I entered this OSU’s eCampus Computer Science post-bac in the Winter of 2017, with the intention of retiring from my current job about the same time I graduate from the program and then getting a local IT job. (I took one class per term and took summer terms off — in case you are doing the math.) 2021 was the first year that I was eligible to retire under the early retirement rules, but the deadline for applying for retirement – September 30 – has come and gone. What happened?

COVID-19 — that’s what happened. Working from home was limited to one day every two weeks before COVID-19. We got a new head of our agency in 2018. About one or two months before COVID hit, he cancelled work from home entirely, but in March of 2019 the agency sent everybody to work from home (they just called it a different name than work from home which is still technically cancelled). Yet here I am still working form home. So how did this change my retirement outlook?

For starters, I began to like my work more since I no longer have to deal with the management. I actually like my work; it’s the management that is hard to tolerate. I really like not going in to the office except I do miss the cookies and doughnuts. I no longer have to pretend that I am not bored out of my mind during staff meetings — now I just leave my camera off and continue to do my work while the management drones on and on about how much they love us, other important agency happenings, blah, blah, blah.

However, the most important reason for not retiring is that what was impossible in the agency before COVID has become possible. That new possibility is the Information Technology Specialist positions can be out stationed. That means that an IT Specialist can work in their local office instead of moving to Seattle or Baltimore (have you ever been to Baltimore? – yuck). Moving was not an option for me.

So I have decided not to retire and to try to get an IT position within my agency. Actually, there is a lot I could contribute since I have real, in depth knowledge of the business processes. If it does not workout, I can always retire in 2022 or 2023. It’s nice to have choices.