My father was a photographer (among other things) and his equipment vest, custom built by my mother, remains the stuff of family legend more than 20 years after its untimely demise. I have often wondered what it is that separates photographers. Is it the steady hand? The keen eye? The sense of balance and composition? Perhaps.

Is it a good idea to change careers? Well, it depends. If you make coal-fired steam engines then it might be a good idea to look into a new industry. If you just pulled in a million dollar bonus then maybe you ought to stick with what you’re doing. For those of us in between there’s O*net.

It's every working stiff's dream: saying sayonara to the daily grind while you still have your own teeth. In our early retirement fantasies, we're traveling the world, healthy and in the prime of our lives, visiting those hard-to-pronounce countries we've always talked about and sampling the finest local fare.