Hi All, I'm 55 and have save up the legal maximum for many years so I'm nearly ready to retire. I used to be a software engineer and enjoyed that work, but because I didn't plan my career properly, it went poof with the technology that I was working on and by the time that happened I didn't feel like going back to an entry level salary to re-tool in new technology. So I transitioned to a business analyst instead. Been doing that for about 8 years although I don't enjoy it as much. I'm eager to drop the ball and chain of professional work life and just be me.

I started my own little side business in online retail a few years ago and I'm having the BEST time working on that, so that's what I'm going to "do with myself" after I formally retire. I've been talking with my husband and told him that I would like to retire at the end of this year or next. One idea I'm playing with is to maybe drop to a part time business analyst job so that I can dedicate more of my time to working on my side business. My shop isn't profitable yet so it's not bringing me any wage. Of course that's the goal, though.

Has anybody here dropped back to a part time professional job? How has it been working for you, both financially and mentally? I hope it would be a breath of fresh air to have more of my time back to use for my priorities instead of other's priorities. Is it hard to find part time professional jobs? (I'm in the USA, have a security clearance and live in an area with lots of government/clearance jobs.)