Do you fantasize about post-HS re-education and career?

[Seasider]

I'll be an empty-nester at 45. Re-education, maybe. Career, nah. Unless we really needed the income for some unforeseeable reason, I'd rather hobby or volunteer or something other than paid employment.

 

ETA: good point about parental care. Our parents will be in the 75-80 range at that point. I'm an only child, and DH is oldest of two, so...yeah. C'est la vie indeed.

May I suggest you open a conversation with your folks about their plans for the elder years? Lightly, gently, while they are still spry.

[klmama]

I don't.  I'll be in my late 50s when the last dc is done, and dh may have retired by then.  I could see volunteering somewhere, but I don't have work or educational goals for myself.  I'd love to be a grandmother.  I hope I can get the dc to cooperate in making that happen!

 

 

[solascriptura]

I fantasizes about it for a while and then decided to go for it. I'm in school now (just started) and I'll be ready to work in my chosen field in 4 years. Bah. That sounds like a long time.

[mommyoffive]

My plan is to get an Associates while youngest is in high school. I will be right around 50 years old. I have a CPA, but not having worked for 20 years will seriously limit how much I can make as an accountant. I am thinking of some sort of health care professional - radiology, respiratory therapist, occupational therapist assistant. In my case, we need the boost to retirement funding desperately, so not working isn't really an option. I hope to work 15-25 years, banking most/all of my salary.

 

This is a really great idea.

 

I have heard you make good money being a dental hygienist.  

[EMS83]

May I suggest you open a conversation with your folks about their plans for the elder years? Lightly, gently, while they are still spry.

Sure! I've brought it up a couple of times, but it's been a year or two.

Mine say, "don't worry about us." And I know they have things in order, but still...

His don't seem to have a plan, or just haven't mentioned it. Not as sure there.

[happypamama]

I am 40. My current youngest is almost four, and we are considering one more baby next year. I am considering going back to school for a three semester bridge program for people who already have their Bachelor's to get an RN degree, with hopes of becoming a NICU nurse. If we have another baby, I likely wouldn't do it until that baby was at least three, and it's very possible that I might change my mind anyway. I don't have a career I left when I had children, and that's the first thing that's really piqued my interest at all aside from having babies of my own.

[Crimson Wife]

I have quite a bit more energy now at 40 than I did in my early 30's with 3 littles. I was exhausted all the time back then but the kids are pretty independent by this point (the youngest is functioning about the same as a typical kindergartner).

 

I just graduated with my 2nd bachelor's last month and am in the middle of grad school apps now. The catalyst for me going back was my special needs child's 2nd diagnosis. I got really depressed after we found out about the progressive hearing loss and school was a way for me to take concrete action to help her. I cannot control the effects of the genetic mutation that is destroying her inner ear, but I can get the training to help her and other deaf & hard-of-hearing kids master speech.

 

One thing that appeals to me about speech & language pathology is the opportunity for PT and flexible work. The subspecialty that I'm getting training in lends itself to teletherapy since it is a parent coaching model.

[heartlikealion]

Could you start the 3 year program before you are officially done homeschooling? Not sure if this is in person, online or what

 

I think about this stuff. Guess we are the same age. I looked into what I would need to do to become a certified teacher. I cannot drop everything to substitute teach to get my foot in the door. I don't even know if I want to teach (worry about the grading, discipline, etc.). I guess I'm trying not to think about it all too much but I have told myself if I get serious about it I would like to study for the Praxis tests before I apply for jobs. I also looked into taking a night class to learn web design as it would compliment my degree, but then I found out the class is a hybrid which combines face to face class time and online and I honestly don't know if I have the time for that. It's discouraging. Part of me is like "do this stuff now" but part of me is like, "it's okay, it's not the right time."

 

I do think I should try to write and publish a small children's kindle book this year. I should make that a goal. It has been an interest of mine since I was a child.

[heartlikealion]

I have quite a bit more energy now at 40 than I did in my early 30's with 3 littles. I was exhausted all the time back then but the kids are pretty independent by this point (the youngest is functioning about the same as a typical kindergartner).

