SAHM Going Back to Work - Your Career Consequences?

[write2caro]

Hi there! Looks like there have been plenty of SAHM/WOHM debate threads, but this won't be one of those!

I have heard and read many vague statements about the career consequences women suffer after having stayed at home for some time and return to work outside the home. I'd love to have some REAL examples from folks here about what challenges they faced in that regard. It might help me know what to expect.

I have been home since my son was born 2 years ago, and had my daughter 7mos ago. I plan to resume business school in Sept (a flexible program that lets me be home quite a bit) to get my MBA 2 yrs after that. So... I will be out for about 5 years by the time I am out on the job market. My last job was as a Finance/Admin Director, and I plan to get the solid finance creds from business school.

Anyone in a situation that was at all similar? Or anyone want to share any career challenge they faced when transitioning from SAHM to WOHM after a period out? Your experiences might help some of us prepare for what's ahead. Thanks!!

[Apologies if this duplicates another thread. If one is out there, please point me to it and I'll read up there. I did some searching but couldn't find anything to answer this specific question. ]

 

[DawnM]

I will be watching this thread.

I am in the same boat. Although I worked for 16 years and have only been out for 2. But in the meantime we also moved from the West Coast to the East Coast so I can't just go back to where I worked before.

I think you will be in a good position if you are also getting an MA in the process. You would have had to move to a new position anyway.

DH actually would like it if I stayed home a bit longer but I am bouncing off the walls and would like to work at least part time. I am a school counselor and a high school English teacher.

Best of luck to you!

Dawn

 

[seashoreCM]

What is an SAHM?

 

[betsywdw]

I am in a similar situation too. I stopped working after having DD last March. My career was in PC/Network Security and it worries me because I feel like I am losing touch with things daily. I just cannot put DD in daycare so I'm not sure when I can really go back. I'm thinking once she is a little older she will go to preschool but that will be a while! I also am not sure if we will have another child so we will see. I watched a special on Good Morning America about SAHM's working from home so I am checking that out this morning to see what it's all about. Great post! Sorry I can't provide any info for you.

 

[mrsltg]

I haven't done it myself but I know women who have. The women I know have taken a lower career track that gives them a more guaranteed set of hours and less travel. When my first was born I was an International Project Manager. Flying to Tokyo was not exactly condusive to mothering a 10 week old! In my current job I'm only required to travel 4-5 times per year and it's generally between DC and Chicago. However, I'm not an IPM anymore - and that's ok. Life is a great balancing act.

My thought is to keep your skills current and be prepared to step back in lower than where you left off as that seems to be the case with the moms I know. Good luck!!!!

 

[Twingle]

While I don't have any experience with your job field, I can tell you some about mine!

Before I had my son, I was a paralegal in Washington, D.C., and had been for almost seven years. I had not planned on being a stay at home mom (SAHM), because I LOVED my job. However, I had a horrible pregnancy, with bed rest, and my company could not hold my job. Fast forward seven years, the birth of my twin daughters, and an interest (minor, mind you, LOL!), in returning to the "real" world - I am obsolete in my former field. There have been too many laws that have changed and been passed in the seven years I didn't work. I would have to go back to school in order to be current with everything I would need to know to do my job well. Right now, that's just not an option. I can't go back to school for a minimum of two years, putting the children in day care ($$$$), and then try to find a job. Again, it was just something I was looking into, because I was curious.

I have a dear friend that just went back to work after being at home for six years - she had no problems. Had lots of job offers, lots of head hunters looking for her. Her job? She was an OR nurse with over 15 years of experience before she had her children. Lots of demand for her!

I have another friend that went back to work after her youngest started kindergarten last September. Before she had children she was a Probation Officer. She couldn't find a position that would give her the hours that she wanted, so she changed her field. She is now the Branch Manager of a local bank, works hours that enables her to get home shortly after the kids do, and she works some Friday nights and Saturday mornings.

Don't know how much this helped you - but thanks for stressing that this thread is going to remain FRIENDLY!

 

[JoiseyMom]

I worked as a Senior Programmer Analyst until Sept 2001. My DS was born in April of that year and I took a 6 month leave. My company was merging with another company so I knew I was going to be laid off. I could have applied for another job, but DH and I decided at this point for me to stay home with our new born, DD5, and our high school aged sons.

