How to Find the Right Career after Being a Stay-At-Home Parent
Returning to the workforce after being a stay-at-home parent can be challenging. If you stayed at home with multiple children and the last one has now entered elementary school, you may have been out of the work force for seven or nine years or much longer.
Many employers look at relevant work experience and recent work history. They want to ensure that applicants have up-to-date knowledge about their field.
You can see that being out of the workforce for a lengthy period of time can place you at a disadvantage.
With this in mind, it makes sense to look at new career options that may be a good fit for your current needs and talents. As you explore the many options, work these tips into your efforts.
Identify Income and Benefits Needs
There is a great differential in income and benefits between a substitute teacher, a part-time retail salesperson and a real estate agent.
By returning to the workforce, you understandably have specific compensation needs that must be met, and you may also have loftier goals that you would like to attain.
Researching income and benefits for preferred career paths is an important step to take. By doing so, you may eliminate many career ideas from consideration.
Think about Your Schedule and Availability
Your career selection will also affect your work hours and your ability to be with your kids when they are out of school. A teacher would have a similar schedule as students have, but teachers may have to bring work home.
A real estate salesperson may need to work on weekends and evenings from time to time, but a real estate agent ultimately has control over his or her own schedule.
For example, if a child has piano lessons after school on Tuesdays, the parent can avoid scheduling client appointments on Tuesday afternoons.
Focus on Your Skills and Interests
Regardless of the career path that you choose to walk down, you want to be as successful as possible.
You also need to enjoy the work that you do. Brainstorm your current skills and interests.
For example, if you are a people-person, selling real estate may be a great idea. If you enjoy working with children, becoming a preschool teacher is an option to consider.
After deciding to return to work after many years as a stay-at-home parent, making a career change may be a smart idea.
Your career options may be limitless, but you may be eager to find a career that you can pursue without returning to school to earn another college degree.
These tips may help you to narrow down your options and make a great decision that provides years of fulfillment.
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Category: Career