 

I just graduated with my 2nd bachelor's last month and am in the middle of grad school apps now. The catalyst for me going back was my special needs child's 2nd diagnosis. I got really depressed after we found out about the progressive hearing loss and school was a way for me to take concrete action to help her. I cannot control the effects of the genetic mutation that is destroying her inner ear, but I can get the training to help her and other deaf & hard-of-hearing kids master speech.

 

One thing that appeals to me about speech & language pathology is the opportunity for PT and flexible work. The subspecialty that I'm getting training in lends itself to teletherapy since it is a parent coaching model.

 

I think that's wonderful. So often I read posts by parents on this board and think, wow, these moms really know their stuff. It's always nice to have a doctor or specialist that has personal experience to draw from (although not great that their family had to go through difficult things).

[lewelma]

My dad's first job was at 32 after an MD/PhD plus residency. He hated being a doctor and at 35 my dad retired from being a doctor to run hospitals. At 60 he retired from running hospitals to be Health and Human Services Secretary for a USA State. At 65 he retired from that to run the Medical School of a large State University. At 70 he retired from that to be a professor.  At 79, he retired from that to be an author and currently has 3 book contracts.  

 

You don't have to quit at 65 unless you want to or your health is failing. Many people are very productive in their later years.

 

Ruth in NZ 

Edited June 15, 2017 by lewelma

[DawnM]

My plan is to get an Associates while youngest is in high school. I will be right around 50 years old. I have a CPA, but not having worked for 20 years will seriously limit how much I can make as an accountant. I am thinking of some sort of health care professional - radiology, respiratory therapist, occupational therapist assistant. In my case, we need the boost to retirement funding desperately, so not working isn't really an option. I hope to work 15-25 years, banking most/all of my salary.

 

Do you already have a BA?  Wouldn't it make more sense to get another BA?  Or are these programs only 2 year degrees?

 

Do you not want to be a CPA anymore?  It would seem that a few refresher courses or some part time work from home would get you back up to speed with accounting if you wanted to step back in.

[historically accurate]

Do you already have a BA?  Wouldn't it make more sense to get another BA?  Or are these programs only 2 year degrees?

 

Do you not want to be a CPA anymore?  It would seem that a few refresher courses or some part time work from home would get you back up to speed with accounting if you wanted to step back in.

 

I actually have a BA in history (non-Western civilization) and a BS in Accountancy as well as several grad classes toward an MBA (halfway-ish?). Most of the programs I'm looking at can be jumped into with an Associates - respiratory therapist can be 2 or 4 year. I figure a 2 year won't cost near as much as a 4 year - the local cc is currently $400 for a 3 hour course. 

 

I wouldn't have a problem with accounting, but it'd take a lot to jump back into it besides bookkeeping (which doesn't pay all that well). My work history in accounting is all over the board because I never really narrowed down what I wanted to do with it - I worked in banking, mortgages, construction finance, and software development. Accounting is ok (and I am good at most of it - besides taxes), but it's not really my love. It's definitely still on the table, but it's really in second place at this point. 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Could you start the 3 year program before you are officially done homeschooling? Not sure if this is in person, online or what

 

I think about this stuff. Guess we are the same age. I looked into what I would need to do to become a certified teacher. I cannot drop everything to substitute teach to get my foot in the door. I don't even know if I want to teach (worry about the grading, discipline, etc.). I guess I'm trying not to think about it all too much but I have told myself if I get serious about it I would like to study for the Praxis tests before I apply for jobs. I also looked into taking a night class to learn web design as it would compliment my degree, but then I found out the class is a hybrid which combines face to face class time and online and I honestly don't know if I have the time for that. It's discouraging. Part of me is like "do this stuff now" but part of me is like, "it's okay, it's not the right time."

 

I do think I should try to write and publish a small children's kindle book this year. I should make that a goal. It has been an interest of mine since I was a child.

 

 

It's an in-person degree, and unfortunately, the university is in Geneva, so about a 45 minute each way commute.  Whether or not I can homeschool and do the program simultaneously will depend a lot on whether or not I have students who can work independently.  I can imagine establishing a program and overseeing, but not the detailed teaching work.  I hope to experiment on my bigger kids to see how independent they can be... but I'm doubtful I could do both justice.

