Ideas for life after early retirement

[siahus]

Hi

I just turned 50 and am in a pediatric subspeciality that is in very high demand, but the jobs out there suck and pay poorly (I have been $110K-160K). I have suffered discrimination and harrassment at work and was forced to resign under threat of termination in Mar this year. It has been hard emotionally, as no clear procedure was followed bec the contract clearly allows the dept chair to fire anyone with out cause (I was 19/25 original MDs in the group who left under similar circumstances/were fired by this very toxic chairwoman, in the 3.5 yrs since she arrived, known all over the hospital for being vindictive - so I don't want to even file a law suit as it wuld make me a potential liability to isn't that suck as a qualified MD that we have no recourse!?)

So I have found a job now, that is not optimal, but will start around Oct/Nov. Last month, I ended up seeing a financial advisor thru TIAA and also discussed with Vanguard, and they think that if I maintain my current low expense lifestyle (not a home owner, as I could not afford, and single with no kids) I could potentially do OK, and if I worked till 55, I would be in a much better shape.

I want to start thinking of what I could do in retirement that would be fulfilling and also bring in some income. I have thought of consulting for Boston Consulting Group, but they are very business oriented and have a very strict intake policy and interview process and I might not get in. I could do locums, but they are not available in my pediatric subspecialty and if they are, they pay barely $1200 per day and not worth it.

Would love to know what others are doing/planning to do as I have a 5 yr headstart to plan. Since I am single with no liabilities of kids, I am very mobile and can work overseas for sometime too as I love travelling. I wish there were helpful sites for us doctors to advertise/share opportunities/ideas - the few out there just take $ and are not very helpful.

[Zaphod]

siahus wrote:

Hi

I just turned 50 and am in a pediatric subspeciality that is in very high demand, but the jobs out there suck and pay poorly (I have been $110K-160K). I have suffered discrimination and harrassment at work and was forced to resign under threat of termination in Mar this year. It has been hard emotionally, as no clear procedure was followed bec the contract clearly allows the dept chair to fire anyone with out cause (I was 19/25 original MDs in the group who left under similar circumstances/were fired by this very toxic chairwoman, in the 3.5 yrs since she arrived, known all over the hospital for being vindictive – so I don’t want to even file a law suit as it wuld make me a potential liability to isn’t that suck as a qualified MD that we have no recourse!?)

So I have found a job now, that is not optimal, but will start around Oct/Nov. Last month, I ended up seeing a financial advisor thru TIAA and also discussed with Vanguard, and they think that if I maintain my current low expense lifestyle (not a home owner, as I could not afford, and single with no kids) I could potentially do OK, and if I worked till 55, I would be in a much better shape.

I want to start thinking of what I could do in retirement that would be fulfilling and also bring in some income. I have thought of consulting for Boston Consulting Group, but they are very business oriented and have a very strict intake policy and interview process and I might not get in. I could do locums, but they are not available in my pediatric subspecialty and if they are, they pay barely $1200 per day and not worth it.

Would love to know what others are doing/planning to do as I have a 5 yr headstart to plan. Since I am single with no liabilities of kids, I am very mobile and can work overseas for sometime too as I love travelling. I wish there were helpful sites for us doctors to advertise/share opportunities/ideas – the few out there just take $ and are not very helpful.

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Since you are single, you can take whatever pay you have, live as frugally as possible and pack it away.

What are your other financial metrics like net worth, debts, expenses, and retirement accounts. Impossible to say without knowing those.

[Dreamgiver]

There is a lot of value about moving on and not looking at the past. However, if egregious misconduct happened on the part of your employer, I would visit a labor attorney to taste the waters. Perhaps you might be due a severance package or something to help you cover the gap in-between jobs.

[Hatton]

Hopefully you have been saving and planning.  I agree with Zaphod that you need to post some numbers for help.  It sounds like you should be relieved to be out of a toxic job.

[adventure]

siahus wrote:

in a pediatric subspeciality that is in very high demand, but the jobs out there suck and pay poorly (I have been $110K-160K).

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Capitalism (supply/demand) says that can't happen. What's really going on in this market?

[adventure]

siahus wrote:

and pay poorly (I have been $110K-160K).

Click to expand...

siahus wrote:

they pay barely $1200 per day and not worth it.

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$1200 a day * 200 working days/year = 240,000. That's more than 110-160, even if you factor in some 1099 expenses.

Zaphod wrote:

Since you are single, you can take whatever pay you have, live as frugally as possible and pack it away.

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Agreed!

siahus wrote:

I have thought of consulting for Boston Consulting Group,

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Worth looking into - also there are lots of places aside from BCG. Keep looking if you don't like what you have now. Enjoy some of the time until Oct too!!

[Craigy]

Can you not just do regular pediatric work?

As said above, $1,200 a day isn't bad.

[VagabondMD]

I am a year older with a more complex family life and also targeting 55 as my "drop dead" retirement age but may drop out sooner. I am going part time in the fall and have been working with a physician career transition coach to develop potential ideas that might lead to Career 2.0. Some of these are related to my medical career, and others are completely unrelated. It might be worth spending the time and money for a similar exploration. Your next career could be another 20 years, and while you might fall into it, it also might be something to approach intentionally.

[siahus]

@ Vagabond MD: Thanks for your reply. I have lived frugally and saved as well as invested any $ gifts/inheritance from my parents. I have no debts/liabilities and I am not a home owner. My total assets are in Vanguard (retirement/non retirement) and are approx $2 million.

