What has kept you all in the industry/career field so long? What are the positive and negative you have experienced? Thanks for all you’ve done over the years! 
The only thing that has kept me is the flexibility of the job and having young kids. If a kid is sick or has an appointment it’s very easy to work around and not have to take time off like a traditional job would require.
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What Fi55 said. I was nearly 20 years in the field. When kids were younger (middle school aged) it was the flexibility that kept me there. Through high school years it was great to be able to pick them up from sports practices, attend school meetings, and go to most of their athletic/after school events. This meant some nights I was typing at 11pm, or briefing cases at sunup. If I had dentist appt at 2 on a Tuesday it was not something I had to “ask off” for. I simply shifted my work hours. I stayed because I came to love the job, if not always the employer. I had mostly wonderful section leaders who expressed appreciation for my work. I accumulated 5 weeks of vacation (not sure any vendors do that any more).
Downsides? Stress of meeting metrics. I asked to be dropped a level once kids were out of college and I could afford the pay cut. I’m in a rural area so the mileage on my vehicle was a concern.
I’m out of the field now, but field adjacent. I believe that when I retire, I will go independent contractor and get back in the field.
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Yes, I agree. It for sure helps when you have elderly parents as well.
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