Considering career change after 24 years

[Charles Prestridge]

I would grind the year to be able to collect at age 50 vs leaving now and collecting at age 55. Take the next year to do your research and find the next stop, a year will fly by if you are working towards the next step. In the short time, are there non LE positions in the same retirement system? I'd look there first just to carry out what you have invested so much in.

I'm 23 years in this June, 46 years old so nearly the same as your situation. I'm at least staying to age 50, might stay to 53 then I'm definitely done.

This is also my thoughts. Do less and work less hours. Sometimes it is very refreshing to only doing what is best for you.

[jtlucas]

Congratulations and thank you for keeping Iowa safe for so many years. I honestly don't know how you LEO's and teachers deal with the BS anymore.

[mastergun]

I wouldn't be able to collect it until I turned 55. If I stayed another year I would have 22 years at that department so I would be eligible to collect it at 50. I am not sure I can do another 3.5 years. There are some other factors I'd rather not air online too. A few people have told me that life is too short to be unhappy at work. I believe that but this has been my whole adult life.

Without knowing your full circumstances, I would hang on the extra year so you can start collecting 5 years sooner if you didn’t.

[CaymasCobaltKen]

Congratulations! I have been retired 5 years after 33 years in law enforcement. The world has changed, but I was fortunate to work in a city that supported their cops and firemen. My most positive memories are the kids who stopped playing to wave at the police car and the old ladies who dropped off cookies to show their appreciation.

[Firecop188]

Congrats man! Best of luck to you, thanks for your service.

[MI bassassassin]

You said you like sales and sell pole barns for a construction company. You easily take that experience to a lumber company and do sales there either as an inside or outside sales person. Doing outside sales you would concentrate on contractors and it can be fairly lucrative career. I did for 16 years up until the crash in 2007 when I transitioned to IT. The places I worked provided insurance and matching 401k opportunities. With your background you’ll have multiple options available, send out lots of resumes and interview them as much as they they interview you. There’s a worker shortage and that gives you a lot of negotiating power.

[Les Young]

Talk it though with the wife & try to stay one more year so you can collect at 50. It would be nice to have a retirement check coming in so young & have a regular 8 hour a day job to live on. You could really put back some money for a few years so that when old enough you & the misses could really enjoy your retired life together.

[Stratosfaction1]

In situations like yours (symptoms of burnout), a lot of people choose to start a business on their own than to be employed by someone else.

If you're not sure about that, look here for the questions to ask yourself and see if you are ready to start a business.

Reading your messages, I'm sure this is what you need. Being employed in the same field for 24 years must be really torturous.

[DaveBrabec]

Got out of construction after 30 years. Housing crash Bought a tackle shop and ran it for 12 years. Sold it when I could collect SS Long hours In the shop.

[1stindoor]

Quick update. I finished the year out. Am vested in my pension and can now collect at 50 vs the 55 if I left early. Gave my two weeks notice yesterday and am walking away from law enforcement. I already found a sales job selling post frame building components to various businesses with active accounts plus I can still sell buildings too. It feels like what I need to be doing now. Thanks again for all the advice to stick it out. I am at peace moving on.

Aaron

Congratulations! That one year will pay dividends and be a good extra income stream you can count on for the rest of your life.

[Cbump]

Damn Iowa sucks. 20 years here, with 2 to 1 match by the city, and you can retire with a pay check for life.

[Okie Poke]

Firstly, thank you for your service in a very demanding and tough career. I know I couldn’t do it for any amount of cash. You’ve got to figure out how to attend your children’s college sports, at all cost. Sometimes it’s best to just break free and figure it out as you go. You may need several jobs to supplement that income, but it sounds like you can easily do it. To have a job in law enforcement for 24 years, I can guarantee you can adapt to anything. More power to you and I’m sending God’s blessings. You got this!

[RockOn]

That cab be really intense

[RockOn]

That can be really intense