Am I a Lifer? Should I be?
March 18, 2008 by John in Career, Of a Personal Nature
My dad worked for the phone company (in its various incarnations) for over 30 years. With his pension/retirement and social security he has a fairly comfortable lifestyle (while certainly not opulent or luxurious) in his retirement, even living in California. The world is a very different place than it was when he started with Ma Bell. It was normal for people to work for the same company for the majority of their adult life and retire with the proverbial (or not-so-proverbial) gold watch.
Due to the change in the country over the past 20-30 years, and especially working in the IT industry, I never thought it possible that I could fall into that category. But having passed my 10 year anniversary at Northrop Grumman, I’m beginning to wonder. I’ve seen a lot of ups and downs in that time, and yet I manage to stay alive here.
I started my own web design side business a couple years ago because I was bored at my day job and wanted a creative outlet. I considered different ways my career vs. my business could go. One plan was to grow my business large enough to back my Northrop Grumman hours eventually back to half-time so I could keep my benefits, I figured eventually I might be able to leave the day job and do my business full time. While that’s entirely possible, it doesn’t feel likely. Add to that I recently met two Northrop Grumman retirees who non-stop sing the praises of their retirement and pension. If I stay here for the duration I’ll have 34 years at age 65.
I guess what I’m trying to articulate that my side business is what gives me job satisfaction and let’s me exercise my creativity, while the day job …is just a job. Good benefits. Flexible hours. A modicum of job security. Decent pay. But still, just a job. Long gone are the days when my day job defined me (I’m not sure what does define me, but that’s another post).
So as long as it doesn’t suck, should I stay here indefinitely? Am I just being complacent? I’m no longer feeling the need to go set the world on fire. Have I sold out?
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