Six Dollywood workers still at the park, decades after opening it

I wonder what that's like. We change jobs a lot in the tech world. I'm just over three years in my current gig, and it's the longest I've been anywhere. Usually I'm lucky to get to two years.

29 years for me. Though firm is north of 120 so no one has been around since it started. Several other lifers as well, not only where I work but other firms (and in my first career of accounting). Also know a lot of people who have bounced around a lot (in both fields). Lots of clients with people who seem to change jobs every couple years and some people who have been at the same place for decades. Have a son in tech world who is finishing up his six year at same place. But its definitely not the norm where he is.

I've worked for four different companies over the last 20 years, only the first of which was solely my choice. In hindsight, it's crazy to me that the last time I willingly jumped from one company to another was 2004. Prior to '04, I had various IT/network admin type jobs.

December 2004 - Hired at TANDBERG, a Norwegian-based videoconferencing company
April 2010 - TANDBERG acquired by Cisco
March 2013 - Laid off from Cisco
June 2013 - Hired (by the same person who laid me off) at Avizia, the startup company he founded
October 2017 - Laid off from Avizia
December 2017 - Rehired by Avizia
April 2018 - Company acquired by Amwell, my current gig

Oddly, this last stint has been my longest at any company since I started working in 1991.

My 35th anniversary was April 10th. I was hired when I was 3 years old.

One reason I've stayed put is that the cognitive load and anxiety around getting a new job is not great to feel. When I was younger it mattered less, and I'd do contract work because it was so lucrative that it didn't matter if I had gap time. Having a family where we all need health insurance, especially for medications, sure changed things. It's my least favorite thing about being an American, needing a full-time job to avoid the risk of going bankrupt over health.

Agreed. Private/public health care debate aside, linking your insurance to a job is awful.

I retired after 33 1/2 years at the same company. I only had three different jobs there plus a brief stint as a training instructor. I’m lucky to have started in 1978 when they were still handing out pensions. The security of that was important to me.
Contrast that with my other career which was acting and entertaining. It was the exact opposite of a secure job with decent money- you’re on top one day then all washed up the next, lol. I felt lucky that each of my jobs somehow enabled me to do the other without a lot of worry.

I can't even imagine a pension. As it is, I'm scrambling to make up for not investing anything in my 20's and early 30's, even though you can't really make up for lost time. Even fifty bucks a month would have made a difference in the long run. It just didn't seem important at the time.

I had a slow start, too. My choice to contribute a minimum amount to my 401k (which started out as “Savings and Security”, I think) was based on the notion that I wouldn’t stay there very long. And it was even matched, so duh- what a dummass I was. Over time the golden handcuffs only got tighter and the notion of moving to New York or LA got more and more unrealistic. So I increased my contribution and was satisfied with the local or regional theatre jobs I was able to land. Big fish, small pond scenario and I was ok with that. And in the end I didn’t have the 401k that some of the kids I started with had but I was ok with that too.

I started with a 401k around the early 80's, when they first became available. I was in my 20's at the time, so it didn't seem like a big deal to have to save a lot of money. I started with a 1% deduction just to put something away, and I was in the company stock purchase plan, also for a minimal amount. The job had a pension as well, so it was the best of all worlds.

Fast forward 40 years and 5 jobs later. I gradually increased my deduction from stop to stop, although it was never more than the company match, whatever it was. Now here I am, ready to retire at the end of they year with enough money to be able to live comfortably. Certainly not extravagant, but comfortable. We have always lived below our means.

A lesson for the young-uns. Compound interest is an awesome thing.

Didn’t leave school until I was 27, didnt have access to a 401k until I was 30 and was to focused on paying off my loans. I didn’t start contributing to retirement until I was 34 (stupidly missed a few years of my employer match.) Was still more focused on paying off my student loans (at my first job my payments essentially amounted to half my net salary every month) and only contributed to meet the match. I was however consistently paying 1/3rd of my net pay towards retirement and those loans. About the only good thing that happened in 2020 was I paid off those loans. I then spent 6 months plowing into financial books and combing the internet (highly recommend going to Bogleheads) and started investing in earnest in 2021. It very much helped to have a good job, but, paying those loans at that rate was a blessing, because instead of using all that windfall towards lifestyle inflation I instead directed all of that money into retirement savings.

At that time, my net worth was just under my yearly salary. Thanks to diligent work since then 4 years later my net worth (even with this downturn) is over 3.5x my annual salary. While starting early in life is best, the second best option is to start today. Last year my financial returns exceeded my contributions for the first time. It’s so hard to do at first and you see little upside but believe me, when it starts to get noticeable boy does it feel good.

Morey’s Piers has quite a few 20 & 30 year tenured full time employees. Their longest tenured full time employee just hit 50 years. They also have a decent number of seasonal employees with impressive years of service as well.

I would say having a high number of legacy employees is fairly commonplace for many family owned parks & attractions.

My father told me how much his teacher pension pays every year until he passes and I said I'm surprised the state doesn't have a team of snipers taking out retired teachers every day.

My industry did away with pensions 2 decades ago so now most companies pay a 15-18% direct contribution. I'm not complaining, because that money cannot be taken away.

Assuming my company doesn't liquidate tomorrow, I hope to retire here which would put me at 27 years if I go to mandatory retirement age. That would make this and the job I had for 14 years before it my only 2 "career" jobs. Stability and seniority are wonderful things. (Assuming you can find it in the airline industry.)

Non-bankruptable pension is the key. Federal government and states cannot file bankruptcy petitions. Municipalities can. Though courts have ruled the bankruptcy code permits altering pension liabilities in a municipality bankruptcy, few municipalities have had the appetite to do so.

From what I have seen, the federal pension systems are solvent (in large part due to various reforms over time). States in general have made solvency progress but solvency status varies by state. There are municipalities that have fiscal issues at least in part based on unfunded pension obligations.

Many private companies with pensions. PBGC steps in to cover pension obligations but there are monthly caps based on age.

Increased life expectancies creates issues with pensions. Particularly if the model is 25 or 30 years in to retire.

Retired from a teaching position after a decade of radio.

When i left, I was able to cash in all of my unused sick days. There were about 300 of those which made a sizable addition to the package. Nowi work one day a week and day camp for amusement park and fishing money.

If you are young... put your money away...as much as you can.