I spent a happy few minutes watching Kenneth Williams interviewed by Parkinson (probably in the seventies) talking about doing a job of work because you want to do it well and not doing it just for the money involved. Parkinson argued with him that not all jobs are creative (Kenneth Williams was a famous raconteur and actor) and the best thing about some jobs is the money that enables you do do things outside the work which are truly fulfilling. (At least that is what he would have gone on to say).
I am reminded about what I thought when I was younger. Firstly that I didn’t want to go to London to work for ten years to earn the money to live in a beautiful part of the world when I already lived in a beautiful part of the world. Secondly that I wanted to do something from which one never retires. It seemed to me at twenty that retiring was one of those things that highlights the best thing about the work was the money.
Our vet is supposed to be retired but he cannot, and runs a small surgery from his home. And with fifty years experience that is wonderful. Other careers give people the opportunity to retire from the formality of things but take their expertise to those who cannot afford it, or have great need.
I feel genuine sorrow for people who ‘retire’ from a career and never do those things again. It seems such a waste.