High earning single mums - what jobs do you do?

[Roobear23]

Not crazy money just enough to live comfortably on as a family of two in Devon.

I'm a single parent and not in employment at the moment but I would like inspiration for jobs as I feel there is so much out there I just don't know about it.

I would consider so many things, my background and passion is in working with children and families however this is not well paid and my motivation now is to provide for my son (14mo) as best I can.

Info on what you do and how you got there would be fab. Thank you.

I earn about 70k but also have a niche job. It involves a lot of travel, during which my ex looks after the kids, but when not travelling I can work from home and choose my own hours. This situation is unusual but my point is, money is one thing but one should also not underestimate the value of a job that fits well with children being ill, school holidays etc.

From what you say I would look at teacher training. Fits well with kids while they are little, and when they get older you have good options to earn well if you go into senior management. The pensions are good too.

Agree with the teaching - if I had my time again, I’d go into teaching, the pay is less than I’m on, but (unpopular opinion here ...) the hours are less than mine were when I was full time. Finding childcare in the Summer holiday especially can be very problematic for people

OP, I dropped into e-commerce & online marketing. The pay varies hugely some depends on experience and some of how easy it is to find someone with the right skills.
If you are smart with words and have good IT knowledge (Spreadsheet,...) It could be a starting point.
Pay isn't fantastic but you can expect around £25-30k with some experience, it's a job you can work flexible hours and if you are lucky do some from home.

Some daft responses to a serious question, but I hope the OP is getting what she needs.

The other one that always seems to pop up on these threads is accountancy training on the job - ACCA. But you have to be that way inclined...

I'm a civil servant in the field I studied. I earn about £80,000 after tax but I had to move abroad to get that salary. I'm not happy though, I should add. It's very difficult working full time in a job that is very demanding (I'm guessing most high-earning ones are) when you're also a single mum.

My advice would be to focus more on a field where flexible working or part-time work are possible rather than on really high pay. And a job where a lot doesn't depend on you, i.e. you can take the morning off if you're child is sick and the office will go on without you. As beingsunny said "The option to work from home when DC is too sick for daycare etc is priceless".

I know I shouldn't complain and that I'm in a lucky position but I'd happily switch to a lower paying job that was less stress and where I could work part-time. It's a struggle working 40 hours a week in a high pressured job, then spending evenings and weekends basically being a housewife and stay at home mum with no help (and you have to fit in everthing that a stay at home mum would do in a full week, like cleaning, washing, food shopping into evenings and weekends only). Until my child was 18 months I studied part time (and didn't work) which was great because I got to do something interesting but also spend a lot of time at home.

Hi lovely single mums,
I need suggestions as I recently became a single mum. I earn around £23k and have a one year old boy. I do not want to go on benefits and want to earn more to support my one year old boy. Any suggestions what I can do, which career is best for single mum etc etc. Thanks

@Pavi15 what do you enjoy doing and what is your experience? Funnily enough I posted 2 years ago on this thread and alas my 6 figure salary is no more. The truth is I couldn't do it all. I have taken a big pay drop to work for a company who is more family friendly. One day I will earn my 6 figures again but not until the DC have left home.

I love drawing sketches but I don't know how it could help me to earn.. I work as a civil servant.. I am doing this job because I need to do something for a living but my heart is in drawing and painting.. I have not taken any formal training for painting but one day I want to do something in that field but until then I don't know how to earn more and support my son..

Pavi my day job is in charity but I am a musician, that's where my heart is. Sadly I can't make a full time living from it, especially because I live in a small town. But these last couple of years I've worked on getting myself as good as I can possibly be and plugging myself as an affordable musician to local bars, restaurants etc. I've now got myself 3 regular weekly gigs, which pay reasonably well and in cash, so it's extra income for me and my dc. It's helped financially so much and been a massive boost for my confidence.

As an artist you could use your evenings to take commissions, sketches as personalised gifts, that kind of thing, and as you improve maybe look into character animation or similar. There will be freelance work around that you can do alongside your day job.

I'm a loss adjuster and earn £36K it's a good wage and a good job but doesn't go far in East Anglia ☹

Where do you get a high paying job? Like @NorthernSpirit I worked my ass off through school and have three good higher degrees plus 15 years experience in consultancy. I don’t see jobs advertised for higher than £35k. Are you high earners mostly in London?

Software developer, on just under 50k in Manchester.

£75k, full time senior lawyer in Midlands , no financial support from exh and pay for 8 to 6pm childcare every day.

But I was on £50k when DD was born 6 years ago and he left.

It is hard going, but have a great employer.

You can get into law in lots of different ways, even later in life. It takes a while to earn your way up, but good long term prospects if you can work for a firm that does commercial law. Family law, crime, conveyancing, wills and similar is far worse paid, but still not bad in relative terms.

I’m a teacher and comfortable; brought my own house in a nice area, pay for childminders etc. And still have a few hundred spare each month. That being said I am not newly qualified so am further up the pay scale, don’t live in the south (so prices are reasonable) and opted out of my pension for a few years so I have the extra money. The massive bonus is the holiday time I get and it also saves me loads on childcare costs as I only need to pay for 9 months of the year (went with a term-time only childminder). If you decided to train as a teacher you’d be at uni and get money towards childcare whilst you were there too.

P.s. I earn around the 35k mark but that means I take home more than £2200 a month plus child benefit. My mortgage is only £600 a month so that leaves me with about £1600 left (plus child benefit). Once I remove childcare (averaged per month) I have about 1200 left. I personally consider that a lot given that it’s more than a lot of people take home in the first place, but ultimately the rent/mortgage costs and childcare costs in your area are the kicker when it comes to how much money you have left.
If you child is 14 months and you trained now, you would be at the 30 free hours of childcare stage, so it would cost very little by that point.

I'm just about to start a new job paying £55k. The job is in software and I'm self taught. It was hard work to get to this point, over the fast four years I've trebbled my salary. That's required some tough decisions including paying eye watering childcare fees when not earning much at all, and some very long commutes, but finally it feels like it's paying off.

@pameladoove
mind if I ask what your “interaction design” job is exactly? I’m curious if it links to something I’m interested in, and therefore how I might steer career choices that would future proof things. Thank you

This just popped up and I see I posted here 8 years ago. This thread has been a trip down memory lane.

I hope your life and career moved worked out well OP.

So much has happened since then for us.
When I had 2 kids still at school and living at home.

I am Still working in HR and an expat but now just a few years off early retirement. I have been lucky to see my income continue to rise.

Seen older child through uni and they are working so I am no longer paying out any costs for them.

Younger child at uni.

EX stil useless and never helped. But has no real relationship with the kids as a result which saddens me for them.

And I am getting married next year.

I am proud of the life my children and I built as a little family unit and when I was really in the thick of lone parenting

Wishing everyone bringing their children up alone all the best.

This makes interesting reading. I’ma Chartered Accountant and have been at Director level, but had to quit my role last year as it was just too much to handout with children at home. Those who have been through this, what learnings would you share for those still figuring it out? I feel like there’s a playbook, but I don’t know what it is! (Other than get remarried, which I don’t have the risk tolerance for, even if dating was realistic, which it isn’t)