Left job due to RTO and now working part time as a contractor

[Anonymous]

I’m a fed lawyer, and my job is not that flexible. I don’t really understand what you mean when you say you’re a contractor. Do you work for one of the companies like Axiom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a fed lawyer, and my job is not that flexible. I don’t really understand what you mean when you say you’re a contractor. Do you work for one of the companies like Axiom?

Op here. Yes. Like Axiom or Hire an Esquire or LawTrades. Companies hire me on directly as a contractor for short term assignments and pay me hourly. I also do work for a couple of law firms in this same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How stable is your spouse's job? Do you have sufficient savings if he gets laid off and loses benefits? Do you have large bills, any debt?

Op here. Spouse’s job is extremely secure. Our savings has been wiped out and we do have some debt that we are very slowly paying down.

OP, I would really absorb what you are saying here. You sound financially irresponsible, and now another irresponsible move comes along and you want to continue it. You need to secure your family's financial future. No savings and debt? And you want to continue rolling the dice as to how much you make? If you'd said you have a decent emergency fund even and no debt, it might be worth discussing.

Get your financial house in order, then think about switching to contract work.

[Anonymous]

I have a SN child myself. Depending on the severity of their condition, you being an IC helps with scheduling and saves a ton on specialized care that eat up your full time salary anyway.

Now, if they are mildly impaired like mine, I'm thinking of the future. There tend to be more resources and long-term solutions for profound disabilities, but mild ones are in a kind of middle zone; not fully functioning, but in need of support and more time and resources to "launch". If that's your case, I would be maximizing income and savings by working full time. I know it's a grind with a SN kiddo, but you need to play the long game to set them for life when you aren't able to be their primary caregiver anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if more professional positions were offered at .5 - .75 FTE, we would capture a lot more talent and a lot of people would be a lot happier.

OP here. Seriously!!!! I wish this was an option. It seems incredibly rare in law and I have almost never seen it done. It seems more common in medicine and if I could start over, I would maybe have gone that route.

Board of Veterans Appeals offers .5FTE work. but I don't think you get all of the fed benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How stable is your spouse's job? Do you have sufficient savings if he gets laid off and loses benefits? Do you have large bills, any debt?

Op here. Spouse’s job is extremely secure. Our savings has been wiped out and we do have some debt that we are very slowly paying down.

OP, I would really absorb what you are saying here. You sound financially irresponsible, and now another irresponsible move comes along and you want to continue it. You need to secure your family's financial future. No savings and debt? And you want to continue rolling the dice as to how much you make? If you'd said you have a decent emergency fund even and no debt, it might be worth discussing.

Get your financial house in order, then think about switching to contract work.

I second this advice. If the fed job offer is full a better- ranked agency than your last one seriously consider it. Things vary so much from office to office, you might be surprised! At least worth a shot until you get out of debt and build back your cushion. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Omg I would not sacrifice my family’s financial stability because of RTO. I can’t wrap my head around this situation.

[Anonymous]

You sound like a DingDong—you quit over a RTO without having another job lined up and as a result obliterated your savings and went into debt. You and spouse also seem to have no retirement savings. And you both sound lazy as hell. I also call bs on his job being “stable” if he’s being paid for full time and working as little as you stay. He’s probably the guest in line for a layoff.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I’d love to move to contracting and stop working 9-5. My kids need me more than my employer does and I’m not one of their stars so I don’t see myself going anywhere great there. I’m also an introvert and hate going into the office simply to satisfy management’s need to have bodies at desk to justify their lease. I will do what I need to do to play the game and not get fired, but once kids are in a good place, I’ll even go back to school if I have or move to adjust COL and not need the job to survive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound like a DingDong—you quit over a RTO without having another job lined up and as a result obliterated your savings and went into debt. You and spouse also seem to have no retirement savings. And you both sound lazy as hell. I also call bs on his job being “stable” if he’s being paid for full time and working as little as you stay. He’s probably the guest in line for a layoff.

Op here. We have retirement savings. Not sure where you got that we don’t? My concern about retirement is that I’m not contributing to anything right now, but a PP gave some info on how I might remedy that going forward.

DH works in AI/data science/machine learning so I’m not worried about his ability to remain employed. I do wish he’d get a 2nd job or a side hustle or something but that’s not within my control.

I guess I am a ding dong. I really just reached my breaking point between work/kid with SN/RTO. I hit my limit and something had to change.

[Anonymous]

You want your husband to get a second job because you won't work a job with a steady income? What an ahole

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want your husband to get a second job because you won't work a job with a steady income? What an ahole

Op here. If you look up thread I explained that he barely works 20 hours a week and only works 6 months out of the year but is considered full time. Yes, I think he should get a 2nd job or a side hustle.