Life as a working mom can be difficult. Even professions that claim to offer flexibility, often don’t, and many women struggle to return to work. We like to think that things will get easier once the children are at school, it often doesn’t. Young children still need to be dropped off and collected at certain times, which doesn’t leave a huge amount of time free to work. Many women find themselves in the unfortunate position of needing to work and not being able to afford to take an extended break, but also not being able to afford the full-time childcare that they need to be able to go to work. One solution is finding a flexible career that’s perfect for working moms. Here’s a look at some of the best careers that understand a mom’s needs and offer them the hours and flexibility that they need.
Starting Your Own Business
Perhaps the best option is starting up on your own. With an MBA in strategy online, you’ll have the skills needed to run your own business, which could eventually grow into a leader in your industry. Starting a business from home is exciting but very challenging and working around children is always tough. But, it’s your chance to work to suit your needs. To fit your career around your children and to do something for yourself, to make a future for your family.
If you’ve got no experience in business, don’t worry, there’s plenty of ways that you can make money from home, on your own. You could sell crafts you’ve made yourself. You could earn money as a blogger or start a catering business, or you could earn money walking local dogs. Think about what you enjoy and what you’re good at and try to find ways to make money from it.
Freelancing
Another excellent option for moms, that allows complete flexibility is freelancing. Websites like Upwork advertise freelance work that you can apply for in a huge range of different fields. You could make money as a writer, photographer, graphic designer, web designer, social media manager or virtual assistant among others.
If it works well for you, you could end up setting up your own website to advertise your skills and even turning it into a business of your own.
Teaching
Teaching can be the perfect solution, as not only are the hours ideal, you also only work term-time. This means that you can always be at home when your children need you. Teaching is a career that appeals to many, as it’s your chance to pass on your knowledge and shape and support young minds. You will need to qualify with a teaching degree and perhaps take further training to get started. But, you could be eligible for a bursary to help with the costs.
If teaching isn’t right for you, there are other jobs in schools that offer the same benefits. These include working in school kitchens, administration, grounds keeping and working as a classroom assistant.
Childcare
Like teaching, childcare can appeal to many moms as it gives them a chance to spend time helping young children. Many moms set up their own childcare business from home. If you need to be there to look after your children, why not get paid to take care of others at the same time? You don’t need a degree to be a childminder, but you will need to complete training courses, and assessments and your home will need to be certified as a safe location for children. You’ll also have to go on regular refresher courses throughout your career.
Retail Associate
Retail jobs are often very flexible. Depending on the location and business hours, you may need to work some evenings and weekends, but retail businesses often employ a lot of students, who can only work evenings and weekends, so are on the lookout for staff that can work weekday daytimes. Retail can be a great job for moms as it gives you a chance to get out of the house and speak to people, without having any serious commitments or responsibilities. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t turn it into a career if you decide you want to. You could move into management, marketing or HR, or take your visual merchandising skills forward into bigger businesses.
As a working mom, it’s important to find a job that you enjoy as well as one that offers you the flexibility that you need. So, look for something that makes you happy and offers you everything that you need.
