To think I'm never going to find well paid work

[Halfsack]

That fits around school hours?

Ideally I'd want to work in an office; sales/admin/customer service etc.

AIBU to think that I'm never going to find something where I can be there to pick up and drop off my DD from school?

@Halfsack shotsfired what would you suggest I do? Just go full time somewhere and hire a childminder?

I don't know. I was empathising that you are in a crap rock and a hard place situation.
But looking at your posts, you don't really have a career or vocation to return to, so the pain of going FT and paying for childcare would not be as a stepping stone to much more senior role in future (unless you have particular skills you didn't mention for brevity in your OP?). If you are just a general admin/CS bod, then it would just be a slog of earning a wage solely to pay childcare.

There are some legit work from home vacancies - I know someone who works as a call handler for an airline from their home, for one. And another who does transcription work. Both of them are more or less able to choose their own hours. There are also TaskRabbit style opportunities? I think one of your posts said that one job required you to have WFH experience, so you could set about getting that by hook or by crook like this?

You talked about your husband having a good salary earlier.
He should contribute to
Childcare anyway, so you'll have more flexibility in what you do/ choose.

So, to sum up.....

You have no professional qualifications
You don't have much experience, and what you do have isn't recent
You want to work somewhere which is only 5mins from your dcs school
You are only available for work between 9 and 3
You want your work to be well paid
You only want to do work you feel you are 'suited to', and will rule out suggestions (such as care work) that you feel you aren't suited to.

Hmmm. Can't understand why employers aren't beating a path to your door

Embarrassed my apologies for missing your p3 post. I am a bit out of date on state-funded childcare provision but, and really I don't want to be antagonistic to you, just the expression of wraparound childcare.

So, wraparound means...? wrapping-around the school terms with after school and childminders. The school holidays? Yes there are holiday clubs and childminders (who mostly require 52 week contracts) BUT for those in NMW+ jobs and with a reliance on state-funded care that comes through CCTC (and now UC? I don't know) the extra costs of school hols (if claimed) were annualized and paid over 52 weeks. Makes things very precarious.

And the new Childcare Tax (online) system for claiming 30 hours free has gone tits-up I read.

Not sure about heartless mothers - I look back and wonder how I could have put my 7 week old baby into childcare and ft when he was 4 months! Tell me about heartless.

Thanks for the helpful advice. @backforgood I'm well aware of all those. When I say well paid I just mean something more than what I get paid currently. I'm not expecting to earn 1000s. I guess I'm just fed up and not sure where to turn to for advice. I'm 26 and feel like I should be doing more than just being SAHM/ pt dinner lady.

I have just got a school hours, term time job in a university supporting students with additional needs. Saying it's term time - they work half terms so I have 12 days childcare a year to find - my son is 13 but has ASD so those days I will pay more than I am paid for his childcare. I also have to travel 30-40 mins to work.
I have a masters and I'm well qualified but I've taken a massive wage drop to find a job that fits with my son's needs - I have done every sort of childcare for it to fail apart from 1:1.... and I had to give up last job because that all holidays took its toll both for my son and financially
however I need for my MH to be at work and I'm better off than I am on Carers so grateful.
I think you need to think a bit more out of the box with your childcare - if you increase what you are available to work you have more opportunities and have increased earning potential which makes childcare more affordable. You are rarely better off not earning.

Google 'virtual PA' - it's not a new idea

Yes - it's a great way of working flexibly when you have children. I'm not a virtual PA but do writing/research freelance. However, there are very few companies who employ people to do this, most use freelancers who have to register as self-employed and take care of their own tax and National Insurance. It can be lucrative but as all freelancers know it's feast or famine. One week you're run off your feet, the next you're twiddling your thumbs waiting for the phone to ring or the email to ping.

OP I think you are being incredibly unrealistic. Gone are the days where there were jobs like envelope stuffing and data entry you could do at home. Automation and Data Protection put paid to all that. There are literally tens of thousands of parents in your position, who would all love to work part time, term time, school hours only. There aren't those sorts of jobs around, especially well-paid ones. And to be honest, your NVQ level 3 is equivalent to what - a couple of A levels? That's really not that much when you're up against people with far more experience or qualifications than you have.

You need a plan - start working out where you'd like to be and how you're going to get there, whether that be College, or distance learning, or online training, or self-employment or whatever.

Don't just sit back waiting for that well-paid, school hours job to drop in your lap because it's not going to happen.

Yes, but people have suggested things, and you've said no to them all - working weekends, working as a carer, and you started off suggesting that you couldn't work a normal full day. Difficult to know what you want people to say.

I'm just lost I think. Being out of work and in the "real world" for so long I don't know where to start. OH isn't supportive because in his mind I don't need to work. Financially we do fine but I'm just sick to death of not having my own money. The money I earn from MDS goes in and straight back out. Maybe some voluntary office work would do me good to get to grips with what people need. I'd love to study and qualify in something but just don't know how to go about it. Thankyou to everyone that's responded though. I have taken all comments on board.

