pros and cons..working part time while homeschooling

[ProudGrandma]

I have 3 kids...age 12, 15 and 16.  I am toying with taking on a part time job....about 20 hours a week. The job is librarian for our tiny town library.  

 

the job is a 2 minute drive and a 7 minute walk from my home.  

 

The hours are only afternoons 3 days a week and 4 hours on Saturday.   

 

We could do all of our hard schooling in the morning...and they could leave the afternoons for easy classes and music lesson practice. 

 

There are lots of pros and cons....but I am mostly interested in hearing from you guys if you have a similar situation...what the cons are for doing this.

 

We don't NEED the money, but to have some extra would be nice.

 

thanks.

 

 

[Raifta]

I'm currently working 10-15 hours a week while homeschooling both kids.  Mornings 3 x week.

 

I'd say that the major con is that mine are still a bit younger and less independent (although getting better) and sometimes they goof off and don't do the things on their lists or do them so sloppily that we have to redo everything.

 

Another con (although this may just be specific to my job) is that it's one more thing to keep cycling through my head and I do spend a lot of time not physically at work still thinking about work, planning work, checking my email/messages related to work so I can determine what the next day/week will hold.  And that just gives me less time to devote to thinking about homeschooling, running the house, cooking etc.  Not tons less time, but enough that it feels like it adds a layer of stress that I would rather not have.  I've only been doing it for a couple of months now and I can tell that things feel a little bit more chaotic and time-sensitive and I get snappier more quicklyl.

 

Pro is definitely that it's easier to find work in the future if I don't have 8 years of unpaid work on a resume.  (I worked PT until 3 years ago and did a full time stint for 4 months last year and I think those things have been helpful in landing this job).  The extra money is nice too.

 

Being a librarian sounds like a lovely job to be offered so I would definitely consider that if someone were to hand that to me!

[heartlikealion]

Would that mess up your weekends? I mean would it significantly annoy you if you say, needed to play catch up on the weekend but also had to report to work and wanted to fit in family stuff or whatever other obligations?

 

Dh works Sunday nights. It significantly puts a bit of a damper on the weekend but we need the money. Like if we travel he always has to come back to town in time for work (he's a librarian and they have some late hours where he works).

 

Mostly I would be interested in that opportunity. I have been taking little part-time jobs here and there when they arise (they have all been temporary). Something stable like that would be good for your resumé. Maybe you don't need the money now, but might be good as a "just in case." We just found out our income is going to take a hit soon.

[Janie Grace]

Could the kids hang out in the library and do schoolwork if they proved unable to stay on task/get along at home?

 

Would the pay mean you could afford shortcuts (cleaning help, takeout) to help keep you from feeling overwhelmed? 

 

If yes to these, I'd do it! I would LOVE being a librarian. :)

[fairfarmhand]

The hardest thing has been the loss of flexibility.

 

No, so and so can't come over thsi afternoon and hang out because I have to work,

 

And I only work out of the house one afternoon a week! (I work freelancing in odd bits and pieces as the work is available. I never know when that will come in.)

 

But most of our afternoons are full. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday we've got activities. I work Friday afternoons. So Monday's my only free at home day. I protect that day. I clean and do household things that day.

Edited April 12, 2017 by fairfarmhand

[fairfarmhand]

Another con (although this may just be specific to my job) is that it's one more thing to keep cycling through my head and I do spend a lot of time not physically at work still thinking about work, planning work, checking my email/messages related to work so I can determine what the next day/week will hold.  And that just gives me less time to devote to thinking about homeschooling, running the house, cooking etc.  Not tons less time, but enough that it feels like it adds a layer of stress that I would rather not have.  I've only been doing it for a couple of months now and I can tell that things feel a little bit more chaotic and time-sensitive and I get snappier more quicklyl.

 

 

 

 

 

This has been my biggie too.

[Anne in CA]

I did work part time all the years I homeschooled and I do not regret it a bit because I had wonderful work friends and great experiences. BUT, there were costs. I worked evenings and weekends so we had no couples friends anymore. That was sad. The upside to that was that DH did not get to shove all the house chores onto me the way so many dads do when mom works. Also, there were activities my kids simply did not get to do because I was working. All activities had to be when I wasn't working because dh had enough on his plate without activities too. That was complicated. I had one exception. DD had a wonderful piano teacher. Probably the best in the whole Portland Metro area but she only had one spot on Tuesday nights which meant I couldn't work Tuesday nights and that bothered my coworkers a lot sometimes. 

[ProudGrandma]

thank you guys so much for giving me some things to think about.   In so many ways it's the perfect job, if I were to get a job.  I haven't worked outside the home in 18 years...so it would be such a change.  

 

I would miss my flexibility, but my daughter also has a job and that has really changed the flexibility of our lives anyway.  

