40 Years = 40 Miles
 

Today I reached 40 years with the same employer. Never thought or planned for it to happen. In fact I thought I'd have exited 5-6 years ago. It would actually be a longer tenure if they would give me credits for working summers and holidays while I was in College!

Guess I'll go out tonight and ride 40 miles and think about what in the heck I've done for the last 40 years. I'm not really sure I want to reflect back on all those years. I think I'd really like to be thinking about the bike rides and tours I have planned this summer!!

Who else has spent 40 years or more with the same employer? And yes mergers and acquisitions count and continued employment with the same firm.

Congrats! Does that mean retirement is closing in?

24 years with the US Air Force. I've also worked about 14 more years as a contractor supporting the USAF, but that's not really the same.

Just a congratulations on your ability to stay with it. That's longer than many supposedly TDDUP marriages.

Enjoy your ride.

Congrats, we've got some lifers here that have been on the clock for 50+! I started here too late to make 40 years, I think I could just squeak into 30 years if they'll have me that long...

37 years with the same employer before I retired at 68. Company was actually purchased in 2000, but all benefits, etc. were bridged so I count that as continuous employment.

Congrats on making 40!

I can see the 40 yr light at the end of the tunnel....Or, it's a train that's going to run me over before I get there.

I'll have 36 yrs on Thursday, and at the ripe old age of 55, I have a ways to go.

Enjoyed 40.4 miles tonight with good riding friends. A great way to celebrate the day! Now back to work..........

That's a long time. If I go back to work next month and work just 2 more years that will be 20 years for me. And I will have gone back to the same company 3 times just to make that. The job I had before that was the first job that I had three years in without quitting and going back several times. Buying a house settled me down some.....Like slavery.

I've had about a dozen machinists jobs since I was thirty and couldn't even begin to count all the different jobs I had before that.

You must enjoy what you do there. I did for a while, but the last few years were increasingly a chore, so I bailed after 29 years. Do it as long as you would rather be doing it than not.

W-O-R-K is a 4-letter word!
Been retired for 19 and lovin' it!

I'm at 19 years, top 5 in seniority with hourly folks. I work in manufacturing and started 4 moths after they started. I'm 42 now and will probably surpass 40 years if the company is still around because highly doubt I will ever be able to retire. I'll be 63 when I reach 40 years, so I figure I'll be dead far before 70, so maybe I'll shoot for 45 years?

It will be 41 years in August for me, although I did take a year off to finish up college.

I had 31 in, counting the mergers/acquisitions, then they got greedy, overextended and couldn't survive the last economic mess. I was 50 at the time.

Today 40 years at the same job is a bit of an anomaly. In terms of looking back on those 40 years, don't forget to value the fact that you were paying bills, paying taxes, supporting family and doing what needed to be done. So, I agree with BluesDawg that you must like some of what you do, or.... you're a much more disciplined person than most. The longest stretch for me is my current position at 23 years. Prior to that I had a seven year stretch, preceded by one five year, two four year and three one year stretches. When I was young (16) I had no idea what I wanted to do or be, but had to work. So, I changed jobs pretty regularly. Today, I can't imagine what I would be like if I had stayed at any of the jobs, save my current one, for even ten years. I'm guessing that during the 40 year span there were periods where you had to overcome and/or tough it out. These are traits that many cyclist know first hand. OK, enough with the ramble.... Congrats on reaching this benchmark.

I'm 51 years old and have changed jobs every 7 to 10 years and every step was a big step up. At my age now I hope I don't have any more changes until the day I hang it up.
The men in my family history are usually dead by age 57 so might not be much longer. I will hopefully keep riding my bike and sail past 57 but ye never know.
Congrats on the milestone!

Does 34 years with the same school department count? I started as a middle school teacher in one school and ended as the technology director in an office. Retired at the ripe old age of 58. Seems like a long time ago but only 7 years. Now I find that retirement is the best job on the planet.:thumb:

I hadn't really thought about it that much....just taken it for granted I suppose. But one thing that has made it easier is that I've had a number of different roles during the 40 years. That certainly helps minimize the risk of complacency. My roles have always involved a mix of working with people, groups of people along with a technical slant. So I'm still learning and relearning.....every day seems like it has different challenges. And it didn't hurt that there were several college tuition's and weddings that needed to get paid for........and it helps me to keep the stable stocked with bikes and other toys.

Congratulations
Now go an retire and enjoy your bike's an other hobbies
a person never knows how long they have here
and I haven't heard anybody on there death bed say they wished they had worked longer/more
besides my kid needs a better job so he can move out :D

Employed in the company I own since 1973, does that count?

This is my 45th year spread over two employers and several types of jobs. Hoping to work 3 more and retire at 70. I like working, though. I don't envy my friends who are retired - looks boring.

[QUOTE=NVanHiker;16801299]This is my 45th year spread over two employers and several types of jobs. Hoping to work 3 more and retire at 70. I like working, though. I don't envy my friends who are retired - looks boring.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps they should pick up a hobby like cycling or something. I would hate to retire and find myself bored.....but I heard it can happen.

Over the long haul the excitement over positive change and meeting new people is tempered by negative change and losing favorite people. I guess that goes for life, too.

That is impressive, more than impressive, mind-boggling achievement.

I'm into my 4th year here. Your 40 years, I just can't quite grasp it, what that is like. Congratulations.