Sick of London commute, my job isn't available locally, what can I do instead?

[zebedeethezebra]

Hi girls

I'm desperate to end my London commute. I only do it 2 days a week, and DP thinks I'm mad, but I can't bear only seeing DS (age 2) for only 10 minutes on those days and I'm not sure how I'm going to work things out when he starts school. I work from home on the third day, but usually the remote server is so rubbish, its a real struggle and just as stressful. Atleast I get to see DS a bit more on that day.

I like my job and if I could transport it to my home town, that would be perfect. I'd really really like to work closer to home, even if that is full time, provided the hours are reasonable. However my work is quite specialised and there are no equivalent roles going in my home town - I have met the few people that do it and they are not leaving their firms anytime soon. I am a practice support lawyer in corporate finance.

I do not want to go back to fee-earning roles again, as the hours would be crazy, even outside London.

So I'm looking for alternative roles/jobs to which to transfer my skills. However that's not so easy, there always seems to be something needed which I am lacking. I applied for a couple of bursar roles at the local university without success. I'm considering applying for a lecturing post in law, but I don't have any research, so I probably won't have any luck there either. Then there's a university draftsman post I'm considering, which I'm probably over-qualified for, but also won't get because I don't have any inside knowledge of how universities work (even though I know I could pick that up really quickly).

Has anyone got any other ideas? I'm not really sure where to look. I had a career change once before 12 years ago, and worked in the health sector then.

Don't you think that when your DC starts school, you could commute to London during his school hours, so it's a win-win.

What's a university draftsman?

Could you shift your hours around so that you go in to work earlier and leave earlier and so see your child for longer on that day?

I can't commute to London during school hours. I leave the house at 7am and get home again at 7.30pm. My commute basically takes me 2 hours each way, door to door.

Would leaving at 6.00 and getting home at 6.30 be an option so you can see the children for a bit in the evening?

Don't blame you if you don't want to do this!

Could you move closer? 4 hours commuting everyday sounds hell

You may regret this when dc starts school. Two London days and one from home are what most mums would dream about.
Is the pay ok?
I would seriously consider this.
You can find child insets to do the drop off and pick up and once older clubs etc or other parents will be options.
Would you be bored doing something less?

Just my thoughts

Are you a lawyer (I get that impression from your post)? Why is your job not available locally?

I'm a lawyer and have a long commute - probably around 1.5hrs in a morning and between 1.5-2hrs in the evening. I leave the house at 6.15 on the days that I work (3 days) and finish work at 4pm (racing back to collect from after school / nursery). I sometimes have to work in the evening if I've had to leave something urgent, and I work a longer day on 1 of the 3 days when my H can collect. Its hard work but if you enjoy the job, is there any flexibility around starting earlier and finishing earlier (particularly if you're on the train and can work)?

there are a few options out there that offer more flexibility to professionals like you. have you heard of obelisk legal? they allow lawyers to work the hours they can - ie you get paid for the hours you work. might be worth speaking to them re options. most of their lawyers are mums. there is also axiom legal - they offer locum laywers to firms so you can work in-house. worth looking around at various options so that you can use your skills but at the same time no feel guilty about not seeing your small children. i wouldnt get so worried about your legal field - skills tend to be transferable. just decide what's most important to you - and see it as a transition stage if you decide you want to spend more time with your young family.

Oh well you've given me some ideas. Perhaps when DS starts school I could spread the day working from home over 2 mornings and start earlier - god it would KILL me to leave the house at 6, its bad enough leaving at 7!! My morning routine isn't the quickest in the world you know!

Yes I'm a lawyer, but a PSL which is why there is nothing locally. I've met the few PSLs there are locally and they will not be leaving their jobs any time soon so there are never any vacancies in my home town.

What I'm wondering is what other non-legal professional jobs there are that I could consider applying for where my skills would be transferable.

I have just been scouring the jobs boards today. I thing the 'best' attribute I have seen so far has been 'ARE YOU GOD FEARING?' for an admin job.

Anyway, my tuppence worth is... can you work 'freelance'? Sorry if that's daft but me experience of law is nill! Maybe your current employer would consider having you work mainly from home on projects with the odd face to face meetings in town (with skype and emails, you can do so much remotely).

Could you teach or tutor law students? Do seminars for business clubs, colleges, etc?

Is there any area you could train up on that would offer more local jobs? Is there anything you could set yourself up as (like will writing or compliance... as I said, my experience is nill!).

Hi OP

I'm not sure what a practice support lawyer is but have you tried Keystone Law? They are a central London practice but lawyers actually work from home. And I am sure there must be other firms like this as a PP mentioned.

If you give us a general idea of your locality then others might have local ideas.

get in touch with obelisk legal - they accept ex-PSLs. I asked (am a lawyer and mum myself and been in touch with them for myself).