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I guess it was different where we were at. I stood up for my boss and higher ranking people. It was just a sign of courtesy. It wasn't a full come to attention thing, and they usually told us to keep our seat, but we still made the attempt.
like I said, I was in a bad mood from being run around from place to place by people that seemed to not give a darn about helping. Darn county government employees!
I also hate that grocery stores haven't adopted the awesome one line feed to the checkout stands. Works great.
If people would only do what I said!
I agree with you. It would not be done for just any senior NCO. It was only reserved for command NCO's such as Command Sergeant Major (CSM) or E-9 with command privilege and authority. It was especially important if that CSM cam to your office to speak or enter a conference room.
I am going to retire in a month. Wife not working and for some reasons have no social security. Have enough money and mortgage is almost paid off. So money, invested wisely, is not exactly a worry.
What scares me to death is that I will have no value to offer to the world. I know I am much more intelligent and productive than my peers and others who are 15-20 years younger than me. But suddenly, all my experience and ability to achieve results is going to go waste. I look at my friends output and feel bad as to how come they are producing such bad results. I can almost certainly do better than most of them.
On the other hand, I am sick of taking any criticism from any of the bosses. Not merely that, I am emotionally exhausted as I have always put so much pressure on me to make my work be good. I have high BP, some obesity, bit of ADHD. Not working is certinly going to me stress free. I know I can read, spend time for music, movies, travel.
Still, fear of losing professional work does scare me. Has anyone else felt the same? If so, how did you over come this? Any advice?
I am a bit out from retirement (age 55 now, plan on retiring at 60 when the finances are more favorable) but have put some thought into this topic myself (What will I do then?), so I will share. I also have some of your sentiment on my work environment, which is likely not considered typical to most working Americans. I have had a series of young, highly educated (typically,engineering degrees) but very in-experienced supervisors over the last 12 years, and we work in a politically charged environment, which is something I am getting tired of for sure.
But I like the type of work that I do, and the problems I get to solve (technical/engineering). That is what makes my motor run, not making some semi clueless supervisor happy, that is trying to please somebody we dont even work for half the time, because of the "optics".
So what to do in retirement? Help my wife plant a vegetable garden? Set up a dozen bird feeders? Join a church I have no interest in?
Seeing as I have a solid background in electrical and HVAC&R, I think I am going to look at part time employment at one of the home improvement centers. They have folks that are there simply to help home owners steer home improvement projects the right way. I think I would like doing that.
Perhaps you could find something related to what you do, but only part time.
I also retired as a senior NCO from the military. Other than a stint at a recruit training command, nobody stood up for senior enlisted entering a room, ever.
That's what I was thinking too. Why should people be standing for an NCO? Never seen it happen unless it was in Basic Training and it was your TI.
I agree with you. It would not be done for just any senior NCO. It was only reserved for command NCO's such as Command Sergeant Major (CSM) or E-9 with command privilege and authority. It was especially important if that CSM cam to your office to speak or enter a conference room.
We would do that, yes for command level NCO types, such as Command Master Chief (I was Navy) at formal or semi formal circumstances. In my history, always an E-9 with that command level assignment.
Run of the mill E-7 CPO in an OPS capacity like the jobs I usually had? Nobody ever stood up, and I would not want them to (except for the 2 years I trained recruits).
I had one staff job as a brigade liasion for deployed Seabee battalions when I was at the E-6 level, and I interacted with senior NCO types every day. I would insist on addressing them by their rank/position, even when they liked to bring it to the "Hey, call me Jim" level (I was in a position to influence the operational projects their battalion was tasked with, and I resisted this casual approach). But we (I) never stood when they entered a room we were already in. Maybe just a difference between Navy and Army/Marine Corp cultures? I never had the opportunity for inter service assignments. Nowadays, post recruit technical training for Navy Seabees is done with the Army for many MOS/rates.
