Before you retired did you work non stop from your 20s? (state, graduated)
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I have been talking a lot to people in my neighborhood who just recently retired. I asked them if they ever took a break from working during the time from when they graduated from High School/College to retiring in their 60s. (The break could be due to layoffs or family issues, etc.) What is amazing is how few of them were ever forced to take time off and most of them worked pretty much non stop from age 20-65. (Their only days off were weekends and holidays)
How about you? Did you have breaks from full time work due to family issues or forced unemployment?
When I graduated college with my teaching degree, I started my first year of teaching three months later. I had several jobs in high school and college, too.
Anyway, the only time I didn't teach school was for six weeks when I took off after having our only child. I had to use accumulated sick leave time for that. After the six weeks were up, I went back to teaching and never took off for an extended time again.
Of course, my teacher husband and I had summers off from school, but we also had summer jobs. He worked every summer, and I worked summers for the six years before our daughter was born. After her birth, I was a stay at home mom until school started again. Then it was back to the classroom for both of us.
We couldn't afford to "take a break from working." We worked as teaches for 36 years before our retirement. Now we are taking a break.
I always had a job from 10 when I got paper route to retirement. Part time during school and full time in summer from elementary to finished college. Pretty much everyone I grew up did at least thru high school.
Did not work FOR PAY while my kids were very small, and did not work FOR PAY during my first two years of law school. But I contend I worked straight through from age 16 until retirement.
Does any stints of unemployment count? If so yes I had two 6 month transition periods between jobs. Getting out of active duty in school then when my employer moved out of state and I was laid off.
I'm not retired yet, but I haven't had any breaks from employment. Worked full time through college. I have worked two jobs for a period of 15 years. My current employer does not give paid vacation or holidays (it is a professional job), so no time off for going on 5 years now.
Thus far, I've worked from age 16 to now (45) with 11 months of unemployment after getting laid off in 2009. Even during my college years I worked (at a radio station) in between my class schedule. During my layoff time I did freelance work to extend my unemployment benefits as long as I could. So I was still working in some capacity even then (transcription from home).
started working during the summer picking fruit at age 11. Then to babysitting year round. I'd get home from school, change my clothes, the mother would pick me up and then take me home about 11:30. 3 kids. $20/week
Took part of a summer off age 22 and went to Europe. Then home to work in a cherry freezing factory.
I took a year off when my father was very ill. Other than that I have worked since I was 12 - started with babysitting and house cleaning and summer jobs on neighbors farms, 2 jobs through college and full time since then. 445 days to retirement!
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