Looking Ahead to 2022 - Day 28

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Career

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I would like to officiate this year. I hope the pandemic restrictions are lifted and there is a need for my skills. I want to do at least 3 tournaments at each level.
I want to earn at least 25 CEUs for my certifications.
I would like to figure out advertising and scheduling for outdoor lessons for the late spring and summer.

If  I can't make that  work, II will look for a more lucrative job. I have a couple of things in mind but with our current lifestyle and an aging dog and a young dog who need to be let out and exercised regularly, I am unable to travel. Paying for a carer for the dogs would be counter productive toward earning a higher income.

[Eos]

Homeschooling: last child will be a senior!

Continue my current work.

Consider my post-homeschooling, what-shall-I-be-when-my-children-grow-up move.

[mom31257]

I guess the main goal for this challenge is to find one. I'll share some of my thoughts toward that here. Maybe you guys would have some good advice for me. 

Dh is a teacher, so I hate the idea of working during his breaks, but that means I would have to be in education, too. I like the idea of teaching, but I'm not certified (expensive and a lot of work to get certified in my state). I'm concerned about me managing classroom discipline, and the pressure on math teachers for student performance. Will the job consume me? 

I might could work part-time for the local tech college teaching math (only a Bachelor's is required for programs like the GED). I really could use more money than that if possible. 

My dad was just diagnosed with Parkinson's, and I don't know how he is going to respond to the treatment or how it will progress. We moved closer to him so I could help if he needs it. I do have two sisters who are willing to help as well and would give me breaks. One doesn't work and one works a flexible part-time job but lives several hours away. If my dad has to eventually move in with us, he would insist on contributing to our household income, which would help if it prevents me from going to work. 

I wonder if continuing remote work is best. The number of students I teach online now is really not enough money with ds in college and what we would like to save for future needs. 

My niece's dh works for Liberty Mutual remotely, and he told me if I ever want to consider working for them to let him know. I know this would be year round, but working remote might mean dh and I could still travel some in the summer. He is the one who cares most about traveling. Maybe he could sight see while I work and then us enjoy evenings? 

I would love to think my work is really meaningful. 

Any thoughts?

 

[Hannah]

I've been in my current job since April and it will most probably be the one from which I retire.  There can be changes of course, but I will not actively be looking for anything else.  I've been with the company in a variety of positions for 27 years already, 12 of which were part-time. I've no ambition to move up the corporate ladder any further in the next few years.

[Hannah]

@mom31257.  It might be worth exploring what type of jobs Liberty Mutual offers and the flexibility of hours? My cousin works from 5am to 1pm. She says she gets the most work done in the 1st three hours of the day.  If an arrangement like that is possible it would give you the time in the afternoon and evening with your family.

Would a combination of online tutoring and tech college teaching be possible?

What does really meaningful work look like for you?  Only jobs in the helping or teaching professions?  One in which you can use your skills and are stimulated?

[LifeLovePassion]

I would love to find a permanent position somewhere. Right now I am long term subbing, but I never know if I will be hired on until the last minute, so it is stressful with that uncertainty. 

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. Ideally, I'd love to work in a creative industry teaching and demoing products, but that takes a lot of work establishing oneself and would be hard to do while working FT already.

Previously, I was a closer at a title company and my degree is in art education. I have been looking and submitting resumes for 2 years off and on. I've had a handful of interviews, but no offers yet. It is discouraging. 

[Ditto]

Like @Eos  I will be homeschooling my youngest for her last year (teen now a junior) of HS.    

I am hoping to start subbing at my church's preschool starting in January.  From there, we will see where it goes.      I really just don't know what I want to do and don't really feel a pulling anywhere.   Drifting and paddling underwater to keep my head above water is truly a full time job right now.   So I am taking it a baby step at a time and subbing is it for now.   

[marbel]

I don't really have anything to say about career at this point. I'm just working till I feel comfortable with the amount of retirement savings we have, and the stability of my husband's new job. My husband is 8 years younger than me so theoretically has more working years left! 

Honestly career was not on my radar since I got married and had children. I married and had my kids late in life, and I had worked and had a career. My husband and I had the vision I would be a stay-home, homeschooling mom, and then a homemaker when I was done parenting. So I didn't have a back-to-work plan. But things changed and it hasn't worked out that way, and I went back to work. I locked myself out of a lot of things by not thinking about career for all those years. 

@mom31257a thing about remote work. Of course I have no idea what type of work you would be doing, but I work remote and my setup requires a desktop computer and two monitors (because we have to use so many systems it would be horribly clunky to have only one monitor). I also have to be able to talk on the phone in a secure area. (It's bank customer service so can't have people seeing customer information on my screen, or overhearing.) This setup is not feasible for moving around. Of course other people who work remotely can be more flexible/movable, so I'm not shutting down your idea! It could be great; I do know people who travel easily while working. It's just something to consider when you are thinking of remote work. 

