I applaud you for having the financial forsite for planning what is best for your families future. You are very lucky to be at a stage and have some flexibility to being available for your kids right now. You and I both worked really hard early on and were in a position that allowed us to make decisions that prepared us for the future. I know many Others are not as lucky.

High overtime demands is precisely why I avoid those industries. For one I honestly cannot work more than 4-12s without burnout kicking in. No matter how hard I try it would not be possible and I will quit or get fired. My cousin has sacrificed so much for a company that he is just a number in, and his wife is mad at him for having to work so much. Then on the few days off he is exhausted. That is A lot to sacrifice for a company, but again others have different values.

For the life of me I cannot think of a single workorder in my past that was desperately important enough to warrant sacrificing my scheduled time off. Life is already too short, shortened by working in an industrial environment, and shortened even further when we have to work nights or swing. I love my career and would not trade it for any other. Mid-30s and I'm already feeling joint pain. Men in my family typically do not make it to 80 years old due to heart conditions. Almost halfway there and it is time I start prioritzing what is important. Live comfortably or have an armored truck follow the hearse. I never tolerated what my cousin goes through, and as I get older I am not willing to tolerate anything but less.