What future careers are good for people who may want to SAH for a bit then go back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually I know many transactional attorneys who have done this. During SAH years you can even do light consulting for past employers or Axiom-type places to keep your resume current. Especially if you have BigLaw experience first.

I wouldn't advise a young person to plan on SAH for a considerable period of time, but part-time options can work. I'm a lawyer (in-house) who went part-time after my second child was born. At the time I thought I'd go back to full-time work once the youngest was in kindergarten, but we had a third child and I ended up staying part-time. We're lucky to be able to afford this and I'm also fortunate that my employer has seen the value of retaining an experienced lawyer who knows the organization. My youngest is now a first-year college student and it's pretty clear that I'm never going back full-time. When I told my boss this, he said, "Yeah. . . I'd do that if I could."

[Anonymous]

Veterinarian.
The demand is so incredibly high that you can leave for any reason and be snatched up again immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a SAHM and I wouldn’t advise my daughters to stay home. I would advise them to work in a job that allows flexibility, PT, and WFH options.

Ideally I’d love to have a nanny and a flexible job that allows me to be around a lot to enjoy the fun stuff (school plays, play dates, music classes) but doesn’t leave me feeling trapped and exhausted the way being a SAHM does (waking up napping baby to rush to preschool pickups, schlepping multiple children everywhere, always feeling isolated/alone, etc)

I am an immigrant. I was a SAHM (now a SAHW) and I would advise my DD or DIL to stay home if they wanted to and if they had a support system in place (helpful husband, family members, money). If being a SAHM means doing everything at home then it is a bum deal. If being a WOHM means that you come home and do a double shift then it is a bum deal too. Unfortunately, this country does not have a culture of providing much support for any mom -SAH or WOH!!

My DH always did the mornings with the kids - breakfast, pack lunch and take them to school before going to work so that was never my task even when I became a SAHM. However, he was wiser than I was and he always insisted on spending money on outsourcing whatever we could. We were very much a single income middle class at that time, but he was raised in a family with a lot of domestic outsourcing so this was an expense that was normal and palatable to him (and certainly palatable to me), especially when the household included kids.

We only have two kids though. I don't get how people can juggle more than two. More power to them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two teen DD’s. Both have expressed a hope that they can SAH or go part time when their children are young. Yea they know it’s not guaranteed, etc. But there are definitely some careers that seem more conducive to this than others. What are careers that provide independence/financial stability but also flexibility for the early kid years? Nursing is one that came to mind.

Typical woman jobs. Nursing and teaching.

However as a woman with a career that provides much more financial stability than those stereotypical jobs, I have a career in IT (which is absolutely not for people who want to take long breaks) I’m able to work from home and have an incredibly flexible schedule. I would hate being shackled to a building as many of these mom careers go. Bonus is I’ve been able to secure both my kids with incredible summer internships in both high school and college at various technology companies, giving them a huge leg up. Privilege is a thing and I’m going to leverage it as much for my kids as possible. I think it’s pretty cool that my boys are following in my foot steps and not their father who is an attorney. They probably see my job as wayyy more flexible and better COL than their dad who is always in court or visiting clients/colleagues.

As a SAHM, I have been able to help my kids secure incredible summer STEM research internships with many prestigious DMV organizations for HS and college - from medical to IT focused careers. Its called being an average clued in and educated parent in DMV.

There is not one public school student in my social circle that has not interned or volunteered for resume and skill building during summer or the school year starting from MS.

Please let the grownups talk. Thx.

You should get your head out your ass first. Otherwise how can you talk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually I know many transactional attorneys who have done this. During SAH years you can even do light consulting for past employers or Axiom-type places to keep your resume current. Especially if you have BigLaw experience first.

I wouldn't advise a young person to plan on SAH for a considerable period of time, but part-time options can work. I'm a lawyer (in-house) who went part-time after my second child was born. At the time I thought I'd go back to full-time work once the youngest was in kindergarten, but we had a third child and I ended up staying part-time. We're lucky to be able to afford this and I'm also fortunate that my employer has seen the value of retaining an experienced lawyer who knows the organization. My youngest is now a first-year college student and it's pretty clear that I'm never going back full-time. When I told my boss this, he said, "Yeah. . . I'd do that if I could."

