What do you do for a living and how many hours do you work?

[ShyBaby]

Because im having real trouble coping and im considering asking to reduce my hours, but im unsure if im being a bit unreasonable!

i am a cleaner and work 25 hrs a week. BIGGEST reason i do job is so i can go on school trips, help in class, do drop off/pick up etc. in the hols a friend halfs the work so i only work 2 days. couldnt do this if i worked in an office/shop.

for some reason when ds 7 asks what i do i hate saying cleaning. but actually i enjoy it.

pinguthepenguin ....could you give me any pointers on how you manage as a commuting teacher? that's exactly the position I'm going to be in soon....what do you do about childcare, & what kind of household are you managing to support on your salary etc? My LO will be about the same age as yours when I go back to work...it's heartbreaking, isn't it :s

Used to be TA worked 3 days + o/t , was good except for the school plays & stuff I missed. My mam looked after my kids when I was at work so not too bad that way.

Average 48 hour week - am just really lost about it all at the moment. Miss my girl. Don't want to end up resenting... anything, really. We are lucky - the money keeps us afloat with no maintenance from ex, and allows regular trips to see my mum who is miles away and terminally ill and support of my dsis who struggles more than me financially.

over the last few months, about 30 hours a week. 40 is a real struggle.

I work night shifts in a care home for the minimum wage, and I work 16.5 hours a week.

I work 37 hours a week over four days. I tend to work for an hour or two each evening too.

I find it sometimes very hard. My DS is 12 months old and by the time we get home in the evening there's only time for a quick bath, book, beaker and bed. But I do have three whole days with him to compensate so that is what I tell myself when I feel guilty about leaving him at nursery for so long.

Housework gets left until I can do it. If DS' grandparents come over I usually as them to take him out for a while so that I can do the vacuuming (baby hates the noise) and do the noisy stuff that I can't do when DS is asleep.

I can't afford not to work full time and I'm lucky that I'm well paid enough and can keep the roof over our heads and live in reasonable comfort.

I don't think I could be a SAHM but I sometimes wish I could do a few less hours and that the house was slightly cleaner

I used to work in school hours runnning a canteen on a building site, but the boss wasn't paying my tax so i left, now attempting to start up my own business in LeatherCare, cleaning and repair on settee's and car interiors, hopefully it will fit in with school.... and on the day that my dd goes with her dad.... andi got good folks...
If it desn't take off, i'll be getting a f/t reception job.......
Mine is 9 yrs old now, and when she was young, i fleeted between different full time jobs while she was with a full time childminder...

It's a good idea if you can afford it to lessen hours - I am a teacher I trained and did two years full time - really couldn't cope and felt ds would miss out on stuff when he started school so reduced hours by 20%

less money but more life - I never regret it

i just started as a cover supervisor in a secondary school (like a permanant supply teacher) a month ago, i work term times 8.30-3.30 mon-fri. Its working out ok, am not really knackered but i do find things such as hearing the kids reading/homework has really slipped.

Want to go on to do teacher training in around 18mths, am i mad and naive??

37 hours a week with 3 dcs as a specialist decision maker in a benefits delivery centre. recently got promoted onto accelerated development programme and trying to get money from my department to move to an area where there are actually positions for me, rather than attempt a hellish commute.

i leave early two days a week on flexi time to pick up children from school and make up the hours the rest of the week or i would never see them.

ShyBaby, how old are your DC? I think that, and what you do for a living, will have a big bearing on how easy/hard it is to cope with full-time work.

I work full time and have always done so, apart from 3 months maternity leave. However, I am in a very privileged position in that I have the world's most understanding/accommodating employers who have been incredibly flexible. Things are getting easier now that the DC are getting a little older (2 next month). I remember the first 12 months being incredibly hard though, mainly because of the million and one extra things you have to do with having a baby coupled with massive sleep deprivation.

THere's no right or wrong to this. If you can afford to cut your hours and you will cope better and be happier as a result, then do it. Don't feel guilty or a failure about it. How can you possibly be considered a failure if you cope better and spend more time with your DC? Surely that's the sign of a very successful person? Someone with the balls to say OK this isn't working as it is and this is what I'm going to do about it. You can always go back full time as the DC get older and things get easier.

I work in IT. I work a lot of hours - don;t knwo how many on average. am contracted for 37.5 but do a lot more. I do however do my extra hours at home in the evenings. I have a rule that I don't work weekends during the day unless I absolutely have to.

I wouls love to just work my contrcted hours as I get no reward for the extra BUT it's not the environment where that is relly the 'done' thing.

DD is 6 and I am lucky to have an absolutely wonderful childminder.

I work in admin at a University - 37.5 hours a week. Have 2 dds and also have a brilliant childminder. I am able to work flexi time so that helps as well.

I've thought about cutting down my hours, but I don't think it would be financially viable and I think I would end up doing five days work in four days which doesn't seem like a good idea.

I've only recently become a lone parent, so we'll have to see how it goes.