[Ausmumof3]

Realistically my youngest will graduate when I'm 45 at the latest and I imagine I'll be looking for something to do. I definitely can't handle the extra workload of studying right now but I imagine when oldest is graduated I might possibly be able to manage depending how independent the kids are.

 

The "dream job" that I would do requires full time training for five years minimum so I don't know how realistic that is. more likely I will figure out stuff I can do in bits around the needs of others.

[wintermom]

I'm 50 and will most likely be homeschooling my dc for another 6 years. I've had such a fun learning journey with my dc over the last 10+ years already that I haven't had any time or desire to fantasize about a different profession. My profession before dc was teaching and sport studies, and I've been using these skills all along. I also studied various languages, and have been able to use these when I wanted. 

 

I have also been expanding my personal goals along the years, too. I don't have this feeling of having stuffed my ambitions for 10 years and finally having the opportunity to "live my own life." I have been learning and trying new things, both on my own and with my dh and dc. I've been volunteering and working part-time all along, as well. 

 

If anything, I'll be ready to fully "retire" when my youngest graduates. I guess I'll technically still have approximately 10 years of work before I'll get any government pension. I could continue with my current volunteering and part-time work, expand these, or try something new.

[Bluegoat]

I think about what I will do after - there are many things I would love to do!  Mostly, though, they aren't really related to a job or career.  I may go back to work, but it will probably be a seperate thing from my interests, so I'm not motivated to invest too much time in education to that end.  I have considered doing a boulangerie or horticulture program with working at the end, but I hesitate a little over the physical aspects of those jobs, as I am suffering from some joint issues already.

 

The other aspect of this is that I may continue to want some flexibility to help my kids out, and also I am the person most likely to have to help out with ageing relatives.  My youngest is also going to be around another 20 years.  Plus, dh will be eligible to retire at 55 and he may want to do contract or seasonal work, or we may move.

 

I do hope to take some classes, complete the master gardener certification,. learn tai chi, learn to play the guitar, do some volunteering, maybe sit in some community boards, and plenty of other things.  If that means I end up working at Costco or as a library clerk, that is ok.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'm 50 and will most likely be homeschooling my dc for another 6 years. I've had such a fun learning journey with my dc over the last 10+ years already that I haven't had any time or desire to fantasize about a different profession. My profession before dc was teaching and sport studies, and I've been using these skills all along. I also studied various languages, and have been able to use these when I wanted. 

 

I have also been expanding my personal goals along the years, too. I don't have this feeling of having stuffed my ambitions for 10 years and finally having the opportunity to "live my own life." I have been learning and trying new things, both on my own and with my dh and dc. I've been volunteering and working part-time all along, as well. 

 

If anything, I'll be ready to fully "retire" when my youngest graduates. I guess I'll technically still have approximately 10 years of work before I'll get any government pension. I could continue with my current volunteering and part-time work, expand these, or try something new.

 

 

Good points!  

[heartlikealion]

It's an in-person degree, and unfortunately, the university is in Geneva, so about a 45 minute each way commute.  Whether or not I can homeschool and do the program simultaneously will depend a lot on whether or not I have students who can work independently.  I can imagine establishing a program and overseeing, but not the detailed teaching work.  I hope to experiment on my bigger kids to see how independent they can be... but I'm doubtful I could do both justice.

 

If you don't have to be in class too many days a week (like just take one or two classes at a time at first?) maybe you could delegate some work to someone else. I'm going to have a tutor this year to help ds with some subjects, just to help me and have him in a distraction-free area (library) sometimes as I'm home with a toddler which is pure chaos lol. The web design class I mentioned is also 45 min. away. I found one at night, but I still don't know if I could commit the time for the additional work to be done at home.

 

Would your spouse be able to do any of the teaching possibly? Or maybe there's a teaching part you do one day and they are basically going over things another day that have previously been taught? It would be tough if you constantly have to go over new things, though.