When DS was about 18 months, I needed to look for work. DH had been laid off, and well one us needed work. I didn't try to get another Analyst job, I looked for administrative, since I had that skill set also. Well let me tell you, it is very hard to find a downsized job. When I was making high xx,xxx.xx, and was looking for less, they never called me back. They just assumed when the IT market opened up again I would be gone. That wasn't the case, since I did want a career change. It was horrible. I eventually worked 2 low paying jobs for 70 hours a week. Thankfully DH got a job and I was a SAHM again.

Now that DS is in school full time, I was looking for a part time job while the kids were in school. Man those are hard to find. They want nights and weekends. Even though the teenagers are available for those hours. I did finally get a retail job, but I am still looking hmm..for a better one?? After the holidays my hours were slashed to less then 75%!!

Granted I am not being as flexible as others, since I only want to work when my kids are in school, thereby limiting myself to retail. A more white collar job might be easier to obtain, but for me it wouldn't be cost effective. Local office positions don't pay that much more than retail to cover the cost of before/after school care. But I do keep looking and hoping .

Good luck.

 

[TAEMom]

I'm facing the consequences now...and I have a "family friendly" job, as I was an elementary school teacher. I haven't taught in 11 yrs, but next year, my youngest will finally be in school all day and I realized that I would go crazy if I didn't do something beyond volunteering. To be honest, for a number of years though, I really felt like I would be very content to never work again. And part of me still feels like I should just take next year to enjoy lunch with my friends after years of being home with the kids!

Anyway, we live in a different state from where I got teaching certification, but I knew that this state had reciprocity, so I was not worried. However, I never got my Masters, so my certification never became permanent, and I recently discovered that my certificate was not valid here since I haven't taught fulltime in 7yrs. This rule changed in the time I have been away. I have to admit, this really depressed me even though I don't want to jump in to teaching fulltime yet and I recognize that I *shouldn't* be allowed to have my own classroom after being so "out-of-touch" for so long (although, I'm always at the school volunteering, so I like to think that I'm not THAT out of the loop!). I can take a few college classes and get temporary certification, but since I didn't want to go back to work fulltime, I am not sure whether I will do that yet.

Part of the reason I feel unable to go back fulltime is b/c in the years that I have been home, DH's career has gone well and he earns quite a bit more than I would earn as a teacher. I actually feel that if I had worked over the past 11 yrs, he would not be where he is in his career b/c I have been able to take care of sick kids, dr. appts, kids' activities, home management, etc. And if I were to work fulltime, he would have to help a lot more - for instance, with 2 kids in braces, there are endless orthodontist appts. He is willing to do that, but I also realize that it would be at the expense of his career. It's hardly that we are "old fashioned" and believe that a man should be the breadwinner, it's just this is how it has worked out. Of course, many would say that I need to be looking out for ME, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't think about that.

I guess what I am saying is that when you first become a SAHM, you can't predict how you will feel years later when it's time to go back, or what the market will be like. My compromise has been that I am looking at teaching preschool next year. I have subbed there for a couple of years. Definitely not a big moneymaker, but it will allow me to be home before and after school, and will give me one day a week off. It's a good situation I think.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Most of the women I know have kept their feet in their field in some manner. Jobs, in general, are difficult to find in our area, however. People aren't able to find the flexibility that exists in larger cities.

I stay involved in professional organizations, and keep my toes in the college I've worked at through the years. There are also 3 other colleges within an hours drive.

 

[bellarella]

Being a SAHM is a job like any other, though it is without pay

Anyone in *any* job who simply does what they do without looking towards the next step and factoring in the possibility of the need for a career change sets themselves up for problems in transitioning. Ask anyone who has been laid off lately and needs to retool to find a new career in a different field.

If you look at your time as a SAHM as a career change and going back into the work force as another career shift, then I think the transition is easier. While you are a SAHM, keep up skills that can be marketable, or think about the way in which things you do as a SAHM have career applications. Plan for when you want to go back into the workforce and prepare for the transition at least a year or two in advance. Figure out what skills are needed for the field you want to enter or re-enter. Make sure you network while you are a SAHM. A good many jobs are filled via personal connections. Realize that there will be a "ramp up" period where you will likely have to take a lower paying job and work your way back up the ladder. Try to be choosey about what lower paying jobs you take -- some lower level jobs will be more valuable to getting you where you want to go than others.

Also, don't be afraid to set your sights high. Look at going back to school for an advanced degree. Often the more "professional" (ie, white collar) the job is, the more age and maturity will be valued. If you're looking at retail, you're competing with a bunch of kids who don't put much value on benefits, schedules, etc. and you may also be "overqualified" so your age can work against you. If you decide to get an MBA or a JD or some other advanced degree you may find that your maturity and "real world" experience is highly valued over kids just out of college who have only lived in the theoretical world.

