Re: The Heirs of Reginald Perrin
"they get paid to do nothing for 10 years except bum around, explore the world, have parties, get drunk etc. They get it out of their system, enjoy themselves while they are young enough to do so,"
A bit like the royal family then, and others with privileged parentage. Except everyone gets to play, not just those of privileged parentage. Sounds good to me.
"after 10 years they get a job and work until they die."
Ah OK, not so much like most of the royal family and related.
Still, sounds interesting. I'd vote for it, but then in a forty year working career I've already had one mid-career five year break (much of it spent looking after unwell parents, and then a bit of seeing the world and some small scale local voluntary work) while I was still fit enough to do so and enjoy it.
Much more recently, like many of the more experienced folks in the industry where I've been for years (safety critical systems design and support), I've started what in my case will probably be another multi year break (not so much through choice this time), and it's almost infinitely improbable that I'll find another relevant job before state pension age. I've again found some voluntary stuff to keep me busy but anything physically demanding (e.g. serious fun, or even just long distance driving) has unfortunately become almost out of the question, which makes me *very* pleased I was able to take the earlier break.
For most people around my age and with similar work experience this probably wouldn't be a comfortable situation.
All the best for 2017. Interesting times ahead.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
