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    Tech guy gets fired at 58 after 35 years in tech, and instead of panicking, sees it as a chance to retire early, do DIY, and work part-time at a hardware store: ‘It's actually a relief, I was getting SO sick of the corporate stuff’

    Author image for Etai Eshet
    Etai Eshet • Editor
    Jun 19, 2026 8:45 PM EDT

    Getting fired at 58 after 20 years at the same company should feel like a crisis. For this guy, it mostly feels like a long-overdue exit

    And fter 35 years of sitting through meetings that could have been emails, writing performance reviews for goals nobody actually believed in, and pretending that quarterly metrics represented something meaningful about human existence, the universe finally did this man the courtesy of firing him, and somewhere in the severance paperwork, tucked between the COBRA forms and the non-disparagement clause, was the retirement he had been too busy to ask for.

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    • After 35 years in the tech industry, and 20 years in my last position, I was unexpectedly laid off on May 1st at age 58. I
      via realsqlguy
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    • really have no desire to return to the corporate world, not likely that I'd find anything in this job market anyway. Wife
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    • still works as a teacher and makes enough to cover our day-to-day needs, and is encouraging me to call it quits.
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    • and retire. I've spent the last six years working from home, so there's no social element that I'll be missing.
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    • I'm an avid DIY-er with many years of projects under my belt. I've done down-to-the-studs bathroom remodels, full kitchen
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    • remodels, electrical, plumbing, water heater installation, landscaping, retaining walls, and even a fair amount of auto repair. I know my tools and I
      via realsqlguy
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    • love working with my hands. I have enough projects lined up, and enough hobbies, I'm not concerned about boredom.
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    • It's mildly terrifying, but I'm starting to accept the idea of retiring. My plan is to play the unemployment game for six
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    • months, and then see if I can hired part-time at Home Depot/Menard/Lowe's and leverage my DIY knowledge. Do something tangible instead of sitting at a keyboard.
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    • I can easily fund COBRA for 18 months using HSA money, and after that find a marketplace plan (cheaper than going on the wife's coverage). Just need something to bridge the gap to Medicare.
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    • My biggest concern is spousal maintenance that I pay my ex- wife. I'm working with an attorney to get that reduced or
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    • (hopefully) terminated, but if I can't, I'll essentially be working a part-time job just to pay the ex-wife, or tapping my 401k.
      via realsqlguy
    • In spite of that rather large elephant in the room, I'm not upset at all about the layoff. It's actually a relief - I was getting
      via realsqlguy
    • SOOOO sick of the arbitrary corporate stuff, performance metrics that mean nothing, goal setting, all of that nonsense.
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    • Excited to slow down and try something new, and fortunate that I THINK I can make it work.
      via realsqlguy

    • Thirty-five years in tech, two decades in one role, and the corporate machinery finally spit him out on May 1st. The timing was not his choice, but the reaction is telling. No panic spiral, no desperate job board refreshing, just a quiet acknowledgment that he was already exhausted by the performance reviews and arbitrary metrics, and that the door opening outward might actually be the right direction.

    • edturf OP, I feel like you are my doppelgänger. I am also 58. Tech worker laid off this past March.
      via realsqlguy

    • The foundation for this working is already there. His wife's teaching salary covers the day-to-day. His HSA funds 18 months of COBRA. He has enough DIY projects lined up to stay busy for years, and the kind of hands-on skill set that makes a part-time hardware store gig feel like a natural next chapter rather than a step down. Swapping a keyboard for a tool apron after three and a half decades in tech is not a consolation prize. For someone who has been doing down-to-the-studs remodels and auto repair as hobbies, it is probably closer to the life he actually wanted.

    • BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME. My wife still works. (so we still have insurance) I also am an avid DIYer (I
      via realsqlguy
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    • can do it all pretty much, except maybe concrete) I have a personal project list that will keep me busy for a few years at least.
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    • I'm not even remotely upset, and by the time I'm ready to really relax, ...I will have long forgotten my "identity" I once had in my career. Best wishes to all...
      via realsqlguy
    • angrywinter1 Congratulations on your unexpected retirement. I am a few years younger than you, took the plunge May 1 as well. It's scary but I have felt so much better mentally and physically that I truly believe. this is the best decision ever! I hope you are able to remove the elephant and truly enjoy life
      via realsqlguy
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    • The one real complication is spousal maintenance to an ex-wife, which could eat a significant chunk of whatever part-time income he brings in. That is the piece still unresolved, and it is a legitimate concern. An attorney is working on it, but until that gets sorted, the math has a variable in it that he cannot fully control.

    • 1wrx2subarus It's good to walk away from it all. Give yourself some grace and wait a year. Don't feel bad about your choices, habits and just try to create a routine. Make a list and try to check something off daily. It's ok to have days that nothing gets done.
      via realsqlguy

    • Still, the overall picture is someone who got pushed off a ledge he was already standing too close to, landed on reasonably solid ground, and is looking around thinking it is nicer down here than expected. Not everyone at 58 gets to say the layoff was a relief. He gets to say it and mostly mean it.

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