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my next life
5

my next life

my next life

(OP)
I'll try to say this as short as possible.  In December, 2011, I finished my 37th year of engineering practice in the private sector.  Prior to 2008, I thought I could actually retire someday, but it's not looking good coming up on age 60.  While I've mostly enjoyed many aspects of my career, it's becoming obvious to me that my next adventure needs to be something different, especially if I need to work for another 10 - 15 years.  Frankly, the responsibility and the stress weigh on me heavily from time to time.

Walmart Greeter is out, since I have some golden handcuffs, (mortgage, 1 kid still in college, etc).  Scaling back on my current job doesn't sound real good either, since the same deadlines and stress will always be there, even with a reduced workload.

I still work fulltime; my wife & I are still healthy; I have hobbies; I'm trying to teach myself a foreign language (German); I volunteer regularly for a couple of organizations; my wife and I love to travel, but I didn't have to travel much for my career.

Somehow, I'd like to combine my "other skills" picked up over 37 years, as well as language and travel, into my next adventure.  The kicker is that I'll need to pay the bills and cover healthcare costs for another 10 – 15 years until I really can retire.

Does anybody know of any success stories of friends, acquaintances, or co-workers who have rolled their life skills into a successful second (non-engineering) career, and actually made it work?
 

RE: my next life

You'll have to define "successful"... it sounds like you define that (at least partially) as making a similar amount of money as if you were still an engineer.  I know a few who have switched careers completely, taken from their hobby, but I don't believe any of them have continued to make similar amounts of money.

Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

RE: my next life

(OP)
Unfortunately, "successful" does involve still making a living, including benefits.  It doesn't have to be from my hobbies, either...actually, I'm not so sure I want to turn my hobbies into another job.  I'm more interested in convincing my "next life" employer that my talents run deeper than operating a calculator, and making structural drawings.

RE: my next life

My buddy from graduate school chucked all his "Engineering" a few years ago.  Even though he believes (like me) that an Engineering education teaches you how to solve problems, any problems.  He's about your age I would think.  I think it was meant to be.  We have been carrying on a joke between ourselves for years about being labelled by those cretins and other inferior reptiles inhabiting the management ranks as having "bad attitudes" and not being "team players."  His first major venture was with his wife starting, growing, then selling a dotcom.  Timed it perfectly (late 90's) and walked away quite happy monetarily, sad to see all their employees get sacked by the new Evil Overlords.  Just before "their child" got thrown under the dotcom-bust-bus and died an inglorious death.  Now he does high-end photography, like Ansel Adams stuff, for sale.  He won't relate what revenue he generates, but he doesn't complain about not making ends meet.  His wife keeps busy, her latest venture was to write a niche-variety book on cooking or something like that I believe.

They don't have kids.
To the best of my knowledge, the Inevitable Express Train Of Life's Pain & Sorrow hasn't run them over, either.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com

RE: my next life

Why would anyone give up the technical challenges and intellectual enjoyment of engineering, just because they've hit retirement age? Where I work, we have dozens of retired people working part time, because it still gives them the horn and supplements their pension, cherry-picking the interesting work and leaving the paperwork to others. Sounds like heaven to me.

If you've given up engineering, learning German is a waste of time. Learn something more beautiful, like Lain. Note to self: "learn Latin".

- Steve
 

RE: my next life

Denoid,  your post sounds just like me with a few inconsequential variations.  Thirty-five years in structural engineering for me.  Twenty-two of those self employed.  Everything collapsed in 2008-2009.  Moved from a high cost of living state to a much lower one just a year ago.  Kids are out of college, and no mortgage, paid cash for the new house.  

I have the desire to work in some other field than engineering.  I can't for the life of me figure out what to do next.

I've worked since age 13, always had a job through high school and college.  It sucks not having work to do everyday.  Got real close to taking a part-time job at Home Depot at $8.50 an hour.

I, too, believe that a career (and that's what 35+ years is) of engineering develops skills which should be transferable.  But.... no luck for me so far.

I truly wish you the best, and hope you are able to find a way.

RE: my next life

I am just shy your age.  I have a "blonde" wife and dark haired "blond" daughter who in turn has four great children. I love my g-kids and would do ANYTHING for them and HAVE!!  Unfortunately, she and her husband don't make sh&t - salary wise - but seem good at making babies!!.  Half of everything my wife buys as Costco or Sams ends up in their house.

I also maintain a "side" practice which pays for for a lot of more fun things.

So - I figure I will work until I die......

Do you want some cheese with that whine???

RE: my next life

Are blond and blonde different? As I said, I must take up Latin.
 

- Steve
 

RE: my next life

Chuck the mortgage, tell the kid to pay his or her own way through the rest of college (He or she will find a way, even if it's later on).  Take a year off to figure out what you want to do.  Maybe you'll discover you have a talent for designing jewelry.  You could be the next Cartier. You'll never know if you don't try.

I'm only half kidding.  Life is short. Make a plan and get rid of the stress.

