I want to live vicariously through other, braver people who dared to quit for greener pastures. Tell me, how does it feel to be on the other side?
25 replies (most recent on top)
Quit at 61 --- this meant retirement though I didn't have enough years in but finances looked good. I had been surplused from another company 10 years ago and since then had focused on building a financial fortress. Well not quite fortress but definitely better than before.
Leaving it behind - it's what I imagine being released from prison feels like. No more answering the alarm clock, no more listening to blather and drivel all day long, no more biting my tongue to prevent snappy comebacks to stupid comments, no more coma-inducing meetings.
If looking for advice, I'd say do it once you can be reasonably (there is no 100%) confident that you can carry on financially, whether through savings or another job. AT&T sucks the very soul from you, and I am convinced this in turn cuts years from your life.
I took their money in overtime as long as possible & built up my 401k and just waited for a buyout offer…..it finally came and I was able to get it. I’ve never been happier…..never gave another thought about AT&T.Also timed it just right the following year they cut medical supplemental benefits for retirees that you get till 65……about a 1200 month benefit they cut!!
Best decision ever. I make a little less. But quality of life has improved. I sleep better, am way less angry all the time, and don’t hate waking up in the morning knowing what I have to do in order to feed my family. At&t was the worst decision I ever made.
It feels fantastic!
It feels AMAZING!
For me, I felt that I was part of productive teams making a difference in the world. I thought my 35-year career was an incredible ride. Back in the day, excellent training was abundant, you just had to go for it. The job helped me to build a life, house, put 3 kids through college, and with a nicely funded 401K, retire early just a few months ago. It was a great ride. A few tips...
Add value to the business every day
Help create the team you want to be a part of
Learn something new every day via OJT, projects, certificates, degrees
Live beneath your means; save voraciously & consistently
Remember, there is ALWAYS the door.... Early in my career when I was so young and optimistic, I would hear 'old timers' bitterly complaining. My husband was in the Navy, in THAT job if you quit they threw you in the brig. But not here - I told myself then if I ever felt myself getting bitter, it'd be time for me to head to the door. We always have a choice. Although as a company we HAVE had some infuriatingly poor and financially costly leadership decisions along the way (and the erratic decisions from leadership definitely tipped me into taking the lump sum rather than the annuity), it's been a great ride - and I was able to feel happy about leaving on good terms from a great team.
I retired from SBC at 50. Probably added another 50 years of longevity.
No regrets at all. Leave to LIVE another few decades.
You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo
What a thing to do
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man, too
It was honestly the best decision I’ve ever made. I finally decided to leave after I was passed over for a promotion so the son of the person retiring could replace his old man.
This especially stung as it would be a lateral promotion for me and a outright promotion/new job for the other one. Me having actual work experience meant nothing, neither did my relevant degrees.
Brought up the COBC violation to HR who ultimately did nothing. For me that was the final straw. Ultimately took a pay cut to leave for a job working in Public Safety for the feds. I can’t begin to say how much happier I am now.
New employer asked me about Firstnet which I had direct experience supporting and ran down the details with them and all the stupidity that occurred in NOLA with Ida last week.
They’ve ultimately decided based on my consult to not move forward with Firstnet and are actively pursuing terminating their existing contracts and moving to Verizon. Keep in mind this is a top 10 city I work for now so this is ultimately going to cost AT&T multiple millions because they decided to treat me like garbage.
Karma’s a bi--h!
A lot of term OPTs went to another contractor job for at least 1 year before they were able to re-term at AT&T as term OPTs again, usually at a different yard. In SF Bay Area, a lot of termed out OPTs went to Quanta Telecom, CableCom (Comcast contractors); or Mastec (Verizon contractor); then returned either 1 or 1.5 years later to T.
As for the engineering & construction office, you can get a similar job at Comcast, at similar pay, but a much happier workforce with less layoffs. Comcast also has much more lenient work from home policies and no rush to return to office until Jan 2022 at the earliest.
Many other companies suck just as bad if not worse than AT&T. I'm not saying it's all roses here either.
Happiest day of my working career. Made certain to live within my means and the rest is history. All good. Left three years ago.
62 and working on my exit strategy will leave by EOY 2021 or no later than Q3 2022. Meeting with a financial planner this month and researching healthcare options, as the T plan seems far to costly. I've enjoyed my career and harbor no ill will toward T or my co-workers, expect to take my pension as a lump sum and reinvest and will most likely drop Direct TV, Digital Life, and Wireless Plan as the cost will not be competitive w/o the discounts.
I ditched China style credit scores for freedom and liberty! Couldn't be better!
Excellent!! Left as a tech with 80K, still collecting UE till 9/5. 100K plus in the bank. 4% draw on my investment with SS, currently at 4100 per month. 50K in retirement not bad AND the wife is knocking down 60K!!
"when you get your 30"
You may not need 30 if the Modified Rule of 75 applies to you. I had MR75 well before I had 30 years service.
Never slept better
Really? What a ridiculous post. It must be a slow day in your world.
7 months and I'm out of here! This cesspool has been the most precarious employment I've ever experienced and I have worked for 2 other fortune 100 companies prior to T. The job and benefits were good, the constant threat of layoff year after year after year, not so much!
Yep same guys destroying social security by getting some BS ruling from a doctor and collecting disability at 50 years old what a crock
BP down to regular levels, stress at zero. Do all you can to keep T above water. I don’t want my health insurance to disappear due to lazy employees…
Everyone I have known throughout the years that has retired and came back for a visit looked years younger and so much happier. With that being said I already have my exit strategy. I have 9 years left to keep bobbing and weaving to avoid being surplussed. I will be 51 1/2 if I make it to my 30 years. Then I will start applying for jobs elsewhere either a state or municipal job and work on pension number 2. At that point I still have money coming in and don’t have to put up with the same sh-t we deal with at AT&T. I have ruptured lumbar discs a leg that is almost always numb down to my knee and sometimes lower as well as other health issues. I make my stupid msoc numbers, keep my head down and just do my work.in my group of 20 techs, 35 percent work about 3 or 4 months a year on a consistent basis and their ouchies change each time they go out but I’m treated like I’m an as----e while they are constantly treated like they are the employee of the month when they do decide to show up, sc--w things up or most of the time not do much for the months they decide to grace us with their presence. I’m counting my days to my parole and I refuse to quit and let them win. I will play the game until I get my full pension. I may even change my mind once I make my time. I hear a lot of people say that when you get your 30 and it sinks in that you made it, a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders.
Refreshing!
A dark cloud has lifted. I started reading this message board a few months before I left, and, call me crazy, but I continue to read it regularly. Other than that, though, I hardly ever think about the job. It has almost vanished from my mind, but reading this board just reassures me that I made a good decision by leaving. I have no regrets.
OP sounds like another troll!
Or you can man up and leave.