 

I know there are some things that I would have to learn and do to become a librarian....so I need to figure that out first anyway. I am currently on the library board and several of the board members (including me) have been taking turns running the library since July of last year.  We haven't been able to find someone who just wants to work 16 hours a week...or who seems to fit the kind of picture we have in our minds for a librarian.  For example we had someone apply who didn't like kids. Well, being a small town, about 95% of our patrons are children.  So that obviously wouldn't work.   I can almost see myself getting bored sometimes, because we aren't the busiest place in town.  Of course we hope to change that...but there are no guarantees. 

 

So thanks for giving me some things to consider...open to any other thoughts someone might have.

 

 

[athomeontheprairie]

So, that IS my job.

Pros: bring a librarian is awesome.

Com: loss of flexibility. Not all work can be competed during business hours, so I "think" about things when I'm at home. When I should be schooling. Being away from home, some things don't get done (laundry, nice supper, etc)

 

Pro: best job ever

[myfunnybunch]

It's hard to juggle work, home, homeschool. But for me the pros (work experience, extra money, satisfying work, identity outside the family, friendships I've formed) far outweigh the cons. :)

 

I am grateful, also, that I went back to work when I did. Our family circumstances are changing significantly, and having work experience to get me in the door to a full-time position if I end up needing it is a weight off my mind.

[regentrude]

I have always worked part time while homeschooling.

 

Contrary to a pp, I found that working while homeschooling gave me the best of both worlds:

I was able to give my kids a customized home education and spend more time with them, but I was also able to do work I love, be my own person outside the mother/homeschooler role, interact with adults on a daily basis, have a sense of accomplishment, and continue my career at least on a low level (far below my actual potential, but enough to have a foot in the door to be able to increase to full time when the kids were grown).

(And financially if makes a huge difference when it comes to paying for college.)  

 

The cons are obviously less flexibility and less time, and the need to be organized.

For me, the pros far outweigh the cons. 

 

Edited April 12, 2017 by regentrude

[ProudGrandma]

So, that IS my job.

Pros: bring a librarian is awesome.

Com: loss of flexibility. Not all work can be competed during business hours, so I "think" about things when I'm at home. When I should be schooling. Being away from home, some things don't get done (laundry, nice supper, etc)

 

Pro: best job ever

 

so you are the librarian in a small library?  What kind of work doesn't get done during business hours? I would be the only staff person...so I don't know if that is a plus or minus.  I would have a substitute for if I would need to be gone for some reason...or we were out of town. 

 

I know I would miss the flexibility...and the freedom...but like I said, we have already lost some of that with my daughter working too. 

 

I never saw myself ever going back to work full time after the kids left...which will be another 5 1/2 years...and by then I will be closing in on 56...so this little part time job might be just the thing that I would like...

 

Sigh...this is a tough decision.

[footballmom]

I work pt from home and my oldest is 13.  I work because it keeps my household "whole" in terms of what we need $ wise each month, so I really like my boss and working from home, but I work because I need to not because I love to work this job if that makes sense.  For me, if the money won't change your life in a tangible way - staying solvent each month, making activities that your children dream about a reality, etc - I wouldn't do it.  I feel like I have the worst of both worlds - constantly on a tight timeframe to drive the "get school done train" and hurry up and get work done train.  None of my other HS'ing friends work PT or FT, so I feel like an outlier in that respect and feel like it is really hard to have any cushion of time for a fun spontaneous day or fun activity because I have a paid job to do.  

[HSmomof2]

I work pt from home and my oldest is 13. I work because it keeps my household "whole" in terms of what we need $ wise each month, so I really like my boss and working from home, but I work because I need to not because I love to work this job if that makes sense. For me, if the money won't change your life in a tangible way - staying solvent each month, making activities that your children dream about a reality, etc - I wouldn't do it. I feel like I have the worst of both worlds - constantly on a tight timeframe to drive the "get school done train" and hurry up and get work done train. None of my other HS'ing friends work PT or FT, so I feel like an outlier in that respect and feel like it is really hard to have any cushion of time for a fun spontaneous day or fun activity because I have a paid job to do.

I pretty much agree with this. I also work in our library about 20 hrs/week. Ours is in a more urban setting, so we deal with a lot more than 'library' stuff---mental illness, homelessness, those on a variety of substances, and we become the teen center/free daycare for a fairly large group of poorly behaved teens after school.

 

I work because we need the $. I don't enjoy my job, and even though it's part-time, there is very little flexibility. I'm frequently expected to work extra hours. I have missed many things with my family in Saturday's. And my dc have been limited in activities and getting together with friends during the week because I have to leave for work. I may feel differently if I were doing work that I enjoyed or felt rewarding.

[Peaceseeker]

I have pretty much always worked at least part time while homeschooling, and my kids are now in middle school. And I worked at a library for part of that time. So the pros are that working at a library is awesome. It was my happy place and I truly loved being there. Extra money is always nice. Putting on real clothes and interacting with the world in a different capacity is nice. Resume building is nice. If you haven't worked in a long time I bet it will be pretty darn appealing to try it and get out of the house. It can definitely be done. You can make it work.

