Work Work Work
So, you’ve become a parent and on top of that you’ve either become single or you’ve decided to do it solo by choice.
Now unless you have a money tree, rich parents, a trust fund or have won the lottery the chances are you are going to have to work. News flash, children cost money and the bigger they get the bigger the bills!
Some of you may already have ‘kick ass’ well paid jobs in which case this section probably isn’t for you, but if like me you gave up your career for a couple of years to be a full time parent then ended up single and realised you had to work, read on for my top tips!
So you need to work, here are things you need to consider:
1. Is money the main motivator or are you looking for job satisfaction too?
This is an important question because what satisfies you may not pay the bills. Sit down with a pen and paper and work out what you can afford to do. Money worries are awful and can add real stress to your life if bringing up a child on your own.
2. Manage your expectations and be realistic.
So if you’re looking for work don’t apply for that job as an Astronaut if you’re only trained as a Tennis Coach.
3. Consider what time are you willing to devote to doing a job?
If you have a very young child, a child of school age at early stage or later when they are doing exams, work out how much time you need to give your child against how much time you need, or want to work.
4. Make sure you have an amazing support network in place.
If you work for someone else, a company or a business etc the chances are you’ll be working an 8 hour day, 5 days a week with under 30 days holiday a year. Not only do children have long holidays they also get sick. Whilst work flexibility has been one of the few gifts of the Pandemic and many of us now either work from home or have the ability to do so, you still have to make plans for what to do with your children when you are working and they are not in school, or worse still if they have the ‘dreaded lurgy’!
5. Find a job that doesn’t suck the joy out of you.
If you hate your job/boss/colleagues this will leave you exhausted and in a foul mood. This is not conducive to parenthood!
6. Use Government grants, top ups.
Apply for; Universal Credits, Child Tax Credits and Housing Benefit if you need to supplement your income. Gingerbread has lots of advice on this so take a look at our resources page for more information.
7. Think long term.
Are you in a job that you can do for the next; 5, 10, 15 years? Is there career progression if you want one and will that fit in with the different stages of parenthood?
8. Don’t limit yourself.
If you feel you’d be better off doing something else consider re-training. The Government provides lots of schemes and grants to support parents doing this.
9. Consider going back to school.
I retrained to be a Therapist when my daughter was very young. I used student loans and Government grants to help with this. Whilst it wasn’t always easy, after three years I was able to start earning proper money working for myself where I chose my working days and hours.
10. Look for jobs you can do from home. There are many more of these post Pandemic.
11. Consider job shares.
12. If you have single parent friends or acquaintances that do jobs they enjoy and you think you might like, ask them about it.
In the end if looking for work starting work or deciding to go back to work after maybe maternity leave or just taking time out, the most important thing to consider is; how do I maintain a healthy balance between work and my responsibilities, earn enough money to survive and not exhaust myself by working such long hours that I’m a jibbering wreck by the end of the week?
Its not easy, and some of us are luckier than others. I’m aware of the privilege a good education gives me and the doors it opens. Its not easy to earn the big bucks if you find yourself a parent when you’ve just left school or have no qualifications. However it is important to remember there is no age limit to going to college or studying and the Government does have several very good schemes to support parents who want to go back to school.
In the meantime here are a list of a few jobs you can do from home. Some need training some don’t:
1. Virtual assistant or PA.
2. Sales rep
3. Marketing rep
4. Data entry clerk
5. Graphic designer
6. Coder
7. Phone interviewer
8. Census data gatherer
9. Blogger
10. Customer service rep
11. Telephone sales rep
12. Social media manager
13. Tutor
14. Copywriter
15. Computer support technician
16. Counsellor
17. Life coach
18. Market researcher
19. Bookkeeper
20. Proofreader
21. Travel consultant
22. Event planner
23. Charity administrator
Good luck and if anyone has any ideas, advice or information they would like to share please email us at info@theriseofthesinglemother.com or click on the button below.