I think the degree of success SAHMs have in transitioning back to the workforce is directly related to how well they plan for that transition. If you look at being a SAHM as part of a job sequencing, then you set yourself up for success. They say the average person will have 7 different careers in their lifetime -- transitioning in between these careers can be bumpy or smooth, whether or not one of those job titles is SAHM.

 

[jennydep]

What is an SAHM?

Stay at home mom.

 

[Colleen27]

I am in a similar situation too. I stopped working after having DD last March. My career was in PC/Network Security and it worries me because I feel like I am losing touch with things daily. I just cannot put DD in daycare so I'm not sure when I can really go back. I'm thinking once she is a little older she will go to preschool but that will be a while! I also am not sure if we will have another child so we will see. I watched a special on Good Morning America about SAHM's working from home so I am checking that out this morning to see what it's all about. Great post! Sorry I can't provide any info for you.

I worked in PC/network installation and support before quitting to stay home with my oldest, who is now 9. I don't know how much success I could have returning to the full time workforce in the same field (and I don't plan to try - I'm currently finishing up a degree with an entirely unrelated major), but I've been working from home setting up and fixing home computers and teaching Windows, Office and computer basics on a one-on-one basis. And I've found that, in my area at least, the demand for someone willing to help set up a first PC or teach someone who is new to the Internet some of the basics of searching and navigating is enough to be steady, part time work in itself.

The degree I'm working on now is in journalism, and I work from home as a freelance writer as well. Between the two, I do find myself turning down work to maintain the limited hours and flexibility that I want.

 

[write2caro]

Thanks for all the responses so far, and for keeping things so friendly.

If you decide to get an MBA or a JD or some other advanced degree you may find that your maturity and "real world" experience is highly valued over kids just out of college who have only lived in the theoretical world.

Not sure from your post what your particular experience was, but I think you made some good points. I'm hoping the one I quoted above will apply in my particular situation. I've had a number of "career transitions" to date, and I do think this one is unique, though. I think that the way an employer views a different job/career path on a resume is often different than the way they view what to them is a "gap". I know from being on hiring committees myself! It can be tough, but I do find reading these posts to be helpful. Interesting to hear the different impacts to different careers at different times and in different places.

Thanks to people for sharing... keep 'em coming!

 

[disykat]

Being a SAHM definately affected my career. It is hard to get the perfect job after being out for 15 years. In my case, a main reason is because I am much pickier about what I'll take with a family. I won't commute very far, I won't work certain hours, etc. making any job hunt more difficult than before I had kids. (Many of those things are MOM things, whether you've worked consistently or not.) It does take some time to get back where you were when you stayed home. I think anyone would be fooling themselves to think otherwise.

That it part of the choice you make when you decide to stay home. Every SAHM I know is aware of that and willinging did so. No surprises.

Bellarella had a great post. Job transitioning takes forethought.

In my case, I was a teacher. I was SAHM for 9 years, subbed part time according to my own schedule for 5 years, and now I work part time. I kept my skills up by taking classes and volunteering. Teaching jobs are hard to come by here, but I wouldn't have wanted to keep working full time all those years just so I could be working full time now. I've always been confident in my ability to find something if I needed to - walking right back into the perfect job isn't a reasonable expectation.

Some people seem to think I should wish I'd kept working so I wouldn't be job hunting now and I think they're nuts! No way would I work for 14 years when I would have preferred to be home just so I wouldn't have to go through a period of not having the perfect job.

 

[labdogs42]

I'm very interested in this thread as well, although I don't really ever want to go back into the same line of work I did before I decided to stay hom (well, part time) with my son. What I do now and what some of you might want to look into, is substitute teaching. I live in PA and since I have a four year degree, I was able to get an emergency certification to be a sub. I'm considering going back to school to do an accelerated Master's program so I can be a teacher after my son goes to school in a few years. Or I may just keep subbing because I really like it! I can choose what days I work, I can stay home if DS is sick and the work is differnt every day! I LIKE that! Also, for those looking to work during school hours, have you looked into being an Instructional Assistant or Paraprofessional in your school districts? These are great jobs for people with school aged kids. I never knew about half the jobs aavailable in the public school system until I became a sub! The opportunities are endless! Good luck to all making these tough career and family choices! I love hearing everyon'e story!