 

However- The longer I homeschool the less sustainable this whole working part time thing feels. That may be particular to my situation. How much help do you have at home? Anyone to help drive kids to activities? Does everyone help with household tasks- cleaning, cooking, errands etc...or is it all on you? If it is all on you then you are just adding to your own workload. And we all have different tolerances for how much we can do before we break.

 

I am personally so ready to just be doing one thing well instead of many things barely passing muster. I am exhausted and overwhelmed and about to just throw in the towel on trying to do it all. Some women can do it all- I have seen them. Despite my appearance, I am not one of them. Barely hanging on here with homeschooling middle school, activities, household tasks, and working part time!

[swellmomma]

For me working while homeschooling the pro is providing for my family. The con is that I never have enough time to do anything well. I always drop a ball whether it is the housework, school work, the garden whatever. BUT I work more than you are outlining.

[G5052]

I've worked since my oldest was 18 months old. Initially I taught just one or two evening college classes, but over time I added more as we needed the income. Since my youngest was in high school, I've worked full-time hours, cobbling together college teaching and contract work. DH is disabled, so I do most of the house and heavy yard work with the teens.

 

For us, it was absolutely a must. If I had not worked all along and gradually built up my hours, we likely would not be where we are now. We are tighter than ever with two in college in the fall, but we're fine. DH retired early for medical reasons in December, and I'm now the breadwinner. 

 

Is it hard? Of course. You have to constantly prioritize and cut back on extras. I'm the queen of streamlining.

 

And don't forget that you need downtime too. I always have a novel going, and try to do a little quilting in the evening and on the weekends to relax. I also go to the gym 3-4x a week.

Edited April 12, 2017 by G5052

[bettyandbob]

I have the viewpoint that you don't know what will happen and you should actively maintain work skills in case you have to step up. I wish I'd thought that 20 years ago. It was not on my mind at all. Things were great. 10 years ago we were going through a financial slow down temporarily. I had started working very part time prior to that. I went and found a higher paying part time position. The slow down was not temporary. I've been upping my work steadily since.

 

Part of me wishes I'd kept up my original profession part time all along. I can't go back to that. So now I'm working and taking advantage of getting trainings related to what I am doing and building a new career at 50 that will have to carry me well into "retirement age".

 

When I was homeschooling, working required me to be efficient with our time. I actually liked that more. We did still do things like field trips and some activities. I tended to broadly plan the whole year over the summer. I had targets for getting to certain points in curriculum every 4 weeks or so. I'd have a few extra days built in to handle a special opportunity/sick day/extra time needed for particular topic. Planning up front can really make the loss of flexibility not a big issue.

[fairfarmhand]

I have pretty much always worked at least part time while homeschooling, and my kids are now in middle school. And I worked at a library for part of that time. So the pros are that working at a library is awesome. It was my happy place and I truly loved being there. Extra money is always nice. Putting on real clothes and interacting with the world in a different capacity is nice. Resume building is nice. If you haven't worked in a long time I bet it will be pretty darn appealing to try it and get out of the house. It can definitely be done. You can make it work.

 

However- The longer I homeschool the less sustainable this whole working part time thing feels. That may be particular to my situation. How much help do you have at home? Anyone to help drive kids to activities? Does everyone help with household tasks- cleaning, cooking, errands etc...or is it all on you? If it is all on you then you are just adding to your own workload. And we all have different tolerances for how much we can do before we break.

 

I am personally so ready to just be doing one thing well instead of many things barely passing muster. I am exhausted and overwhelmed and about to just throw in the towel on trying to do it all. Some women can do it all- I have seen them. Despite my appearance, I am not one of them. Barely hanging on here with homeschooling middle school, activities, household tasks, and working part time!

 

When my oldest was around to help with some driving, that made a big difference to our family. When my 15 yo gets her license, I know it will lift the load.

 

[Closeacademy]

I've been doing it now for about 7 years. I work about 17 hours a week afternoons & Saturdays.

 

While I love my job, if I didn't have to work then I would choose only homeschooling. But I also think that this is the job that I want to keep and do once I am no longer homeschooling.

 

It's a real balance. You have to really learn how to manage and budget your time to get everything done that needs doing. Here school is #1 top priority every morning. I have Mondays & Tuesdays off work so that we can really focus on school and important outside social activities on those days. I've had to learn how to either use my crock-pot or have quick meals ready to go for us on days I work because when I come home after a day of school plus work, I am usually exhausted.

 

That's the other thing. I'm tired a lot. And my only day off is Sunday so that has truly become a day of rest (you know what gets left out? Church). It can work but I wouldn't do it unless you really need the money (main reason here) or this is what you want to do after the kids are done (second reason here because I'll need a job at that time too). 

 

Make a pro/con list and then decide if it's really worth it.