Early-retirement wannabe

Marine_life

mgdavid wrote: »

ML, I cannot find a sequel to this, what was the outcome please?

Well...to be honest...its a right f**king mess. One day I will write a book about this although looking back over the last eight years (!!) of this thread I could probably pull most of that book from here.

Anyway, things seem to be developing a certain shape. After months of discussion, I finally threw my toys out of the pram and got what I thought I wanted which is a three day a week gig on a one-month rolling contract.

I've learnt so much over the last couple of months about loyalty, honesty, consistency, integrity and specifically that there is very little of it in the corporate world (and I will write a blog post on that soon).

I've lost 80% of the bond I felt with a company I worked with for the last 22 years and I now feel a bit like a mercenary just wringing the last drops of water out of a damp tee shirt.

Not long now...

bugslet

Marine_life wrote: »

Well...to be honest...its a right f**king mess. One day I will write a book about this although looking back over the last eight years (!!) of this thread I could probably pull most of that book from here.

Anyway, things seem to be developing a certain shape. After months of discussion, I finally threw my toys out of the pram and got what I thought I wanted which is a three day a week gig on a one-month rolling contract.

I've learnt so much over the last couple of months about loyalty, honesty, consistency, integrity and specifically that there is very little of it in the corporate world (and I will write a blog post on that soon).

I've lost 80% of the bond I felt with a company I worked with for the last 22 years and I now feel a bit like a mercenary just wringing the last drops of water out of a damp tee shirt.

Not long now...

That's pretty much my experience of the last two years, including toys sailing out of the pram. Corporate culture has really wrecked some good firms.

jamesperrett

bugslet wrote: »

That's pretty much my experience of the last two years, including toys sailing out of the pram. Corporate culture has really wrecked some good firms.

Or in my case, they were trying to apply a military culture to an academic environment.

Triumph13

Marine_life wrote: »

I've lost 80% of the bond I felt with a company I worked with for the last 22 years and I now feel a bit like a mercenary just wringing the last drops of water out of a damp tee shirt.

Not long now...

No wonder you think you need such a big stash before retiring if you've been hiring mercenaries to do your laundry!

happyandcontented

jamesperrett wrote: »

Or in my case, they were trying to apply a military culture to an academic environment.

I know exactly what you mean...:mad:

gfplux

Marine_life wrote: »

Well...to be honest...its a right f**king mess. One day I will write a book about this although looking back over the last eight years (!!) of this thread I could probably pull most of that book from here.

Anyway, things seem to be developing a certain shape. After months of discussion, I finally threw my toys out of the pram and got what I thought I wanted which is a three day a week gig on a one-month rolling contract.

I've learnt so much over the last couple of months about loyalty, honesty, consistency, integrity and specifically that there is very little of it in the corporate world (and I will write a blog post on that soon).

I've lost 80% of the bond I felt with a company I worked with for the last 22 years and I now feel a bit like a mercenary just wringing the last drops of water out of a damp tee shirt.

Not long now...

Perhaps they got wind of your.......
will I, wont I, over the last 8 years.

It is very sad as there were, if I remember correctly, a number of times and opportunitys when you could have left with your happy memories intact.

I also lost happy and warm memories but that was because all along the love affair was more one sided that I naively imagined. 20 years later it still hurts a little.

A lesson for those still thinking about when to jump ship.

OldMusicGuy

Marine_life wrote: »

I've learnt so much over the last couple of months about loyalty, honesty, consistency, integrity and specifically that there is very little of it in the corporate world (and I will write a blog post on that soon).

I could have told you that I learned that within a few years of being in the corporate world. The problem with the corporate world (like the public sector world as well from what I have seen) is that it is full of people. While there are many good people, there are also plenty that are not so good, and the corporate world can encourage their bad behaviours.

Marine_life wrote: »

I've lost 80% of the bond I felt with a company I worked with for the last 22 years and I now feel a bit like a mercenary just wringing the last drops of water out of a damp tee shirt.

Not long now...

It's easy to think that big employers "care" for you. They do as long as it helps their profitability and ability to please shareholders. But even well-paid people in the corporate world are still wage slaves and they shouldn't forget it. Only the ones at the very top (ie the exec team) are not slaves. They will get paid off for failure. 40 years a wage slave, me......

You are not a mercenary, I think you are being realistic. The company will carry on without you quite happily once you are gone. So best of luck for the future. Personally, I am loving not being a wage slave.

mgdavid

Marine_life wrote: »

......
I've learnt so much over the last couple of months about loyalty, honesty, consistency, integrity and specifically that there is very little of it in the corporate world (and I will write a blog post on that soon).
........... I now feel a bit like a mercenary just wringing the last drops of water out of a damp tee shirt. Not long now...

Ah, 'the scales have fallen from my eyes'.
Painful when it happens, all the worse when it's late on in a career.
Taking the positive, it will help you make the clean mental break into the next stage of life when you do eventually retire; you won't be wasting much energy wondering if you made the right decision!

Marine_life

Perhaps they got wind of your.......
will I, wont I, over the last 8 years.

I don't think there's any doubt about that. I suspect that I've now got a bit of a reputation for being a bit difficult (meaning I constantly talk about work / life balance). However they still (seem to) think I am good enough to make a bit of an effort about but I suspect that has a limit.

It's easy to think that big employers "care" for you.

The big thing for me is the inconsistency between words and actions. I was fairly insistent that I wanted some of my time working from home which is absolutely doable in my line of work. 'The firm' as with most other large employers talks a lot about flexible working in all its forms but the reality is presenteism is still the heavily preferred model - irrespective of the logic.

Taking the positive, it will help you make the clean mental break into the next stage of life when you do eventually retire

Its been eye opening for sure. To be fair there are those that will at least privately back you, if not publicly. At least I am under no illusion now where I stand but you're right, mentally its put me in the right place.

itwasntme001

I am mid-30s and have just got back onto the corporate ladder after a few years out of work by choice. For the first 7 years or so of my career i would say i enjoyed it and hardly got sick of the corporate world. However for the next 3-4 years it really felt/feels like a chore going to work everyday. There is always one side of me that says "why not quit and do something entirely different, i am financially comfortable" but then the other part of me says that "i should really work a bit longer as i am only mid-30s and may underestimate how much i really need to retire".


Looking at comments on here it really makes me think that ultimately you should really do what you enjoy, stop focusing on your "net worth" and take some risks in life so you don't regret not doing anything later on.