I have had 2 careers in my lifetime. In the first one I worked as a research chemist for several industrial firms including one stint studying the applications of plutonium in nuclear fuels. My final employment was with the U. S. Geological Survey where I worked for 23 years. During this period I changed my interests from geochemistry to environmental microbiology. In the micro role I and my team studied the fate of various organic pollutants in ground water. The results of these studies were presented in various professional scientific journals.
In my mid 50's I developed a sort of midlife crisis and applied for early retirement. This was accepted in early 1987. My second career started when my wife and I, as partners, founded Documounts Framing Service. DFS was a phone-order picture framing supply service serving the needs of working artists and photographers- the folks you see at street fairs, etc.
DFS was successful, finally employing over 20 full time employees. In 1998 we were approached by a firm with many local picture framing shops who were then interested in getting into online sales as well. We accepted their offer in June 1998 and "retired". Since then we have visited Europe 5 times and travelled over the USA extensively in our RV. We have camped in all 48 contiguous states as well as Alaska. A cruise to Hawaii completes the itinerary.