I have tried working with a MD career transition coach who turned out to be a very negative person and I could not get along with him. I just felt I was wasting time and money.

The idea of this post is to see what others are doing - you are very vague in saying "some of these are related to my medical career" to help share more openly guide each other - maybe ideas will merge and there may be collaborations made here.

[siahus]

Those saying that $1,200/day (gross, no 401K and health benefits) is "not bad" = Locum is hard to get because it is a niche specialty and is only for a few months if any is to be found - how does that come to 250,000/yr with an erratic locum market? I get maybe 1 or 2 emails thru the locums companies for such locums per year, so I cannot survive on that uncertainty.

BTW, Adult neurologists get over $1,900/day for locums. And no, I have not touched an adult patient in 20 years to be able to take care of a stroke - I am sure you would not want me as your adult neurologist!

And no, I cannot do Gen pediatrics bec my training in peds was not long enough to make me BE. During those days, we were told there would always be a shortage and jobs will always be there so don't waste your time and energy doing general stuff.

 

Yes, I have lived frugally taht is why I have saved $2 mill in my retirement and nonretirement portfolios and have been able to manage to live on my emergency funds till now without compromising my frugal lifestyle any further

[siahus]

Dreamgiver wrote:

There is a lot of value about moving on and not looking at the past. However, if egregious misconduct happened on the part of your employer, I would visit a labor attorney to taste the waters. Perhaps you might be due a severance package or something to help you cover the gap in-between jobs.

Click to expand...

I have thought about it, but would not want any future employer to think of my as litiginous and hence a legal liability and not get a job. I have met with an employment law litigator 2 days ago though to get my ex chair to retract the letter saying she "terminated me" for being " no longer productive to the dept", which she sent me a copy of almost 3 mths after I resigned bec of continuing harrassment which was affecting my physical and psychological well being. He agreed that this was defamation and needed to be addressed. he will be sending her the letter next week with a 15 day response time. If she does not respond favorably, he will threaten action.

We did discuss getting severance or recourse for being underpaid for the 6 yrs, but I don't want that until I have a job in hand and also if anyone can share if they have heard negative consequences of such an action on their own/some other colleague's career with such an action.

[siahus]

adventure wrote:

siahus wrote:

and pay poorly (I have been $110K-160K). 

Click to expand…

siahus wrote:

they pay barely $1200 per day and not worth it. 

Click to expand…

$1200 a day * 200 working days/year = 240,000. That’s more than 110-160, even if you factor in some 1099 expenses.

Zaphod wrote:

Since you are single, you can take whatever pay you have, live as frugally as possible and pack it away. 

Click to expand…

Agreed!

siahus wrote:

I have thought of consulting for Boston Consulting Group, 

Click to expand…

Worth looking into – also there are lots of places aside from BCG. Keep looking if you don’t like what you have now. Enjoy some of the time until Oct too!!

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Yes, adventure, I am thinking of slowly learning about BCG, McKinsey etc and their business as I hopefully start the new job this fall so I can quit it in 5 yrs (their 401K is not fully vested until then and I would not want to walk away from it, UNLESS I got a great alternative in the next couple of years) and have to do my board recertification next year

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

With $2M, single and a frugal lifestyle, you are in good shape to do whatever it is you find fulfilling, whether it pays or not.

I have a whole website with > 100 posts related to early retirement issues for high income professionals like you. Early Retirement Chose Me, 50 Ways I'd Like to Spend My Time in Early Retirement, and Early Retirement and the Likelihood of Regret might be right up your alley.

As an aside, locums pay can vary greatly, but as an anesthesiologist, I was getting $1,300 to $1,600 per 8 hour day plus expenses paid. More lucrative jobs exist, but that's what the agencies paid. $1,200 for a really low paying specialty sounds like good work if you can get it, but it doesn't sound like you don't need money.

Cheers!

-POF

 

[hightower]

PhysicianOnFIRE wrote:

With $2M, single and a frugal lifestyle, you are in good shape to do whatever it is you find fulfilling, whether it pays or not.

I have a whole website with > 100 posts related to early retirement issues for high income professionals like you. Early Retirement Chose Me, 50 Ways I’d Like to Spend My Time in Early Retirement, and Early Retirement and the Likelihood of Regret might be right up your alley.

As an aside, locums pay can vary greatly, but as an anesthesiologist, I was getting $1,300 to $1,600 per 8 hour day plus expenses paid. More lucrative jobs exist, but that’s what the agencies paid. $1,200 for a really low paying specialty sounds like good work if you can get it, but it doesn’t sound like you don’t need money.

Cheers!

-POF

 

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I agree.  You have plenty of savings to retire/semi-retire and not look back. You can literally do anything you want.  The reason people aren't throwing out specific suggestions is because it's such a personal choice.  We don't know you or your likes/interests.  You mentioned you like traveling...you could take up travel photography and start a blog exploring the world?  The options are infinite.  If I were you I would just find some part time locums work or a part time contract job somewhere and start exploring your interests on your days off.  Start up some hobbies, meet new people, travel a little, etc.  Follow what excites you the most.  It might take you years to find what you're looking for though.  Good luck and keep us posted on your progress

[Hatton]

Hey I got married at 52.  I went to part time at 56.  You have time to do what you want.