Work dilemma

[yourealittlelateimalreadytorn]

Hi, I would really appreciate any advice! My husband and I are hoping to relocate, mainly due to his work opportunities but also to be a bit closer to family. I've seen a job I would be really interested in, in an area in which we'd love to live and in which there are likely to be lots of employment options for my husband. However, it's a full time post, and we've got a one-year-old. I'm currently working part-time and am loving the balance, but I'm expected to be full time in September anyway. I'm a teacher, so the new role would also start in September. My dilemma is whether to apply for it or to wait for now and look for part-time roles. I really like the look of this school, and I'm worried I'll end up kicking myself if I don't apply; however, I also don't want to be really stressed next year trying to juggle everything and trying to ensure that my son is settled! I'd love advice from parents with a slightly older child- has it been okay working full time? I'm worried that I'll feel guilty for choosing my ideal job over spending more time with my child, but equally I enjoy teaching a lot and we do get those nice holidays! Obviously I'm not just assuming that I'm going to get the job- just want to make sure I consider options properly! Thanks in advance

Go for it! To my mind, a teaching job is kinda like going part time over a year, because yes you work 5 days a week but you also get an extra 7wks of holiday a year. (Don't jump down my throat, i know how hard teaching is, it is DEFINITELY a full workload!)

You're going to be fulltime in September anyway, so why not put yourself out there , find a nursery that does termtime only and get yourself a great job in a great school.

Thank you, really appreciate your thoughts!

Also, my daughter is only a very little bit older than your baby, but i work full time and have since she was 4m. Our set up is a little different, but it's definitely been a lot easier than i was expecting, and being able to keep doing a job that i love has made a huge difference to how i feel about myself, too!

That's really great to hear!

Not a teacher but when I went back to work I had a choice of 4 days or full time. If I’d gone back 4 days there would have been no changes to my role and I would have ended up stressed, working at home in the evenings and getting paid 80% of my salary. So I went back full time, with very controlled hours, a plan with DH for who does what and when and clear priorities out of work for how we’d spend time as a family. Really happy with my decision, DD thrived at a fantastic, caring nursery and our family time out of work/nursery was brilliant.

I’d say go with your gut feel. Being happy at work has benefits for the whole family and you can certainly be happy as a family with 2 working full time parents and a little one who thrives with the right child care.

Not a teacher but have worked full time 9-5 monday - Friday since now 4 year old ds was 8 months. Currently on maternity leave with ds2 and in Feb will also return full time though slightly different hours.

Its been great, I do have a dh who pulls his weight though and we chose a nursery near home so we can both do drop off collect and also ds could go if we had days off sometimes.

Because of my full time work ds1 has been on holidays, has had amazing days out on weekends and I've had the adult interaction I've needed to allow me to be a great mum. Yes its tiring and we have too many evenings where we will just order a dominos instead of cooking but its not a major problem. My wage had increased by 9k in the 4 years working ft so my pension has benefitted too and weve just moved into a new bigger home, That wouldn't have happened if id gone pt.

I’m a teacher and considered 4 days when I returned from mat leave July 2019. I chose full time as I was worried I would just end up working on my day off. Like PPs have said, we are lucky with teachers in that we get additional holiday so I actually still have more time with my DC than my friends who are non teachers working part time.
Teaching is full on and exhausting though, so what I do to manage is be very strict with my time. I’m at work for 7.30 and leave at 5.30/6 but do no work on a weekend. My DH is excellent though in sharing the child care load.

If you're going FT in September anyway then I would say go for it!

I would absolutely apply. There is always room for negotiation after you are made an offer.

I was not urgently looking for jobs, but I found a perfect one when my youngest was 10 months old. It was a wonderful job, but a very long commute away (in London and we do not live at all close to London, though I've done the commute before). No chance of moving because dc in school here and dh has a business.

I applied, got it, negotiated with them to be part-time and wfh (obviously not as easy as a teacher), and started when youngest was just 12 months. It's been absolutely fine. The only hard bit was the long commute and early mornings - up and out of the house by 5:30am was tough when you are still bf through the night. But the work-life balance was fine. You have plenty of time still and there may be opportunities for part-time or job share, but you don't know until you've got the job.

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply and share your experiences.