 

[new_mommy]

I'm watching this thread closely because I'm considering making that transition in a couple years too.

I was a banker before becoming a SAHM. I have loved staying home and am fortunate enough that I don't have to go back to work for financial purposes, but I may want to when dd is in school full time.

I've thought long and hard about it too. I only want to work part-time. I want to be here for her before and after school. My previous employer would consider taking me back on a part-time basis, but then I've got to worry about a professional wardrobe and working summers.

I've tried to hold executive positions in PTA organizations and get involved in leadership roles through volunteering or an activity / club that my dd is interested in. While my mind has turned to mush anyways, I'm hoping that experience will count for something when my resume has to be dusted off.

A friend of mine that is new to the work force has found a position in her kid's school as kind of a teacher's aide / helper. She gets paid reasonably well, is able to contribute to the teacher's retirement plan and gets to be home from school when her kids are. That sounds like the best of both worlds to me!

 

[mabenoab]

I became a SAHM after 13 years working as a VP in an IT Consulting firm. It was a great job and I loved it, but I wanted to stop the 60+ hour a week challenge and be with my kids. Best thing I ever did. When I decided to work again, I had the same problem as JoiseyMom...I was considered overqualified for much of the work I wanted to do (part time administration), so I went freelance and began working for myself as a Virtual Assistant/Marketer/Freelancer. Now I generally work from home, and if I do go to a client's site, I make my own hours. Its not easy, and there's a whole new set of challenges, but I don't think I'd have ever thought to start my own business if I hadn't been a SAHM.

Good luck to you!!

 

[cedmonds]

Hi I went back to work after 15 years and three children-almost 40. I was a certified teacher but with all the new regs here in NY when I decided to return to the workforce I needed to get my Masters and re certify with several different state exams. It was the scariest thing I ever did but also one of the most rewarding. I went in with much life experience under my belt and feel I am a much better teacher then I was 20+ years ago when I graduated from college. I have been back for about 8 years now and I am respected by both my peers, family of students and adminstration. I went in quietly, observed, learned and learned to "fake it till I made it" with all the new lingo etc...
I think a quiet wisdom is gained as we get older but I sometimes feel on a negative note that there is some "age discrimination" with some employers. Other friends of mine who have gone back have experienced this. Employers may want them "young and perky" to mold them they way they want them. I think I needed to work a little harder but after being a SAHM for all those years -we learn to think on our feet and can multitask like no ne else. Good luck, keep current and enjoy this new stage of your life!

 

[eliza61]

Hi there! Looks like there have been plenty of SAHM/WOHM debate threads, but this won't be one of those!

I have heard and read many vague statements about the career consequences women suffer after having stayed at home for some time and return to work outside the home. I'd love to have some REAL examples from folks here about what challenges they faced in that regard. It might help me know what to expect.

I have been home since my son was born 2 years ago, and had my daughter 7mos ago. I plan to resume business school in Sept (a flexible program that lets me be home quite a bit) to get my MBA 2 yrs after that. So... I will be out for about 5 years by the time I am out on the job market. My last job was as a Finance/Admin Director, and I plan to get the solid finance creds from business school.

Anyone in a situation that was at all similar? Or anyone want to share any career challenge they faced when transitioning from SAHM to WOHM after a period out? Your experiences might help some of us prepare for what's ahead. Thanks!!
I]

The hardest part especially in the business world when I went back to work after an absence of 7 years is that unfortunately a lot of major companies even if they claim to be family friendly look at your past experience. I had a lot of interviewers ask me, "outside of taking care of children.....what have you done?" Like I was loafing around on a couch some where.

I made it a point to emphasis the skills from "momhood" that were directly marketable. e.g. conflict resolution skills, organizational skills, multi tasking skills, leadership ability. You've definitely have to get use to using employable "buzz words". I also emphasised that I had kept abreast of the latest technology. e.g. powerpoint, microsoft for business.

Good luck

 

[feedindy]

Gaps in employment history are a problem for anyone seeking a new job, whatever the reason. A PP mentioned keeping yourself marketable via volunteer positions. I recently created a SAHM resume for a project I did with my Girl Scout troop. It was interesting to see that there were actually no gaps in my empoyment due to piddling in direct sales now and then. When you list years, not months, it helps to fill some gaps. Also, be sure to include your volunteer positions-PTO, homeowners association, scouting, anything you have done that has a title can go on a resume. It doesn't have to be a paid position to beef up your resume.