SAHM To Becoming a Career Woman

You most certainly can become a career woman, but I will tell you it's not always easy. I digress for a moment - I have not been a SAHM other than the 12 weeks of maternity leave I had for each child......so keep that in mind.

So, I started a few years out of college in the insurance industry (my intent was to be a teacher but was led in a different direction). I started out for a few years in an entry level position. I later moved up , and moved up , and moved up. I still have room to move but I have been the main breadwinner for our family after a couple of years working in my current position.

I understand you likely feel bored and that you want a career - I really respect that but I want to show you my schedule so that you know the reality:
5am - alarm goes of - I shower, do hair, makeup, etc.
6am - get the kids up, dressed, etc
6:45 - kids are dropped off at daycare
6:45-7:30 commute to office
work until 4:00
5pm - arrive home and start cooking dinner and cleaning out the clean dishes from the dishwasher
5:45-6:00 husband gets home with the kids - we sit and eat.
from 6-7:30 we finish dinner, clean up, maybe read a few books/play with the kids etc.
7:30 bath time
8:00 bedtime
8:30 - I soak in a hot bath, get out, pack my sons lunch for the next day, set out my clothes for the next day, I may lay on the couch or read.....
10:00 bed
5:am - up again!!!

Weekends I spend doing all the laundry and as much cleaning as possible.

I don't want to scare you away as a career may be great for you - but I want you to know what it's like from a working mom.

Boredom will not give you right motivation to struggle and win the battle with college and studying long hours or take examinations etc...if you want to be a career person you FEEL it, you really want it and know that's your path.
As Ford said: "If you think you can, you are correct; if you think you can't, you are correct" - so make sure you know what you REALLY want. I knew from the start I wanted to work and have a career AND be a mom...it was so appealing to me i felt very excited about the prospect...boredom does not indicate genuine desire and motivation to succeed at work, rather it makes it look like you need to fill an empty hole. Some more soul searching is in order...:-)

Depends on the career.
Depends on the mom.
Depends on the circumstances.
Depends on the husband.
Depends on the finances.

But you won't get a career b/c you're bored. Careers are when, as Mark Twain put it, when you make your vacation your vocation. Find something you *like*, and then find a way to make money at it.

Otherwise you'll just get a job. Those are cool and all - but not very fulfilling. :)

Well, I have a career, and I was a SAHM when I took a year off for maternity leave. Then I went back to a part-time, non-career position for two years. During all of that time I was studying for my masters degree. Within a week of finishing it, I was offered the best career job of my life (so far). But, I had already been to university, and had had a career before taking my time off. I think it is possible, but if you're going down the editor role, you will have to take a degree in communications and/or journalism, and become a cadet journalist, then a journalist, then a sub-editor, then an editor. But, of you're keen, why not?

Looks you've got a lot of encouragement here!

Girl, go back to school. If that's what you want to do, do it. People do it all the time with families. Is it easy, no, but it's not impossible.

Well i guess it depends on whether or not you already have a degree. I'm guessing not because "editor" isn't a degree program, communication or English is. So you would need a four-year degree to break into that field and it doesn't pay very well, but it's doable.

Working moms tend to fall into three categories:

- those who have been working in field for a long time, either never dropping out of the workforce or taking a few years off and later returning to the same field

- those who are OK with any job that fits their schedule and salary requirements, maybe trading a former "career" for something less intense like an administrative or service industry job

- those who get further training or education and find a new career. Obviously this requires quite a bit of commitment and you really have to know what you want and that the investment in training and education will pay off, but lots of folks reinvent themselves.

My husband is still trying to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up. If you want to get some concrete ideas, talk to someone in career services at a local community college. This department knows which students are graduating and getting jobs and which degree programs send people to the unemployment line, and they know what the hot industries and career needs are in your area.