Edited June 15, 2017 by heartlikealion

[FaithManor]

I am on my last year of homeschooling. Ds will graduate May 2018 and enter college in the fall of that year.

 

With three college students at one time, the dream has been simple. Get a better than minimum wage job and pay for college.

 

I have been hired one day per week this coming year as a subject matter expert in STEM for a local school district, and will mentor in robotics, rocketry, and physics 2nd-8th grade, and then for 2018 will be full time. It isn't huge money, but at $25.00 an hour with full eight hour days and three hours of planning also paid for, in the school year I can earn most of what we have to contribute to college, will be paying in to a 401K, and will also be paying in again for social security. Since I do love to teach - though music would have been my preference because I am ready to do that again - and the pay is reasonable for someone who has been out of the work force this long, I am thrilled to have the job.

 

I plan to work a decade. That will get all the ds's through school, and then allow me to heavily contribute to the last of our retirement savings.

 

What I like best is that I'll have from around June 1st - Sept. 1st off when the boys are home from college so we can still take a family summer vacation. The only question is if the schools will be able to give me three days off each year for our 4H rocket team to go to Washington D.C., or if I will have to give that up. Kind of hoping since it falls around standardized test time, and I am working for an education firm who provides the SME's and sets out hours, that it will work out. From the looks of a lot of the curriculum/projects I'll be doing, I can work it out to not need that week in order to be done by the end of the year even with some snow days thrown in for good measure.

 

My dream, dream would be to go back to piano performance, but that ship sailed many moons ago, and at 50, I will not be in the physical shape to return to that kind of grueling practice schedule, nor will I be able to get full time work...mostly small, regional orchestras, and spotty scheduling.

 

I am going to miss my youngest ds fiercely. He and I are very close. But I am excited for him, and truth be told, quite ready to be done with homeschooling. Very, very done.

[Jenny in Florida]

I used to.  I was feeling upbeat two years ago: children in school/university, new job, more time to myself, financial independence, working on my fitness.

 

Now my mother lives with us, one other family member is not well, and I have no way of fantasising, because I just don't know when the next phase of my life will start.

 

I'm sorry you're feeling stuck, Laura. I kind of feel like you and I are walking similar paths.

 

I used to fantasize about "after," too. I've always been a person who is interested in many things, and I used to look forward to the time when I would finally have the freedom to invest more time in exploring and learning on my own behalf. I've noodled around for years with the idea of getting that master's degree I didn't manage before work and kids; I've brainstormed with my husband about starting my own business . . .

 

But, you know, all of those things take money and energy that, in my early 50s with not enough in our retirement savings and college for two kids to pay for, I just don't have.

 

For the last three years, I've kept setting myself new little goals, in terms of work, but I've come to a place in which I feel more or less stuck. There is potential for incremental forward motion and a small chance for one decent promotion at some point in the next several years, but that would be it without making a more major change than is probably wise.

 

I have a job I mostly like, in which I don't get enough hours and in which I am paid less than I would be doing comparable work in a different environment. However, it's the environment I work in that makes me feel good about the work I do. My income is making it possible for us to finally make forward momentum on paying off debt, and my employer funds a retirement account for me, the only funds that are actually in my name. 

 

So, objectively, there is no good reason for me to jump ship and look elsewhere for work. 

 

There is a reasonable possibility that I might be able to go full time in the next one or two years, which would bring in a bit more money and offer some benefits I don't have access to now, but I would be doing the exact same work, just for more hours a week.

 

I have an adult daughter who lives several states away from us but goes through phases during which she needs a lot of emotional support. I have a husband who has physical limitations that aren't getting any better with age and who has recently been diagnosed with anxiety issues, too. I have a son who has tons of potential but will need near-constant nudging to actually finish a degree. We have decent income but no savings to speak of; we don't even own a home. I have 30-year-old student loans that have been in default for well over a decade, and I am now facing the unpleasant reality that, if I don't find a way to get them paid off before then, I will see any Social Security payments I might otherwise get significantly diminished.

 

I fill my days. I go to work. I volunteer for projects and finish them well and on time. I track my walking and set myself challenges to increase my step count each month. I have a variety of arts and crafts projects. I play with my dog. I watch the birds at the feeder outside my front window. I manage our budget and enjoy watching account balances go down and our credit rating go up. I read a lot.

