s/o career steering thread: careers compatible w/ extended periods out of workforce

[morningcoffee]

I'm interested in learning which careers can cope with extended time out of the workforce (or part time engagement with the workforce) and which careers can't. 

 

My children are still young when it comes to thinking about careers but sometimes express an interest in homeschooling their own children. I want to be better informed when they start to discuss their future careers. 

[Momof3littles]

Some healthcare jobs can work well even very part-time like one day per week, or per diem, just doing the occasional weekend (say 1-4x per month), provided one keeps up with reading, self-education, continuing education classes.

 

 

[kiana]

Many health care careers such as nursing, dental hygienist.

 

Teaching careers, especially if they have a high-demand specialty such as elementary math education or something similar.

[happypamama]

I know several homeschooling moms who do healthcare -- nursing, home healthcare, EMT, dental hygienist -- very part time. Vet techs too.

 

I also know some who are former teachers who substitute teach.

 

I was a nanny pre-kids. I'd bet I could get a job doing that again.

[LucyStoner]

I've eeked out a very mom friendly side gig as a contract worker for non-profits in accounting/financial services. Grantwriting and fund development are also things I've done but I am shifting a bit towards accounting now (though the fundraising help is an added bonus for my clients).

[Amira]

Dh found practicing law to be very flexible. He's not doing it anymore, but for about ten years he went back and forth between practicing full time, part time, and taking a year or two off to do other things.

[morningcoffee]

Some healthcare jobs can work well even very part-time like one day per week, or per diem, just doing the occasional weekend (say 1-4x per month), provided one keeps up with reading, self-education, continuing education classes.

 

I have a few friends who are nurses and have managed to do this.

 

I have wondered what it would be like to try and re-enter the profession after a complete break now that nursing is so reliant on technology. Can anyone share their thoughts?

 

 

[Momof3littles]

I am more familiar with allied health: speech therapy, PT, OT. 

eta: I can't speak to nursing all that specifically, but honestly, anytime you move from one area to another there are differences.  When I w orked in pediatrics, I lost some of my adult orthopedic skills.  My friends who work in outpatient ortho or skilled nursing wouldn't feel comfortable treating babies, yet people do manage to move from one area of practice to another. There are ways to move into other areas of practice via continuing ed, self study, mentorships, etc.  So I think of technology similarly to a degree.  In some areas of nursing it may be a bigger deal, but people in healthcare manage to move from area to area within their field fairly often.  I don't think it is insurmountable.  Being up to date on continuing ed, willing to learn, etc. goes a long way.  Hopefully the nurses will give more specifics.  But moving from something like working in a private peds practice to acute care in a hospital, even without a lapse in practice, can still be a challenge, but people do it.

[morningcoffee]

I am more familiar with allied health: speech therapy, PT, OT.

 

Thanks!

[Arcadia]

Nursing

Accounting

Teaching music or art out of their homes or at centers/private schools

Mortgage/loan officers in banks do employ people on part time basis as well.

Paralegal work - I have neighbors who work part time but they have worked full time before kids.

PT/OT, radiologist - I have friends working part time after a few years full time.

 

Engineering is hard to re-enter without connections and part time work is hard to come by. That would vary by region.

 

 

The thing with careers is that some are sufficient for topping up family income and some are more for spending money. For example, I know a few people who enjoy being Music Together teachers. It is a nice supplement income but not enough to pay rent/mortgage.

[Momof3littles]

I will say the cost of many allied health degrees has gone up considerably.  A master's or doctoral degree is necessary to sit for licensure, and the cost to complete those degrees has really increased since I graduated.  When I did my degree, I did a 5 year combined bachelor's and master's degree, and my program ran about 125K.  PT has mostly shifted to the DPT (doctorate in physical therapy), and soon the DPT will be necessary to sit for licensure (they grandfather in those who already have a license).  That's still viewed as the entry level degree, and PTs with a DPT frequently don't make any more than those with master's degrees, because we are talking about an entry level degree.  The same program I finished in 2001 is now about 300,000 with room and board, assuming no scholarships.  Seats were competitive then and are still highly competitive, so scholarships aren't necessarily plentiful or huge.