You're young. It sounds from what you've described that you can afford your current set up, you just want more. Perhaps your time while your DC are at primary school would be well spent researching what you want to do longer term and gaining qualifications in that area? This may then stand you in a better position for when your DC are older and you can work full time without childcare (since you seem quite against that).

Yes, but people have suggested things, and you've said no to them all7

Because she's waiting for that perfect job to just appear, as if by magic and without her putting in any effort. Life's not like that.

Moanyoldcow's suggestion about Sales Purchase Ledger clerk sounds good.

@poppypopcorn sorry if my posts have come across that way, I'm definitely not expecting that at all, in fact, I'm just curious about the working world, being out of it for so long. Yes the purchase ledger work does sound like something I could do. I've just got to get my head around this childcare malarky.

It's nearly September - so log on to you local college for evening classes

You could do maths and English or accountancy, or TA course, or computing - there are loads to chose from. You'll meet new people and earn a qualification.

Do it now!! Have a look and find something you think you'll enjoy

As for childcare - things tend to fall into place when you need it to work for you

I totally missed the fact there is a husband on the scene too, and lived big costs are not the issue.

In that case, you have a lot more luxury of choice to be able to make yourself marketable.

I'd suggest the voluntary sector for two, three reasons:

1. It gets you back into the working world and structure etc
2. It adds to your cv, shows motivation and gives you up to date skills. Not to mention key contacts for paid opportunities in future.
3. I think that maybe actually "more money" is a red herring motivator, and that possibly but self empowerment or worth is what you miss the most. To be valued independently of the mum label. Look at where you are on Maslows hierarchy.

I work for a big national law firm we have a typing pool set up but everyone works from home. It's open from 7.30am to midnight. Is that an option based on what you've said? Different people do different shifts, days etc

You're very young. You can do anything you want to. Figure it out and don't let longterm plans be curtailed by childcare hours now.

There is no perfect school hours job without experience - or rather when there are, everyone goes for them.

What about audio transcription. There's a site that lets you apply and you pick which shifts you can do. If you type it might work. Have to be quick tho!

Okay, I got to this comment Or you could do what everyone else does and pay somone to do pre and/or post school childcare? Of course you aren't going to find well paid work between 9.30 and 2.30, are you even qualified for anything?

Firstly, no everyone else doesn't do this. Even if I wanted to our school only has 5 cms so finding space for my 3dc is not possible and no the school doesn't have an after school club you can pay for. Most parents pick up from school most days, if not all.

Secondly, I work 9.10am - 2.40pm in a well paid job. I do understand I won't get promoted until I'm prepared to go full time but my hourly salary is close to dh's despite 3 years freelance / sahm, so it is possible depending upon your skills, qualifications and experience.

The balance between childcare/raising your dc/having a career is a complex nightmare and every parent is different so there's no right answer. Whatever you do you'll most likely feel guilty. My dc have had a fab summer but I've missed the majority of it, however we had 3 weeks in the States earlier in the year that my salary enabled us to have. Swings/roundabout/sacrifices/muddling through.

What would make all this easier is more support from other mothers rather than non empathetic posts and the inability to post about not wanting full time as we want to see our dc without it being taken as an attack on mums who work full time. We're all different striving for the motherhood balance that works for us.

Open university. Get some qualifications.

Even most admin jobs want some experience and some qualifications depending on the type of admin (I'm part time admin)

Work PT (anything) and study PT

In RL You have a DH your earnings both contribute to childcare costs! Consider taking the hit in a full time role to then get onto more school friendly hours.
This is a nonsense comment. We view all earnings as family money so when I had 3 dc and childcare would have been 1k more than I earned each month, why on earth would I make my family poorer? Once we'd paid for childcare from both combined salaries we'd not have had enough to cover the mortgage and food ffs. This is the reality not my bastard dh forcing me to give up work. Very few people enjoy work enough to be financially worse off by doing it (and I love my current job).

I think it's one of the most ridiculous comments I see on these threads.

I think it's one of the most ridiculous comments I see on these threads

I agree we would've been £15 down on childcare alone not taking into account travel clothes and time needed to arrange all childcare etc

I used the time to retrain and gain experience voluntary

I had qualifications but trained more specific ones tailored to a job that fits round the kids

You can do anything once you make a start

I think in your position I would make an appointment with your nearest National Careers Service office and see what they come up with.

I work school hours only and earn $40-50 an hour as a freelancer. I work about 25 hours a week at the moment. Term-time it's a doddle - school holidays are a bit more challenging but not impossible.

The way I did it was by going back to work full time when my youngest was 2, and hiring childcare. I didn't make much after childcare costs, but I built my skills up and made good contacts and got myself a good reputation. I did that for five years then went freelance.

It was totally worth it.

If your Dh works days, why don't you work evenings or weekends. If you worked nights you could probably still do the school run. You would need to pay for childcare in the holidays I assume