JOB- WHAT DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO?

[GReD677]

I haven't worked in around 3 years, eldest is 3 youngest is 18months.
Really want to get back to work 2 days a week, I do feel a bit selfish but just feel like i need to for my own wellbeing.

My eldest is going to school next year Septemeber 2027 and needing something that allows me to pick her up drop her off and have half terms off.

I did a online L3 TA course last year and passed took around a year but I am just not sure I want to do that job, seen so many bad things about how TA's get treated and expecting far too much, unless my daughter actually attends the school were i would he working in still will not be able to drop her off and pick her up.
Im thinking of cleaning - can be flexable and choose own hours but i clean my place all day every day and just would be exhausting!

What do people actually do?!

I work for DWP 22.5 hours - Mon - Wed 9-5, my husband is a police officer. He will do picks up and school drops off on his rest days but I’m extremely lucky to have my mother to fall back on if needed. My DD school is 5 minutes from work. For me it’s the perfect balance. I highly recommend a job with civil service, they are very family friendly, some people I know work school and hours and some part year - where they get all the school holidays off.

Evening call handler jobs work well and, doesnt impact on work in holidays or children are ill as husband, partner take over when they're back from work. Babysitter if theres a small time gap in handover.

It's tiring. But brings in a wage and provides adult stimulation and experience for CV form going forward.

Bank staff for a care company? Can (mostly) choose your hours, so you could choose middle of the day.

Being there for drop offs, pick ups and schools holidays is not realistic. I'm sure there are some jobs that can make it work but they're few and far between

Most people pay for childcare and use annual leave. Even cleaners need to work on the school holidays!

It's not selfish to want to work, it actually sets a very good example for your children.

There aren’t many options for 2 day per week school hours jobs. Probably all covered already - TA, cleaner, carer. My friend used to drive for Ocado. The money was good and you could pick your shifts pretty much so that might be worth looking into. I’d probably aim to use wraparound for those two days and do a full working day if I were you. You’ll get the wraparound tax free.

I paid a friend to do school drop off and pick up.

Well, actually, the hit is huge when you have 2 kids close in age. Very many people stagger children much further apart so that they don't have to take such a radical hit.

And secondly, you used wrap around so OP doesn't want your example either. She only wants examples of working 10am-2pm, term time only.

I really, really sympathise, I hate putting mine in long hours of care but it just comes across as naive and flippant. Like the rest of us just haven't tried hard enough to find these millions of convenient jobs.

Have you considered becoming a childminder? Of course your own children would be counted in the ratios, but I do believe that’s what some mums with childcare experience start up around here.
I appreciate this highly depends on your home set up, if you have the space to do so etc.

I am not niave, I know it will have to utilise the after school clubs ect -
I wasnt very clear, I was seeing what jobs IF any are out there that really do fit around children, i haven't tried to find one yet so im along with the millions that are still trying.

So i worked as a childminder after I had my eldest but I really struggled with it but it id defaintly something ill rethink for sure! Thank you x

I do a combination of school hours and evening shifts in a supermarket

When my kids were young, my husband worked in hospitality. I did days Monday to Friday 8-4 and he did evenings and weekends. We didn’t see much of each other but we also didn’t use much childcare. Once the kids got a bit older, he did caretaking 6-2 and we used breakfast clubs.

And I cant change my kids age can i

I do think it’s probably easier to already work in a job pre-children and then negotiate flexibility than to find a job from the get go that’s flexible enough (that’s my experience anyway!).

I think cleaning may be a good shout though as you can pick your own hours, and you’ll all be out the house so less to clean at home!

I work school hours 9-1430 in a supermarket. For school holidays me and my partner split our annual leave so most weeks are covered. Use grandparents for cover when we have used all our leave up.

I work remotely and flexibly. So this morning I was up and working at 0445 meaning I could fit in 8 hours by lunchtime. During term time I work from 0630 - 0730, do the school run, then work from 0830 - 1600, then do school pick up.

As long as the work gets done it works for everyone.

Yeah for sure! And yeah probably the route I will take thank you x

What company offers that? I have looked for remote jobs and alot of them seem like scams or need loads of qualifications :(

2 professionals both working 4 days each.
When younger the kids did 2 days at home with parents, 1 day with grandparents and 2 days at nursery.
School age - 1 parent often has flexibility with drop off time but also used breakfast club, so 2 days of parent pick-up, 1 day of granny pick-up and 2 days of after school club. School friends also occasionally used for after school e.g. if one parent working away or granny ill / away.

I work in HR in professional services - global team so working at odd hours always overlaps with someone's timezones.

Look for remote roles - there are good ones out there - but it is likely you will need experience in the field you are interested in.

I do have a friend who does data entry work from home for the NHS - that might be worth looking at too?

From what I've seen in my area, cleaners are always in demand. My last office used an agency and the agency always had problems covering our regular cleaner's holiday.

There are always people locally looking for cleaners for their homes who usually seem to be self-employed. I would have thought office cleaning was easier though.

You could always join an agency while you learn the ropes and start up your own business later on if cleaning suits you.

Do you like dogs? Dog walkers always seem to be in demand too.

Dh is a lorry driver so was unavailable for the morning school runs. I got an evening job at Tesco while the kids were younger so no child care costs. As they grew up a bit I took a shift leader position on the late shift and we paid for after school club till Dh finished work. If it was the holidays I’d do reduced hours till Dh came home. Now my youngest is nearly leaving primary school I have a term time only job in the local college kitchen & cafe. No childcare costs which helped me to afford the drop in pay. But set hours no weekends. Couldn’t be happier.

I think it is certainly worth considering. I loved that time in my life. And another bonus is it keeps you really fit too! I had a mix of domestic (same regular clients each week) and commercial contracts (mostly office buildings/communal closes etc). You can earn a decent amount. For school holidays, I hired a couple of senior pupils/uni students. Worked really well as they wanted holiday work and I wanted holidays off.
Round here cleaners average £25 per hour. Another option which may work for you with a childcare background is childminding? Childminders here are so in demand and all seem to be earning good money.

My own experience was donkeys years ago so irrelevant, but younger family and friends do:
Cleaning
Dog walking
Fast food delivery
Lunchtime chip shop shifts
Care work
Parcel delivery