Good on ya,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies?  Do so now: Forum Policies
 

RE: my next life

(OP)
Thanks to everybody, so far and whatever else is posted later, for their ideas.  Like you, JRESE, I've been thinking about this for a while, but can't figure out what all of these life experiences mean, as far as capitalizing on them, anyway.  Sorry to those of you who think this is a "whine", but it isn't really...like I said, I've enjoyed the career I've had - I think it's just time to move on.

Oh, BTW, SomptingGuy, part of my life skills are 4 years of High School Latin, so I'm done with that too.

Auf Wiedersehen.

RE: my next life

I think when it's time to retire I will have a difficult time doing anything that doesn't require problem-solving to some degree.  I couldn't handle being a door greeter, for example, but teaching crafts to middle-school kids might be fun.

Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

RE: my next life

Yeah  Dan, when they want to learn; smile

RE: my next life

(OP)
"The goal of every engineer is to retire without being blamed for a major catastrophe"...Dilbert

RE: my next life

Blonde or blond - might be a typo or it might be that I am an engineer and sometimes make a mistake!!  Spell check didn't bitch - so...

RE: my next life

Man, you guys are depressing to listen to :)

I'm probably mid way through my career and will add that more often than not the grass is always greener on the other side.  I look at a lot of friends, doctors, lawyers, engineers, pharmacists, and none of them seem to be in a great position.

If the OP is in a position to drop everything and switch professions, have you considered becoming a Realtor or getting into the property insurance business?  Not engineering, but it would give you an interesting background to build upon.

And of course, buying lottery tickets couldn't hurt.

RE: my next life

Mainman, and we are depressing?? smile

RE: my next life

I consider that while I have moved into my "next life" I have done just the opposite.  Got all the way to owning my own engineering business (owned more than one and some simultaneously); enjoyed all I could stand with all that goes with that on the non-technical side, personnel issues, cash flow and payroll problems (always having to pay the help but sometimes putting my own paycheck in my desk drawer until cash flow could cover it - real unpopular with the wife especially when there were several checks in my desk) gov't regs, tax reports, client relations, etc., etc.  Overall I enjoyed it and made a decent living.  Put all my kids through private high school and college without borrowing a penny.  Got lots of good and varied technical experience along the way.

Enron vastly changed the market my business covered so in the aftermath of that debacle I had to go back to a day job as I was at a station in life where I felt it was too late to start over and do it all over again.  I collected my first SS check as well last year too, so that will give a guess at my age range.  

Now I have moved back into pure engineering and work with a company that has little to no in-house experience in the areas I do while needing about 10 more with my type of background and one that has a large department of young engineers.  After letting me go through the learning process of the paperwork "system", they now keep me away from it preferring to let the younger kids do that tedious work while utilizing my experience to guide and direct their work technically.  I don't use the word kids in a negative way, they are probably all better Engineers than I, just that they have no real world experience and their hands are pretty "unsoiled."  I have hard knocks all over me.

After all those years of fighting cash flow and holding on to pay checks before cashing them, there is something really kind of magic about a paycheck just showing up in my bank account twice every month no matter what.  It is a very adequate check too.

Even though I typically work a few more hours than 40 hours every week, I work much less hours than I did when I was my own boss.

I tell my close friends and former business associates that I am having the time of my life - don't know if I ever had this much fun.  I am valued and highly sought out all across the business and have a deep sense of satisfaction that I contribute in a meaningful way.  

I work hard at staying fit so that I can keep on working and in general enjoy good health.  I take no medication.  One of the unfortunate things about being your own boss for so many years is that it is always difficult to be able to pull enough out of your company to do a good job of retirement planning, (not that a lot of peers with 401K's are any better off) so not working means living under a bridge.

I feel I have to maintain my health to keep going, but as of right now, I have no desire to do anything else.  How could retirement ever be this much fun?

rmw

RE: my next life

(OP)
Like MacGyverS2000, I think I need something that would entail some type of problem solving and working with my hands.

MainMan10, thanks for the suggestions, but I know I couldn't be a Realtor - I value my evenings and weekends too much.  I doubt that property insurance would be a fit, either.

RE: my next life

blondes can come in all colors, it's a state of mind...

how about flipping houses as a money making hobby? better to learn spanish, not german

RE: my next life

Do taxes for H&R Block - you should be good at numbers by now!!

RE: my next life

(OP)
My wife actually thought of the idea of flipping houses back before 2008.  We even went to a couple of seminars on it.  After the housing crash, we count our lucky stars we didn't go through with it - I just had this nagging little voice in the back of my head that kept saying "Don't do it".  We' be bankrupt like so many others who didn't have the voice or didn't listen to it.

Spanish is not a bad suggestion, but I think you have to follow your passions - mine has always been German, never could really figure out why.

RE: my next life

(OP)
Mike:  Thanks, but I hate doing my own taxes, not to mention my 20-something daughters' taxes.  Note to self: this year, they will learn to do their own).

