“Please don’t judge me.”
I’m not going to judge you. But at your age, have you considered starting your own business? That’s what I did when I retired from HP after 34 years at 55... It was different, it was fun and I made a lot of money. Did that for 5 years and retired for good.
Not everyone has the skill set, knowledge or ability to start their own business. You also need some sort of seed capital. A 35 year career with a retirement is a nice back stop for an attempt to go it alone.
As for most people born after 1965 a career of five year intervals at a succession of companies with varying degrees of success with companies that offer few if any benefits is far more likely than a 35 year single company career and a retirement plan in private industry. Something we can thank the one way ‘open’ markets of Most favored Nation Status for China and one way free trade deals that have decimated American industry.