Part-time worker, 24 hours/week. Researcher with enough of a specialized skill, I was able to negotiate a part-time position.

Full-time but almost all of the other mothers I know (from our neighborhood, my children's schools, etc) have either a part time job or a very flexible job (work from home, etc.).

I'm an attorney and work part-time, three days/week. I average 9-hour days, sometimes work ten hours, and only very occasionally work on my off-days. I work 80%-time from home and go to the office 3-4 days/month. This enables me to be around most of the time upon my kids' arrival home from school. I'm also here for cleaning people, service people, deliveries, etc., or just because I feel like it - earlier this week when it started hailing one morning, I was in a bad mood, and I just didn't feel like going into the office as planned. So, I just bagged it, put on my jeans, and worked from home.

I love my work - it's interesting and engaging and pretty stable. Many of us in my workplace are virtual or mostly virtual, so we have an established rapport via IM, videochat, and telephone.

Contrary to a PP's assertion, I don't believe I am not taken seriously or disregarded by virtue of my part-time status. I earn excellent performance reviews every year and get interesting assignments.

I don't think I could have wound up in this position without having paid my dues here full-time for a long time.

Anonymous wrote:I work full-time, usually 9-5pm in the office plus 1/2 hour commute each way. Two kids, one in elem, one in preschool. I do drop off, DH does pick up, unless something comes up.

I can work from home 1-2 times a month, if I have a sofa delivery or something like that at home. Love those days! I should probably ask for 1 regular day a week to do this but I know it would be frowned upon.

I agree with the PP that those who work part-time that I know in jobs like mine end up working full time, but just with a 20-30% pay cut. Also it does not look good, period.

i have two single friends who work demanding jobs in finance or on the hill where the work 60+ hours a week and get paid accordingly. They think I have the cushiest job in the world leaving at 5 every day, and that I eat bon-bons at my job or something. It's really fun talking to them about work (not) and they don't have a clue about how my life really works, and the pressures of managing my "easy" job and running a house with two young kids.

I used to be one of those finance people but I worked more like 80+ hours. I always thought people who worked 9-5 were slackers because no demanding job would allow you to go home at 5.

Fast forward 2 kids later, I work about 30 hours a week. I basically do full time work but get paid part time pay. I do drop off everyday and take turns with DH doing pick up.

Anonymous wrote:NP here - I'm considering a new government job, which they say does not have part-time flexibilities. Supposedly other divisions in the agency do have some flexible arrangements, so they are technically allowed, just not in the division where I could be working. What is your experience in "earning" a part-time schedule? I know you can't bank on it, but what do you think the chances are that I could earn the respect of my supervisors and make myself so valuable that they would be able to work with me on a part-time schedule? I'm curious how many of you had to sell the arrangement to your boss.....

I'm one of the posters with a Federal part-time job.

I worked for my Department for about 5 years prior to asking for it....2 or 3 years with the group that granted me the schedule. Most agencies don't just hire part-time (although you can find them, occassionally, so check USAJobs.com often). I got it because my office-mate asked and got it, so sometimes when a supervisor allows one person to do it, others follow. Then, eventually, they stop letting it happen. It is heavily dependant on what kind of work you do, your level (you really can't be a supervisor with a part-time schedule), and your particular agency. The place I work is very family friendly, but very difficult in terms of job advancement. Most people work there for the flexibility. Even full-time employees heavily flex their schedules.

As far as I know, most or all government agencies are "allowed" to give the part-time schedule. It is up to the discretion of the Supervisor, which can sometimes go several layers deep (Team Lead, Branch Head, Division Head, Department Head). Anywhere along that line they can stop you from anything or grant you anything. My work only goes "Division Head" deep on this, but there have been times the Department Head has not granted things for various reasons. My advice: Get into an agency and then move around until you find a fit. It's what most people do. OR, you can try to find a job share, which is sometimes easier.

