A new
irection
From auto technician to truck driver, and dental hygienist to Realtor/broker Burned out from their long-term careers but not ready to retire, Stokesdale couple headed in new professional directions as they approached their 60s by ANNETTE JOYCE Jim and Debbie McDonald met when they were sophomores at Northwest Guilford High School. After graduation, Debbie enrolled at Guilford Technical Community College and became a certified dental assistant. Jim, who had worked at a local service station while in high school, worked there a few months longer before taking a job as an automotive technician with Bill Black Cadillac in downtown Greensboro. Jim and Debbie later married and spent the next
41 years in their chosen fields. While Jim worked for the same company the entire time, Debbie periodically took time off to be with their three daughters – Jaymi, Erin Haleigh and Addi. Even so, she maintained her certification and began working full-time again as the girls grew older. As they approached their 60s, Jim and Debbie recognized they were burned out in their respective professions and wanted to go down a different path before they reached retirement age. For Debbie, working in the dental field was somewhat of a family tradition. “My mother was a dental assistant, and my daughter is a dental hygienist,” she said. “I loved working with people and feeling like I was helping somebody, but it’s very taxing on your body to sit in one position for several hours at a time, and I didn’t like messing
Photo by Annette Joyce/NWO
After spending 41 years in their respective professions, Jim and Debbie McDonald embarked on second careers. with a lot of chemicals (because it affected) my asthma. I felt like it was time I did something else.” Jim also found his body was beginning to rebel
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