Are you satisfied with your current job?

I went to college to study Radio/TV/Film to become a modest TV cameraman….34 years later I own a glue factory and very unexpectedly found myself in the hated/despised/reviled .5% category. Satisfied.

Must be making lot of money..) Are you satisfied with that aspect?

@imrainmaker I have come to terms with the incredible responsibility I have on my plate.

Satisfied with the job, very dissatisfied with management.

I work too hard. It’s an expectation in the field I work in and I couldn’t meet the performance expectations if I didn’t work the hours. On the flipside, I have great flexibility and I’m paid pretty well with regular pay raises and get plenty of opportunities to travel and try new things. So I’m happy in my role. I would prefer less pressure and to work fewer hours, but overall, I’m satisfied.

^^Just a reminder: Please let me know when your academic tome comes out.

I like mine. It’s quiet, pastoral, idyllic, for the better part. ^^LOTS OF TIME FOR READING. Never thought I’d be an orchardman and sheepherd, but it’s a good thing. Never dreamed I would be the charter captain and owner of a nice boat. I always thought retirement meant I’d end up another mensch on a bench feeding the seagulls. Funny how things work out. I’ve always liked my jobs, especially after I finished school and could choose who I worked for. Staying out of debt is the trick to that, really.

I will @Espiritus_Corvus. It will be a while, but I got the time I asked for next year. I’m very excited about having some dedicated writing time. And thank you for remembering. You have had an exciting life. A life many would envy. I suspect there are at least a couple of books in you I’d like to read.

I’m poor. But I only work about 10 hours a week. My hourly rate is high. If you pay me it is a emergency.

I could work more but I like free time to write code to do stupid shit like having a ras pi feed my fish. And I read a lot of books.

I am! The tech industry is good to me. Conditions are cushy so I have no right to complain about anything. Stress at my current company is much lower than at my previous company. It is not the “dream job” I wanted as a teenager, but it is far more practical and I need that because I live in the real world. I also feel good about being at a tech company in the healthcare space, so I’m working on something I’m passionate about even though I don’t have a healthcare-related skill set.

Yes, my situation is similar to @Espiritus_Corvus
After working in the Int. design field for years and doing home staging work I was devastated in the recession, biz. tanked, plowed through my life savings trying to hang on to my home and property over the next 3 years unable to find any sustainable work except temp jobs here and there. I am now living on a 12 acre horse property working as a pet, house sitter, personal asst. for a women that travels extensively for her work as a sales rep for a large mineral and supplement Co. selling equine products. I exchange my housing on the property, an adorable pool side guest apartment/cottage and am paid for anything over and beyond the very reasonable rent.

I easily make my rent obligations working about 15 hours a week and spend nights at her house on the property when she is out of town. I also babysit a 9 yr. old girl several afternoons a week and do pet/house/horse sitting for my friends and neighbors when they travel. It is peaceful, quiet, beautiful property, large garden, fruit trees, huge pond and the pool is just outside my back door. It is working out quite nicely and while I do miss the social aspect of my old work, hostessing open houses and getting rave reviews for my decorating talents I also have lived on rural properties for years and cherish my solitude.

I have many days with few or no obligations and plenty of down time. It’s a good fit for me at this juncture of my life and I am told, almost daily, how appreciated I am and how I am indispensable. Just this morning my employer emailed me telling me she didn’t know what she would do without me. Tomorrow night I am making dinner for 6 as my cooking skills are highly coveted as well. Colomas coat of many colors.haha

My attitude toward retirement has always been that it’s time to stop doing what I must do and to start doing what I want to do. When I retired (from corporate, IT/customer service) in 2013, I had no idea what I would be doing. I had always assumed it would mean more time for gardening, which is a passion of mine. I knew I wanted to do something with my other passion, music. At my age I had no fantasies of world tours or top-of-the-chart recordings, or anything of that nature. I was just not sure what direction I wanted to go. I started rehearsing with an African-style drum group that did educational and community gigs. They were originally a trio, and the one of the members needed to stop performing for personal reasons. The remaining duo had worked as a duo before, and were actually married. The rehearsals required a lot of learning for me, which I welcomed, since I believe one is never too old to learn.

After several months of weekly rehearsals, we mutually decided to pursue our separate paths. I wanted to get back to writing, possibly record some original material that I had written over the past few decades, and they wanted to continue their work as a duo.

Then my youngest entered high school. I’ve told the story here about how, when we attended the info night, I noticed there was no music in the curriculum. I approached the principal, and he told me there would be volunteer opportunities, and asked for my contact information. The following September, I was offered a paid position (four hours a week) teaching rock band to freshmen. That expanded slightly with the addition of a week-long intensive class (all-music all-day) each semester.

I just got confirmation today that I will be assisting in a morning band class, 2½ hours every day for the next eight weeks. I might or might not get paid for it. It would be nice, but if it can’t be done, at least I’ll have my foot in the door for some paying opportunities down the road.

I love working with music, and I love working with high school students.

Great story @Strauss in 8 long years I hope to be facing the same dilemma’s.

@Cruiser Thanks, man! I know we’ve often been on opposite sides of the issue, but there’s something about music (as well as the other arts) that brings people together, in spite of political, economic, social cultural and other values.

@Strauss Agreed! Music has been part of my life since I was sitting on my dad’s lap while he played the Maple Leaf Rag on piano. This year I plan on starting to piece together a recording studio so when I start having more time away from work I will be able to record tunes.

Even if you do get paid your work with the kids and their music is admirable!

@Cruiser I plan on starting to piece together a recording studio

Hint: Start with the software. Most packages that I know about have a virtual keyboard where you can use your PC or laptop keyboard for a musical keyboard. You can expand from there. At least you have something where you can put melodies down as they come to you.

I have a Roland digital that is pretty feature packed including midi out. Right now just playing guitar is my stress release and a PA is what I could use the most so I could take jamming with my sons to the next level and outdoors.

Sounds like fun. I get a lot of my jamming done with the students. I taught a bunch of them a basic blues pattern and told them they now know about 1000 songs. Now it’s time to teach them to improvise.