I have been a stay at home mum for 8 years. My youngest is 3 so I really need to organise what I am going to do once he starts school! My partner works fifo so money wise we are fairly comfortable (not well off by any means), i would still love to contribute and set a good example to my children though.... But I have no experience at all in the work force!!:(
I am thinking a cleaning job would would suit me best but I would also like to study and get a qualification so I could maybe enjoy my job a bit more.(And have at least something to offer on my resume! )
But I have no idea what to study! I keep going over and over courses and cant decide on anything. I know this is a silly question but can anybody offer suggestions on what they studied and why it was a good choice for them? Just to give me some ideas!
With partner being fifo and no family or anyone to help with the kids it would have to be flexible or in school hours type of job. Im also not very smart and not good socially ( a bit shy and horrible at small talk and meeting new people but could learn that i hope). I dont think that leaves me many options and it is getting me quite down and I am starting to stress.
4 Replies
Why don't you go into cleaning on your own. Make your own small business.
I wanted to be able to work from home and work for myself, among other reasons I decided to study fitness and become a personal trainer. I studied online and will be done in January so it will have taken me a year all up, although I am still working full time so had I not been working I could have gotten through it much quicker.
Health and fitness has been an interest of mine for a long time but I never imagined myself as a PT but I was unhappy in my job and wanted the flexibility to work for myself and to work from home if I wanted. It gives you a lot of options but I have chosen to set up my own studio at home and I will also have the ability to be mobile and travel to people and if that doesn't work out I will be able to work in a gym or a health club etc.
I'm also someone who's shy and horrible at small talk so I will just need to push myself out of my comfort zone a little bit for this new career but I think to do something worthwhile that you enjoy there is always some areas that will make you uncomfortable but you just need to get out and do it.
What about a teachers aide ? School hours , helping kids , fun and challenging at the same time :)
I can only offer my own experience - which doesn't relate much to the situation you're in but I hope it helps anyway! I first studied at university when I was very young, straight out of school. I didn't know what I wanted to do so I applied for a basic science degree which I thought was a good idea at the time, because I could study lots of different types of things within that course (biology, psychology, chemistry, microbiology, statistics, mathematics, the list goes on... I was very science-orientated back then!). I found that liked the psychology subjects, so I did a double major (like specialising) in my second and third year. During those years I realised that I was too young, no life experience, no understanding of the hardships people go through. I was still living at home with Mum and Dad!! As if I could be a psychologist and counsel people through a crisis!!! Ridiculous. But I was almost finished by the time I realised that, so I continued anyway because I didn't know what else to do. So I ended up with a degree that was essentially useless. I didn't go on to do the necessary placements and postgraduate study required to register as a psychologist, because my heart wasn't in it. So had a big debt for a degree I had no need for. It's the silliest thing I ever did. So my words of wisdom: you are doing the right thing by thinking it through properly first! That's a fantastic start. 5 years later, after I had travelled, worked, partied, and got all that young free energy out of my system, I realised it was time to face reality and find a better career path. I studied nursing, and never looked back. There are huge advantages, and huge drawbacks. But a few years later it led me to midwifery, which was even more study, but I couldn't imagine doing any other job now. It took me a while, but I found my calling. And you will too, even if you have to find it the hard way like I did! And nursing and midwifery may not be for you, but I must say that it has a lot of positives, and you don't have to be 'smart' (as in get good marks at school) or socially outgoing to be a nurse. Some of the most brilliant nurses and midwives I know were either extremely shy at school (and still are) or struggled to pass maths or other subjects. I do find the shift work hard, but so many of us have families and make it work. I work casually now, approx 2-3 shifts a week, and because of weekend and evening/night shift penalties I earn approximately the same as some of my friends in full time jobs. But I get to drop off and pick up my kids from school almost every day (only one afternoon per week I need my Mum to babysit and do the school run) and I have been able to do without any daycare at all. The drawbacks of being casual are no sick leave or paid holiday leave, and the uncertainty of shifts. Sometimes I get loads of work, sometimes none at all. So that's my story - I hope something I have shared might help you! If you do study, make sure you study something that leads directly to a specific paid job. Things like business and communication and arts and science... they might sound good but they don't qualify you in a particular role unless you do further postgraduate study afterwards. Takes a long time and can be extremely expensive. Do nursing, education/teaching, speech pathology, occupational therapy, etc where you qualify directly and do placements to get experience while you study. Good luck xo