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I have been at home on the farm working my butt off. I mean true blood, sweat and tears. Not relaxing, but surviving. Raising our own meat, veggies, milk, eggs, honey and so forth. Doing the butchering myself, herding the goats, building fence, hard work in the Texas heat. Hard hard country work. I have been home since I was 41 and stopped working as an RN. Thirteen years.
So I am returning to work as many of my peers are retiring. But I need the money badly for my grandchildren, to give them a better life, and I need to go back to work to give myself a better life. But primarily, I have needed skills and can give patients a better life. I am old and broke in and not much rattles me, like an old trail horse, I am "bomb-proof"!
I knew a CNA that worked in a LTC facility until she was 82. She took care of much younger patients.
I'm only 30 but I want to retire ASAP. No, seriously. Since I have had a nursing career (LPN), I have had nothing but negative feelings (anxiety and stress to name a few). I've also had health problems. Obesity to be number 1. No, I'm not blaming nursing on my feelings and health problems. I just didn't realize how stressful nursing was until I got into the field. I wished I could find another job with similiar pay but I know that's not possible without going back to school (which I can't afford because I would have to decrease my work hours). School didn't prepare me for the stressful job of nursing. I loved nursing school and all the things I have learned. I just felt unprepared for what I was getting myself into. If what I knew then, what I know now, I wouldn't have become a nurse. I chose nursing because I wanted to help people. I didn't choose nursing for the all the bull that goes along with it. "Yeah...OK, supervisor, I can work ANOTHER day short because everyone calls out all the time and you won't help with the work load. I can work short again because you won't even attempt to call anyone else to come work". Sorry, this is a vent I guess. I need to start a retirement saving...which I haven't done yet. So, I probably won't retire until around 60 or so...if I can even make it that long.
I am retiring from being an APRN in 13 years when I turn 50. I will then go into teaching full time and enjoy a semi retired lifestyle
Hope I don't come off as sounding presumptuous but my experience with teaching was that I worked much harder and for more hours than I ever did on the floors. I don't see how teaching full time can be compatible with living a semi-retired lifestyle, but if you can get it to work for you, all the power to you.
I'm planning on working for at least fifteen to twenty more years, God willing.
I don't know. I will probably work until I am too frail to continue.
I suspect there will be a lot of change in the future regarding retirement.
There is talk of raising the eligibility age for social security to 70 for some younger people.
People who have the money will continue to retire fairly young, the rest will not find retirement affordable.
phlox
141 Posts
I would like to work a good while after I "get back into it". I am returning to nursing at the age of 54. Can I expect to work 15-20 years? How long are yall planning to work? I would love to hear from you older guys and gals.