Parents these days feel the pressure to have a fulfilling career and maintain a great work life balance at the same time. In order to get a clearer picture of this all too common predicament, we sat down with Julie, a working mum of 2 kids. How does she manage to juggle raising small children while earning enough to share the family’s financial load? Guess what the secret is? It’s all about finding the right job that allows you to fulfil both roles. A job that is flexible which has a decent wage attached. Unfortunately, not everyone has that luxury and many people are oblivious to the jobs that offer such convenience.
We’ve made a list of the ideal job criteria for a working parent. See if your job stacks up otherwise perhaps it‘s time to make the shift.
Work hours equal school hours
Leaving your children in before and after school often leads to a lot of guilty feelings. Parental guilt is also prevalent at school assemblies, P&C meetings, Book Week and other school events. According to a survey by babycare product company NUK, 87 per cent of mothers feel guilty at some point, with 21 per cent feeling this way most or all the time. A lot of jobs today come with casual or irregular hours, not the standard 9-5. This makes childcare problematic; if you’re casual then having set days at childcare probably isn’t cost effective for you. If your work can match school hours and school holidays this makes the juggle that much easier.
Understanding Co-Workers and Employers
Being a working parent means juggling two important roles already. You don’t want the additional headache of an unsupportive workplace. Choose a job that has a family-oriented culture like a medical centre or in a school environment for example education support. Be where your struggles as a parent are understood, not brushed off. Your boss will play a deciding factor in this because you need someone who understands why a sick child needs you to collect them and that having the flexibility to attend some school events is important to you.
Rewarding
Where does it say that parents have to work in boring jobs? It’s important for parents to find purpose outside of the home and not lose their own identity. This motivates and makes you more productive as a parent and an employee.
Satisfying Income
You don’t need to earn millions, but what’s important to you is to supplement your household income and be able to splurge sometimes. After all, what’s the point of spending 8 hours away from your kids if it can’t even make a dent in your budget?
One career that satisfies all the above criteria is working as a Teacher’s Aide. You work school hours, enjoy school holidays with your kids, have fulfilling work with fellow parents and childcare providers and earn good money. Once you’re ready to take a leap and shift careers, come to us and we’ll help you get the qualification you need. Visit our (link to Cert III qual) or send us an email at redmakomarketing@gmail.com
P.S. We wish you the best of luck and we salute you, working Mums and Dads!