be 'in silos' due to being critically shorthanded due to prior purges. Too many 'chiefs' and not enough 'braves'....
Typical for state government - give their buddies the higher management jobs with good pay, but have to reduce the workforce to afford it.
So now I am Day 27 of my retirement. I will eventually get a job to keep busy and keep cash flow coming in. Won't get my retirement checks til I turn 62 - I am 57 now.
Nice to have time right now for getting things done around the homestead.

 

Bummer, Go back as a consultant and charge them 3 times as much as you were making.

Good Luck

 

Thanks' and I was serious, See it all the time in the oilfield.
Consultants getting on the average 1200 to 1500 per day

 

My employer has cut us down to the point that things simply just don't get done. This can kinda suck because we maintain communications infrastructure, including 911 and things like alarms on water towers and gas/power lines. Management made a calculated risk that saving money by cutting technical staff was worth the missed deadlines and risk to public safety.

There are a few clients who will pay extra for dedicated service, but most, including the government, go with the flow.

If repair request comes in near the end of my shift...too bad. Let the off hours tech deal with it. A lot of times I'll come in the next morning and the same ticket is still there. Oh well. I flatly refuse to care more than the boss does.

There are a few contractors/consultants in our area who make huge $$$ but they don't get paid vacations or any benefits. Again, a calculated risk.

It's all a matter of what you're willing to settle for.