How long after separation did it take you to equal your pay?

2 months an I surpassed it.

I had no plans to work after retirement due to quality investments...Before I retired was offered a position - I said no, they came back with another offer and I could not refuse...I retired and the very next day started working at a higher pay.

Never tried to equal the pay.

Took job that made up difference between retirement and active duty pay.........perfectly happy not having to make decisions anymore.

it only took me a couple of years but that was back in the 90's

First civilian job.

Minus the deployment bennies, I was always about 10-15% above my base pay in my civilian job. As of the past 2 years I've been forced to take cuts that put me below my pay at retirement. Oh well that's how it goes sometimes. But oh those deployment bennies... :-)

3 years later and not even close. Hoping the MBA will help with the pay gap. Didn't realize the pay of O-3 with 8+ years was as good as it was; especially if you include BAH and BAS. My best year was OEF 10-11 when I made a killing, mostly tax free! Deployments are certainly a cash-cow of extra pay, free meals, free housing, and tax free status.

Hired in at +20k then I was making already!

I received my B.S. degree 27 months after separation and equaled my pay about 2 years after that.

Made more than my E6 pay for a year in the first 4 months I was out.