Retirement



Another stop on the road of Career Changes.



Retirement:   I’ll be honest this is not something that is foremost on my mind.  But, maybe it should be.  I am 34 years old and I know that I won’t even be eligible to draw full retirement benefits until I’m 67 years old.  So I still have a while to go until I have to make the decision about whether to retire or keep working.  But, there are many Americans that are over age 65 that have decided to continue working beyond retirement age.

                This has not always been the case though.  As the nation’s wealth grew, American men had been retiring earlier and earlier since the 1880’s (Quinn, 2010).  In the mid 1980’s the trend stopped and then reversed (Quinn, 2010).  Now more and more people are retiring in stages and using bridge jobs before retiring fully (Quinn, 2010). 

                There are incentives to delaying retirement.  The delayed retirement credit, introduced in 1972, was last increased in 1983 from 3 percent to 8 percent per year over your minimum age of retirement (Quinn, 2010).  With improvements in technology it’s easier for older Americans to work and function in jobs well past retirement age (Quinn, 2010).

                I know that with the economy in the down state that it is in now, such as many people not being able to find employment and gas prices and the cost of everything going sky high, many retirement age Americans are forced to work to make ends meet.  Social Security doesn’t always pay enough to cover the expenses of living, especially if there are medications that have to be paid for.  I also realize that quite a few people lost a lot of their retirement savings when the stock market took a downturn in recent years, my husband and I included.  We fortunately have time to try to recoup that money before we retire, however, a lot of people at or very close to retirement age didn’t have that chance.

                Since I am not at retirement age and still have a ways to go, I have decided to interview a friend of mine, Bob, which retired from his previous career and then became a part time employee in the office where I work.  He is currently in his late 50’s and definitely not at the Social Security minimum for collecting benefits.  I wanted to know why he retired when he did and why he decided to go back to work.

                I began my interview with Bob by asking him why he decided to retire in his 50’s, he stated that he had put in thirty years of employment with the state of Virginia and at that point was allowed to retire and collect pension benefits (Grayson, 2012).  The next few questions that I asked deal with how long he took off before deciding to find a part time job and also about his pension benefits and his need to have a part time job.  Bob said that he did take about a year off between retiring from the state and then gaining the position at the Goochland Extension Office (Grayson, 2012).  He then went on to say that he is currently receiving a pension from the state, and that he does not need to work to make ends meet, because his wife is still working full time and his pension helps to cover the necessary expenses but having the part time job does help with having a little extra money (Grayson, 2012).  My last question to him was about what he plans to do when his wife reaches the point that she may want to retire.  He said “We haven’t discussed that recently, but I believe that we will both try to stay busy either with jobs or with some other kind of volunteer work to keep us occupied.” (Grayson, 2012)

                So it seems the trend for retirement has changed.  At one time people were retiring earlier and taking more time for leisure activities.  Now it seems that people have to work more after retirement age just to try to make their house payments and bills.  But not everybody has that problem.  My co worker Bob does not have to work, but since he worked for the same entity for 30 years, he was able to retire somewhat early, and then pursue something that he wanted to do, not just for the paycheck.  If the economy comes back up to where people are more secure with their retirement funds and have enough saved for the future the trend may reverse itself again.  I hope that when I reach retirement age that I will have some of these options available to me and that I won’t be stuck having to work full time.

Interview questions:

1.       Why did you decide to retire while in your 50’s?

2.       Did you actually retire and take time off, or did you find other employment immediately after retiring from your previous position?

3.       Are you currently receiving retirement benefits from a pension or other source?

4.       Do you have to have your part time job to make ends meet?

5.       Have you and your wife discussed what you both will do when she reaches retirement age?      

Grayson, E. (2012, February) Interview of my co-worker, Bob, over the phone about his experience with retirement and finding new employment.                                                                                          I asked questions about why he retired in his 50’s and how long he stayed retired, if at all and why he decided to find a part time job.  I also asked questions about whether he needed this position to help make ends meet.  We also discussed some future plans that he and his wife may have.

Quinn, J. (2010, February).  Work, retirement, and the encore career: Elders and the future of the American workforce generations v.34 no. 3 p.45-55 Retrieved February 5, 2012 from the Academic Search Complete database.

Involuntary Unemployment

In my last post I talked about how changing careers can be a scary prospect.  Not only is it scary it can also be a very stressful time for people who must change involuntarily (Career, 2011).    Fortunately this has not happened to me, but it has happened to a couple of my friends.  One of my friends husband lost his job about a year ago, and he still hasn’t found gainful employment.  They have decided to start their own cleaning business, and seem to be doing well at the moment.

                When people face an involuntary change in making a living typically follow one or more activities such as: finding a job similar to the one they just lost, they make use of a secondary skill to make a change, some choose to return to school and try to acquire a new set of skills, or they opt to start their own business (Career, 2011).  To some extent more than one of these may be pursued at the same time (Career, 2011).  Even in personal life, a planning activity such as a change in careers begins with (1)Environmental Assessment (2) Setting Goals (3) Evaluate alternatives (4) cost assessment (5) implementation (Career, 2011).