 

Just something to consider.  I opted to SAH, but had my student loans been considerably higher, that would not have been an option.  Working one day a week, per diem, etc. would likely not have been an option at all either.

[morningcoffee]

Nursing

Accounting

Teaching music or art out of their homes or at centers/private schools

Mortgage/loan officers in banks do employ people on part time basis as well.

Paralegal work - I have neighbors who work part time but they have worked full time before kids.

PT/OT, radiologist - I have friends working part time after a few years full time.

 

Engineering is hard to re-enter without connections and part time work is hard to come by. That would vary by region.

 

 

The thing with careers is that some are sufficient for topping up family income and some are more for spending money. For example, I know a few people who enjoy being Music Together teachers. It is a nice supplement income but not enough to pay rent/mortgage.

 

I have also heard that about engineering.

 

One of my friends used to work in IT (no more details) and said taking a few years off was the end of her career.

[morningcoffee]

I will say the cost of many allied health degrees has gone up considerably.  A master's or doctoral degree is necessary to sit for licensure, and the cost to complete those degrees has really increased since I graduated.  When I did my degree, I did a 5 year combined bachelor's and master's degree, and my program ran about 125K.  PT has mostly shifted to the DPT (doctorate in physical therapy), and soon the DPT will be necessary to sit for licensure (they grandfather in those who already have a license).  That's still viewed as the entry level degree, and PTs with a DPT frequently don't make any more than those with master's degrees, because we are talking about an entry level degree.  The same program I finished in 2001 is now about 300,000 with room and board, assuming no scholarships.  Seats were competitive then and are still highly competitive, so scholarships aren't necessarily plentiful or huge.

 

Just something to consider.  I opted to SAH, but had my student loans been considerably higher, that would not have been an option.  Working one day a week, per diem, etc. would likely not have been an option at all either.

 

Wow, that is really scary. 

[Momof3littles]

Wow, that is really scary. 

 

Yes, indeed it is.  They are still very employable, great fields with autonomy and flexibility, but...the cost to complete a degree would give me pause if I was doing it now.  Most people in my class were high school valedictorians or in the top 5% of their class, high SATs, etc.  Most could have applied and gotten into medical school.  I know quite a few people who chose PT because they didn't want the hours/lifestyle of an MD.  But now that the degree is longer and more expensive, I don't know if I would have made the same choice?  I might have opted for med school, but then would have been saddled with that debt and the sometimes extreme difficulty going part time or dropping out of the work force for a while.

[Arcadia]

One of my friends used to work in IT (no more details) and said taking a few years off was the end of her career.

If your friend wants to get back in, there are private schools who would hire IT staff but she would have to look around. A lot of private schools have campus wide Wi-Fi here and AVA equipment comes under IT

 

My "backyard" is Cisco. Re-certification and employee referral is what is required to up the chances of re-entry.

My cousin is in IT security. I can't re-cert because it needs me to be currently employed in that field. I can however re-cert to be a systems engineer (Microsoft,Linux) and work my connections for a employee referral in.

[Wheres Toto]

I work as an Executive Assistant/Secretary.  There are a lot of options for short or long term temping, part time for small office, or full time as long as the computer skills are kept up.  I came back as a temp after 8 years.

 

I used to work in a hospital film library in Radiology.  We had a few radiology techs who worked a 48 hour shift from Friday night to Sunday night, straight through.  Since the only x-rays, etc. taken on weekends were basically the Emergency Room or in-patient emergencies, it was more of an on-call situation where they had to hang out at the hospital.  They used to sleep in one of the exam rooms when the opportunity was there.

[Erin]

TeachIng has been really stop-and-go friendly.

