Would you work just for the 'satisfaction'?

RoxieW

Hi all - am in a bit of a quandary and would love your opinions.

Background is that I went back to work when my youngest was two but as there were no jobs locally in my field I worked away part time - ie spending 2 nights away from home. It paid well but it obv wasn't ideal. The children were in nursery and I wasnt around 2 nights a week so Dad had to pick up the slack. Last Sept I decided that it was too much and so decided to stay at home until youngest starts school next Jan.

Fast forward to now and a suitable job has come up locally. Its part time and the perfect job for me. Except for the fact that its now rather than in Jan so I'd have the big hassle of sorting out childcare. The pay is also shockingly bad.

Despite the fact that I dont want my youngest to have a childminder 2 morns a week and the childminder taking them to school 3 mornings a week, and the fact that by the time I've paid for said childminder I'll only be up about £50 a month I am still considering it.

Reason being is that jobs like it come up so few and far between locally. I could wait until Jan which would be ideal as both boys will be at school and there be nothing for me. I really want to work in the field I trained in and love rather then take any old job.

Would you work for £50 a month? I guess its a short term hit to take, as my pay will increase with time and both boys will be at full time school next year? Still, its a whole lot of hassle.

Any thoughts?

yoni_one

I would certainly work for £50 a month if the job was the right one for me even moreso if it had the potential to lead to a higher income.

Infact I worked full time as a volunteer in a field I am passionate about and it resulted in me gaining paid work in a job that is perfect for me (even tho it is not well paid). I would always choose job satisfaction over money so long as I am overall in a good enough financial position to do so.

If it doesn't work out you can always quit, it you dont go for it then you might spend a long time regretting it.

Good luck!

Welshlassie

I'd take the job. If local jobs come up so infrequently then you'd be silly not to take it. I'd be saying no if you end up paying to go to work and you were £50 worse off, but at least you will be up, and its only for 6 months. If you really love that job enough then you may end up regretting it in the future if you don't take it now.

RoxieW

It's not just that money factor. It's not being around as much for the boys and having to use a childminder - although it is only for half of the week. Last time they were in nursery I felt such guilt and truth be told they'd both rather it was me on mummy duty then a stranger. But at least last time I could justify it in a way that we were much better off financially so it was benefitting them in other ways. This time I cant, its purely for selfish reasons.
On the flip side, as much as I love being around them, taking them to their after school clubs etc - I'm still a person with my own interests and ambitions and I dont want to be lost completely to my kids.
I'd just feel much better about it if they were both at school full time.

floss2

You mentioned that it is part-time.....are the hours fixed or could you start after taking the older one to school? Does your younger son attend nursery, can he stay for lunch until you finish work? I would think hard about whether you can adjust the times. It seems a shame to give up what could be a golden opportunity for your chosen career just for a stumbling block of finding childcare for 6 months.....

Also, maybe give some thought to your ideas of how you want to be as a mother. I have always thought that a happy fulfilled mother for some of the time is better than one who is a bit fed-up & dissatisfied for all the time....but that's my personal opinion and is a theory which worked for me.

debs66_2

no one can make this decision for you, but i wouldn't take the job.

i would spend the time with the kids giving them some quality time. you only have a few months left before they start school. trust me, my girls are 18 and 16 and i don't know where the years have gone. I stayed at home until my eldest was 4, and we struggled to make ends meet. my hubby at the time then decided to set up in business himself, so i was in a lucky position of helping him run it from home.

don't leap into the first thing that comes your way. while this job is distracting you, another could be coming along that you could miss. fate is a strange old thing. trust your instincts. i think you already know which way you're going to go...

good luck, and enjoy your kids. you won't lose yourself, you're just putting yourself on the back-burner for 6 months.

izoomzoom

I went back to FT work at the beginning of the winter, and I was fine etc etc.

However, when the summer came around, and my children wanted to be out and about, I couldn't because I was at bloody work.

Please just remember to factor in the summer school holidays in terms of childcare as with 2 children you might find this makes it very unfavourable to work right now.

Also my elder children are now at school, (though I am still at home because of baby #3) but I find they actually need me more now than when they were younger because they need help with homework, going to friends houses, after school activities - these are difficult to factor in, even if you are only working PT.

Oh how I wish I didn't have to work at all :mad: .

RoxieW

Hi floss - it is advertised as 2.5 days per week. However, it would be great for me if I could do 5 half days instead (school hours) which would fit around the boys being at school from Jan. Even if not - I dont really have much of an issue with them being taken to school 3 morns and taken from 2 afternoons.
Its just the between now and Jan bit that I can't really get around. Youngest goes to the schools nursery in the afternoons which I dont want to move him from as he's very settled now. So he would have to have childminder two mornings.
Both children are quite clingy to me now, which I blame on my last stint working. The oldest even says to me, 'your job is looking after us now isnt it mummy'
I do agree with your last statement. For all my work difficulties last time (childcare hassles, and being away from home) I loved my job and did feel that the time I had at home with the boys was quality time and we all appreciated it more.
At the minute, as a full time SAHM I do feel a bit dissatisfied and frustrated at times.
Another spanner in the works is OH who argues that I'll be making everyones lives more difficult (and I do agree - everyone will have more hassle factor) for 'nothing' (as he puts it).

RoxieW

hi debs and izoomzoom - thank you for giving me the 'other side' opinion.

debs - you talk alot of sense. I would MUCH rather stay at home until the youngest is at school. I guess I'm just afraid that another job like this wont come along (honestly, they're a rarity) and thats what led to me having to work away which in the long run would be a worse situation. OH refuses to move, btw, as he loves his job.

izoomzoom - I agree - they do have after school clubs etc and that would be another hassle to juggle around. However, with part time I think its doable - esp 2.5 days a week. Thats another thing - finding a PARTTIME position is like golddust.
Funnily enough - I'd feel a bit better in the holidays as there is a good local holiday club which provides lots of activities. I'd rather that then they're sat in a childminders house. Financially though its very depressing that the club would cost more then I earn in a day I do get your points about them needed you as they get older - but I guess that scares me as i think when does the guilt end! I can't be a martyr to my kids/husband/the housework forever and I am career minded. I guess I'm feeling torn in a way every mother feels!

RoxieW

Gonna toodle off and tackle the ironing mountain now! All thoughts and personal experiences welcome

floss2

....OH refuses to move, btw, as he loves his job

......Another spanner in the works is OH who argues that I'll be making everyones lives more difficult (and I do agree - everyone will have more hassle factor) for 'nothing' (as he puts it).

So he doesn't want to move & loves his job, but doesn't want you to feel the same about your job? Would he be happy with an unsatisfied woman, who spends her days with her children because he wouldn't support her desire to further her chosen career, but isn't prepared to put himself out to do so? And he regards having a contented valued woman & an extra £50 of cash to buy ironing / takeaway / gardening / guilt gifts as "nothing"?

Methinks there is a little bit of "me breadwinning working man, you chained to the sink mother of my children" caveman-type thinking going on in his head.....:rolleyes: