Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one wondering what job makes 500k per year?

Possibly. Off the top of my head: law firm partner, hedge fund manager, certain surgical and medical specialties, executive leadership at a large corporation...

Am I the only one wondering what job makes 500k per year?

Anonymous wrote:Left my $100k job 6 years ago. No regrets. Now that all my kids are in school I'm definitely thinking about what I should do next. I don't want to go back to an office or work FT but I feel like I should do something.

When the kids are in school I have more time but I feel like I need to be there for them after school. I debate constantly if I should work full-time because it is easier to find a full-time position than a part-time position. Plus when the kids are out of the nest will I be marketable enough to secure a job - plus I might be too old. Sometimes I think I should retire and forget about work. I think I tie to much of my identity to work.

I SAH and really enjoy it. Left my $200k job, which was super stressful. It's really nice to have a completely flexible calendar. My SAH life doesn't solely revolve around kids and DH- I do a lot with friends during school hours (work out, tennis, lunches, volunteering at shelter). I keep in touch with my former colleagues and stay current in my industry so if I decide to get back into workforce when my kids are driving, I'll have some contacts.

OP, you sound like I did a few years ago. $ was not necessarily the factor for us either. I was not excited about my job, and every other day thought about SAH with now ES aged kids.

I finally did it a couple of years ago. I was soo happy to be able to be there for the kids AND to have extra time to myself. I think I also wanted the mental break. I really enjoyed the 2 year break.

I went back to work after 2 or so years, part-time as a contractor WFH. I was very fortunate that my old manager was willing to do this.

I did this for 2 reason:
1. My dh doesn't make nearly as much as you. Although we were ok financially, the extra $ I make is icing for us.
2. I kept reading about how hard it is to get back into the workforce, especially for certain industries. I'm in IT. It would've indeed been really hard to get back in for me if I took too much time off.

I think this is the best deal for me. I don't have as much restriction for vacation time as I would have if I were an employee, so being a contractor is so much better. I don't need any of the benefits.

It's scary to make that first jump. It was weird for a while not having to wake up and go to work; not bringing in a paycheck (if you have been since you were 18). Leave yourself an in back to the workforce if you can. Talk to you manager about the possibilities of coming back after a long hiatus.

Good luck.

Good luck.