Mid Week At Work: Biological services supervisor retires after 28 years of state service to wildlife

 I don't usually do these in "real time", so to speak and more often than not they feature some occupation from the past, in keeping with the supposed focus of the blog.  But I just thought this was interesting:

Biological services supervisor retires after 28 years of state service to wildlife

A couple of random thoughts.

I thought this way of summing up the subject will miss about his job, by the subject, was a nice way to do it.

“Being back in the truck driving home talking on the radio with everyone — after working in the field from sunrise until dark.— that’s what I’ll miss the most,” Woolley said. “No one will understand that feeling unless you did it.”

I'll be that's right.

The other thing that struck me is that he's retiring after 28 years.  He started part time in 1992, as a graduate student, and went full time in 1996. So his retirement years include his part time service while still a graduate student.

If I use the same measure, I've been working at my current occupation for 31 years.  I never actually calculate it that way as lawyers have to be admitted to the bar to be lawyers, and looked at that way, I just went over 30 years a couple of months ago.

It's interesting in that 30 years in an occupation is regarded as unusual by some, usually people who aren't that far into a career.  I know lots of lawyers who have 40 years into careers, and have known those who had 50.  Indeed, lots of lawyers just don't retire and maybe, instead, slow down.

There's some open speculation as to why that is.  For one thing, state and Federal retirement works on the old fashioned pension model that's become increasingly rare in modern times as we evolved to a savings based retirement system.  Lots of people, even with good incomes, never feel secure in their savings and for good reason.  Beyond that, lots of people really don't make what people presume that they do.

Anyway you look at it the headline was a bit of a shock to me.  I'm not anywhere close to retirement and this fellow, who has to be at least three years  younger than men, has retired.

Maybe. We never really know what people actually do when they retire.  I've known one fellow whose tried to retire three times and never really managed it.  

And as somebody with livestock. . . well you never really retire.

Anyhow, it's a nice article.