Would you work part-time at home? any other WAHM? A few Q's

[jubilee]

I need the wisdom of you all: My old boss called today and offered a 4-10 hour a week job that I can do at home (medical billing). Since Logan is just 10 weeks old, I don't want to go back full time. I am interested in the money and the small amount of hours seem perfect. BUT, am I missing the downside of working at home? What experiences do you all have? I don't want to start this job if I can't stick with it. I would have to go into the office twice a week to pick up and drop off the billing sheets, but everything else would be on my home computer. Is there a downside to using your home "pleasure" computer for business? I'd love to hear the pluses and minuses of working at home.

[MartiesMom2B]

I think the difficult part would be finding the time to do your work dillegently. But perhaps if you have the energy you can do it at night after Logan goes to bed.

Good luck with it!

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

[bnme]

I WAHM part time doing the job I was doing before (Financial Analyst for a retail chain). I am so glad I have this oppurtunity, which I sort of just lucked out on.

Some things that are key to my situation working out:
-My Mom watches him while I work. I work 24 hrs a week, 3 days and at a normal 8 hour stretch. I would never be able to squeeze it around DS. But if your hours are less and the nature of the work permits it may be easier.
-I have my work computer. Again, it depends on the nature of the work. But for me I am logging into my company's network and need certain applications, etc. I wouldn't want that crowding up my PC, which is already crowded with enough! I have a switch box and it is simple to go back and forth from one PC to another. Again, this depends on your unique situation. If you just have one application to load locally using your home PC probably won't be a roblem (assuming you have the room, memory etc)

It is a challange. I think working part time is difficult because you feel like you are still a SAHM and should be doing more. Why don't you try it out? Let your employeer know you want a trial period. If they are not giving you any equipment it may not even be an issue!

Good Luck
HTH

[egoldber]

The downside is being disciplined enough to find the time. I did it for a few months after Sarah was born and I resented every second of my time that it took. I would not consider doing it again unless I had someone to watch Sarah during the day while I worked.

HTH,

[KimberleyDawn]

I'm lucky enough to have a 1yr. paid maternity leave so William will be older when I return to work and he is in daycare (still sucks though). I always thought one of the main reasons people opted to be WAHP was so they didn't have to worry about daycare or finding a sitter.
Kim

[jenmcadams]

I do some contract work (project-based marketing and financial analysis) for a few small clients. The number of hours I work varies pretty widely based on the project, but generally it ranges from 5-10 hours a week with heavy weeks being 15-20 hours. Generally, I really enjoy it and I'm able to fit in the 5-10 hours around Abbie's naps, but whenever I have a bigger time commitment, I need to have someone come in and watch her while I work. Luckily, my hourly rate is high enough for me to feel like I'm still making ok money, even when I have to pay for childcare. Ideally I'd like to find 15-20 hours/week of consistent work and pay someone to come in for 10 hours a week (2x @ 5 hours each). I love being a SAHM and I would never go back in to a normal full-time office environment, but doing some part-time work at home has been a good situation for me. I love feeling like my brain is working on something new and I enjoy keeping some contact with the professional world.

As far as challenges, it's sometimes hard to make myself work when Abbie naps...sometimes I want to take a nap too :) I didn't start doing any significant project work until abbie was 4-5 months old and even that was more one-off 10 hour projects -- I don't know if I would have been capable of doing any work prior to that. Another consideration is even if you can justify the expense of bringing someone in to help while you work, you need to make sure that you can be productive with Logan and a caregiver in the house. Our house has three levels and I generally ask the babysitter to play with Abbie in the lower level and I work on the top level and it's still hard sometimes. Finally, finding good part-time childcare is difficult. I've had to rely on friends help for last minute client meetings and b/c my project pipeline isn't consistent, I haven't been able to hire someone on a permanent part-time basis.

In terms of the computer thing, I think (like one of the other posters said) that it depends on what type of applications, etc. you need to run and whether your computer can handle everything. I use my home computer, but if I'm able to keep getting consistent work, I'll probably eventually buy and expense (for tax purposes) a new laptop to give myself some more flexibility in terms of where I work, etc.

Good luck in your decision!

[dogmom]

I would say 10 hours is doable, but it has its drawbacks. I'm teaching from home online now, and it can be rough to get things done when they need to be. My DH is a network administrator, so he handles all the home computer stuff. Definately ask who will be supporting your computer if you have problems with it. We have three computers, that helps a lot. Also, you partner should be supportive of you working at home. Sometimes I have to order a pizza and have my husband put the baby to bed so I can get a couple hours of work done because I couldn't all day. I also handed all the bill paying over to him so that is one thing I don't worry about now. I hired a neighbor girl once a week to come by and play with my son so I can get work done. You should also talk to a tax person about the rules for a home office. You might be able to write off some things, but the rules can be very strict. You would want to get that set up right so you can get the extra $$ next April.