[regentrude]

After twenty years teaching the same courses, I am  burned out. Add to it the extreme dissatisfaction with the way we are thrown under the bus with NO Covid protection whatsoever on campus (except my personal voluntary masking), and the general low morale. 

My ambitious career goal for the year is not to rage-quit.

Edited December 28, 2021 by regentrude

[mom31257]

@Hannah, I agree and think I should at least get some questions answered about the LM job. It is possible that the part-time tech job and my online students might be enough if I can make the hours work for all parties involved. I plan to try and talk to someone over there next semester. For me, meaningful means helping others and making a difference somehow. 

@marbel, I hadn't even thought about a setup like that. That's good to know! 

 

 

[DreamerGirl]

3 hours ago, mom31257 said:

I would love to think my work is really meaningful. 

I work in IT. I was looking at courses and promotions with salary increase as the years went by. Nothing to scoff at but certainly not meaningful. For me, it meant I go PT and thing of it just as a job that enables me to do things I want to. I was able to be a more present parent to my at that time only child, visit family in my country of origin when they needed help among others. One of the ways the money I earn helps in addition like saving for college and retirement is, it pays for education for many young women who would never have had the chance in my country of origin. I am very passionate about female education and used to be involved in early to adult education. At this point in my life, I cannot and all I can do is pay. My salary pays for all of what I want to do with respect to this part of something I was involved from a very young age. That gives me purpose. 

I also think my salary pays for DH to have an earlier retirement and gives him options to leave jobs and job search at leisure without worrying about bills. It has happened more than once and my salary acts as a cushion for that. 

Perhaps family reasons or charity could be a purpose for you ? 

 

As for me, I am certainly looking at increasing my hours. I would like to avoid working FT and it gives me flexibility. But we also have expenses coming up that more money certainly could help. DD is also homeschooled so I am unsure.

[mom31257]

@DreamerGirl, that is a great line of thought I hadn't even considered! A good paying job would definitely help my dh have more options. It would be a blessing to him if I were able to bring in a lot. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by mom31257

[Slache]

I only homeschool and right now it's just doing the next thing. Since feeling better I have reconsidered building my own unit study again. We'll see.

[DreamerGirl]

2 hours ago, mom31257 said:

@DreamerGirl, that is a great line of thought I hadn't even considered! A good paying job would definitely help my dh have more options. It would be a blessing to him if I were able to bring in a lot. 

I don't bring in a lot 😊. Certainly not compared to DH, but every little bit adds up and it has given DH options which he would not have had otherwise. 

I really want DH to retire early and that is one of the primary reasons I work. While paying for college for kids is a worthy reason, I think DH retiring early is more of a goal for me because he works long hours and I do not want him work because he needs to support our lifestyle.

In our case, I have medical through his job and I work as a contractor. So that gives me the option of working when I want, the hours I want and increase or decrease as need be.

If you have an option of medical with your DH's work, perhaps you can work as a contractor / temp worker in many fields ? This way you can even test out fields you are interested in until you can get a feel of what you like ?

I hop from job to job, some a few weeks to months. I have a set of people I have worked for consistently over the years and I can jump in and when they need it and they pay me hourly. I had to cultivate these over a period of years so I do not have to look for jobs much any more but initially for a period of years, it was marketing myself and a lot of interviews. But now it is a lot better. I can command a higher price. 

[marbel]

Any work can be meaningful, really. My work is meaningful because it has helped my family through a bad time -husband/main earner's unemployment and aftermath as we work on catching up.

And though customer service is generally thankless and not a job that requires much skill or any talent, there have been moments when I can feel I have really helped someone, whether that's explaining something about how banking works, or reassuring them that some attempted fraud on their debit card was blocked, or just helping a flustered person reset their password. It's not life- or world-changing, for sure, but anything that helps people has some meaning. 

[Frances]

10 hours ago, mom31257 said:

I guess the main goal for this challenge is to find one. I'll share some of my thoughts toward that here. Maybe you guys would have some good advice for me. 

Dh is a teacher, so I hate the idea of working during his breaks, but that means I would have to be in education, too. I like the idea of teaching, but I'm not certified (expensive and a lot of work to get certified in my state). I'm concerned about me managing classroom discipline, and the pressure on math teachers for student performance. Will the job consume me? 

I might could work part-time for the local tech college teaching math (only a Bachelor's is required for programs like the GED). I really could use more money than that if possible. 

My dad was just diagnosed with Parkinson's, and I don't know how he is going to respond to the treatment or how it will progress. We moved closer to him so I could help if he needs it. I do have two sisters who are willing to help as well and would give me breaks. One doesn't work and one works a flexible part-time job but lives several hours away. If my dad has to eventually move in with us, he would insist on contributing to our household income, which would help if it prevents me from going to work. 

I wonder if continuing remote work is best. The number of students I teach online now is really not enough money with ds in college and what we would like to save for future needs. 

