This kinda doesn't fit in any particular category, but here goes.
As many of you may or may not know, I work as a Youth Counselor* for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections at Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake School in Irma. Irma is located in a remote part of the state; if you draw a line between the Twin Cities and Green Bay, I'm located north of that line - by a good hour or so - right in the middle of the state.
As such, I am about three hours from the heavily populated part of the state, and three and a half hours from where I used to live - in Waukesha.
Backing up a bit: in case the comments all got archived, I was somewhat forced to move back in 2011 after the State of Wisconsin decided to close my former facility, Ethan Allen School for Boys, in Wales/Delafield. I had a choice: wait to take a job in the adult system, or go with the job up here to Irma. Guess which one I chose.
Since moving up here, life has gotten miserable. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been online here much for a while, and there's a reason: ordering. As in, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to order you to stay for an extra eight hours, we don't have enough staff to fill out our schedule, here's crappy-position-to-work 1, crappy-position-to-work 2, or crappy-position-to-work 3." And, because of that other thing that happened in 2011 in Wisconsin**, management has decided unilaterally that they can do this twice in a row before not forcing you a third time.
This has been the case for the last three years now. We've had brief respites where we've hired a lot of staff, but with the population we're dealing with***, the desire for people to work up here in the middle of nowhere for what can essentially be described as minimal with no benefits is extremely low. The lawsuits and investigations over the last three years have not helped, obviously.
So - what does this have to do with me?
Welp, as a Youth Counselor, I am considered to be part of the Protective Service part of the state's operations. This means that, as long as I have 20+ years of service in and am 50 or older, I can choose to retire early.
The "R" word from the title, you might say.
I'm not as old as Dave, but I do turn 50 next month. And I hit 20 years of continuous service back in 2013.
I am planning, as of this writing, to retire on January 6, 2018. However, there are some huge logistical issues between now and then:
1. Insurance. I have NFC as to what will happen to my group insurance next year. It is entirely possible that my monthly benefit (which is about 45% of my current monthly pay) will be mostly eaten up by insurance premiums.
2. Location. I want desperately to get as far away from this state as practicable. The current plan is to move to Arizona - but the month that I'm planning on doing so (January) is... well, look back at some of the comments Krisken and others from my state have said about the weather around here. It'd be like some of our Canadian residents choosing to move to Arizona in January.
3. What's next. Unlike this last move, I don't have anything lined up down in AZ. I'm essentially going to be moving down to where my dad lives in the East Valley, without anything set in advance. (I am planning on going down in December for a holiday visit, but that may be more to find someplace to live than to find job prospects.)
So - tl,dr version: my job sucks but I can retire after the 1st of the year; but I have no idea what to do next.
---
* - Yes, it's a glorified job title for "Juvenile Corrections Officer." I realize it.
** - This isn't the political thread, so just Google "Wisconsin Act 11" for yourself.
*** - More physical, more mental issues, more entitlement, more ugh.
As many of you may or may not know, I work as a Youth Counselor* for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections at Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake School in Irma. Irma is located in a remote part of the state; if you draw a line between the Twin Cities and Green Bay, I'm located north of that line - by a good hour or so - right in the middle of the state.
As such, I am about three hours from the heavily populated part of the state, and three and a half hours from where I used to live - in Waukesha.
Backing up a bit: in case the comments all got archived, I was somewhat forced to move back in 2011 after the State of Wisconsin decided to close my former facility, Ethan Allen School for Boys, in Wales/Delafield. I had a choice: wait to take a job in the adult system, or go with the job up here to Irma. Guess which one I chose.
Since moving up here, life has gotten miserable. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been online here much for a while, and there's a reason: ordering. As in, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to order you to stay for an extra eight hours, we don't have enough staff to fill out our schedule, here's crappy-position-to-work 1, crappy-position-to-work 2, or crappy-position-to-work 3." And, because of that other thing that happened in 2011 in Wisconsin**, management has decided unilaterally that they can do this twice in a row before not forcing you a third time.
This has been the case for the last three years now. We've had brief respites where we've hired a lot of staff, but with the population we're dealing with***, the desire for people to work up here in the middle of nowhere for what can essentially be described as minimal with no benefits is extremely low. The lawsuits and investigations over the last three years have not helped, obviously.
So - what does this have to do with me?
Welp, as a Youth Counselor, I am considered to be part of the Protective Service part of the state's operations. This means that, as long as I have 20+ years of service in and am 50 or older, I can choose to retire early.
The "R" word from the title, you might say.
I'm not as old as Dave, but I do turn 50 next month. And I hit 20 years of continuous service back in 2013.
I am planning, as of this writing, to retire on January 6, 2018. However, there are some huge logistical issues between now and then:
1. Insurance. I have NFC as to what will happen to my group insurance next year. It is entirely possible that my monthly benefit (which is about 45% of my current monthly pay) will be mostly eaten up by insurance premiums.
2. Location. I want desperately to get as far away from this state as practicable. The current plan is to move to Arizona - but the month that I'm planning on doing so (January) is... well, look back at some of the comments Krisken and others from my state have said about the weather around here. It'd be like some of our Canadian residents choosing to move to Arizona in January.
3. What's next. Unlike this last move, I don't have anything lined up down in AZ. I'm essentially going to be moving down to where my dad lives in the East Valley, without anything set in advance. (I am planning on going down in December for a holiday visit, but that may be more to find someplace to live than to find job prospects.)
So - tl,dr version: my job sucks but I can retire after the 1st of the year; but I have no idea what to do next.
---
* - Yes, it's a glorified job title for "Juvenile Corrections Officer." I realize it.
** - This isn't the political thread, so just Google "Wisconsin Act 11" for yourself.
*** - More physical, more mental issues, more entitlement, more ugh.
