I am just curious. How many people here really enjoy

[Ms. Toad]

24. I absolutely love what I do for a living.

Been doing this job coming up 8 years now. Not only do I love what I do - It is the only job where at least once a week (and on average probably closer to daily since the thanks tend to come in bunches) - someone tells me how much they appreciate what I do. My job is getting students who weren't born with a silver spoon in their mouths through law school and through the bar exam. My work is 7-days a week, I do not have down time between the end of one semestr and the next because either bar prep - or onboarding of the incoming students is happening. My grades for the spring semester were due May 11 - the onboarding class (for new summer students) started May 6). The bar exam is July 27-28 - and the next bunch of students walks through the door August 7. Still most days I'm still driving in with a smile on my face.

That said - I hate the administrative interference in what I do. In the class structure, I'm barely above an administrative assistant, even though my title is Dean and I have the same degree as everyone else with the title professor. While they teach 2 or 3 subjects on average, I teach 16, plus skill development. They have destroyed the most effective parts of my program, doubled our workload, chased one of my staff members away by spreading nasty untrue rumors about him, and are now in the process of farming part of my work out to others (They see the consequences of the destruction they created (lower bar pass rates because they kcked the foundation out of the program), but blame it on me - so they need someone higher in the class structure to swoop in and fix it). This is, bar none, the most class conscious organization I have been part of - and I hate that.

So - when the meddling gets too intrusive, I consider quitting. I had planned to work 7 more years (until full retirement in the state teacher's retirement system). I'm eligible for Medicare come September. My spouse and I are pretty frugal - and my parents have farmland free and clear that I'll in herit a quarter of at some point in the future. So, from a financial perspective I'm continuing to work because I want to.

So what I'm currently pondering is at what point my love for what I do is outweighed by administrative interference with what I do - made a bit more urgent because of my cancer (sarcoma) diagnosis in December. That diagnosis means my long-term future is a good bit less certain - it is an aggressive, nasty, cancer. I want to spend time in retirement traveling with my spouse. I'll likely make a decision within the year - if it looks like travel will be a possibility, I might retire earlier than anticipated and volunteer part-time doing what I love, free of the administrative hassles.