I spent 13 years as a civil servant in a job that I found interesting and challenging. It paid reasonable well paid had an old fashioned pension plan, and decent vacation package. The down side was a highly toxic work place complete with world class nepotism.
I found out that if you had your master's degree in Public Health or law degree from UC Berkeley doors magically opened. For people who had fallen into the Dalit caste all door were closed. After being yelled at in staff meetings, given more difficult cases and just more cases than coworkers I started to get resentful.
Then I was threatened with demotion for giving truthfully testimony during a legal hearing. Funny thing I won the case entirely, then the appeal and the second appeal in superior court. At that point I started looking at an exit strategy.
Two years later and after my fifth or sixth promotion attempt I decided to retire. On the day I decided to give my boss two weeks notice that I was retiring, the first words out of his mouth was, “What can I do to get you to stay? If you want a transfer to another office I can get that for you”. I told him that I was leaving because of his shitty management and walked out.
I took with me $150,000 in highly specialized training paid for by the taxpayers and 25 years of industry experience that included military and numerous private entities. Part of me feels bad for leaving workers in the workplace less protected, but I needed to preserve my own mental health and hygiene.
Do I regret my decision…No!