SAHM Working P/t, but Needing Something More in My Life

I've always been a working mom. I knew before I had kids that both being a mom and having a career would be important to me, and it's not easy to balance both.

My advice: follow your heart. Find something that allows you to have that personal fulfillment. Only you will be able to know what that is with the support of your family.

You obviously pursued a graduate degree because you're a smart woman who wanted to do something with it. After all these years, you may find that your passions have changed now that you have a family and have seen the world through different eyes.

Don't be discouraged, though, if it's tough to find something if you decide to do that route - the economy stinks right now (as if we've all been living in a cave). But, anything is possible. I hope you find the fulfillment you're seeking outside of what life is already blessing you with.

Good luck!

What is your expertise? Could you apply it to a consulting career? I work as a freelance writer and it gives me the intellectual challenge I crave while also the flexible schedule I want as a mom. Working for yourself isn't as hard as you would think.

You might find a career counselor who can help you narrow your potential career paths.

Find a volunteer outlet for your expertise. I was a business major and joined a Board at a local volunteer organization. It keeps me making business decisions and evaluating marketing plans and things. My head stays in the game, there is a lot of personal reward but not a huge time commitment. Is there a way to channel your expertise and energy to a group that needs it? GL!

Is it work that you miss or human contact? If it is the latter than why not try joining a mom's group in your area.

Hi J.,

As the first post put so clearly: it depends if you miss human interaction or working in your own field, or maybe also a sense of personal achievement?

I work from home and have been doing so ever since we moved in the US, nearly 4 years ago, before my son was conceived. So, depending on what you miss, here are a few tips that may help:

- For Human interaction: try the gym, moms group, playgroup, taking classes
- For reconnecting with your field of expertise: try meetup.com. They have thousands of groups and there are chances that they have groups in your field of expertise. You can join a group and just casually talk with these people in the field. This will help you transition from being out-of-touch to getting back there and also give you networking opportunities in this field for later look for a position.
- For a sense of achievement, you can volunteer in some charity in your own field of expertise (there are thousands of charity and they need accountants as well as marketers, salespeople as well as doctors...). You can also take classes, either in a nearby college or online, or just take books from the library, read article on line (for free)

You can see that many advice overlap (classes, meetup...)

First, you need to focus on yourself and know what you want. For that, try books like:
The Path: Creating your mission statement for work and life, from Laurie Bath Jones (it's very interesting even if you are not a religious person)
or
The 7 habits of highly effective people, from Stephen Covey

As for me, I went back to college, got a masters degree and quit my job to launch our own venture all while being pregnant twice. I was breastfeeding my daughter under my gown during the commencement when I graduated!

Hope this helps