3 kids are really a lot harder than two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in DMV. Telling my kids to find careers that have opportunities in DMV. They can have kids then and we will provide childcare. Of course, they also need affordable housing and good schools.

USA has really become very pathetic.

Where would you say is 'better'?

Canada.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:K-12 Teaching in a LCOL area.

LCOL should not come with poors!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in DMV. Telling my kids to find careers that have opportunities in DMV. They can have kids then and we will provide childcare. Of course, they also need affordable housing and good schools.

USA has really become very pathetic.

Where would you say is 'better'?

We are second gen asian immigrants- a LOT of my extended family and cousins have chosen to move to Europe and Asia in the past ten years. I also know quite a few European second gen immigrants who have moved back to their parent's home country in the EU or have purchased a home there while they work here so that they have that as an option (we know a lot of academics and family life here is so so hard with ppl being offered positions hours away from each other and the pay is dismal) They are living more as ex-pats than total immigrant but I'd say I know 5 young families that are never planning on returning to the US. All of these people went to college in the US, grew up here and have very well paying jobs/established their own business overseas. I know 2 families who live overseas in west Africa and in Central Asia/Middle East who seem to be settled in but still maintain a footprint here b/c where they live is not as politically stable but for now are very content to raise their families over there. I'd say quite few younger millennials are going to the EU, Thailand, Singapore- ppl used to try and go to HK and mainland china but there are enough native Chinese speakers now that unless you have that connection it is very very difficult. I know someone who moved to Japan, 2 of my close high school friends from Bethesda moved to Japan- they were part Japanese but had grown up here. so I guess I'd say like 10 couples and I am super introverted and dont have a huge social circle. haha maybe I am driving these ppl away from the US!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a speech pathologist. The education part is rough to get through. But after I finish my CFY (clinical fellowship) for 9 months, I can work from home doing teletherapy and can leave and go back pretty much at any time because there is a high demand.

+1

Most SLP I know set their own schedule, work from home/travel to clients, and do NOT deal with insurance at all. Yet their schedules are "full" simply because it's damn near impossible to get a spot with a SLP. It's been that way for over 20 years (that I'm aware of). Even if you snag a spot when your kid is younger, it's usually during the day. once kid hits ES age, you will never get the "after school" time slots because those are typically taken by kids who will be in Speech for all of their school life (ie kids with more than a minor speech issue who will phase out by ES/MS). At that point, even finding a private one with space after school is challenging.

[Anonymous]

Learn to sell and build a business.

[Anonymous]

Teaching is a career where you can always go back, even after many years. But, I would not say it is a good career for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Veterinarian.
The demand is so incredibly high that you can leave for any reason and be snatched up again immediately.

It's a really, really demanding job with a sky-high suicide and burnout rate and also something that requires a true passion. It's the student loan debt of an MD without the high earning potential unless you own your own practice (increasingly unlikely as large corps are buying up Vet practices left and right) and are a highly demanded specialist (which involves research and constantly evolving training). Demand is high, but this is not an easy field. If you leave I guess you can be a Vet who just euthanizes constantly on the cheap for people who can't pay Vet bills for a bone fracture at a low cost clinic, but that's not generally what people who are interested want to do when they get into the field...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in DMV. Telling my kids to find careers that have opportunities in DMV. They can have kids then and we will provide childcare. Of course, they also need affordable housing and good schools.

USA has really become very pathetic.

Where would you say is 'better'?

Canada.

Seriously? Salaries are lower, housing is more expensive and taxes are higher. Yes you receive longer parental leave but that’s for a short period of time in the grand scheme of things and it’s only fully paid if you consider $35k a year to be fully paid. Most women in Canada are working solely to pay for their high housing expenses and taxes. Anyone with brains and ambition comes to the US for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Real estate investing

It takes capital to start, but it’s a very easy way to make money. Only works if you have another spouse who can provide a steady income and benefits because the gains are not realized on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

Of those I know who took breaks- teaching, nursing, speech pathology.

It's good that your DD is thinking about this. At 18 I had no idea if I even wanted marriage and children! I went into a STEM field that would be hard to take a break from, although I may end up taking a break when we go overseas for DH's job for a couple years. A bit nerve-wracking not knowing what I'll be able to do when we come back.