Anyone WAH? What do you do?
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Anyone WAH? What do you do?
| Sun, 05-11-2008 - 2:05pm |
Hi there!
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I tried some WAH options at different times. I also have friends who WAH and friends who grew up with WAH mothers and/or fathers.
First of all, do not kid yourself that you can do any kind of serious work with a small child around. This means that either you need daycare anyway or else a sitter in the house. The latter option often seems attractive, but, IMHO, it rarely works all that well. It can be confusing to the child that you are there, yet not there; it can make the sitter's job more difficult; and it can be difficult for you to avoid being distracted by what happens on the other side of your home office door.
However, with some professions, and yours is one, it is sometimes possible to make the same or more money in less hours if you become a freelancer/contractor. You could consult for school systems in your area, you could do contract special ed teaching perhaps in your district or perhaps grant applications. You could also do private tutoring or it might even be lucrative to tutor in a center, like Kumon. IOW, explore your options, just don't think that it will mean saying bye-bye to other-care.
One of my favorite jobs/childcare situations ever was....
I worked as a trainer at a company that had several trainers. Made friends with one of the other trainers who had a similar skill set on what courses she taught. SO... we asked to job share. We were two part time employees so we did not have benefits or anything.
I am an English teacher and I resigned a few months ago.
Katie
Married to highschool sweetheart since 8-12-02
I've gone back and forth between wah and woh. Right now, I've wah for 7 years. Now I also woh pt. I couldn't wah without dc and afterschool care. I'm a dressmaker. It's hard on the kids no matter what you wah job is. They only know that mom/dad is home but won't/can't be there for them. Employers/clients still require the same commitment from a wahp as they do from one who woh.
Chris
The truth may be out there but lies are in your head. Terry Pratchett
Edited 5/21/2008 2:46 pm ET by tryingtoquit
I am not sure what your financial situation is but have you thought about taking a year off and seeing how you feel later? Or working as a sub? That would allow you to pick and choose how many and what days to work at least to some extent.
Lori
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