 

But, no, I don't really fantasize about anything, because I'm pretty much out of ideas.

[Laura Corin]

 

 

But, no, I don't really fantasize about anything, because I'm pretty much out of ideas.

 

I'm sorry.  It's tough.  I tell myself that I have enormous advantages compared to so many people.  And it's true, I do.  But I had just started to take control and then had it whipped away from me.  And that doesn't feel good.

 

Still, my mother just kind of almost apologised for some bad behaviour, and my not-well family member is doing a bit better at present, so heigh ho.

[FaithManor]

Oh, and I meant that my SME position is one day per week this year, but 4-5 days per week for 2018/19 the year when we begin needing the college money the most desperately.

[Chris in VA]

HAHAHA 

 

I fantasize about going back to homeschooling. 

[unsinkable]

I am on my last year of homeschooling. Ds will graduate May 2018 and enter college in the fall of that year.

 

With three college students at one time, the dream has been simple. Get a better than minimum wage job and pay for college.

 

I have been hired one day per week this coming year as a subject matter expert in STEM for a local school district, and will mentor in robotics, rocketry, and physics 2nd-8th grade, and then for 2018 will be full time. It isn't huge money, but at $25.00 an hour with full eight hour days and three hours of planning also paid for, in the school year I can earn most of what we have to contribute to college, will be paying in to a 401K, and will also be paying in again for social security. Since I do love to teach - though music would have been my preference because I am ready to do that again - and the pay is reasonable for someone who has been out of the work force this long, I am thrilled to have the job.

 

I plan to work a decade. That will get all the ds's through school, and then allow me to heavily contribute to the last of our retirement savings.

 

What I like best is that I'll have from around June 1st - Sept. 1st off when the boys are home from college so we can still take a family summer vacation. The only question is if the schools will be able to give me three days off each year for our 4H rocket team to go to Washington D.C., or if I will have to give that up. Kind of hoping since it falls around standardized test time, and I am working for an education firm who provides the SME's and sets out hours, that it will work out. From the looks of a lot of the curriculum/projects I'll be doing, I can work it out to not need that week in order to be done by the end of the year even with some snow days thrown in for good measure.

 

My dream, dream would be to go back to piano performance, but that ship sailed many moons ago, and at 50, I will not be in the physical shape to return to that kind of grueling practice schedule, nor will I be able to get full time work...mostly small, regional orchestras, and spotty scheduling.

 

I am going to miss my youngest ds fiercely. He and I are very close. But I am excited for him, and truth be told, quite ready to be done with homeschooling. Very, very done.

$25 an hour for 11 hours is pretty good pay for a day of on site work. It's actually very surprising given that you've said over and over you live in a very depressed area economically, and that you've said your area is anti-science and basically backward in its mindset about education.

[FaithManor]

$25 an hour for 11 hours is pretty good pay for a day of on site work. It's actually very surprising given that you've said over and over you live in a very depressed area economically, and that you've said your area is anti-science and basically backward in its mindset about education.

I am very fortunate to get in with a new education company.

 

Due to contracting positions in school districts, outsourcing some mentoring and what not is apparently more cost effective.

 

Hopefully, it will last! It is a lot less money per hour than when I was performing, but that ship sailed, so I am grateful.

 

Some of the school districts are a bit of a jaunt, but there will be some travel reimbursement. Not all of it, but some.

[Laura Corin]

$25 an hour for 11 hours is pretty good pay for a day of on site work. 

 

I'd be pretty happy with that rate of pay.  I make more like $15 an hour.

[unsinkable]

I am very fortunate to get in with a new education company.

 

Due to contracting positions in school districts, outsourcing some mentoring and what not is apparently more cost effective.

 

Hopefully, it will last! It is a lot less money per hour than when I was performing, but that ship sailed, so I am grateful.

 

Some of the school districts are a bit of a jaunt, but there will be some travel reimbursement. Not all of it, but some.

