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Original poster

What careers let you earn lots of money without working full time?

109 replies

mousiemousie · 23/10/2006 17:33

Just wondering which careers are best to advise young girls to go for if they want to earn good money without working full time whilst they have a young family...

...any suggestions?

OP posts:
NotQuiteCockney · 23/10/2006 20:25

I used to work in IT in the city, and it was really not flextime friendly. To put it mildly.

blueshoes · 23/10/2006 20:25

btw, there was nothing curt in the tone of your post

moaningpaper · 23/10/2006 20:32

Hatwoman there ARE lots of careers that are shit for women with families

Women generally earn less than men

Most companies look down on women with family commitments that detract from work

Women are far more likely to take career breaks than men

The OP's question is realistic

Personally, I would say to specialise if you can, network as much as possible, treat everyone in the workplace from the cleaners to the CEOs with the utmost respect because they might give you your next break or contract, and put money into a pension before you have a family

Gobbledispook · 23/10/2006 20:43

Totally agree with mp, 100%, particularly her last para.

I didn't 'plan' my career as such but by studying hard and doing a medical type degree (physiology and pharmacology) I ended up always working in the medical field. I moved into medical/pharmaceutical market research (pretty specialised) and moved up the ladder there pretty quickly. When I had ds1 and wanted to leave, the MD was offering me anything adn everything to stay. In the end, I just didn't want to and they agreed to let me work freelance from home. I think the fact that I got on well with everyone, put in the extra hours blah blah meant they were happy to be as flexible as I wanted in order to keep me working for them in some capacity. The fact that I, by then, not only had a lot of market research experience and qualifications but also the medical background/knowledge means that I am paid a higher daily rate than most of the other freelancers that work on projects with me.

Sounds like a gloat but I'm really just trying to illustrate mp's point a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not loaded, but because of my daily rate, for the hours I actually work and the level of effort it takes me, I'm pretty well paid.

But really, although I've always studied and worked hard, it's mostly happened by luck rather than by design - I just followed a path I enjoyed and then 'fell into' jobs that suited me really. I couldn't have planned it - hence I agree with mp about specialising, working hard and getting on with everyone.

hatwoman · 23/10/2006 20:45

you're kind of right blueshoes - but he's not alone. once you reach a certain level terms and conditions in the city are very negotiable - most people only negotiate on pay, but increasingly people are saying hang on a minute, I'd rather have more holidays/shorter hours than another few k to spend on fripperies. not just people with kids either. but you couldn't do it in your 20s. and he's not going to rise to greater things - but he doesn;t want to, so suits him fine. (there was an article in teh Guardian a few months ago about Dads who work flexible hours - he was featured)

irishbird · 23/10/2006 20:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

expatinscotland · 23/10/2006 20:47

snap, welsh.

true, though.

honestly, the reality is, most people have to work very, very hard for lots of money, if that's what they want.

do you know any self-made rich people?

i know plenty. they all work their arses off or worked their arses off, did shit hours, worked in shit locations abroad b/c of the money that's in it, etc.

that's the fact, be you male or female.

Gobbledispook · 23/10/2006 20:47

Agree with GP - have a friend who is part time GP. Mind you, no idea what she earns but she did say it was rather good for the hours she does!

expatinscotland · 23/10/2006 20:50

yeah, but she had to spend a lot of her twenties training and may have huge debts from medical school, GDG.

especially nowadays.

that's the reality of it.

wanna earn lots of money for comparatively work?

hey, let's be frank here, become a 'celeb', footballer wife, Macca divorce, etc.

IMO it's a form of prostitution, but hey, we're all whores for something at one point.

Gobbledispook · 23/10/2006 20:52

Lol!

I suppose it depends what the OP means by 'good money'.

Perhaps mine is not a good example and I am on a crap wage compared to what she is thinking of!!

Cappuccino · 23/10/2006 20:54

blueshoes I'm sure there are areas of journalism where you can bring home a damn good wage part-time

the kind I was in, my wage looked part-time when I, in fact, wasn't

funnypeculiar · 23/10/2006 21:16

Gobbledispook, just came on to post market research too - although mine is new product development/brand stategy stuff. I freelance 2 days a week or so & bring in decent cash...(in fact, pretty much the same as dh who works f/t) although not footballer wife league, obviously. I reckon anything where ytou can frelance is a good bet - allows you to be as flexible as YOU (rather than your employer) wants...