Of course right now I'm not working even though my son is asleep because the server at school is down and I can't get to it. I'm sure it will come up right after my son wakes up.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03

[C99]

I agree with everyone else -- finding the time and discipline to actually WORK. I had to go back to work part-time at 5 weeks post-partum and I've resented it ever since. Even though I was about to get everything worked out to work from home 20 hrs/week, I couldn't do it. I ended up turning in my resignation and I'm going to be a full-time SAHM in another week and a half -- I cannot wait!

[brubeck]

My job entails that I only go in 2 days a week and I spend the other 3 days working from home. I am actually on maternity leave right now but I did some contract work at home in March and I'm currently preparing for my return to work in August. The days at home are not full days, they are merely there for me to prepare for the 2 days when I go in. I find that I can get a lot of work done in the morning before both kids get up (like right now when I am on these boards!) and in the afternoons when Amy naps and Andrew naps/plays quietly. I don't set aside the whole day, just a couple of hours and if they are interrupted by some child crisis then I do it another day. The key is to leave yourself enough hours to work that you don't have pressure/stress to complete it NOW. So if you commit to 10 hours per week at home of work, schedule 15 hours into your routine (3 hours per day) so that it's padded 'just in case'.

As for working at home, did you quit your job or are you just on leave? If he is going to hire you as a contractor (temporary, no benefits, etc.) then you have a self-employment business going on which sets you up for some nice tax deductions.

[lukkykatt]

I worked part-time (about 10-15 hours per week) from home for one year after my first son was born. At first, I worked whenever DS was napping, but as he got older I had to work mostly at night, which cut into the amount of time I had to spend with DH. I also did have a babysitter who came to the house for a few hours once a week so I could go into the office and pick up/drop off my work and so I could work a little bit there too.

I have to say that even though I made a decent hourly wage, after taxes, the amount of money generated for the 10 or so hours was definitely not worth the significant chunk of my free time that I was giving up. However, I was mostly interested in keeping my foot in the door at the company where I used to work. That all went away when the office closed, so the decision was made for me. I don't think I would have kept it up much longer though anyway.

As for your computer, the only downside could be that your husband couldn't use it if he needed it for something while you were working(if it is your only one). Also, make sure that the company would provide all the software, paper, ink/toner etc. that you use so that you are not out of pocket for anything.

Since the hours are so few, it sounds like it is worth giving it a try to see if you like it, and if the money ends up being worth the effort. Also, it helps if you really enjoy what you are doing!

[muskiesusan]

I work on average 5-10 hours a week, but it can be up to 20, which is what I am gettting paid for, which rarely happens. I didn't start working until Nick was 3.5 months old, and I doubt I could have done it sooner, or done it without tons of errors due to lack of sleep.

It has been harder than I expected, especially now that Nick is a toddler. When he was younger, he could sit next to me and play while I worked. Now, he wants to "help" me and run around, which is what I expect from a toddler. This means the bulk of my work is done in the evenings and on the weekends. This cuts into husband time, family time, and personal time for myself. It is particulary hard with dh since he travels so much the time he is here, I would like to spend with him. I miss have free time to myself where I am not feeling guilty for not spending time with dh, Nick, cleaning the house, etc.

It does take discipline. Right now I should be working, but I want nothing more than to read what is going on in all your lives!! I have been reading/posting a lot more than I ever had before b/c I need the outlet. Plus in some weird way if I am in front of a computer I think I am working!

There are a lot of positives as well. Obviously the money, but more importantly to me is a link to my career. I like working, and I like having contact with those who still work, but, I will never return to an office after having this setup. Plus, with dh travelling, it gives me something to do at night.

I think of quitting a lot, but my boss must sense that gives me more perks. I am now eligible for the 401k, which is huge for saving for retirement. When looking at the finances for me to be a SAHM, that was the one area that was hit the hardest since I wouldn't be able to have a retirement other than an IRA, and now that has changed.

So, you could give it a try. Now I am just taking it one day at a time. I don't need the stress of co-workers, so if it ever becomes too much, I will just quit. I have lots of other things that can be done, like clean my house!!!

Sorry so long.

Susan
WAHM to Nicholas 10/01/01

[SeekerMage]

I think that working at home is a big plus! One of the things to worry about is how to find the time, but with only a 10 hour or less schedule it should be easy. You can squeeze it in at naps, or before bed etc.

Another thing that you might want to look into is a mothers helper. You can probably find a kid in the neighborhood to come over for one or two hours while you are working. Check out your area churches, youth group, hospital, YMCA etc and you might be able to find one for only a few dollars or even less since they might need community service hours and this would count. It would work great because you are there to over see things with such a small child, but at the same time wont have to worry about getting the diapers or entertaining.
Just a thought :)