Member
Joined:
Nov 2025
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OK, USA
Posted: Today 7:06:58 PM EDT
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About to retire after 42 years. For the last 15 years I have been in a very demanding job, with lots of autonomy, travel, pressure, and fulfillment. Basically I was part of a team that supported/repaired/restored complex electronic systems that provide critical data to both the DoT and DoD, the kind of systems that, when they break, need to be fixed yesterday. It was a great mission and our team is incredible: man I was lucky to have been a part of it. But it's time for me to move on. I will have opportunities to work again, and the work will likely be challenging and definitely lucrative, but I doubt I will be able to find something as fulfilling as that which I am retiring from. Truthfully, I don't think I want to have another always-on job again anyways. I have a ton of stuff to keep me busy: I won't be bored. But I do wonder about leaving that amazing mission/team behind: now the mission is me. My gut tells me I am going to need to serve some sort of higher purpose. I am guessing there are plenty of guys on this forum that have faced this challenge before. Have you been able to adjust? Have you found ways of mitigating the impact? Have you been able to find mini-missions in retirement that were genuinely fulfilling? Any wisdom from you gents is appreciated. |
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I retired under circumstances very similar to yours. Been retired since 2019 and have become convinced you do have a job once retired: get healthy, get fit, stay healthy and fit so you can enjoy all the things yet to come. Grandkids are my motivation now. They’re just as important as any project I worked. More so. |
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I'm kinda new to it, but I'll play. Retired earlier this year, and the majority of my adult life was spent in (arguably) the world's premier aviation unit. Amazing team, amazing people, and a legitimate front row seat to history. The one question people ask me the most: Do you miss it? My answer: Nope. But inside: It's a little more nuanced. What I miss: The camaraderie. Being surrounded by absolute pros at the top of their game all the time. The things I took for granted at the time and generally just the feeling of...being good at my job. When I spoke in a professional capacity, people listened, and my voice carried weight. I was appreciated by people other than my family for both what I brought to the table, and the leadership I provided to those that worked for me. I was, again generally, professionally fulfilled. What I don't miss: The hours. The deadlines. The dropdown bullshit that could instantly destroy the rest of the day or a weekend. Never seeing my family because I was always gone. Feeling like no matter what I did; it was not enough and too much at the same time. I could never give enough to my family, and I could never give enough to the job. And the very instant one started to take the lead, the other was jealous. I ran myself ragged trying to please everyone. How I look past it: New purpose. Personally, I set that life down and walked away from it completely. In my case, I'm young enough to have a fairly full 2nd career. I'm also not ready to stop working completely, although I could. I've managed to find a new goal to chase, but this one's for me. Right now I'm pretty loaded down in the process, but it ought to be worth it. Point being, I haven't given myself a lot of time to reflect on what I don't have, because I'm focused on what I do. Most of the guys I've seen leave over the years struggle with (1) lack of money, or (2) lack of purpose. Find something you want for you, and get balls deep in it. Good luck brother. I'm sure you've earned the position in which you currently sit. Someone wise once told me that I had the opportunity to be the architect of my own destiny, and it was up to me from there on out. |
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Originally Posted By d4xycrq: I retired under circumstances very similar to yours. Been retired since 2019 and have become convinced you do have a job once retired: get healthy, get fit, stay healthy and fit so you can enjoy all the things yet to come. Grandkids are my motivation now. They’re just as important as any project I worked. More so. Thats been another HUGE thing for me. I've watched too many people retire and just physically let themselves go. I set a goal to retire and be in the best shape of my life, and the structure that comes with getting up early to hit the gym and eating right is something I've sorta seized on that I can "control" and take a win for myself first thing in the morning |
Joined:
Apr 2024
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AL, USA
| In for ideas and guidance. I’m 1 year, 9 months and 9 days from ejection. Will be 58. I have missed to many holidays, nights and weekends and have promised my wife and my physical self more time and attention. I agree man needs a purpose and I hope to have something to give to others, just more on my time as selfish as that sounds when I say it out loud. |
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My neighbor retired from a job nearly identical to the OPs. He found something to volunteer at and it has helped him. It was more of a soul searching/helping thing for him. My father was a pretty high level exec at a big corp, when he retired they brought in a coach to help him and he found a way to volunteer at the aviation museum in Dallas. Without that thing to help drive them, things get strange I would suspect. |
