I'm 38 and have been working my whole adult life and earned 3 uni degrees. I think the fact that my father died when I was 13 has been a major factor to why i've always wanted to work and be able to provide for myself (mom widowed at 43 but had a career so we were able to keep the house, etc).
For the last 5 years I've been working as a senior officer in a local council and really love my job. not only is it challenging and interesting work, but as an employer they are incredibly child friendly (I have a 3 y.o. and a 1 y.o. and have worked 30 hours a week since having babies).
Like most authorities we are going through a major restructure and I've been informed that by June I will be one of 16 people competing for 7 jobs. Looking at the information there are 4 definite shoe-ins, so that leaves 3 jobs for the remaining 12 of us. I'll be honest and admit that since returning 7 months ago after my last mat leave I've not had any major projects to work on (everything has been moth balled as the restructure has taken over). So I'm feeling very vulnerable.
I'd be a liar if i said I didn't think i'm probably not going to be one of the lucky ones. So for the first time in 22 years I'm going to be without a job. I think we, as a family, will be able to manage by tightening the belt a lot (the £12k we'll save in nursery fees alone will be a big boost), but I'm worried I won't mentall be able to deal with not having a career. Oh and having to ask my husband for things like my haircut or a new pair of shoes.
Anyone else going through this? I've considered trying to find another job but the market for my career is rubbish at the moment so there really are no jobs, plus I need the flexibility of an understanding employer who will let me work flexibly while the kids are so young.