Jobs for Moms with School-age Children

Once your youngest child is in school all day, have you thought about going to work?  Or would you prefer to be home all by yourself?  Ok, if it is the latter, no worries, but this post might not be for you.  Nothing wrong with a little "me time"!

If you fall into the "Yeah, I have thought about finding a job after all the kids are in school" then this post IS for you!  I have a little experience in this subject (aren't you lucky?) and will now enlighten you.

Let's do a rundown of jobs that work well for families.

Check with local agencies and businesses to see exactly what qualifications they require--it can vary from area to area. 

Instructional Assistant/Paraprofessional--Public Schools.  I worked for our local school district for 7 years in a variety of positions.  At that point, I only had my high school diploma and some college.  I started out working 5 days a week, 4 hours per day (10 a.m. till 2 p.m.).  2 of my kids went to the elementary school I was working at so that worked out well.  I could get them off to school and then come home and get myself ready, put dinner in the crockpot, etc.  Plus, and this is a BIG plus, I had all school holidays and summer off! How cool is that?  I worked as an Instructional Assistant in several classrooms, subbed in the school office when a secretary was out, and did lunch and recess duty.  Later I was the lunch secretary, Health Assistant in the School Nurse's office, and my last job was as the librarian.  The pay is good and as I said, I didn't have a college degree at the time.  At some point I did take a Praxis test, which simply determines that you know basic math, algebra, reading comprehension, etc.

9-month School Secretary.  See above for perks. Should have computer skills, Microsoft Office knowledge, people skills, and like kids!

Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer.  Ok, for this you should have some training and certification.  I was certified through Fitour as a Step Instructor and Group Fitness Instructor.  There are other agencies that will certify as well but this one was easy, online, and I could attend continuing Education classes as I was able.  I even met Gin Miller!  I love GIN MILLER!  She invented Step Aerobics, which I mainly taught.  Your pay will depend on where you teach, certification, and your experience.  You could most likely schedule your classes or Personal Training sessions to work with your kids' schedules.  I taught at a local gym, ran my own summer classes, and taught several years at the local college (paid really well).

Community Education Classes at local colleges.  Do you have a talent or education in an interesting subject? Let's say photography, watercolors, sewing, embroidery, scrapbooks, cake or cookie decorating, basket weaving--I could go on and on.  There are many colleges who hire people to teach Community Classes and often the instructor gets a portion of the enrollment fees.  For two summers I taught "Kids' College" and taught fitness classes.  My college here took 30% of the fees and I received 70%.  Funny story--in my Kickboxing class one day (which consisted mainly of 8 to 11 year olds) we warmed up (well, we warm up each day before class).  One boy, who my daughter Staci went to school with asked me, "Ok, when do we get to fight each other?"........I had to laugh to myself and then had to break the news to him that it wasn't that type of class.  Oh, kids lol.  Check with your local college or even city or county recreation department.  Make a presentation of what you have to offer and what type of class you would like to teach and you might just get hired.

Local medical, dental, or business offices.  Some offices need someone for just a few hours a day.  This could include answering phones, calling to confirm appointments, filing (do people still file?), and just assist full-time workers as needed.  Keep an eye out on local job boards or ask friends to let you know who might be hiring--you never know and not everyone posts their job openings online.

That cute, trendy store you love to shop at.  It never hurts to ask if you can work a few hours a week or a day at somewhere that you spend your $$$.  Just let them know if you prefer to be home with your kids on holidays and summer--some shops hire teens to work on school breaks and that could be a plus for you and the teen!

These are just a few ideas that come to mind.  What jobs can you think of that are perfect for moms?  Comment below!

Thanks for stopping by!