Crotchety · 23/10/2006 21:33

funnypeculiar - that sounds interesting - how do you get into it and what do you do? Interviewing? Analysis? Or what?

BATtymumma · 23/10/2006 21:49

this isnt a plug i promise, and its certainly not a career but i do Ann Summers now and i earn on average £1000 a month cash in hand.
i only work 2 nights a week usually, i go out at about 7:45pm and im home by 11:30. so im still around for the kids during the day, and not so late home that im tired in the daytime.

Its not everyones cup of tea but i realy enjoy it. i get adult conversation a lot of laughs and earn reasonable money for realtivly little work.

Cappuccino · 23/10/2006 21:50

battty there's a vibrator thread you could probably help on right now

not that I've been following it or anything

BATtymumma · 23/10/2006 21:51

pmsl is there... i have only just got here and not seen it

blueshoes · 23/10/2006 22:02

hatwoman, interesting. Guess the fact that derivatives is hot atm cannot hurt!

thanks, Cappucino and

Being a solicitor is not an obvious choice for flexible working, but there are pockets of law, mainly in professional support (not frontline lawyering), which lends itself well to flexible working. Not too badly paid because you would earn 80-90% of what a frontline lawyer would. But need to qualify/train as a lawyer first and generally practise for a few years before downshifting. Jobs would tend to be in London and bigger cities because only the larger law firms would have a need for professional support lawyers.

CarolinaMooncup · 23/10/2006 22:43

In-house lawyering is often ok for flexible working.

You won't progress very far if you work part-time and it's hard to get back into private practice later, but the work can be interesting (or mind-numbing, it varies ).

Schokofruhstucksflockenhasseri · 23/10/2006 23:13

Computer programming. You have to work maybe 3 years to get established, many firms will let you negotiate 4 days a week after that.

Technical documentation writing also a good one, but earns a bit less than programming. You can do it freelance though.

NotQuiteCockney · 24/10/2006 07:17

Hmmm, what sort of computer programming companies are flexible about that? (I've only done programming in investment banks, and in the electricity field, so to speak, and not run into much flexibility, really.)

Schokofruhstucksflockenhasseri · 24/10/2006 08:18

investment banks, yes those child friendly flexible employers.....!
Try a real engineering company or software house!
Logica used to be especially good. Women managers, around 30% women in the workplace.

hatwoman · 24/10/2006 08:21

friend of mine does in-house it stuff (don;t ask me what exactly) she resigned when her kids got to school age but shortly after they asked if she could temporarily provide some extra cover, she said yes, but I can only do 10-4. they said ok. it was meant to be temporary but carried on for several weeks, at which stage it got to half-term and she said I can't work next week, it's half-term, they said ok, can you still come in after half-term? and ever since then she's worked 10-4 term-time only.

littlemadam · 24/10/2006 08:57

We had support lawyers in our (large corporate) firm who did part time, in fact we actually had lots of part time lawyers on four days. I actually managed to negotiate three days 10-4, but unfortunately nobody seemed to know, especially the clients!!! If you do part time though, its hard, as there is usually five days work to fit into four!! I would agree GP is a good choice, or dentist another good one!!

blueshoes · 24/10/2006 09:20

As borne out by hatwoman, Gobble's examples, it is possible to get pt working in a career/profession that is not particularly family friendly. The trick is to work hard in a large organisation (more positions and resources to cover flexible workers), establish yourself as a valued well-liked member of that organisation, and after a few years, request for flexible working. If so, the chances are much better that the company will accommodate.

You might have to accept a different role, discounted pay, lack of career progression whilst part-timing, but what you get is likely to be better within that organisation than if you tried to look for a pt role with a new employer. Positions (particularly for professionals) that are advertised as pt tend to be rip-off city.

Original poster
mousiemousie · 24/10/2006 09:24

Just to clarify, I don't want to issue one size fits all advice to young girls to aim for this kind of work!

But I think it is a part of the whole picture of possible options, and it is what many women ultimately want from a career. I'm not saying it's the only stuff anyone wants from a career. And the responses are very interesting.

I think that highlighting careers which fit well in with women's lives is a good thing - it will put pressure on other employers to become more flexible in order to recruit the right people.

OP posts: