Is anyone else seeking FI because of job instability?

[Lian]

Job instability is not my primary motivator, but it is a factor. There has been “credentials creep” in my industry. I’m over 50 with a B.S. in a field filled with masters and PhDs.  I was very lucky to get a job last year after a long term lay-off. Don’t expect to be that lucky after the next lay-off (common in my industry). It makes no sense to spend the time and incur a big student loan debt for a degree with no guarantee that I would still be employable in my field (I’m advanced in years if not in credentials), so I need to get FI ASAP. Also, I like my work, but hate the corporate culture – I never did fit, and have little patience for it anymore.

[Schaefer Light]

I'm seeking FI not so much because of instability at my current workplace, but because I don't know how easily I could find a new job if I was to lose my current one.  I'm a generalist working in a fairly technical field and it seems like all the job postings in this field are targeted at specialists (i.e. people who have certifications for their knowledge of different types of networking equipment).  On top of that, this is a field where a small number of companies control 90+ percent of the market.  I've seen what those companies are like and don't have any real interest in working for them, anyway.

[MandalayVA]

Job instability plays a big factor.  Mr. Mandalay and I work for the same Ginormocorp, who bought out our original company ten years ago.  Since then a lot of departments have been "migrated," which is Ginormocorp-speak for "moved out of Richmond."  Mr. Mandalay got caught a couple of years ago but was fortunate to be found another position--but now that's looking unsteady too.  My position's pretty safe because Ginormocorp still doesn't quite understand what we do, but I'm 48 without a degree and if something did happen I'd be screwed as far as being able to find a job that pays a comparable salary to what I make now.

[iamlindoro]

I guess I would term my motivation "compensation instability" more than job instability.  I have had the good fortune to make very good money as a consultant the past 18 months or so, and am on the verge of taking a new contract that *should* go 2-3 years with even better compensation.  At the rate I expect to save in the next 3 years, FIRE with basically no reduction in expenses in 6 years is pretty realistic.  So, my goal is to get to a point where we could technically FIRE someplace modest before the end of this contract, and then take every day past that as an opportunity to pad the safe withdrawal rate and increase our options in retirement.  1-2 years would get us to the "safe to retire and live like kings in a low COL country" status, 3 years gets us to "safe to retire and live like kings in a low COL state of the USA" status, and 5-6 years gets us to "safe to retire anywhere we want and live like kings" status.

The trick is that I don't know what the landscape will be in 3 years, and finding another position with this kind of income may be very, very hard.  I might be forced to take a position for half or less of the income, and if we drag our feet on savings and investments while income is high, that could really delay FI.  I don't want to assume that the money firehose will simply run forever.