Wow, I'd say you're fortunate. If you're not employed by the school itself but by an education company, then I wonder how much the district is paying the education company if the company is paying you $25 an hour! No wonder the school districts are poor!

 

I guess you're lucky, too, to be employed outside of what your degree is in. Most places wouldn't hire a musician as a science expert.

[elegantlion]

My goal post homeschooling was to focus on my fiction writing and either work part-time or volunteer. When my marriage imploded I had to do something or end up working retail for the rest of my life. I STARTED college at 46, ending up graduating ds a year early due to all the chaos, and I will graduate next May, the same week I turn 51. 

 

I'm getting a bachelor's in history with the goal of getting at least my master's. If I could finish my PhD without having to move, I would. I'll have to move for my master's and cross my fingers my mom's health doesn't tank in the next 3 years (she's quite healthy for 80). While it wasn't my initial plan, I'm having a blast. I plan to keep researching in my field of history, medieval English history, regardless of what kind of job I end up with. I'm enjoying school and giving my first real conference presentation next week, at a conference that is just starting to have a panel for undergraduates. 

 

[Wheres Toto]

Well, I'll be around 56 when youngest finishes high school, assuming a normal course.  Dh will be 69.  

 

If I NEED to go back to work at that point, I'll probably just go back to Executive Assistant work.  I pays really well and I'm doing very part time work from home for the company I worked at until last year, so I keep my skills up. 

 

My dream would be to open a used bookstore (maybe with a homeschool resource center on the side - curriculum swaps/consignments, meeting/class rooms, maybe drop-in childcare). Unfortunately, the funds are highly unlikely to be there with two kids in/going to college.

 

We are also talking about renovating a bus into a camper and taking month-long camping trips once dh retires (hopefully around 63-65 years old).  That would certainly limit what kind of job I can take. 

[mommyoffive]

I am on my last year of homeschooling. Ds will graduate May 2018 and enter college in the fall of that year.

 

With three college students at one time, the dream has been simple. Get a better than minimum wage job and pay for college.

 

I have been hired one day per week this coming year as a subject matter expert in STEM for a local school district, and will mentor in robotics, rocketry, and physics 2nd-8th grade, and then for 2018 will be full time. It isn't huge money, but at $25.00 an hour with full eight hour days and three hours of planning also paid for, in the school year I can earn most of what we have to contribute to college, will be paying in to a 401K, and will also be paying in again for social security. Since I do love to teach - though music would have been my preference because I am ready to do that again - and the pay is reasonable for someone who has been out of the work force this long, I am thrilled to have the job.

 

I plan to work a decade. That will get all the ds's through school, and then allow me to heavily contribute to the last of our retirement savings.

 

What I like best is that I'll have from around June 1st - Sept. 1st off when the boys are home from college so we can still take a family summer vacation. The only question is if the schools will be able to give me three days off each year for our 4H rocket team to go to Washington D.C., or if I will have to give that up. Kind of hoping since it falls around standardized test time, and I am working for an education firm who provides the SME's and sets out hours, that it will work out. From the looks of a lot of the curriculum/projects I'll be doing, I can work it out to not need that week in order to be done by the end of the year even with some snow days thrown in for good measure.

 

My dream, dream would be to go back to piano performance, but that ship sailed many moons ago, and at 50, I will not be in the physical shape to return to that kind of grueling practice schedule, nor will I be able to get full time work...mostly small, regional orchestras, and spotty scheduling.

 

I am going to miss my youngest ds fiercely. He and I are very close. But I am excited for him, and truth be told, quite ready to be done with homeschooling. Very, very done.

 

 

Wow,  I am so happy everything worked out for you.  Sounds like a great plan!

[mommyoffive]

Oh, and I meant that my SME position is one day per week this year, but 4-5 days per week for 2018/19 the year when we begin needing the college money the most desperately.

 

Even better

[heartlikealion]

My goal post homeschooling was to focus on my fiction writing and either work part-time or volunteer. When my marriage imploded I had to do something or end up working retail for the rest of my life. I STARTED college at 46, ending up graduating ds a year early due to all the chaos, and I will graduate next May, the same week I turn 51. 

