After the kids?

[Lavender]

For the SAHM
Our career as a SAHM will eventually end, even if it is not until the children move out.
Will you ever return to work? Will you do the same job as BC?
How do you plan to fill your time when the children are a more independent age? What age do you think that will be?

[Lavender]

I always thought I would go back to teaching when the kids went to school, but lately I have been thinking about maybe finding something less stressful. I don't know what yet, but I am investigating in a minor capacity.

[bunty]

I am there now as my youngest started full time schooling this year. I have toyed with other things but am currently seeking a job in my previous field of employment on my terms. This means only working within school hours with school hols off. At this stage I am confident of earning an excellent wage (perhaps up to $80 an hour) on these terms. I am very lucky there is an extreme shortage of engineers in my field of expertise. I must say the return to work leaves me terrified!

[skn]

I plan on finishing my Social Work degree once the kids are at school and then head out into the workforce. So, I think I'll be about 35 before I'll go back to uni. Though I hope to do some part-time counselling work before then....well that's the plan....

[Joey]

I am starting to think about this too.

My current plan (although it changes quite regularly) is to go back to uni part time and external next year (when my youngest will be in prep) and study education, high school its 1 year full time or 2 part time so if I do it part time i will be finished when she goes into grade 2. Then I will be a biology /science teacher. While i study I will also keep my part time catering job as well.

[ColisaSota]

I had to go back to work for 6 months last year while DH looked after the kids during the day and found it very easy to get back into what I did pre kids (admin/clerical) after an almost 6 year break. I only did temp work as I knew my return to work would only be temporary but was offered full time positions many times in that 6 months. It may just be the current climate with lots of that type of work available, but it has given me the confidence that if I ever want /need to go to work I should have no problems as long as I keep my skills current, which is not hard typing on forums etc lol.

Really though as we homeschool, I won't stop being a SAHM until the kids are much older and hopefully by then we can afford for neither of us to have to go to work and we can concentrate on other things.

[Rinelle]

I didn't really get to the career part before having kids, only did a year of supply teaching, but even so, I highly doubt I'll go back to that. Once Ezri is a little older, I'm going to really get into my photography, and hope to eventually make a full time wage doing that. Then, I think, I'm going to write novels.

[Jakaluma]

I'm thinking of studying - something in sciences, either biology/zooology or maybe climatology. But that's this week's idea - can never decided what I want to do when I grow up I also write a bit, and that is something I would like to do more of, but I am a procrastinator, so often don't seize the moment.

I dabble in things now, and can see I'll have more time as the boys get older, so now is the time to set it in place.

[Eilleen]

Well, I'm kinda starting to get into this phase but am not really there fully. I've started part-time work but not in the exact field I was in before. As I left the workforce in a senior position, I found it difficult to get back in the same exact field at the lower levels (where the part-time positions are). It was very disheartening to have letter after letter telling me I was over-qualified for the position.

So I have decided to move sideways a little bit for now. I would love to get back into what I was doing before but that would have to wait until I am at work full-time. I think that will happen when both of my kids are at school full-time.

Having said all of that, I did toy with the idea of doing something completely different. I would love to work for a community organisation (eg. Smith Family) but I know that I would not be able to earn as much there as where I am now . In the end, it wasn't really worth it by the time you take into consideration the cost of parking, driving and childcare.

[~*Nile*~]

I plan to go back to work after this bump goes to school. I don't think I'll return to do the same work I did before though. After almost a decade in the social work field I'm sick of the stress and death threats So I want to get my Dip Ed and teach Welfare at TAFE. The hours are much more child-friendly that the 10 hour days I used to do too!