It seems like a really stupid idea to advise a teen to pick a career based on this consideration.

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 Bo th 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.

And wouldn't it be the cherry on top if they don't grow up to be self-centered twerps like you?

Your jealousy is unbecoming. Not OP, I am doing the same with my child when they are of age. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Well TBH the PP could have worded her response better. I know this is a hard concept for some people on this forum but one can be honest and not take digs at people at the same time. The PP could who have just said hey IT is great bc of XYZ, it can lead to greater financial freedom/flexibility, etc. Why interject "stereotypical jobs" and "mom careers" in there? I'll give her (and you) credit for owning her privilege and how the same opens lots of doors for her kids. Lots pf DCUM peeps will tell you they or their kids have earned all opportunities via smarts and hard work alone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not physician. You get a gap on resume and you get stigmatized. Its really difficult to rejoin.

Really? I thought someone on here said that physician is a good job for moms, because of flexibility.

Absolutely not any job where you need to keep up your skills. And what person (forget women!) wants to spend hundreds of thousands on their education and over a decade just to trash it?

My DH is a suegeon and is ALWAYS going to trainings and assisting other surgeons to learn the latest in treatments. It’s a lifetime of experience that just builds.

+1 I'd include most IT jobs in that.

But, anything where you can manage to do occasional freelance work to keep your skills and network fresh can work. I'm in marketing research and was a SAHM for 7 years but did a few projects every year for former companies/co-workers so I didn't have a total gap on my resume and had recent references. I never had to seek out work, just let people know when I left that I would be available. The most important thing is to work you A$$ off at the start of your career to establish yourself as a top contributor.

People have covered a lot of the usual options (nursing, teaching, accounting -- service jobs that are permanently in demand and where things don't change so fast that if you were out of the field for 5 or 6 years, you'd struggle to get back into it).

But there are other less common options. I worked in consulting at a high level before becoming a mom, and then took a SAHM break when I had kids, and then after about 3 years I started doing some one-off projects, usually coming in as an outside consultant on RFPs or tricky projects where I had a lot of expertise. That grew and now I have my own solo consulting business where I mostly set my own hours and can pick my projects. I can even do stuff like decide not to work for a month in the summer so I can spend time with my kids. I make about 100k a year, which is a fraction of what I'd make if I'd stayed the course in my career but also a very respectable salary for someone who has a lot of control over their schedule and what I work on. I could ramp it up if I wanted, but I don't want to. I like this balance.

I know other women who have done similar things, and I actually have a small network of women I worked with pre-kids and we all refer work to each other or will tag team on projects.

To do this you just have to know what you want and be willing to make the compromises to get it. I know there are people in my field who look at me and think I'm crazy for leaving so much money on the table when I could go back full time for a major firm and make bank. But I have ZERO interest in that lifestyle and I actually want to see my kids grow up and be present in their lives. My DH is a fed with very regular hours -- he makes more than I do but not that much more, though he's much more beholden to a schedule than I am (though he also gets benefits and I do not, so that's very valuable to us and I'm happy to be the one with the flex schedule who does more with the kids as a tradeoff for him keeping us in health insurance).

I know other women who have higher earning spouses who do similar to what I'm doing and it works for them too, though they generally need more help at home because their spouses can't contribute as much. But they also have more income so it works.

Think about building niche skill sets and strong client relationships and this could be an option for you, too. I think the people who struggle most to SAHM or find work life balance are people who are generalists in large organizations because it makes them very replaceable and limits consulting and part-time options. If you want flexibility, you need to have value that can't be more easily found in a full time employee, whether that's a history of working on specific projects that others find tricky or annoying, or a really strong rapport with a client or class of client, or specific skills that are rare in your field, like unusually good writing, presentation, or project management skills.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Proposal writing / management or any writing/editing jobs. Also very doable to do remotely and even part time.

I am an editor and writer, and the only caveat I'd give to this is that it's good to keep up your network. At least in my experience, jobs and gigs come more through people who know you and your work than applying cold.

I guess I haven't done a ton of cold applying, so maybe it is easy to break back in that way, too!

^ But also, it's great your kids are thinking this strategically. I def wasn't considering how a career would fit in with my lifestyle when I was that age. Wish I had - I'd have been more strategic (maybe!).

Anonymous wrote:Proposal writing / management or any writing/editing jobs. Also very doable to do remotely and even part time.

I am an editor and writer, and the only caveat I'd give to this is that it's good to keep up your network. At least in my experience, jobs and gigs come more through people who know you and your work than applying cold.

I guess I haven't done a ton of cold applying, so maybe it is easy to break back in that way, too!

I'm an event planner and there are a lot of people in my field who have done this. There is a lot of project-based work out there.

It's not the highest paying field but its flexible..

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.

What public school social circle is that? Bc I live in NoVa and I am calling BS. Resume building in MS? GTFO

Your career doesn’t matter. It’s your DH.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not physician. You get a gap on resume and you get stigmatized. Its really difficult to rejoin.

Really? I thought someone on here said that physician is a good job for moms, because of flexibility.

Absolutely not any job where you need to keep up your skills. And what person (forget women!) wants to spend hundreds of thousands on their education and over a decade just to trash it?

My DH is a suegeon and is ALWAYS going to trainings and assisting other surgeons to learn the latest in treatments. It’s a lifetime of experience that just builds.

DW is a primary care physician. She sees patients 2 days/week, and earns >100k. Three days per week she is with our young family. In a small private practice, she has had flexibility to increase and decrease the number of days per week she wants to work. So it is not full SAH, but it is a hybrid model that works well for us. In her view, at least, it provides the best mix of spending lots of time with the kids while also maintaining her profession. When kids are older, she can go back to 3 or 4 days per weeks if she wishes.

Proposal writing / management or any writing/editing jobs. Also very doable to do remotely and even part time.

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.

🙄

My kid goes to Landon and you are a total liar and clearly insecure.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not physician. You get a gap on resume and you get stigmatized. Its really difficult to rejoin.

Really? I thought someone on here said that physician is a good job for moms, because of flexibility.

Absolutely not any job where you need to keep up your skills. And what person (forget women!) wants to spend hundreds of thousands on their education and over a decade just to trash it?

My DH is a suegeon and is ALWAYS going to trainings and assisting other surgeons to learn the latest in treatments. It’s a lifetime of experience that just builds.

Flight attendant. If you start young and stick with the same airline you can make six figures and pick your schedule. My BFF flies for a major carrier, has been there 26 years, and has a damm good life. It's not easy starting out, you can get crap trips or be on call, but it pays off in spades if you stick with it. Plus the long term benefits of free flights is appealing.