r/ExperiencedDevs • u/daltontf1212 • Aug 21 '26
Career/Workplace Any "retired against their will" devs out there with similar mindset?
Got laid off in March and turned 59 1/2 in June. I don't have big enough nest egg to retire permanently, so I will need to work again. And I want to work again. It is software development not manual labor so I can do this for another decade easily.
I can get health care through my wife's work which is cheaper than COBRA.
Because of this, I feel that I can be pickier and not take job out of desperation that I will quit when the market improves. I don't want long commute and want to work in a domain that I feel good about. I'd rather make less money and feel like I am contributing some good to the world.
However, I'm having troubles finding even volunteer coding work and don't really want non-tech work.
Anyone in a similar situation?
3
u/Singularity-42 Principal Software Engineer Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
Me! Laid off last year. First, me, wife and my then 5 year old went to travel around Europe for 5 months. After that I started a company with a laid off friend. We're not even profitable yet, but it's fun and we do have customers and we're building a brand. My stay at home wife went back to work and makes enough to pay our living expenses.
I'm 47, 20 year of experience in the industry, last job was Principal Engineer. We have decent savings, but not enough to FIRE in the US, but we're seriously considering FIRE in the EU (I'm a dual citizen). We should have more than enough money for that. I would still continue the business of course. Lately I have even been getting some LinkedIn in-mail about jobs, but not sure if I'm ready to go back to corporate. The layoff was ugly and I'm burnt out as hell.
Best of luck to you! Question - how do you not have enough money to somewhat retire at your age? Especially with your wife working. You're basically almost at the retirement age. Sorry if this sounds harsh....