I'm many years away from retirement. Buy I enjoy going to auctions on the weekend, buying random items and selling them online (ebay, craigslist, letgo, etc). The thing I like most about this little adventure is that it is completely on my terms, you never know what you're going to find at the auctions, you get to meet people, and best of all there is a lot of leftover stuff you get to donate.
Its not uncommon for me to have my eye on something, lets say a nice fishing pole. But the 10 items before the fishing pole are random lamps, glassware, a bowling ball, and some random art. Nobody is interested in bidding on the other stuff so they just keep lumping it into a bigger and bigger lot. Eventually they get to the fishing pole and I win it for $6.. now I have my pole, but I also have 10 other items that I had no interest in that came with the pole.. sooooo it all gets donated, I get a nice little tax write off and someone will be more than happy to take those other items.
You can use Auctionzip.com to locate the auctions near you.. you'd be surprised what comes up at these places. Its a lot of fun and super easy. If you'd like a bit more info feel free to PM me.
We would do that, yes for command level NCO types, such as Command Master Chief (I was Navy) at formal or semi formal circumstances. In my history, always an E-9 with that command level assignment.
Run of the mill E-7 CPO in an OPS capacity like the jobs I usually had? Nobody ever stood up, and I would not want them to (except for the 2 years I trained recruits).
I had one staff job as a brigade liasion for deployed Seabee battalions when I was at the E-6 level, and I interacted with senior NCO types every day. I would insist on addressing them by their rank/position, even when they liked to bring it to the "Hey, call me Jim" level (I was in a position to influence the operational projects their battalion was tasked with, and I resisted this casual approach). But we (I) never stood when they entered a room we were already in. Maybe just a difference between Navy and Army/Marine Corp cultures? I never had the opportunity for inter service assignments. Nowadays, post recruit technical training for Navy Seabees is done with the Army for many MOS/rates.
I was Air Force.
Did work with some Navy people when I was in Kuwait and I found it fascinating how they would address us by our full rank. We would just say Sgt XYZ. We never even attempted to learn the other branches rank insignia. Too confusing.
I was the only senior NCO in my flight. We had very few in our squadron at my last assignment. Very few in my first assignment.
I don't know, even for being maintenance types, we were always just very polite. Or maybe because I am female, it was different. Who knows.
I am going to retire in a month. Wife not working and for some reasons have no social security. Have enough money and mortgage is almost paid off. So money, invested wisely, is not exactly a worry.
What scares me to death is that I will have no value to offer to the world. I know I am much more intelligent and productive than my peers and others who are 15-20 years younger than me. But suddenly, all my experience and ability to achieve results is going to go waste. I look at my friends output and feel bad as to how come they are producing such bad results. I can almost certainly do better than most of them.
On the other hand, I am sick of taking any criticism from any of the bosses. Not merely that, I am emotionally exhausted as I have always put so much pressure on me to make my work be good. I have high BP, some obesity, bit of ADHD. Not working is certinly going to me stress free. I know I can read, spend time for music, movies, travel.
Still, fear of losing professional work does scare me. Has anyone else felt the same? If so, how did you over come this? Any advice?
Most certainly. Accepting your new situation will take time and courage.
My retirement was forced after I burned out when in a #1 position due to unceasing pressure from my employer. A great job was never enough. There was no gravy.
One never comes back from burn-out in the same capacity as before.
Funds I set aside for retirement were frittered away to living expenses after I was no longer able to work.
My greatest worry is not affording shelter and living expenses. In short order having to live out of dumpsters and eat canned cat food.
Yes there is and can be the fear of losing your professional life. Yes there is if you want the adrenaline raising excitement of being redefined and reinvented in a life revolving around you and the wife and your joint experiences which are still to be defined. Now is the time to shift to finding the value of you, for you and your family. You may find it amazing what provides you great joy in life. As my wife said to me today before we headed out of town that people would laugh if they knew that one of our great joys earlier today was seeing 10-12 Yellow Finches on one feeder. They were all there because a squirrel was being a pain on the other side of the deck.