 

I'm getting a bachelor's in history with the goal of getting at least my master's. If I could finish my PhD without having to move, I would. I'll have to move for my master's and cross my fingers my mom's health doesn't tank in the next 3 years (she's quite healthy for 80). While it wasn't my initial plan, I'm having a blast. I plan to keep researching in my field of history, medieval English history, regardless of what kind of job I end up with. I'm enjoying school and giving my first real conference presentation next week, at a conference that is just starting to have a panel for undergraduates. 

 

are you sure? I mean, is this because you want to do face-to-face classes or some other reason? I have never done online classes, they don't appeal to me. But dh got his Master's online.

 

[elegantlion]

are you sure? I mean, is this because you want to do face-to-face classes or some other reason? I have never done online classes, they don't appeal to me. But dh got his Master's online.

 

 

I did my first year of college all online, so I'm not opposed to that, even though I prefer face-to-face classes. For my area of history, there is no real way to do it online. If I wanted a generic history Master's, I could, but medieval history programs are not online. 

[Wheres Toto]

I was just saying to Dh the other day that I miss going to school.   It took me until I was 35 to finish my degrees and I have a whole lot of extra credits leading up to that since I changed majors a few times (based on tuition waiver programs, tuition reimbursement for jobs, availability of programs, etc.).  I really enjoyed school when I did it as an adult, even with the craziness of working full time and raising children.

 

I am planning to use the Great Courses Plus for the kids starting next year and I think I'm going to do at least one course at a time for myself as well.  I'm hoping this will help satisfy my urge to learn something new, without having to spend a lot of money and time (that we don't really have at this point).  I plan to start with the course on utopian and dystopian literature first.   :thumbup1:

[G5052]

I just graduated my youngest, but I've been working all along and ramped it up over the last few years. DH had to retire early for medical reasons.

 

Early on, I did have ideas about going back to school, but as the years went on, I realized that wasn't going to happen. As DH's health failed, I had to get decent-paying work that allowed me to continue homeschooling and that would build into being able to keep us going with his pension. When we were homeschooling, my pay went towards medical bills and saving for the future.

 

So I teach online and make about what a teacher with an M.A. would make in public school. DH's pension includes health insurance, so I'm fine with two 3/4 time jobs with no benefits. I'm very careful to contribute to my IRA every year and will receive a decent pension from work before we had kids in four years.

 

Frankly I think I'd prefer a face-to-face teaching gig, but this works for our family. DH's health is better now, but it's still better that I'm around. He has a hard time remembering appointments and can get very flustered at times. It's TOUGH getting my work done with him around. I've learned to plan my focused times when he's busy, and to plan for time with friends and the gym. Even though I work from home, I'm not one that does well staying home all day. 

 

I had hoped to do some volunteer work at this phase of life, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen at this point.

 

Both of the young adults will be in college locally in August, although the older one has a longer commute and likely will be gone a lot. We are paying their tuition, but require them to work part-time for the rest. 

 

The end of homeschooling didn't quite end up the way I pictured, but it works. Right out I just take it year-to-year and see. I do enjoy my work, thankfully.

Edited June 16, 2017 by G5052

[La Condessa]

Not really fantasize, but I have been giving it a lot of thought as I have watched my mom struggle these last couple years since my youngest brother graduated.  I always wanted a big family (around 8 or 9 kids), but my problems with my pregnancies have interrupted that plan.  We are interested in adopting, but can't afford it now, and I don't know if my husband will still want to by the time we can afford it--his siblings are very close in age and he doesn't like the idea of having a very big gap between kids so that some of them don't really grow up together.  Motherhood has always been my "career", and I've never really wanted any other.  When my youngest graduates, I will be 46--way too early to retire.  I really don't know what I'll do with myself. 

[Murphy101]

I do t really fantasize about it so much as worry "what if".

 

Before baby girl was born I was starting to be more active and networky, part just to expand my own interests and partly because it occurred to me if I ever need to get a job again, I don't think I could list anyone I've ever worked with. It's been 18 years and nearly everyone I might have used as a reference is dead! And my last three companies I worked for? They don't exist anymore either!

