I currently have a job that fits brilliantly with family life- 20 hours a week, from home, using my professional skills so quite well paid as well. The downside of it is that there is no prospect of promotion- it's the sort of job that you might take at the end of a career to use the skills you've acquired along the way but with your foot off the pedal, very low stress. (Should add that I'm 48, hoping to take early retirement in about a decade.)
It's been great for the last few years- I have two teenagers and also care PT for an elderly relative so having this job has fitted in brilliantly. My relative has now gone into a home.
I've just seen a job offered that I'm thinking of applying for. It's full time hybrid working, I would find it really interesting, pay is about the same as my current role (pro rata so I'd be earning more).
I'm struggling to decide whether to apply. Pros would be that it would be more interesting, it's more of a "career" job with promotion prospects etc, hybrid work would be a bit more interesting (WFH is very convenient but a bit lonely sometimes). Cons would be that so many things at home would have to change, but maybe that's ok. I'm worrying about things like my kids coming home to an empty house but they are 16 and 15 so more than capable of opening a door and making themselves a slice of toast, or silly things like the fact that I made DD a special breakfast before her GCSEs but wouldn't be able to do that for DS (obviously this alone is a ridiculous reason not to take a job- it's more meant as an example of the sort of little changes that me going FT will entail). Also just generally less slack in the system- at the moment things like kids' doctor's appointments or school events are a breeze and I'm aware that won't be the case with me FT.
DH works extremely long hours and in a job that doesn't have more flexibility re leaving early or taking time off (he's not a surgeon but that would be a good job to imagine) so not much slack there.
I'm very aware that my children will be off to live their lives within a few years so maybe it's a good time to be filling my life with a bit more. I just feel a bit nervous about it all and whether taking on the additional commitment is crazy when things are working well. Does anyone have any advice?