Working with a young family

Scorpio33 wrote: »

Oh that is very interesting to hear, and I have thought about teaching accountancy for the similar reasons you outline.

Just one question - how many further hours do you work when child is in bed? Is it working at home until 11pm or is it better than that?

It depends on the time of the year really, as the public are invited to use our services I have to keep in depth records of any repairs that were carried out, who carried them out, who witnessed it (me or the other teacher), what parts were used and exactly how competent was the student e.g. did they need any input from myself to correctly diagnose a problem and rectify.

Then I have to work on the theory side, you can plan in advance to a certain degree, however things tend not to go to plan as different students work at different speeds and often a question means you have to do a completely different theory lesson the next time you teach, otherwise questions would have to wait until the end of term by which time the answer wouldn't be as relevant as it isn't about something they are currently doing.

Then there are department responsibilities, updating data, e.g. the progress of each student both with levels (effort, behaviour and attainment) alongside written information.

I then have to liaise with the garages where they undertake work experience, this includes seeing how the students are doing, but also organising the actual placement including things like insurance, risk assessment etc and ensuring that the garage provides information about all things the student did while on placement.

Obviously at the minute its the summer holidays so I'm not up to much, my students carry on with their garage placements for four weeks of the summer holidays so I still pop in to see them once a week and if its a day when my daughter isn't at nursery I just take her with me. She goes to bed at 7ish so I tend to work from then until about ten during term time, however at the start of the year until about November, and then from around April - July its often midnight and working a lot at the weekends as there are a lot of things to sort in a very short space of time.

While on most days I can just leave at four, if a student needs extra help I have to stay behind to help them, however I am able to ask the nursery to drive her to school if it is a day when my wife is working and she'll happily play while my students and I get on with it. If its isn't theory based work she stays at nursery for longer, as I have to get parents permission for after school sessions I have long enough to give her nursery adequate notice.

Scorpio33 wrote: »

Oh that is very interesting to hear, and I have thought about teaching accountancy for the similar reasons you outline.

Just one question - how many further hours do you work when child is in bed? Is it working at home until 11pm or is it better than that?

Various time studies have shown that most teachers work beteen 50-54 hours per week, (more in the first year) with a lot of work being done evenings and weekends. I frequently work until midnight. Although teachers obviously get more holidays than many workers, they are also expected to do a certain amount of work in their holidays too.

This firm might help give an idea of how setting up on your own might be an option for improving work/life balance:
http://www.tayloraccountancy.net/about-us/

Been through this in the same profession.

I used to work it on the basis that I'd be in for 9 and leave when I could get away which with short lunch breaks etc wasn't too bad and I could normally be home by just gone 6:30.

Part of it is working the home routine to fit around what you need to do - kids are adaptable and even when they are little and need loads of sleep will work to some extent around a slightly later bedtime bearing in mind they will be up again for a feed etc.

We had little choice anyway as my OH didn't have the energy levels due to health problems to do it all, so I used to get up and have time with the kids until I left for work, and then get home and do what was left of bedtime and stories before sorting our food out. On occasion that meant having a baby amusing themselves on the bathroom floor (having safety checked it!) whilst I had a quick shower, I gave them breakfast 99% of the time to the point that if it was mum they thought it was a novelty (and even now the eldest if he occasionally wants porridge insists I make it as "mum doesn't make it properly" - she does just differently to me!). We still have breakfast as a 3 whilst mum is getting her shower etc - which does lead to some interestingly random breakfast converstations now they are in school and learning various topics - we did rock formations a while back!.

Also because my OH needed her sleep as much if not more than I did, it was often me that got up to them in the night - again even now they know that I am more likely to get up if they shout in the night.

To be fair if you are working in practice rather than industry you will be under more pressure to get the chargeable hours on the clock if you want to progress etc, whereas I was more able to control how much I made of the job. However from my experience there is plenty you can make of the home time - kids will until they are 6ish be up and bouncing about far earlier than you'd naturally be so be up with them and make something of that time - which is also when they are fresh and awake and ready to learn rather than winding down at bed time.

Assuming you are in full time employment, if you have any, what are your contracted hours? Personally I've been in this situation before and just thought Sod Them, family comes first. They can't sack or discipline you for not working overtime or extra hours. If you have too much work to do in your contracted hours, that's a company staffing issue. OK an hour here or there fair enough, but it should not be the "Norm". Make them aware you have a young family and a this time you need to be there for them..