                Environmental assessment begins with making a list of your education, such as degrees or technical skills that you possess already.  You should be able to discern through this a list of jobs or activities you would be happy doing. Goal setting is your next step.  At this point it might not hurt to seek the advice from senior colleagues or a mentor to help you create your action plan (Career, 2011). Evaluating alternatives involves studying on companies to apply to, curricula to study in school or starting a business of your own (Career, 2011).  Cost assessment is just that, you may have to decide whether to work part time and earn a low income while in school or try to get in on the lower level of a job quickly and try to work up (Career, 2011).  Either way will only be successful if you carry out the last step of Implementation.  The most important factor for getting to the top is personal drive and ambition, without this, you will not succeed (Career, 2011).

                According to IRS data, in 2008, there were over 23 million sole proprietors who filed tax returns (Career, 2011).  Putting that into context, the number of self-employed sole proprietors is greater than the total number of government employees at all levels (federal, state and local) (Career, 2011). So it seems that many Americans have moved forward with starting their own businesses, versus working for a company.  Who knows how long this trend will continue and grow?  I don’t think that self-starting a business is for everyone and sometimes people will fail.  But even so the very meaning of the word “career” for many people has changed from being a continuous activity to a succession of changing activities in a changing environment (Career, 2011). 

I have decided to interview my friend whose husband lost his job last year to see what steps that they took, and how long this has taken them to get where they are now and if they plan on continuing the business they have started. My friends are in their 40’s and have recently started their own home cleaning business.  I started by asking my friend when her husband lost his job, she stated “He was laid off last February after working for that company for over 16 years.” (Grayson, 2012)  I continued by asking if her husband had thought about returning to school and pursuing a different career, and she told me that he had not wanted to go back to school. 

The next few questions pertained to their new business, such as why they decided to start their own business, what research or advice did they seek before starting the business and has it been successful enough to sustain them.  My friend told me that they did not seek advice, but they did research the area within a certain driving distance to minimize cost due to the high prices of gasoline (Grayson, 2012).  So far after six months they have been able to pay their bills and maintain a moderate lifestyle. 

I then asked if her husband was still seeking outside employment.  She stated “He still looks for outside employment to help supply medical insurance for the family, but there are not that many positions available that pay what we make with our own business.” (Grayson, 2012)

Interview Questions:

1.       How long has your husband been unemployed?

2.       Did your husband ever contemplate going back to school?

3.       Why did you decide to start your own business?

4.       What advice, if any did you seek before starting this business?

5.       Has your business been successful enough to sustain you?

6.       Is your husband still looking for outside employment?

Career planning and changing.  (2011, January). Encyclopedia of Small Business v. 0001. 4^th   edition. Retrieved February 5, 2012 from Gale Virtual Reference Library Database.

Grayson, E. (2012, February) I conducted an interview over the phone with a friend of mine whose husband lost his job last year.

                The interview asked questions about whether her husband looked into going back to school or any other alternatives, and also what went into starting their own business.

Change in your life



Image taken from: http://education-portal.com/articles/10_Things_to_Consider_Before_Changing_Careers.html



              Changing careers is a scary prospect for many people.  I currently find myself dissatisfied with my current position at my job, andI do not see the potential for furthering myself with this position.  In my current position I feel that I am extremely underappreciated and there is no way to move upward in this position.  As an Administrative Assistant, I sometimes feel that when given the chance I can be very creative, but those times seem to be few and far between.  Another dissatisfaction that I have is that there is a huge leap between my position and the next level up from mine.  Even though I am very apprehensive of changing at the moment, mostly because of stability, I find myself going between being very excited and scared about trying to branch out into something totally new to me. 

              I am thinking about going into a career within the medical field, but not nursing.  I would like to feel that at times I will make a difference in how someone feels on a daily basis.  I have seriously been thinking about becoming a sonogram technician, or some kind oftechnician in the medical field.  I have always found science very interesting, and interpreting sonograms does seem to be of interest to me. I have no aspirations to become a doctor and save lives, but I do want to feel good about what I am doing. 

                According to a survey in the third quarter of 2007, 60% of professionals with new jobs stayed within their industry (Career, 2008).  Due to a changing economy more and more people are looking into changing careers altogether.  People are not looking to just “climb the ladder” in their current careers, but changing the industries in which they work.  Some of this stems from unhappiness with the way they see their company going, to having different goals now than when they started working.

                Starting a new career can also be exciting, but monetarily risky (Career, 2008).  After having established yourself in a position at your current career, you have more than likely tried very hard to reach the current pay grade.  To change to a totally different field may mean a pay cut, but you can try to negotiate other things such as an early performance or salary review (Career, 2008).

                Someone who has worked within an industry for a significant amount of time may at first need to rely on outside volunteer or other interests to highlight their adaptability in the workforce (Career, 2008).  Another option for someone that has been in a particular industry for any amount of time would be on the job training or looking at a technical school for training.  Some employers will even help with paying for this type of training if it will benefit them.

 Some of the other reasons that I have for going back to school and changing careers are that I want to be a good role model for my eleven year old daughter.  I want to show her that getting a good education and working hard will pay off in the end.  I hope that I will find a job that will pay a higher salary and provide a better life and more stability for my family.  I also hope that I am also showing her that you can do this at any point within your life if you have the drive to do so.  

Career crossovers.(2008, February); 62(2):18. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance .Retrieved February 4, 2012   from Academic Search Complete database.