I've got 2 older teens and a 9 yr old, work varying hours doing various jobs - mostly running socialisation groups for dogs but lately I've been cleaning, babysitting and other glamorous top-up work. I don't and never have had any maintenance from my husband (father of teens) but my youngest child's dad makes a contribution, plus I have a v small mortgage. However I recently bought a HORSE and that changes things quite a bit!

(hours can be anything from 10 up, I don't cope well when I'm doing full-time type hours, everything unravels at home)

I am an accountant and I work 20 hours (5 hours, 4 days a week). I am with the same firm that I was with full-time before I had dc's. After dc1 I went back 3 full days, then changed to 4 days, then knocked a couple of hours off after I had dc2.

Only recently single, luck enough to not have to continue working part-time.

mybumpsaboy- I'm not sure if these are exactly 'pointers', but here goes:

I drop DD off around 7.45, and it takes 50-min/1hr to get to work, so I'm arriving in school more or less on the bell, or slightly past it . I then leave work around 4.25 to pick her up for 5-5.15pm. Her childminder is/was ok, although a little strict, and that has since culminated in her giving me notice to terminate the contract at the end of the month. I'm currently looking for another, which is stressful to say the least. In terms of managing the work/ life balance, I don't find it too hard, but, I can put my hand on my heart and say it's because I was in the job for 5 years before I had DD, and so built up enough experience to allow me to 'wing it', when I have to. ( i.e, I've bulit up plenty teaching resources over the years etc). Teaching in the beginning is so knackering though, that I don't think I could start from scratch with my DD!

Helpwise- Exp helps out during the week if I have meetings etc, and at weekends. He is all I have, as family live in another country entirely. Find that hard tbh, as its exp or nobody. I don't exactly get on with him, so if I had my mum here, I would most certainly be having to call upon him less often.

Financially, It's not too bad as I've been in the job a few years so obviously went up the main pay scale. I get some help from tax credits at the moment, which helps massively with childcare costs, although this is due to drop to the minimum in April and I am scared as hell about that. Teachers salaries look good on paper, but paying all the bills myself, maintanence or not, can be crippling.
I own my own house, so it is possible to get by. The house is smallish, so not too hard to keep on top of housework. That said, I moved in there 4 months ago and still haven't unpacked some boxes, so maybe I just have low expectations! . ( or lazy??)

I do get time for me, as DD goes to dads one or two nights at weekend, depending. So I get out at least once a week, and have sundays to myself. This is my saviour, as I do nothing except see friends, lounge around with lovely new bf, or sleep. I know I could/should spend this doing the things I don't have time to do during the week, but I just can't face it. I deserve one day a week for me- thats what I tell myself anyway!

Guilt- This is something which affects me in waves. Some days I tell myself that I am doing the right thing, providing for DD and enriching my own life at the same time. Other days I am consumed with worry about how it will affect our relationship. To be honest though, this worry is seriously compounded by the fact that she spends a lot of time at her dads as well as the childminder, so its even more time away from me. If you don't have that issue, then its less to think about.

Finally, and this is probably not helpful, but ever since I had DD, I have alot of energy. No idea where it comes from, but I don't always feel knackered. Maybe it's adrenalin, who knows? Whatever it is, it helps me get by.

I enjoy my job- honestly don't think I could be at home. If you're wondering whether it's do-able, then my answer is a definite yes.

Hope this helps and that I haven't been too negative [grin

pingu - that was really interesting for me to read. i am hoping to do teacher training next year, although i am getting loads of experience now with taking classes on my own as a cover supervisor.

Both my kids will be away at weekends with their dads, and i am already feeling the guilt at the thought of barely seeing them!!

allgonebellyup,

Your kids being at their dads at weekends sounds both lovely for you and them- although I can totally empathise with the guilt thing.
What I can say though- and this is what makes me feel better when people ask if I feel bad/miss her, is that I have 13 weeks holiday a year, just me and her. Not many full time workers have that.

It would help if you could maintain your current weekend access thingy while you're training and in the first year of being an NQT, because 'knackered' does not describe how you will feel!
Will you have support for school pick ups/parents evenings/meetings?

My little nephew spends every single weekend and ALL the hols with his dad (my brother) since he was a tot. He is now 11 and a lovely, contented little chap. Both his parent work full time.

I sell on ebay from home in my own time. I work as and when required. Sometimes thats A LOT, sometimes it really really isnt.
I have 2 dc and get WTFC to the tune of £171
and help with the rent too depending on how sales are going.
Am free to do school run/docs appointments etc, I do however spend a lot of my life in the post office Q.

I work as a senior support worker looking after adults with learning difficulties for 37.5 hrs a week over 3 days (7.30am-8.30pm!).
I have 1 DC of 3 yrs old.

Hi, anyone know where I can find a part-time job. Need the income but dd picked up bad habits/language when at after school club so now looking to work part-time. Where are the jobs?????

Sorry forgot how this works and pressed wrong buttons will try again.