I taught full time for a few years, started a family and quit teaching for about 6 or 7, went back full time for a year, and am back down to just subbing, working as much or as little as I want. I know I can go back to a contract again when I'm actually ready.

 

I'm inclined to think that because it's still a female-dominated profession, it's going to be family-friendly and I'm not an anomoly...

[kiana]

I have a few friends who are nurses and have managed to do this.

 

I have wondered what it would be like to try and re-enter the profession after a complete break now that nursing is so reliant on technology. Can anyone share their thoughts?

 

I think that rather than a complete break I'd try very hard to do something like a regularly scheduled every-other-weekend or one weekend a month.

[gardenmom5]

I've a friend who only worked a few days a month as a hospital based RN.  she took seven months off for maternity leave with her last child, and still only came back a few days a month.

 

I also have an acquaintence who worked one weekend/part of a week a month as a flight attendant.  the downside was she was based out of another city in another state, and had to be in that city on those days.  it worked for her as she was able to stay with a family member.  they also had fairly long maternity leaves.

 

after talking alot with the wife of one of her prof's - 2dd is finishing a PharmD.  the prof's wife only worked a few days a month while her children were small.  but if you need to be the primary breadwinner - you can have a comfortable salary for supporting a family.  (and if prospective sil does end up moving due to his job moving - dd can easily get a job anywhere.)

 

there are also computer areas that can be done at home.

 

many fields require maintaining certifications/etc.  so, you can't get a degree, and expect to go to work in the field 10 years later without first doing something to bring qualifications up to date, even if it is a field in which you could just work part time.

 

I also know some people who are in sales.  real estate agents, health insurance agents, etc including a few women (some of whom *are* the primary income).  they were able to work their schedule around their families.

[gardenmom5]

I have a few friends who are nurses and have managed to do this.

 

I have wondered what it would be like to try and re-enter the profession after a complete break now that nursing is so reliant on technology. Can anyone share their thoughts?

 

where I live - nurses have not been able to reenter after a break without a refresher course for more than 35 years.  not if they wanted a decent nursing job.

 

[morningcoffee]

where I live - nurses have not been able to reenter after a break without a refresher course for more than 35 years.  not if they wanted a decent nursing job.

 

 

ok, thanks - I guess the good thing is that there are refresher courses available.

 

[Shellydon]

Rehab jobs like occupational therapy, physical therapy or speech pathology.  RN, dietician, Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, teaching.

[morningcoffee]

Thanks everyone. Also interested in hearing more about the careers that don't work with extended periods away from the workforce or part time employment. 

[Ali in OR]

High tech would be extremely difficult to "take a break". The field moves too quickly. Dh (electrical engineer) moved to management and doesn't think he could do the engineering anymore even though he's around the stuff all of the time--he's not doing it himself.

[momacacia]

Of people that I know personally, nursing and electrical engineering.

[Cinder]

Some healthcare jobs can work well even very part-time like one day per week, or per diem, just doing the occasional weekend (say 1-4x per month), provided one keeps up with reading, self-education, continuing education classes.

 

I knew a pharmacist who worked only one weekend per month while her dc were young.

 

The dental staff at my dentist's office each work 2-3 days per week but typically 10-12 hour days because they offer extended hours.

[kiana]

Thanks everyone. Also interested in hearing more about the careers that don't work with extended periods away from the workforce or part time employment. 

 

Engineering is one of the worst, as is academia if you want research-intensive (adjuncting works fine)

[regentrude]

Also interested in hearing more about the careers that don't work with extended periods away from the workforce or part time employment. 

 

Research scientist.

One year at home  - doable if you keep up with the literature, have good support, and good timing.

Five years at home - very tough, and highly unlikely you'll get a job in academia.

Ten years at home - forget it. You won't do research again.

There are no "part time" research scientists. Only people who work more hours than full time.

 

If you're very lucky, you can utilize the science degree and go into teaching. There are part time options. But better get that PhD before having kids.