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Engineers are a hard-working class of people; they come up with new innovations that change the world and make it a better place. However, there must come a time for engineers to retire, and early retirement is what all engineers should aim to achieve.

The following are the top 6 reasons why engineers should aim for early retirement:

1- Family and relationships

Family is the most important thing in people’s lives. Most engineers settle, marry and have kids by their 30s which is why planning for early retirement can help engineers spend more time with their families in their 40s and 50s if they decide to retire early.

In addition, most engineers are usually very busy with work, so they spend fewer hours with their families. Based on a study, engineers work at least 46 hours, with senior-level engineers working at least 50 hours a week, making engineering one of the busiest professional careers. This means spending less time with family.

Link to the full study: We Asked 100 Engineers How Many Hours Do They Work?

2- Escape the 9-5

Based on a study asking 1000 engineers if they enjoy their job and are happy, only 22% said they were happy, and 64% said they have a neutral feeling about their job. This indicates that although engineers find their job interesting, most engineers hate the commute hours and the rigid 9-5 working hours. Although engineering is fun, it can also be a dreadfully boring job at some point.

Planning for early retirement is a bulletproof plan if the engineer ever feels that it is time to quit engineering.

Link to the full post here: We Asked 1000 Engineers If They Are Happy. Shocking Results.

3- Travel the world

Travelling the world is on most people’s bucket lists, and it is more fun when you do it in your 40s than in your 50s and 60s. Visiting the countries you wanted to visit all along and spending a few months backpacking across Europe or Asia is a dream come true for many.

Unfortunately, working as a full-time engineer means you must spend most of your time thinking and solving problems. Even in your free time, you start thinking about the problem you want to solve so badly. We have all been there; many can not help but zone out and think about work. Travelling the world is an escape from work; early retirement can provide that and more.

4- Work on your personal goals

Let’s face it we all have dreams and things we want to achieve, and work always gets in the way, especially if you are an engineer, as you must have some creative goals you want to achieve, such as opening a business they wanted all these years.

Work and personal goals do not go together, and most likely, engineers will have to choose work if they have not been diligent about their finances and planned for early retirement.

5- Escape inflation and economic recessions

On a more serious level, you got economic recession and inflation. You can only get paid so much as an engineer. Still, without careful planning for retirement, you will come to the point where inflation eats away most of your income, and any recessions will leave you on the edge of bankruptcy if you are not careful.

If you are not investing for retirement, where you are compounding your money in a higher percentage than inflation, you will definitely have struggles when you push into your 50s and 60s.

6- Escape the engineering stress

Let’s be honest; engineering jobs can be high-stress jobs. Every day you are faced with stressful decisions that you need to make. People always look to you when they are facing problems, and you are the one who has to make those decisions to solve those problems. It is not easy being an engineer.

Most engineers suffer from a loss of passion for engineering and their job specifically because of the constant stress which leaves most engineers hopless. You can stay sucked in the endless engineering development and innovation, but at some point, you need a way out; this is when early retirement can be a good thing.

How Engineers Can Achieve Early Retirement

Engineers should plan for early retirement because engineers can achieve financial freedom with ease. Engineers are good with numbers and analysing opportunities, making them excellent in personal finance and investing.

Even if you feel that you do not have what it takes to retire early, with some tips, you can be on your way to early retirement. Read Investing For Engineers: Guide To Build Wealth & Retire.