Tell me about your well paid job that fits around kids!

[Doughnut100]

Since before I had kids I planned to re-train as a psychotherapist. I've done part of the training (an MSc). Now I have cold feet and am worried that it's a vanity career, and that I won't be able to earn well after I'm trained. There are billions of therapists, many of whom are quacks, and clients can't tell them all apart. So even if I did a doctorate as I planned, I wouldn't necessarily be able to charge more than any other therapist. I'd love to be convinced out of this view but I have a bad feeling that I'm right.

I have savings ringfenced for re-training. I want to earn well, but I also want flexibility so I can be present for my kids who are currently 2 and 4. I want to do (at least some) school runs, give them dinner, hear about school, be free for them on the weekends.

I seriously considered clinical psychology but the doctorate is so intensive (ie more than full time hours) that I just don't think our family could function while I do it.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to re-train as? Sorry if it seems like I'm asking for the moon on a stick, but I have money saved for the training, I'm willing to put in the work, and I'm pretty capable... so surely there must be some good options out there! Thank you in advance.

Absolute respect to you for doing this. Great way to work and be at home. However I am finding the toddler stage particularly challenging, and once we are out of it I won't look back! 😂

There’s a lot of truth in that.

I work in a senior role earning around 200k. I was well established with my employer before having DS. I now WFH and can do school drop offs and pick up alongside my DH who has broadly similar circumstances.

There are others in the team who do similar. As others have said we are very much paid for outcomes rather than strict hours. It works well for us.

We have recently taken on a new person in a mid range role on c100k who also has young children but had been treated appallingly by her previous employer. They have been an excellent addition to the team.

I know from experience that not all employers are like this. We are in the fortunate position where the entire line management chain I am part of from CEO down to new starters are all people with young children so the level of understanding is exceptional.

None of us work evenings or weekends but we are all ultra reliable and ensure that everything gets done. Absence levels are virtually nil which shows that if you genuinely try to accommodate people they will perform well in return.

I’m in cybersecurity, work from home, pretty much set my own hours very flexible BUT there is the expectation that if the shit hits the fan I’ll be available whether it’s 3am, the weekend or I’m on holiday on a beach somewhere.

Senior leader in the charity sector.

I work wfh and the culture is very, very supportive of work life balance.

Don’t laugh…childminder.
From September all kids are funded 30 hours from 9 months old.
Depending on the ages of the kids you take on, it’s possible to earn approx £50 an hour, term time only if that’s what you want.
Obviously very family friendly.

Anything with WFH. Look for larger companies, water energy ect.I have worked my way up and I don't earn a huge amount compared to some people standards but more than I ever thought I would. WFH flexibly and available to do school runs and pop out for school shows ect.

@Doughnut100 you can’t beat IT

i work from home (once a week to office but I’m a freelancer so it can change for a different client ), so a 9-5 nothing crazy and totally involved with kids

money is good (especially as freelancer/contractors) the job is dead easy but yes you need experience . If you re street smart , you train for a bit only or join an agency as a junior and within two years you’re contracting earning fortune

good luck x

I’m a private client tax advisor, qualified with ATT/CTA. My employer would sponsor those, but you would probably end up in corporate tax while studying (but can then move departments after qualification).

My hours are generally 8am - 4:30pm, but as long as I do 37.5 hours across the week it doesn’t matter if I step out during the day to do school stuff, it just needs to be in my diary.

Qualification will take 3 years (if on a graduate route) and will leave you at Assistant Manager grade, which I believe is around 50k now.

What did you do before? Only asking because my riel was very inflexible before but now is almost 100% remote. You’d never know that from the advert though

@Doughnut100 could you do Ed psych doctorate and start off working for your local authority - pay not amazing to start with, but sometimes they partially fund the doctorate while you work so worth checking. They are flexible, good pension, lots of annual leave, can do term time only. You could progress to senior EP after couple of years and then do more complex cases. Then you could go part time, or part time for the LA and part time private. A few in our LA do this and private EPs make very good money.

Look at UKHSA scientist jobs. Though technically being civil service you might have to work in the office regularly too. But as far as I'm aware, they do offer a lot of flexibility. I know lots of people who do the equivalent of these jobs in another UK nation.

UX researcher. i have a psychology degree, work for a big multinational. UX research is great, interesting, flexible and very well paid :) needs tons of resilience, the ability to say “no” and serious political skills though.

I was going to suggest Ed Psych also. A bit soul destroying at first while you work for an LA doing mostly statutory work, but more interesting routes available after that and the option of private work.

I work as a business analyst for a software company, wfh, very flexible, and i currently make around 50k. No evenings or weekends, the odd client visit but I have control of my calendar. I have two psychology based degree qualifications.

A factor to consider about private practice psychotherapy is that it is hard, with children I would say impossible to work full time. The emotional load of having a ‘full’ book of clients takes a toll. It’s not just time for the family (and friends) its capacity to engage. Training, supervision and therapy all helps with this but it’s an important factor.

Governance /Compliance.
It's reasonably AI proof.