If you changed careers, or started working again, what helped you decide what to do?

[gatorsmom]

If you were a stay-at-home mom, or made a complete career change, how did you come to the decision that it was what you wanted to do? I’m guessing everyone’s story is all over the place but I’m looking for ideas and inspiration.

My youngest kids, my twins, will be graduating in 2 years. The next 2 years are going to be really busy helping them get to their next step, but then they’ll be gone. I’m dreading the feeling of not feeling needed. I am fortunate that I don’t need to work but I want to use that to help a good cause who might need help and can’t afford to pay for another employee.

I worked as HR manager for 8 years (but that was 20 years ago and my knowledge is obsolete now), speak fluent French (I’ve worked hard to keep up my conversational French) and am creative. I teach a crafting class to girls right now. I raised children with learning disabilities and ADHD. I have a bachelors in Psychology. Any ideas what I can do with that? I’d be willing to go back to school. In what industry is there a shortage of help? (All suggestions appreciated)

How did you ladies know that what you wanted to do and that decide it was time for a change?

[jgenie]

Timely thread. I’m in the same spot. I became a SAHM when my oldest was born. I now find myself with full days where my kids really don’t need anything. Once they start driving I will have even less to do. I’ll be following for ideas.

[mmsmom]

I was a SAHM for 13 years then went back to my previous career (industrial sales) and company. I love my job and the flexibility it provides. Sales is very up and down but the upside is great compensation wise. It is hard to break into though unless you start at the ground level.

For OP, being French speaking will be a great asset. If I were you and not needing to work for income, I would think about something you love and enjoy. I always joke that I want to do something mindless like working at a fancy boutique or at a spa (not saying those jobs are not work, but they require a different kind of focus than the corporate world). But with being able to speak a different language I would look into all the translation services needed- schools, hospitals, etc are all required to provide translators. There are many online translation services where you could sign up to be a provider. A friend who speaks French began substituting at a private school when the French teacher was on leave. She now has a part time teaching job at another private school.

[essnce629]

If you miss taking care of littles, there's plenty of new parents who need help. I did a part time nanny job over the summer watching a 1 year old and continue to watch him here and there when their regular nanny is sick (like today). The mom works from home so she can be more flexible with start and end times. My mom is 67 and also picked up a part time short term nanny job for a family in town for the DH's work for 6 weeks. A 6 month old little girl who's super easy and my mom is working 4 hours a day, sometimes in the mornings, sometimes in the afternoon. The mom is a SAHM but just wants a few hours to nap, take a shower, go to the gym, and run errands. We have a rather large (70k members) LA Mommies FB group and I wrote up a post for my mom and she posted it there and had a job within a week. I was honest and just said she was a grandma who helped raise her 2 grandsons and was now looking for part time work. She didn't have any previous nanny/babysitting experience outside of my kids really, but now she'll have a great reference after this job. Maybe you have a similar local FB group you can check out.

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[sariana]

Teaching! Shortages everywhere, including World Languages and Special Education.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Post graduation, move to France and work as a concierge in a fancy hotel that needs English and French speakers.

[Tenasparkl]

If you miss taking care of littles, there's plenty of new parents who need help. I did a part time nanny job over the summer watching a 1 year old and continue to watch him here and there when their regular nanny is sick (like today). The mom works from home so she can be more flexible with start and end times. My mom is 67 and also picked up a part time short term nanny job for a family in town for the DH's work for 6 weeks. A 6 month old little girl who's super easy and my mom is working 4 hours a day, sometimes in the mornings, sometimes in the afternoon. The mom is a SAHM but just wants a few hours to nap, take a shower, go to the gym, and run errands. We have a rather large (70k members) LA Mommies FB group and I wrote up a post for my mom and she posted it there and had a job within a week. I was honest and just said she was a grandma who helped raise her 2 grandsons and was now looking for part time work. She didn't have any previous nanny/babysitting experience outside of my kids really, but now she'll have a great reference after this job. Maybe you have a similar local FB group you can check out.

Great suggestion!


Ha, I'm in that LA Mommies group too

[gatorsmom]

You guys are awesome! I was feeling REALLY down. Thank you for the fun ideas. I didn’t realize there was a shortage of teachers. I love speaking French and I think I could enjoy teaching it. It might be fun to go back to college and polish up my French a bit. I’m open to other ideas too. Even going back to school for psychology and digging into learning disabilities. I think I could be really useful if there is a need for it.

[niccig]

A friend started substitute teaching. It was the easiest option for her without training (here it’s bachelor degree). She also used her experience from girl guides to help as she’s used to leading groups of kids. Downside of substitute teaching is the pay, but if that doesn’t matter, you can take on as many days as you want or don’t want.

I went back to grad school to retrain as I knew I was going to go back to work, so the four years to get the classes and qualifications was worth it.

In your case, I would see if there isn’t a need to retrain or minimal training. Maybe look into what you need to do for interpretation/translation with French. I know there’s more involved than being fluent, it’s a difficult skill to interpret especially simultaneously. You may find it’s not too many classes. We use a video interpretation service at the hospital on iPads.

Another option is to increase volunteer work. When I couldn’t work as waiting on my green card, I volunteered 2-3 days a week. It kept me busy, but I had flexibility of changing days when needed as not being paid. A job may have regular time commitments you don’t want




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[gatorsmom]

If you miss taking care of littles, there's plenty of new parents who need help. I did a part time nanny job over the summer watching a 1 year old and continue to watch him here and there when their regular nanny is sick (like today). The mom works from home so she can be more flexible with start and end times. My mom is 67 and also picked up a part time short term nanny job for a family in town for the DH's work for 6 weeks. A 6 month old little girl who's super easy and my mom is working 4 hours a day, sometimes in the mornings, sometimes in the afternoon. The mom is a SAHM but just wants a few hours to nap, take a shower, go to the gym, and run errands. We have a rather large (70k members) LA Mommies FB group and I wrote up a post for my mom and she posted it there and had a job within a week. I was honest and just said she was a grandma who helped raise her 2 grandsons and was now looking for part time work. She didn't have any previous nanny/babysitting experience outside of my kids really, but now she'll have a great reference after this job. Maybe you have a similar local FB group you can check out.

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Thank you for that idea. I actually don’t love working with littles. I was a nanny after college (in France) but I think I’m over it. lol. My back can’t take all that bending over anymore.