My niece's dh works for Liberty Mutual remotely, and he told me if I ever want to consider working for them to let him know. I know this would be year round, but working remote might mean dh and I could still travel some in the summer. He is the one who cares most about traveling. Maybe he could sight see while I work and then us enjoy evenings? 

I would love to think my work is really meaningful. 

Any thoughts?

 

Personally, I think having meaningful work is overrated and is much more likely to lead to burnout and stress. I think it’s better to find a job that fits your lifestyle and income needs and find meaning elsewhere.

[ScoutTN]

@mom31257 Amy, if you can continue to develop the ACT/SAT test prep aspect of your tutoring, you could do well for part time. In my area good high school math tutors, often make $50/hr. More, for test-prep in the upper middle class crowd. 

There may be online schools looking for teachers too. My Dd takes math at Wilson Hill and their parent newsletter recently included a blurb about prospective teachers. 

About certification, most private/prep schools value that much less than a degree in your subject and experience teaching. They will often pay for the necessary courses/hoop jumping to get the certification, though. 

 

[elegantlion]

Career? hahaha. I've been a TA for the last 3 weeks, was an RA for my advisor this summer and fall and will be a TA again in the spring. I kind of got the bait and switch as I originally didn't want to TA this year. I'm not applying for next year, so I'll be looking for a job in the private sector while I finish my dissertation. It kind of depends on where we live, we may need to move for SO's job. I'd like to start somewhere part time over the summer - we'll see. The department has hinted at asking me to be instructor of record next year, but I really don't want to. It's adjunct pay - which is less than my TA stipend. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'm continuing at my current vascular ultrasound job 2 days a week.  I love the place, the people, the hours.  But I never intended to only do vascular and know that I need more hospital experience with a wider range of exams, age of patients, and pathologies to get the experience I need.   So, I start a new PRN general ultrasound job at a busy hospital on Monday.  While its likely that I'll train for a month or so on days, I will have to pick up an evening shift a week and a few weekend shifts a month. And I'll have to take one night of call a week (uggh!)  And, it's unlikely that I'll have the luxury of just leaving when my scheduled shift is over.  They are short-staffed, even with me joining them, so I may have to stay late fairly often to take a STAT exam if they are backed up.   I'm excited and terrified at the same time.  

[ScoutTN]

Currently, I work two part time jobs. I need to make more money and would like a less choppy schedule. My church  job is fun, not burdensome, and easy to schedule; keeping it. 

I make decent money/hr tutoring, but the scheduling is crazy and sometimes the driving is too busy, a waste of time. On the other hand, the learning center is providing me with excellent training opportunities. I’d love to learn more and find a niche as a reading specialist. But it requires more training and idk if I have time and funds to get it. 

I don’t have an education degree or a certification, but have subbed some at my church’s elementary school.

Exploring all options right now. Intending to improve my tech skills this year and think outside the box about possibilities. Education is my obvious path, but open to almost anything.

I don’t need FT this year. Until Ds is settled into high school next fall (where?!) I won’t know my availability - drive time is an issue. Also, Dd will be applying to college this fall and I think that will suck up every ounce of energy I can muster. 

Hoping to be settled in something FT by spring or summer of 2023, before Dd goes to college.

 

 

[ScoutTN]

15 hours ago, Frances said:

Personally, I think having meaningful work is overrated and is much more likely to lead to burnout and stress. I think it’s better to find a job that fits your lifestyle and income needs and find meaning elsewhere.

Cal Newport’s recent book has interesting things to say about this. 

[SKL]

This feels like another hard topic for me.  To be honest, I'm not really feeling it career-wise.  What a big whine.  I have a great job situation.  This has been my main job for 13 years.  I usually have a lot of flexibility as far as when and where I do my work.  I'm viewed as a knowledgeable person in my field.  I have no financial worries.  It is almost impossible for me to be fired.  And the whole point of my job is to support improvements in low-income communities.

So why do I feel like I'm in a funk when it comes to client work?

I create my own stress through poor time management and fear of making mistakes and being caught.  That could be part of it.

Maybe it's because I don't really have to learn a lot of new things, or, I can get away with not keeping up with new things.  Not learning is the easy route, but maybe it's having a lot of negative repercussions that I don't realize.  Hmm.

So maybe I should re-think a previous comment (the education one) and set an intention to do some regular reading on the latest developments in my field, even though I can get away with not doing this.  And consistent with another previous comment, I need to be more pro-active so things don't pile up and create unnecessary work stress.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@SKL - that's one of the joys of doing the review and looking forward. As new prompts come up and you reflect, your answers may change. It's an interesting process.

[TexasProud]

Well, I graduate in May and my career path is so much more murky now than when I started this journey 4 years ago. Between Covid and my mom's diagnosis I feel like there is just the road just ends in this foggy, blackness. I am a spectacular planner. You give me a job, I plan and it gets done. But the Covid changes all the time and then mom's health (keep like this for a month, 4 months, a year?? no one knows).  I am really feeling adrift when my schooling ends at the beginning of May.