RE: my next life

(OP)
OK, so here's my latest idea:

I've been half considering going back to school in some sort of technical training/apprenticeship to spin some of my engineering skills I've developed (e.g. technical drawing, attention to detail, etc.)with my artistic skills and talents with wood & stone carving, calligraphy, etc., but I don't want to spend years doing it,(schooling, that is), paying a fortune for the training, and I don't know if the end pay result starting out would be enough to keep us afloat anyway.

I'm picturing a job in an architectural stone shop doing architectural restoration carving or matching of existing detail work on existing stone building facades.  Heck, I'd even consider working for a stone monument company inscribing cemetery stones.  Working under the tutelage of a Master Wood Carver would be kind of nice, too, doing the same type of work.

Relocation is out of the question at this stage of my life, (although a short temporary apprenticeship in Europe sounds kind of nice for the initial training).  Self doubts about others' perception of my talent level is a concern - if the pro's don't think I'm talented enough to pull it off, I'd hate to spend the money up front for the training.

There it is.  Tell me why I'm crazy considering it.

RE: my next life

SG,

My #3 is son is taking an online course in Latin, to satisfy his school credit requirement for foreign languages (they cancelled Spanish classes at his school, and busing to the school that kept it would cause him to miss out on music).  His teacher gives her students work in conversational Latin too, via Skype "parties".  Suggesting you check into it, he is having fun with it apparently (based on the lack of vocal complaints about it).

RE: my next life

Hey denoid,

Maybe you could just go work for tumbleaves' company?  He/she will be glad to give you a reference!

I see nothing crazy about the stone gig, seems very niche, just do your market research before making the leap.
 
Not many other ideas for staying at the same pay rate, but there are lower stress options if you can absorb some wage decrease:

Teaching at the tech/community school?  Seems like they need "old" folks real life expereince in those positions.

May seem sarcastic, but what about government?  Plan review for the local municipality?

Last one would be an organization, ACI, ASCE, AISC, etc, etc.  

IC

RE: my next life

(OP)
LOL, IC.  I don't think tumbleaves would appreciate my presence, based on his/her current situation.  Actually, I'm trying to get out to make space for him/her.

You've posted lots of good suggestions, (I gave you a star for that).  So far the stone gig is the most sexy, but the market research may shoot it down in the long run.  We'll see.

RE: my next life

Are there any sort of "inspection" type opportunities within your general location where your experience would be valuable?  I know several individuals who have quit their "career" and gone onto inspecting for other companies doing similar work. They seem to be pretty stress free positions, and the change of scenery from one company to another seems to be refreshing -- same issues with a different perspective.  

RE: my next life

(OP)
Thanks for the suggestion, MTP.  I'm not aware of any local firms that only offer inspection.  There are a few forensic type of firms, but I choose to stay out of that area - never really liked lawyers or courts, and always did my best to keep away from both.

Ultimately, I think the attraction is probably going to be something 180 degrees from what I'm currently doing.

RE: my next life

I find the best way to find what your next career move should be, is to just look for job postings which have transferable skills.  

For instance, I am a civil that was doing storm sewer design and was really bored with it.  I wanted to get into something different but didn't know what.  Energy seemed like a good idea and I thought "well i probably need to go back to school for that since i have no experience in the industry".  Fast forward a few months and I apply for a natural gas engineering position that I was not sure I really qualified for.  Turns out I got the job and I'm working in an industry I never really expected to be in.

I guess my point is the more you try and plan for your ideal career, the more you miss opportunities that are right in front of your face.  It may not fit your grand plan exactly, but what in life does?

I think going back to school is great, but sometimes it really can be a waste of time if your objective is just to find another career.  You don't always need school to do that.  That being said, you are never too old to go back to school and it could open up opportunities as well.

RE: my next life

I would be very surprised if you got an apprenticeship in Europe, since there are tens of thousands of 16 year olds who can't even get apprenticeships in Europe at the moment due to the recession.  Good luck in whatever you end up doing though!  

RE: my next life

(OP)
trey25624 & lisa247, thanks for your comments and advice.

Like John Lennon once said, "life is what happens while we're busy making other plans", (or something like that).  

trey:  I'm not a big fan of having to go back to school, and I have been trying to keep my eyes open for other opportunities in other things that seem to fit my eye, but, when you're not sure where you're headed, other than "not engineering", that leaves a lot of possibilities.  But I've been looking for quite a few years now, and, with my age creeping up on me, I'm just trying to jump start the process a bit.  I'm thinking maybe some additional training may be the kick start I need.

I agree, lisa, that my chances of an apprenticeship in Europe are slim to none, but it sure would be sweet if it happened, kind of like winning the lottery.

RE: my next life

the curse of the engineer:  overthinking.  

here we have everyone trying to think themselves into happiness.  :)  it's quite strange, isn't it?  

i'm 26 so I have yet to hit the point of most of the posters here, but I'll tell you that music has always been my best counter-weight to the engineering world.  no thinking, just feeling.  

any time you find yourself wondering where the time went, take note of what you were doing.  maybe you'll realize something and it can lead to a great job opportunity where you truly enjoy what you're doing?   

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