Originally Posted By Lisann22 What kind of work do you do (current position)? Is this the work you've wanted to do or is it a stepping stone? Are you near retirement, in the middle or just starting your career?
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt I became a Realtor a few years ago, then the market crashed. I love it but, I'm not making any money & if it doesn't turn around soon I'm going back to school. Probably something medical. My kids are too young to be left alone & day care is way too expensive so no money comming in isn't a really big deal. DH has a good job. We aren't anywhere near retirement. I really want to be in real estate since it is a great feeling helping others get on with their lives. I got into this field because DH (he's a carpenter) & I bought a Fannie Mae dump for pennies on the dollar, flipped it & made over 100k - NICE! We built the home we're in now. I found the land/plans/ran around & got all the permits w/2 little kids in tow! I found the whole process very interesting & thought I could help others in the same!!
Originally Posted By FenwayGirl HR...have been in this field for over 20 years...love what I do. My hope is to retire within 10 -12 years
Originally Posted By csgoofygirl Currently, I'm officially unemployed. I am selling jewelry and making/selling cookies. I would love to some day open up a cookie store with lovely coffee drinks, icy cold milk, wi-fi, and a fireplace. Currently DH's plan for retirement is to work for a long time. If I make a million at the cookie store of my dreams, retirement could be sooner.
Originally Posted By disneydad109 On the golf staff, retired from REAL work,part time at the local golf course
Originally Posted By chickapin I'm a purchasing agent and do enjoy my work. Retirement about 10 years away if the economy picks up a bit...
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Operations Director - means I run a production plant that includes Quality Control, Research & Development, Procurement, Manufacturing and Distribution. October will be 24 years with this company. I have no clue how long I'll be here as after 22 years of being on top of the industry we filed for bankruptcy last year and are trying to recover from that. This happen of course right after I sold my home and relocated from the Bay Area, CA to Atlanta. LOL! Thankfully I did not buy a home here. So who knows. I'm just taking it one day at a time. With my pension I could retire at 55 but I doubt that will happen. So I'm probably looking at another 20 years unless I can figure out how to do something of my own and strike it rich. ;>
Originally Posted By u k fan I'm a Web Merchandiser (which means I get to play online during work hours - sometimes it's even legitimately for work). It's nowhere near what I wanted to do with my life - my plan all through school was to be a journalist. Ultimately now I'd just be happy to work for myself doing something creative. I'm early 30's so a long way off retirement yet!!!
Originally Posted By mickeymeg At the moment I am a stay at home Mum to my 18 month old daughter and I am really enjoying it. Financially it didn't make sense for me to go back to work just to turn around and give 3/4 or more of what I made to daycare. Plus we didn't like the idea of paying someone else to raise our child for such a large part of the day. Before that I worked in a group home with people with disabilities (one child, one young adult, one slightly older adult) It was a family model home and my job included everything from daily care routines to helping these folks participate in their school and/or community activities. While I did enjoy this job it is a bit of a stepping stone in that what I would really like to do (at least at the moment) is get in the school system as an EA. It is an often unappreciated job but I really helping children with disabilities realize their potential which is so often so much more than what they have been given the chance to achieve.
Originally Posted By Labuda I get paid to shop for a living. hehe I'm the IS Procurement Manager for a family of hospitals here in Austin, but as many of you know, I actually work for Dell. It's not the work I grew up wanting to do, but I'm pretty happy with it, and I'm good at it (my last review, the first one I got after transitioning to this role, said I "single-handedly saved" my entire department). And, I'll say I'm in the middle of my career - coming up on 11 years as a Dell employee, and hoping to remain with Dell until I retire, which is still about 28 years away if I retire at 65. (And, wow, that makes me feel young to look at it that way! Woo hoo! hehe) Anyhow, in a dream world, I'd be on staff at a professional theatre working as a stage manager, but unless I marry a rich guy or play and win the lottery, I don't see that as possible.
Originally Posted By Ursus J Bear Currently going through a second career as a funeral director. Not anyone can do this work - I'm blessed to help people in what may be the most difficult time of their lives. But the work is much harder than you'd think, and the burnout rate is high. I'm not sure what to do from here. I'd like to keep up with my artwork - make my own cartoons and work on children's books, and write. Yeah, and be the Mayor of a small tropical Island.
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 I'm a cast member at our local Disney Store. I love it, I've been there for 4 years now. It is what I dreamed of? But I can't see myself doing anything else.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I work full time/part time/part part time at DH's CPA office. I am the billing dept, office manager, gofer and generally do whatever doesn't have to do with accounting. I always wanted to be a stay at home mom. I did that for 23 years and then started part part time 11ish years ago as a fluke when DH's office manager left to have a baby. I basically fell into the job. We are about 10ish years to "retirement." I will retire when he retires which will be who knows when. We are imagining a home based business with a few clients before full retirement or senility which ever comes first. Self employed=no pension.
Originally Posted By LuLu I do graphic design for print media. I worked on staff for 6 years (3 different companies) and have been freelance for 26 years! I *love* freelancing. It works for me since I'm very frugal and save money in the good years, to cover the slow ones. I love the flexibility of my schedule. I loved being home to raise my daughter (I did have some help in her infant & preschool years). I'd like to keep doing this part time for the foreseeable future - I figure at least til I'm 70. Not b/c I need to but b/c I enjoy it. Hopefully I'll be able to do so. The field is certainly shrinking and I'm just too lazy to get into web design, even tho I'd like to get more work doing something else I'm interested in (not necessarily design). I did some web design in the late 90's but wasn't interested in keeping up with the learning curve. So, we'll see...
Originally Posted By Ursula <Currently going through a second career as a funeral director. Not anyone can do this work - I'm blessed to help people in what may be the most difficult time of their lives. But the work is much harder than you'd think, and the burnout rate is high.> I seriously considered this as a career while I was in college. I still think it is something I would have excelled in doing. I was always fascinated by our local parlour whenever someone in our family passed away. I figured my compassion (something I have a lot of in my nature) would suit the job well. Our place was great, and they made you feel special, and I like doing that for others in my current job. I schedule an ADR stage for film and TV. I fell into it and I am in the middle of my career. I used to be the top in my field but my current company only has one stage so I feel myself slipping in stature. And I'm okay with that, actually. I'm going to have to work until I die. I have a pension, a 401k, and an IRA, but it won't be enough, considering I recently found out I'll need $3mil to retire.
Originally Posted By LuLu 3 million! You must have some ambitious plans for retirement! Or plan on keeping your money in a bank. Then I guess 3 mil would give you about $10,000 a year to live on
Originally Posted By friendofdd I have been fully retired for over six years and circumstances are such that I will probably not be employed again. I worked for the same employer for 45 years with opportunities to live in many places and do several of their specialized jobs. Now I concentrate on being a grandpa to 8 grandchildren, an "uncle" to many, and a friend to LPers.
