I thought I would start a spinoff thread from the one that Alpie began with his retirement announcement. That one became a mix of people wishing Alpie good luck and others voicing their frustrations--or lack of--in their employment and how that effects their lives, and their was some musings on the value of labor in a capitalistic society. I was hoping that part of the discussion may gain some legs here and not taint the good wishes to Alpie.
I will turn 57 in a few weeks. I am a Physician, until very lately I was a Primary Care Physician. I was self employed, and this became an increasingly untenable position. Less than 1/3 of the Physicians in the States now own their own Practices and most work for some sort of Corporate Interest, as I now do.
A few years ago I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, on a routine Lab test. My condition is at present stable and I am in fact without symptoms. On the other hand, at present there is no treatment available to me that will prevent the condition from turning into a disease. Having cared for patients with this condition that eventually became symptomatic and expired from it, I decided that my 90 hour work week, with 24 hour availability, daily hospital rounds being exposed to every germ conceivable, had to change in order to maximize my prognosis.
I was certified in Weight Loss Medicine and made a deal to sell my Practice to a For Profit Hospital Chain, in exchange for helping them run a Medical Weight Loss Program. I no longer carry a pager or have to answer calls at night, and essentially now work a 40 hour work week. My contract is for 3 year years and the Administrators of this Soulless Corporation have changed 3 times in my 12 months of employment. Learning to navigate this Corporate minefield has been an interesting experience. I have a mission within my job that has been difficult to bring off because I keep having to reexplain myself to new people, all of whom are business oriented and don't know the first thing about Patient Care. So my greatest anxiety is where this will end, but my fallback position is to go back to being a Primary Care Physician and working out the string until I hit 65.
Someone made a comment on the earlier thread that being self employed must be a great source of satisfaction. I can assure you that it has another side. Having to make a payroll, manage a retirement plan, deal with all of the rapacious vendors, and employee issues was not something that I bargained for and I don't miss it.
i truly wish that I could retire now, but I have had 3 children, two of whom are still floundering and need support, so it isn't an option.
One thing I have learned is that if you don't enjoy your job, it is hard to enjoy your life. Regrettably, we spend more time with our coworkers than with our families. And then in a corporate environment there are the careerists that don't mind who they are stepping on to advance their own interests.
I would appreciate hearing more about people's working lives, past or present. Whether we like it or not, they do to an extent wind up partly defining us.
I will turn 57 in a few weeks. I am a Physician, until very lately I was a Primary Care Physician. I was self employed, and this became an increasingly untenable position. Less than 1/3 of the Physicians in the States now own their own Practices and most work for some sort of Corporate Interest, as I now do.
A few years ago I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, on a routine Lab test. My condition is at present stable and I am in fact without symptoms. On the other hand, at present there is no treatment available to me that will prevent the condition from turning into a disease. Having cared for patients with this condition that eventually became symptomatic and expired from it, I decided that my 90 hour work week, with 24 hour availability, daily hospital rounds being exposed to every germ conceivable, had to change in order to maximize my prognosis.
I was certified in Weight Loss Medicine and made a deal to sell my Practice to a For Profit Hospital Chain, in exchange for helping them run a Medical Weight Loss Program. I no longer carry a pager or have to answer calls at night, and essentially now work a 40 hour work week. My contract is for 3 year years and the Administrators of this Soulless Corporation have changed 3 times in my 12 months of employment. Learning to navigate this Corporate minefield has been an interesting experience. I have a mission within my job that has been difficult to bring off because I keep having to reexplain myself to new people, all of whom are business oriented and don't know the first thing about Patient Care. So my greatest anxiety is where this will end, but my fallback position is to go back to being a Primary Care Physician and working out the string until I hit 65.
Someone made a comment on the earlier thread that being self employed must be a great source of satisfaction. I can assure you that it has another side. Having to make a payroll, manage a retirement plan, deal with all of the rapacious vendors, and employee issues was not something that I bargained for and I don't miss it.
i truly wish that I could retire now, but I have had 3 children, two of whom are still floundering and need support, so it isn't an option.
One thing I have learned is that if you don't enjoy your job, it is hard to enjoy your life. Regrettably, we spend more time with our coworkers than with our families. And then in a corporate environment there are the careerists that don't mind who they are stepping on to advance their own interests.
I would appreciate hearing more about people's working lives, past or present. Whether we like it or not, they do to an extent wind up partly defining us.
. The most recent was run by someone who had also run courses for Blair's cabinet office - I can remember precisely nothing about that one. 
I suppose the worst they could do in Pet's case is to offer a redundancy package which he would of course grab. The one thing I'd say about your job Pet is that it has funded an enviable concert-going career - there are drawbacks for the classical music lover living a very long way from a concert hall!
), is not just bad luck. This situation has been engineered for the economic and social advantage of a small group.
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