What Kind of Jobs Are Out There? from a SAHM

I'm a teacher, and if it paid enough I would be a permanent sub, because you don't have to take work home, and you can still have a life as a sub. I love subbing. Since you taught for 10 years, you could easily be a sub.

What do you want to do? What are your interests?

Schools NEED qualified people like yourself for substituting, teacher aid, etc.

I subbed for 15 years only because it was my outlet. I work at home.. Own my company and the day or two here and there I would sub would help me recharge and be better at my own company plus being around the children that I loved. I wasn't even trying and would bring home about $500 a month.

IF you are still interested in teaching at some point, I would start with subbing. In my area, a lot of people end up getting full time teaching jobs because they are basically job interviewing with the whole school when they sub. They are the first to be offered any openings.

Teaching aside.. there are opportunities in retail, maybe an office job etc.

When I was in corporate marketing at a major snack company, we hired people from the temp pool. A great way to find out if you like something is to work with a temp agency and visit different jobs. The company sees if they like you and you see if they are a fit for you. It works great. As for qualifications, the temp agencies will profile you to your qualifications so you are not put in a position where it won't work out... there are call centers, reception, admin assistants, accounting, etc.

Best wishes to you!

Have you kept up with your license over these years?

You may need to take some courses. Contact your nearest/local college to see if there are refreshers or courses you might need to take.

Just an idea. Good luck to you. You might decide that teaching is not what you want to do and pursue another field.

the other S.

One of my friends works full time as a teacher's aid. She doesn't have a degree. Her only experience with children was with her own. Teacher aide jobs can be more available than teaching jobs.

In Oregon, one had to have a license to sub. I think that the requirements are less stringent. I was a teacher and looked into subbing after being away for 20 years. I could've taken a few courses and been eligble.

I met a teacher who subbed the entire school year. He said he made nearly as much as a full time teacher and had more flexibility. The Portland School District is large so he subbed nearly full time.

I suggest you go to a college or junior college and take a course that helps people get back into the work force. Talk with their academic counselor to explore this possibility.

I took me quite a while to find the right fit, and I hadn't really worked outside the home in over twenty years. It was very disheartening at first, but I kept putting myself out there, took a couple of jobs that didn't really work out (okay I hated them!) and eventually found something perfect for me. Overall it was about an 18 month ordeal.
I crafted my resume focusing on my college degree, prior professional experience (even though it was over twenty years ago it was still relevant) and also listed my computer skills and many volunteer and community service accomplishments. I created a profile on LinkedIn, checked postings on craigslist almost every day, signed up with an employment/staffing agency and of course got the word out through family and friends personally and on Facebook.
You could always sign up to substitute teach in your district while you're looking for something permanent as well. I subbed for about six months when my kids were still in elementary school and I would say I could have worked three days a week if I wanted to. That could give you some short term income and maybe even lead to a permanent teaching position if that's what you want.
ETA: my job is in sales support/customer service/office management with a large insurance and financial services firm, it's very similar to what I did before I had kids.

welcome to mamapedia!!

Are your certifications up to date? If they are start applying for positions. You can be a substitute teacher, right? You don't need to be permanent, do you?

If not? Get your certifications updated. Volunteer at your son's school. That will get your recognized by the staff. That will make getting a position easier too.

Get your resume together. That's important. That's the first step.

You have to keep an open mind and know what you are good at. Showcase what you are good at and put that in your resume. If you are not confident with your resume? Volunteering will get you on the road to confidence again. You can do anything you set your mind to!

Maybe look for a para job at one of the local schools (or better, your kid's school) or look or a job at a local preschool at has hours that don't interfere with your pick up & drop off times. I suggest looking for such preschools at your local churches. Even a PDO program might be worth a look. The pay would not be great but it would be something & would get you rolling again. Best wishes!

A lot of Moms work in the school cafeteria.
It's a work out - so you're active - AND you're on the same schedule as your child.
When they have a vacation or holiday or a snow day and school is closed - you are off too!

One of my friends has an education degree but she never worked in the field before becoming a SAHM for 16 years. She recently started working in a school as an educational assistant, then sub teacher, and is working her way back into the field while bringing her qualifications up to date.

May I recommend private tutoring? We use care.com to find tutors for our son. Tutors in our city can charge $15 to $85.00 per hour depending upon level of credentials and experience. This would give you some flexibility (assuming you have childcare after school hours), as well as tap into your education. Additionally, would you consider some aspect of private childcare? In our city, nannies command $18.00 per hour, with more for nannies with specialized credentials. With your education, you could probably command more. There is a website called something like Teachercare.com, where families can hire teachers as nannies/teachers. Annual comp. for those positions can run as high as $45k a year.

Take care. You can do this!

Be a sub!! I love it. No planning, lesson plans. Gets me out of the house and is a perfect job/schedule for a parent.

Substitute so they can see you in action. Then when you have a few moments go fill out an application for a full time teaching job or teacher's assistant. You need a foot in the door and that's a way to do it.

There are also online teaching jobs. K-12 is in Texas and they are ALWAYS hiring. Go to the K-12 website and then follow the link to employment. There are teaching jobs, management jobs, office jobs that are locally specific to a city with a K-12 school office in it, and then there are jobs with families with developmental disabilities or IEP's or other jobs that require more specialized work experience.

Epic, K-12, and just about every other home school program that has actual teachers that work with the students are hiring all the time.

Do you want to teach? If you are interested, this is a good time to do whatever you need to do (if anything) to make sure your certificate is up to date. If you haven't taught for 10 years you might need to take a class or two or complete some type of continuing education. If you're not sure how to find out, you might call your local school and ask them who you need to talk to. They will know.

You could apply to be a substitute or a teacher's aid. This would be a good way to get your foot in the door. If they know you, they are more likely to hire you if/when a teaching position opens.

If you are not really interested in teaching again, it will probably help if you think about something you might like to do and go from there - even post another question later with something you are interested in.

Try not to be too scared. The more steps you take (even baby steps) the easier it will get.

What are you interested in? Do you want to teach? I think before any of us give advise, you need to decide what type of career you are interested in. If it is teaching, then are your credentials in order? If not, you will need to update them.

If it is teaching, then I suggest substitute teaching. That is how my best friend's daughter got her first teaching job. She was their go to sub for a year. Talk to the district and find out what they criteria is for being a sub.

If teaching is not it, then again, what are you interested in??