 

I'd like to take some classes but yeah. Count me in the company of young debt fools back when I was 21 and got way too much student loan debt bc I didn't know any better. Gah. I'd love to slap the crap out of 21 year old me who listened to the crowd on the "smart" things to do instead of common sense. And I didn't get a degree even. Because despite its claim to be a school for working adults, once you get past the gen eds, it's a royal pita to find the class you need around a night schedule. 😒

 

I volunteer. I do things around my interests. Knitting group, garden club, church stuff... As baby girl gets older, like after she's a 12-18months, I might decide to heck with it all and take some classes anyways. Right now she is still almost exclusively breastfed, so where I go, she goes.

 

I'd like to make some money though. To set aside. To enjoy life. To help the grown kids. To pay for healthcare. And a long list of other needs.

[freeindeed]

Yes. I'm a writer now, but I don't get to devote as much time to it as I'd like. I have a BS in Elementary Education and taught in the public school setting prior to homeschooling my children, but I do NOT want to return to that. My fantasies of my post-homeschool career now involve my writing a best-selling novel which is turned into an Oscar winning movie. Then, of course, I become a millionaire, and my husband, special needs daughter and her nanny, and I will travel all over the world and never have to worry about money again. I'd say the odds of that happening are highly likely.  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: 

[Seasider]

I do t really fantasize about it so much as worry "what if".

 

Before baby girl was born I was starting to be more active and networky, part just to expand my own interests and partly because it occurred to me if I ever need to get a job again, I don't think I could list anyone I've ever worked with. It's been 18 years and nearly everyone I might have used as a reference is dead! And my last three companies I worked for? They don't exist anymore either!

 

I'd like to take some classes but yeah. Count me in the company of young debt fools back when I was 21 and got way too much student loan debt bc I didn't know any better. Gah. I'd love to slap the crap out of 21 year old me who listened to the crowd on the "smart" things to do instead of common sense. And I didn't get a degree even. Because despite its claim to be a school for working adults, once you get past the gen eds, it's a royal pita to find the class you need around a night schedule. 😒

 

I volunteer. I do things around my interests. Knitting group, garden club, church stuff... As baby girl gets older, like after she's a 12-18months, I might decide to heck with it all and take some classes anyways. Right now she is still almost exclusively breastfed, so where I go, she goes.

 

I'd like to make some money though. To set aside. To enjoy life. To help the grown kids. To pay for healthcare. And a long list of other needs.

Hey the bit about not having a current reference is a scary valid point. Even if you have a pile of friends that would recommend you, a work reference is what's really needed.

 

The volunteer angle is good, it often leads to paid work.

[marbel]

Hey the bit about not having a current reference is a scary valid point. Even if you have a pile of friends that would recommend you, a work reference is what's really needed.

 

The volunteer angle is good, it often leads to paid work.

 

Volunteer "bosses" can also be work references. Maybe not quite as good as paid work, but better than friends.  I have no work references either, after 18 years!

[Carrie12345]

I'll be the odd one out. I have zero desire to go back to school and zero desire to work for income again, ever. I feel blessed to be done with that stage of my life and love my freedom. :)

I'm there, too.

I do fantasize about going into social work but, by the time I would get degreed and licensed, it'd be little more than working to pay for the education before retiring. Which isn't necessarily off the table, but it's a giant commitment I don't think I'll make.

 

I will likely stay in homeschool circles, multitasking little services for pocket money and the fun of it.

[Wheres Toto]

When I went back to work four years ago, I hadn't worked in 8 years.  I did still keep in touch with one of my old bosses at least occasionally, so I was able to use her as one reference.   The three or four companies I had worked for most recently didn't exist anymore so I didn't really have any resources.   Because I had gone in as a temp first, they weren't too worried about who my references were but HR required at least two.  I ended up using Dh's business partner because I had done some work for them when they started-up.

 

I had the same problem when I became a 4-H leader and they didn't require business references, just not family.  I'm not much of a people-person so I had to really reach to get people to fill out the forms.   Facebook actually made this a lot easier because I was still "in touch" with people I hadn't actually talked to in years.