Full-time. I know one woman who works part time; the rest of my friends and neighbors either work full time or not at all. I do know a lot of women who work in the schools so they can get out earlier in the day and a bunch of Feds (myself included) who work a Flex schedule that starts early and gets out earlier than most.

NP here - I'm considering a new government job, which they say does not have part-time flexibilities. Supposedly other divisions in the agency do have some flexible arrangements, so they are technically allowed, just not in the division where I could be working. What is your experience in "earning" a part-time schedule? I know you can't bank on it, but what do you think the chances are that I could earn the respect of my supervisors and make myself so valuable that they would be able to work with me on a part-time schedule? I'm curious how many of you had to sell the arrangement to your boss.....

I work part-time for the Federal Government and think it's the best thing for a working Mom. I stay in my field but I get to also do Mom things I wouldn't get to do as much of if I were working full-time. I was working M/W/F and am now switching to 5 days, 30 hours (see other thread on M/W/F vs. 30 hours MTWThF).

Anonymous wrote:or you could have a demanding job AND two young kids.

Honestly, the people I know who have this long term, only one of the spouses has this, and the other either is SAH parent (mom usually, let's face it), works from home part time, or somehow has tons of flexibility. Or they make enough money to hire out some of their problems (in-home nanny, cleaning person, etc.)

Let's just say i still have a demanding job even though it is "only" about 40-50 hours a week, generally. Luckily it ebbs and flows, so that if on some weeks/projects it is 50-55 hours, some weeks it is 40 or I got a work from home day. I also can sometimes catch up at night or on weekends, depending on the work. I also make less than 100k/a year so it's not like I'm raking in the bucks. I also have a spouse with an equally demanding job/similar pay.

I'm just saying, again, I feel like it's hard enough, esp. given that I want a family life as well, and my two single friends in particular with demanding jobs don't get the concept of still having a hard job even if you're not paid $300k+.

or you could have a demanding job AND two young kids.

I work full-time, usually 9-5pm in the office plus 1/2 hour commute each way. Two kids, one in elem, one in preschool. I do drop off, DH does pick up, unless something comes up.

I can work from home 1-2 times a month, if I have a sofa delivery or something like that at home. Love those days! I should probably ask for 1 regular day a week to do this but I know it would be frowned upon.

I agree with the PP that those who work part-time that I know in jobs like mine end up working full time, but just with a 20-30% pay cut. Also it does not look good, period.

i have two single friends who work demanding jobs in finance or on the hill where the work 60+ hours a week and get paid accordingly. They think I have the cushiest job in the world leaving at 5 every day, and that I eat bon-bons at my job or something. It's really fun talking to them about work (not) and they don't have a clue about how my life really works, and the pressures of managing my "easy" job and running a house with two young kids.

I work FT but only 25 hours in the office, the rest from home. However the pay is dismal but it is worth it for now since my kids are so small and childcare is so darn expensive.

Ft plus, cpa and business owner. Hope to go to 4 days per week this summer,nthugh prob will still be 40+ hours.

I work about 36 hours a week (leave at 3PM two days for preschool pick-up). Would prefer to leave at 3PM everyday (and would take the pay cut), but that's not gonna happen. Working on negotiating a 9-4, M-F.

I'm an Exec Asst, so not exactly taxing work and also not work that I can do from home. Would love to make the switch to my career of interest, but it's likely it will require long hours and I'm not interested in doing that right now.

Full time - 9-5 with 1 hr lunch, so 35 hour/week. Non-profit with 50 employees.

It is a struggle. I have achieved a place where I am indispensible to the organization, though. So I have a lot of flexibility. Because our mornings are nuts (one in school; one in daycare), I often don't get there till 9:30am. But I always work through lunch at my desk and I check email and respond to things in the evenings and occasionally on weekends. There are a few times of year when I am particularly busy and I do put in extra time then in the evening. Recently, DH and I have done a trade-off where he picks the kids up late one day and I work late, and the next day I leave early to take my older daughter to gymnastics.

I'm able to work from home one or two days/month, which helps when laundry is starting to pile up!