What it's like to log off from a career in tech

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Megan McCarty Carino (0:31)

What it's like to log off from a career in tech. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Megan McCarty Carino.

Some people are leaving the labor force because they want to. Some because they have to. But in any case, more Americans are leaving the workforce behind.

The labor force participation rate, which measures the share of the working age population that's either employed or looking for a job, has fallen sharply this year. Demographic change partially explains the trend, but it's not the full story. So we're launching a series across our shows called Clocked Out about the people who've left their jobs, including jobs in the high tech industry.

Kris Bell (1:22)

My name is Kris Bell. I live in Mercer Island, Washington. I retired at the end of May in 2026 I'm about a month short of 50 right now.

I started off my career as a solo designer, but over time I moved into management and ended my career as a leader of other managers and director position in tech. I found myself almost on a yearly basis having to figure out who I was going to lay off on a team. And at some point, it felt like that cycle was exactly what I did not sign up to do.

I spoke with my wife, my family, and we just decided, like, look, there's a lot going on at home. I've got a couple of kids, got aging parents. Maybe this is the point at which we focus more of our collective resources on the household and have only one of us sort of be in the rat race.

Megan McCarty Carino (2:29)

We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_1 (2:33)

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From CRM, accounting, inventory, e-commerce, and more. And the best part, Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. This is why over thousands of businesses have made the switch. So why not you? Try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's odoo.com.

Megan McCarty Carino (4:07)

You're listening to Marketplace Tech. I'm Megan McCarty-Corino. We're back with Kris Bell in Mercer Island, Washington.

Kris Bell (4:15)

I'm in a pretty fortunate position insofar as I was actually able to make that decision to begin with. Retirement for me does not mean not working ever again. What it really means is working for myself under the conditions that actually make me want to do the work.

I would be lying if I said I was 100 percent comfortable with the decision overall. There are times when I second guess the financial decision, but on balance, so far, it's been pretty great and I really don't regret the decision at all.

This summer, I ran dad camp with my two tween girls. Every week, we had planned activities that we did. Each of those activities aligned to a category that we decided to announce in those categories were things like adventure, where we choose something new, or outdoors, where we go and do something. And that's how we spent the summer. We just got a new puppy last week. And so the last two weeks of dad camp before they start school have really turned into puppy camp. I'm a little bit sleep deprived right now, but so far, it's been a lot of fun.