Jobs that pay £30ishK but are flexible?

[barbatoo]

Am I dreaming thinking that such a thing exists for a 30 year old male with no qualifications but has worked his whole life, is ex military and now works as a civil engineer (on the roads, not in an office)?

I have changed my work hours to do school runs and nursery runs for 3 DCs but DH doesn't do any, and I can't do it anymore as I'm missing out on pension and promotion.

He understands this and would do anything but it needs to be what he's earning now, which is £30k. It doesn't have to be that much initially but he can't afford a drop in wages.

Any ideas? Or am I barmy?

Where do people find all these jobs?

They local council just advertises admin staff/teachers/social workers ....

Civil service - is that just london?
Even jobs you work your way up in. How do you do that in your 30/40s.

My husband would love a train driver job. Never ever seen one advertised in our area!

brick laying.

Working out where specific jobs are advertised takes some research and it's always a good idea to ask people in the area where/how to look. I am sure the vast majority of info can be found on Mumsnet, with patience.

Alternatively, is he better off taking a salary hit on a family friendly job and then you push hard for a promotion? 3 dc, a stressful job and a h working away, it sounds very stressful.

In fact it sounds like you’d have been better off going harder on your career and him not travelling etc. Otherwise I agree au pair or hire more help.

Never any easy solutions, parenting and work juggling is really hard.

IT has always been a good area to retrain into if you have a good local market for it - it needs research to do the right kind of thing. Financial IT for example, not so easy to get into as other types.

I was thinking along the lines of being self employed as a handyman too. Given you are more educated maybe you can get more with experience if you work full time?

There are plenty of flexible jobs over £30k but they need qualifications. Both DH and I are over it and we are strictly 9-5 and can leave early and WFH when we want. DH job is fully WFH but he likes the office!

Also look at being a ticket collector on the trains too. The benefits are compression though - you can do your hours in 3 or 4 days depending on the shift pattern you are on. The assessment centers for these jobs are hard though, a lot don't pass them.

It is getting harder to get flexibility without being in a job and without specific qualifications. I've only ever managed to negotiate it after having worked my way in - as you've found, you have flexibility, but you are paying for it in opportunities.

My DH has zero qualifications and currently earns 40k ish in an office based role with complete flexibility. He can work from home whenever he wasn't and can leave early come in late etc as long as doesn't take the piss. So sometimes he will pick dd up from school on way home from work and just work for a couple of hours at home while she entertains herself.
He works in digital sales tho (not cold and business related) and I personally couldn't do it as sales are not for me.

Civil service is national - includes DWP, Home Office etc.

Are there any similar roadworker jobs going at your local council? The salary might be lower (I’m assuming he gets extra pay for working away), but it would mean he isn’t working away from home. I know that at my local council, the hours are usually 7-3, so he could cover picking up from nursery/ school, while you do drop-off.

"Where do people find all these jobs?...

My husband would love a train driver job. Never ever seen one advertised in our area!"

Many jobs aren't advertised widely or at all. You've got to be curious, proactive. Companies have jobs sections on websites. You can approach them cold. Don't wait for them to be out there and compete with hundreds!

There may be a contractor the council use or an agency which supplies manual workers for projects. One local council uses a specific recruitment website as well as their own and county ones including for roles such as parks officers and refuse collectors (surprisingly well paid).

Dp suggests diamond drilling, but the kit is expensive. But then you could set up your own company and have more choice over hours. Well paid, but nasty work apparently.

Why does he need to earn the same, given that you will be earning more when full time? Is this a pride thing?

Sounds like a further qualification would be a good idea, even for a short term hit - or like others said he might be able to pick up contract or handyman work for less, but the income can be unreliable especially at first

Pink - I wasn't being quite as stupid as I might have implied in my post. I've tried the obvious - as in employers jobsites (we are not a big town) , local gov, businesses/banks but they seem to have young graduate entry etc, looked at the hospital. Job agencies are just full of carer/manual work or already qualified professional work. I don't know where someone who has degrees and is 40 gets back in. It was a bit easier as a shiny graduate.

We've investigated train driver jobs a million times, filled in all the relevant "alert you if something comes up" type forms. Looked at the aptitude type tests. However our limited research suggests its a bit of a closed shop to those who have worked there way up perhaps.

As you say, my understanding is that London train driving is a closed shop - you have to work elsewhere then apply as soon as a vacancy comes up, they never make it to external recruitment.

Could he do police training? Not really flexible though as they work shifts. There must be loads in healthcare but all needing years of study first.