If you work, but also take your kids to school and pick them up, what do you do?

[mintich]

I'm considering a career change for when my kids go to school, that will allow me to drop off and pick them up.
If you are able to do this, what job do you do??

Investment analyst, I'm paid by the hour so normally work around 9-1.

I’m a teacher I drop mine to school and then they stay in Afterschool for and hour and I collect them at 3.30/3.45 (they finish school at 2.20) my school finishes at 2.40

I'm an accountant, but had completed my training and done quite a lot fo PQE before we started a family, so I had quite a lot of experience already. I did change roles when we had children, largely because we relocated, so I had to start over anyway. I actually found leaving to collect the kids every day quite stressful, and so amended my hours to have childcare after school for a couple of days. My office was very close to school, which worked brilliantly.

However, I did start to get a bit bored in my job, and as the children were getting older, leaving them in childcare for more time was less of a problem, and I found another job but with a commute. I managed to negotiate some home-working time from the off, and had them in wraparound care 2 days a week. As the role developed (and my eldest started secondary school), I gradually increased my hours. They're now both in secondary, their school is close to my office, and I work 4 days, so I now drop them off before work, and they stay at school 'doing homework' (arsing about on their phones) until I've finished.

Remember to play the long game!!

I work in a large office, finance area, not me but a few others go do pick up then log back on and work from home for a couple of hours

I used to work in ad admin role 9am-3.00pm.

DS school was10 mins by car from my office.

I would drop him off at 8.45am and drive back down after 3.00pm for his 3.35pm finish.

I may or may not have had a snooze in the car

Single parent so I was able to work 30 hours pw and claim WFTC (I'm going back 15 years though).

School holidays were when I struggled though. I had to pay a lot of childcare and beg family to do a day here and there.

I drop off and husband pick up. I work 10-4. I practice as a chartered accountant and chartered tax advisor.

practise!

When DS starts school in September DH will do the drop offs and I will do the pick ups. I work in a school 7-3 and have the holidays off.

Local government. I went back part time after maternity leave, then when DD started school I changed my working pattern so I’m doing the same hours over five short days. I do all the drop-offs and use after school club a couple of days a week. Local government is generally good for flexible working, and my manager is very supportive.

At the moment I'm leaving the house at 730, coming home at 8 but only 2 days at week. I do want to increase my days when they go to school. But I just cant continue with those hours, which means either another job or starting my own business!

I'm an assistant accountant, I work 30 hours a week 8.30 to 2.30 so use breakfast club at £3 per day and do pick up myself. My commute is 7 minutes so it works really well.

Primary teacher with DC at my own school. I have to pay for breakfast and after-school club but they are not in those for very long.

Another Civil Servant, so is DH. I do drop off 3 days and DH doss the other 2.

Only one day a week where we need a grandparent to pick up.

We both work flexi time and do some days from home each week.

Cleaner. Self employed. 8- 2:30-2:45 most days. Best job + wage I’ve ever been on.

Work part time in retail and have partner who has flexibility as he works shifts.

My work place is very close to school and home so thats makes things easy.
Inly downside is I have to do some early mornings and weekend work.

I'm in Marketing for a FTSE100 company. I was 'lucky' in that I'd been there a long time, full time so when my marriage broke down and I was left almost full time with my DC, they allowed me to reduce my hours. I now do 9,30 - 2,30 Monday to Friday, enabling me to do pick up and drop off but, as I always mention to my colleagues who have a winge as I leave, it is reflected in my salary.

Lunchtime supervisor. Only 2 hours a day, five days a week. Pays peanuts but I have plenty of time to do school drop off/pick up, cook, clean, shopping, short naps 😊

I'm a croupier. Only work night shifts so I'm always available for school run, class assembly etc.

I'm self employed, I work around ds school hours and some evenings and most weekends. I do some drop offs and dh does drop offs when he works from home and I do all pick ups. Ds sometimes goes to breakfast club if I'm super busy with orders.

I work in school finance. Eldest walks to school and I drop youngest at 8.45, get to my school for 9 and leave at 3 unless DH is WFH then I leave at 4 and he picks up DD.

It fits in really well but I earn far far less than I did when I worked in Finance in the city!

I'm a solicitor and I work 8:30 -2:30 5 days a week so 30 hours. Recently changed to this job and hours. So far it's good. I don't feel like it is taking over my life, yet.

The children go to breakfast club but then I pick then up.

Commute is 25 minutes drive and I am lucky that I have a parking space at the office.

I'm not able to do this in my job, but there are quite a few parents I know who are in jobs that allow them to do this. The ones I know are all self employed so work around the children and also inevitably work some/all evenings and weekends are well. They are - nurses working for an agency, farmers, people who make things and sell online or at markets/events, a lady who has her own ironing business. I also know some people who do permanent night shifts and can do drop offs/pick ups due to this arrangement.

Work in a school! DD is in 6th form now so no dropping off or picking up required but I work term time only, 9.00 to 1.30. The only downside is the low pay but it's been bloody convenient.

Both times regardless of the hours advertised, I’ve found that chatting to the vacancy advertiser at interview I’ve been able to work out school friendly hours, you just have to ask. They can either accommodate you or not. But you won’t know until you ask at interview.

Retail. 6 hour minimum contract job was advertised but there’s generally more hours to be had. My boss is a single parent and understood the school run requirements.

Before that I was temping and offered work working on my own with the boss. My boss wasn’t a parent, but understood about school run needs.

Before that a call centre where everyone else started at 9, but I started at half 9. That time I wrote a well worded effectively begging letter asking for the line manager to consider me because I was a single parent and desperately needed this job. She put herself on the line for me because she was also a single parent so understood.

I’ve found that all times each company was happy to negotiate the hours informally, even if it meant starting 10 minutes later/leaving 10 mins early.

Dh and I both do the school run. Like not actually both of us together, but one of us does it every day, no family help or breakfast club or childminder. Though there are other parents in school who literally always do it together, every day, sometimes they even bring grandparents and I really do wonder what they do.

I’m an academic (health research scientist). I work long hours but do have flexibility so I can do the school run part of the week. Dh is self employed so he does it the other days. I think being self employed offers the most flexibility if you want something other than a low paid school hours sort of job. Dh works a lot, at least 40 hours a week, but like me, some of it is in evenings after dc are in bed or he can do it in afternoons after the school run. Sometimes he takes them to do deliveries or pick up orders of things or they play while he does emails. Equally I sit them down to do homework or send them to play in another room if I have work that needs finishing after school. It’s the flexibility and independence that makes that possible. No one cares where or when I work as long as it gets done.