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by 4x5-Guy 1584 days ago
I'm retiring in 3 months. I'll miss the work and people, won't miss the stress and hours.

During my career, I've repaired mainframes and graphics systems. I've managed Unix systems for over 25 years. SysVr4 on NCR frames, AIX systems, Sun Systems and now a mixed environment of Linux and AIX. I think I'm reasonable good at it, at least no ones complained.

I've worked in a variety of industries, finance, food service, distribution. I've work at a PAAS startup that successfully exited. I know the business world better then when I started and can relate to business employees a lot better than I did when I was younger. I've also learned how to coax a problem out of a non IT employee, especially when they really can't describe the problem.

I've found as I got older, I mellowed a bit, I don't rush to judgement as fast, and I've learned to look at a problem and try to understand it before I try to fix it. I've also got a long history of troubleshooting to lean on when I need it. If I did something wrong or screwed up, I admitted it and apologize. If I didn't understand something, I also admitted it and asked for help. I can also use Google with the best of them. I've found out that though the joints are creaking a bit, I have no problems keeping up.

I believe that I've given fair work to whatever company I worked for, for the compensation they gave me. Consider I'm still employed in the field after so long, I have to believe it's so.

I've also learned not to put anything in writing where it can be used against me in the future. I would never post this question on such an emotional and inflammatory topic. I really hope no one knows your real id, otherwise this could bite you in the future.

I also hope you keep this someplace and read it when you are in the middle of your career. I think you will be dismayed at how callous you were.

Good luck.