At the airport waiting to board my first flight – to London.
Just enough time for a few words about the back story.
After all, this blog is certainly about life after career. And I
don’t mean “retirement” because that term itself needs to be retired. The whole
reason I’m in this airport lounge about to travel half way around the world to
begin a job teaching English in East Java, Indonesia --- a place I have never
been to, by the way --- is because I craved new adventures even before I put my
first career to rest. I wanted to “un-retire.”
I am a recovering lawyer. Nothing wrong with practicing law,
mind you. Knowing the law allows you to serve others, make a reasonably good
living, protect yourself and your loved ones, and work in a wide variety of
practice areas. But after many years in the adversarial arena, laboring in a
system that is both just and unjust, and being subject to a fair amount of
pressure in the process, I was ready to try something else. Some people ask me
“Why did you leave your law practice?” I reply by asking them to imagine how
they would feel after doing litigation for as many years as I did. And why
practice only one set of work skills for your whole life, anyway?
Look, I’m not trying to talk anyone into leaving a job they
love or need to support dependents. But I do think that many of the personal
finance gurus, the banks, and financial institutions have conspired together to
frighten would-be “second career” candidates away. They write about saving
ridiculous multiples of income and building extensive retirement portfolios. My
own reading and planning and preparation for leaving the working world was
extensive, I assure you. And I believe that many of these requirements are
exaggerated. If you have reasonable savings, can manage your finances, and
create a realistic budget for going forward --- especially one that includes
generating some income ---- then you, too, can transition from full time work
to a different life style. It’s really just a matter of trading money for time.
If this interests you, noodle on it; you may be better able than you think!
My own solution centered around teaching English as a Second
Language. I had this in the back of my mind for years. Riding the subway as a
law student, I remember seeing posters for getting a teaching certificate. I
enjoy meeting people from different cultures, and I am an enthusiastic teacher.
So in June 2010, after giving lots of notice to my law firm, I left my job and
took the summer off. It was “The Summer of John” after a Seinfeld episode. Great times, a big exhale, one of the best
summers ever. But I was working on my plan. I carefully researched and signed
up for a Certificate Program, purged some work files, put the rest away; took
some time to visit family; worked out and played some gigs (more about this in
another post). I took my Certificate course full time in October and continued
to work on my resume, and do a few informational interviews. And early in 2011,
I got my first job, teaching business English at for an international education
company. The money is not what I was used to, but it was enough for spending
money and paying some bills. My wife Cheryl has a good job with benefits to
cover both of us, so that was very big. Teaching ESL provides some flexibility
in work schedule. It is portable and exportable, if you like to travel. It requires effort and preparation, but it’s
not digging ditches. And I think it can be very rewarding. In short, it works
for me.
Besides teaching ESL at school, I founded a company that
partners with businesses to teach ESL to their workers on site, at their place
of business. This teaching model emphasizes English words and usage that these
workers need to do their jobs well. My first client was a hotel chain.
The opportunity to apply for a job teaching English in
Indonesia came this past summer, as I began perusing possibilities online. The
particular job I applied for was with the company I already worked for, and one of
my managers actually taught ESL in Surabaya some years ago. The job included a
place to live, medical insurance, payment of travel and visa expenses, and an
okay salary. The process took a few months with all the paperwork and interviews,
but I was offered a job and with my wife and family’s blessing, I accepted it.
Whoops, time to catch the flight! Please check back for more
soon…