In fact our last 24 hours have been as we were discussing while walking along the shore line a dream and how lucky we were to be living it. It includes seeing a great production of Jesus Christ Super Star last night. Add in a great sea food dinner from Publix and what a Bada Bing 24 hours.
When we retired we had no idea what would play out. We had some hopes and questions and now almost ten years later we have answers and so will you if you welcome the adventure.
Yup, as retired folks now we really have the time to stop and smell the roses, in whatever forms those roses take for us. I just had to high five your comment about finding such joy in those little things. We take joy in seeing the wild birds and other critters that share their little piece of paradise with us. Just the other day we saw a squirrel and a peregrine falcon staring at each other in some kind of a standoff- before each of them went on his way, a bald eagle sitting on the top of our seawall (riprap) checking things out, and the beautiful little blue heron that's claimed one of the pilings on our dock as his own come right up to the screen outside the patio and stare in-to see what he could see I guess, before he made it back down to the water.
We love watching the myriad of other herons, hawks, ospreys, kingfishers and other birds as they fish, catch crabs and go on with their other activities, and even an occasional alligator meandering down to the river or sunning himself on the bank.
And the volunteering, there is so much need for volunteer services, and varieties of ways to do it. I've always felt as though if we're lucky enough to be financially set enough so we no longer need to work to earn a living, what better way to use our own abilities, interests, energy and whatever other assets we have than to give back to our fellow man and volunteer as we are able and inclined.
We would do that, yes for command level NCO types, such as Command Master Chief (I was Navy) at formal or semi formal circumstances. In my history, always an E-9 with that command level assignment.
Run of the mill E-7 CPO in an OPS capacity like the jobs I usually had? Nobody ever stood up, and I would not want them to (except for the 2 years I trained recruits).
I had one staff job as a brigade liasion for deployed Seabee battalions when I was at the E-6 level, and I interacted with senior NCO types every day. I would insist on addressing them by their rank/position, even when they liked to bring it to the "Hey, call me Jim" level (I was in a position to influence the operational projects their battalion was tasked with, and I resisted this casual approach). But we (I) never stood when they entered a room we were already in. Maybe just a difference between Navy and Army/Marine Corp cultures? I never had the opportunity for inter service assignments. Nowadays, post recruit technical training for Navy Seabees is done with the Army for many MOS/rates.
Not even me as 1SG or First Sergeant E-8. Being the senior NCO at the company level. The only exception would be first formation when I called the unit to attention. As a platoon sergeant E7 my respect came slightly different and I gave them my all.
I am semi-retired since last June, still working in IT, part time. I love this work, have done it for over 20 years. But in all that time I never had what I would consider a good boss.
In the beginning I thought it was because I was inexperienced, or don't have the right college degree. In the middle, I still thought maybe I wasn't good enough.
The managers were always very young. Some were smart and knowledgeable, some were not.
After 20+ years of doing the same kind of work, and it's work I love doing, I am sure I must be good enough. My current manager thinks I am very good.
But he is the worst IT boss I ever had. Criticizes and blames me unfairly, seems to resent the fact that I can afford to work part time. Tells me I never want to learn new things, that I do everything like it was 10 years ago (none of that is true, it's just ageism).
I am trying to change to part-time teaching instead. My bosses would not be young guys, at least.
I would rather not work at all, but I think it's better to make a little money, just to make sure I have enough.
If I didn't work at all, I might feel useless and lazy and guilty, but I would have a great time. I have a hobby that I love and I meet a lot of people because of it.
And I love walking, biking, swimming, and would have more time for all that.
And I have friends who live near me that I have not seen in years, and I would be able to see them.
And I love to read, all kinds of things.
Being employed makes me feel useful and responsible. But it isn't worth it if I have to take abuse.
So maybe OP you could look at it that way.
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